Notre Dame beats Miami 33-17 in El Paso
By AL LESAR Tribune Staff Writer
EL PASO, Texas -- They came. They refused to shiver. They hammered the Hurricanes.
It's only a college football rivalry when both teams are competitive.
That didn't happen Friday.
It was supposed to be a battle between a couple of pit bulls. A Chihuahua showed up from South Beach.
A program built on swagger was handed a swig of humility.Notre Dame's 33-17 Sun Bowl spanking of Miami served notice that maybe first-year Irish coach Brian Kelly is doing something right.
"I don't know if one game sets who you are or where you want to go," Kelly said. "Clearly, we're gaining a lot of confidence. We've beat a lot of good football teams later in the year as we've kinda come together and found our identity."
Four straight wins and an 8-5 record have made potentially devastating losses to Navy and Tulsa appear to be nothing more than a necessary part of the growth process.
The Notre Dame team that dominated Miami Friday didn't even vaguely resemble the mistake-prone unit that flirted with another lost season two months ago.
Two hours before kickoff, the Hurricanes were whipped. It was obvious to anyone who chose to spend some extra time in 34-degree temperatures.A thick layer of snow was plowed from the artificial surface. The Irish warmed up in shorts and sweatshirts. The Hurricanes reluctantly emerged from their cozy dressing room outfitted in complete thermal suits, including the head gear that covered their mouths.
That's one way to limit trash talking.
Too cold to yap.
"Things got a little chippy from time to time," said Irish safety Harrison Smith, who had three first-half interceptions.
"We're from northern Indiana," Smith said. "We took this as a home game, in terms of the weather. I don't know about it snowing, almost in Mexico. When we came out, we don't care. We're from northern Indiana. We were excited to play.""(The Hurricanes) were pretty shocked to see the snow," said Irish quarterback Tommy Rees.
Rees was good, much better than his last outing against Southern Cal. Smith was very good.
And receiver Michael Floyd was special.
Will Floyd, who has one year of eligibility left at Notre Dame, enter the NFL draft in the spring? If he does, he'll have a heck of a highlight film to take with him.
Two touchdown receptions, 109 yards on six receptions and the game's most valuable player award will either be a fine send-off or a springboard to a senior season packed with potential.Whatever the case, it was a victory forged out of toughness and consistency.
Kelly's objectives since he arrived on campus.Staff writer Al Lesar: alesar@sbtinfo.com 574-235-6318
(vs. Maryland, 2002), as well as the Sun Bowl mark set by Auburn's Buddy McClinton in 1966. He also had seven tackles.
-Kicker David Ruffer drilled field goals of 40 and 50 yards in the first half -- then from 19 in the third quarter -- before missing for the first time in his career as time ran out in the third quarter.
His school-record streak ended at 23 straight, which was the longest current streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Ruffer, who was injured during an earlier kick, was wide right from 36 yards."My cleat got locked in the grass (on the 19-yarder) and it cramped up my left calf," Ruffer said. "I'm not gonna make excuses. The ball went right. It didn't matter if there was an excuse or not.
"The streak was neat while I had it, but I was going to miss eventually. It's better that it didn't really matter (in the outcome of the game)."
In other words, it was a pretty good day for the 8-5 Irish.
Miami (7-6) was forced to deal with a coaching change on top of the rude and unusually cold weather of west Texas.
"I'm not an excuse-maker," said Hurricane interim coach Jeff Stoutland. "Never have been. Weather is weather. I felt strong about this group we have here."Stoutland abandoned his plan to go with junior quarterback Jacory Harris after his third interception. True freshman Stephen Morris, who had been on crutches most of the week after an ankle injury in practice, completed 22 of 33 passes for 282 yards and two garbage-time touchdowns.
Kelly can take some time to ponder the big-picture status of his program.
"Any time you're developing a program to a championship level, all those things (bowl victories, recruiting triumphs, overall improvement) help. It's still a process for us. We have more things that we have to get done."
The next step, though, will be that much easier.Staff writer Al Lesar: alesar@sbtinfo.com 574-235-6318
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