Series:
Each week we're going to highlight a big game from Cane history that took place during the days of each "game week." Last week featured a great comeback, but this game is all about stopping a comeback attempt and the first flashes of greatness from one of UM's all timers.
September 25, 1993- #3 Miami at #13 Colorado
The Setup:
The 1992 season ended in a way that few could have expected: a listless Hurricanes squad getting run off the field by Alabama, improbably denying Miami yet another chance at a repeat national championship. After losing the greatest starting LB trio in program history, their Heisman winning QB, and standout layers on both sides of the ball, the ‘93 version of the Canes had a lot to prove.
Dominant season opening wins over Boston College and Virginia Tech (outscoring them 44-9) showed that the new starters weren’t going to let legacy of the last ten slip away too easily. QB Frank Costa, aka “Costaverde,” resembled the 1986 Heisman winner, and had Cane fans hoping he’d be the fourth straight first time starter for UM to win a national title. That wouldn’t quite work out, but despite less than stellar QB play, there was still optimism that the team could make a run.
Colorado was riding high just a week earlier, peaking at #7 in the nation before dropping a tight one to Stanford, 41-37. While it may surprise younger fans, the Buffaloes were loaded on the offensive side of the ball, featuring QB Kordell Stewart (11 year NFL pro), WR Michael Westbrook (8 year pro), WR Charles Johnson (9 year pro), TE Christian Faurier (13 year pro), RB Lamont Warren (8 year pro), and a young Rashaan Salaam, who would go on to win the Heisman and sweep the major offensive awards a year later. Though the Canes went in favored, they had the firepower to run with just about anyone, and, as Miami would soon see, erase a deficit quickly.
The Story:
Miami set the tone early with the hard running of Donnell Bennett, who bashed his way downfield before capping the opening drive with a TD run. The defense backed up the offense, stifling the Buffaloes with their speed from sideline to sideline, thanks in large part to the rapid emergence of true freshman Ray Lewis, who was fresh out of Kathleen HS in Lakeland. Lewis stepped in for an injured Robert Bass and notched 12 tackles in his first game as a starter before an even more impressive game against Colorado, locking down Buffs starting RB Lamont Warren.
After a Colorado field goal, Bennett barreled over a safety on a 4th and 1 to take it nearly 50 yards to the house, giving him 10 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns in just a little over a quarter of football. The defense held strong, bending but not breaking and giving up any big plays to the Colorado weapons. Stewart was able to shake free a few times, but was limited by the speed Miami had on defense, specifically new starter Rohan Marley, holdovers from the great teams like Darren Krein and Kevin Patrick, and a dominant DT in Warren Sapp. If you want to know how different the game was then, Stewart was forced to miss a few drives for what was referred to as “a mild concussion” before returning to the game.
Costa’s streaky nature led to a show of brilliance, leading Miami from a 3rd and 12 at their own 17 with a minute to play in the half all the way to the Colorado end zone in just three plays. With :21 to go, he found a streaking Chris T. Jones for a wide open score that seemed to put the nail in Colorado’s coffin early.
Some chippiness on the extra point led to a full on wrestling match starring UM’s Antonio Coley during the following kickoff and a benches clearing brawl on the turf in Boulder. All told, 12 players would get ejected from the game (including seven Canes), but not Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who rather ironically can be seen playing peacekeeper after Kevin Patrick got into it in one of the end zone with several CU players.
The start of the second half saw the Canes stretch their lead thanks to a nice over the shoulder grab from the ever-underrated AC Tellison for a 40 yard TD, putting Miami up by 3 scores with 10 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. From there, the Miami offense would falter quite a bit, eventually opening the door for what became a furious Colorado comeback. Lamont Warren and Rashaan Salaam took over the Buffalo offense and rolled their way downfield to get CU’s first score of the second half with six minutes to go in the quarter.
After a James Stewart TD extended Miami’s lead to 35-12 and seemed to ice the game, Colorado scored twice in the span of 1:30 thanks to Charles Johnson taking over the game and CU recovering an onside kick. Miami was set to put the game away after a series of first downs, but on a long run, James Stewart had the ball taken right out of hands, kicking Colorado one more shot at the upset.
After few big plays, Colorado made the mistake of the game, getting called for a facemask penalty that pushed them from the Miami 12 all the way back to the 30. On a 4th and 10, Stewart tried forcing one to Charles Johnson, but All Everything safety CJ Richardson made a great play to break up the pass, ending the threat and the game.
The Studs:
Ray Lewis- The freshman linebacker showed the first flashes of the greatness that would have him remembered by many as one of the linebackers of all time. Stepping into a starting role on a team that had perpetual national title aspirations, Lewis shined immediately, sprinting from sideline to sideline to stymie a potent Colorado ground game that featured a future Heisman Trophy winner. Lewis earned player of the game honors in his first start, racking up 14 tackles.
Donnell Bennett- Often overlooked on the pantheon of great Miami backs, Bennett had what was probably his best game as a Cane, putting up 123 yards and 2 TDs, though he did most of his damage early on in the contest.
Kevin Patrick- He was his normal, outstanding self on the defensive line, helping to contain the pair of Buffalo backs as well as Kordell’s running through most of the contest. More importantly during the brawl he was ready to take on multiple Buffalo players despite losing his helmet early in the melee.
The Canes secondary- Charles Johnson eventually got his numbers, but for most of the game, the secondary flustered Kordell Stewart by locking down the Colorado weapons. CJ Richardson and the safeties did a number on Christian Fauria, which was vital because Miami needed to keep their linebackers near the LOS to combat the Buffalo rushing attack.
September 25, 1993- #3 Miami at #13 Colorado
The Setup:
The 1992 season ended in a way that few could have expected: a listless Hurricanes squad getting run off the field by Alabama, improbably denying Miami yet another chance at a repeat national championship. After losing the greatest starting LB trio in program history, their Heisman winning QB, and standout layers on both sides of the ball, the ‘93 version of the Canes had a lot to prove.
Dominant season opening wins over Boston College and Virginia Tech (outscoring them 44-9) showed that the new starters weren’t going to let legacy of the last ten slip away too easily. QB Frank Costa, aka “Costaverde,” resembled the 1986 Heisman winner, and had Cane fans hoping he’d be the fourth straight first time starter for UM to win a national title. That wouldn’t quite work out, but despite less than stellar QB play, there was still optimism that the team could make a run.
Colorado was riding high just a week earlier, peaking at #7 in the nation before dropping a tight one to Stanford, 41-37. While it may surprise younger fans, the Buffaloes were loaded on the offensive side of the ball, featuring QB Kordell Stewart (11 year NFL pro), WR Michael Westbrook (8 year pro), WR Charles Johnson (9 year pro), TE Christian Faurier (13 year pro), RB Lamont Warren (8 year pro), and a young Rashaan Salaam, who would go on to win the Heisman and sweep the major offensive awards a year later. Though the Canes went in favored, they had the firepower to run with just about anyone, and, as Miami would soon see, erase a deficit quickly.
The Story:
Miami set the tone early with the hard running of Donnell Bennett, who bashed his way downfield before capping the opening drive with a TD run. The defense backed up the offense, stifling the Buffaloes with their speed from sideline to sideline, thanks in large part to the rapid emergence of true freshman Ray Lewis, who was fresh out of Kathleen HS in Lakeland. Lewis stepped in for an injured Robert Bass and notched 12 tackles in his first game as a starter before an even more impressive game against Colorado, locking down Buffs starting RB Lamont Warren.
After a Colorado field goal, Bennett barreled over a safety on a 4th and 1 to take it nearly 50 yards to the house, giving him 10 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns in just a little over a quarter of football. The defense held strong, bending but not breaking and giving up any big plays to the Colorado weapons. Stewart was able to shake free a few times, but was limited by the speed Miami had on defense, specifically new starter Rohan Marley, holdovers from the great teams like Darren Krein and Kevin Patrick, and a dominant DT in Warren Sapp. If you want to know how different the game was then, Stewart was forced to miss a few drives for what was referred to as “a mild concussion” before returning to the game.
Costa’s streaky nature led to a show of brilliance, leading Miami from a 3rd and 12 at their own 17 with a minute to play in the half all the way to the Colorado end zone in just three plays. With :21 to go, he found a streaking Chris T. Jones for a wide open score that seemed to put the nail in Colorado’s coffin early.
Some chippiness on the extra point led to a full on wrestling match starring UM’s Antonio Coley during the following kickoff and a benches clearing brawl on the turf in Boulder. All told, 12 players would get ejected from the game (including seven Canes), but not Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who rather ironically can be seen playing peacekeeper after Kevin Patrick got into it in one of the end zone with several CU players.
The start of the second half saw the Canes stretch their lead thanks to a nice over the shoulder grab from the ever-underrated AC Tellison for a 40 yard TD, putting Miami up by 3 scores with 10 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. From there, the Miami offense would falter quite a bit, eventually opening the door for what became a furious Colorado comeback. Lamont Warren and Rashaan Salaam took over the Buffalo offense and rolled their way downfield to get CU’s first score of the second half with six minutes to go in the quarter.
After a James Stewart TD extended Miami’s lead to 35-12 and seemed to ice the game, Colorado scored twice in the span of 1:30 thanks to Charles Johnson taking over the game and CU recovering an onside kick. Miami was set to put the game away after a series of first downs, but on a long run, James Stewart had the ball taken right out of hands, kicking Colorado one more shot at the upset.
After few big plays, Colorado made the mistake of the game, getting called for a facemask penalty that pushed them from the Miami 12 all the way back to the 30. On a 4th and 10, Stewart tried forcing one to Charles Johnson, but All Everything safety CJ Richardson made a great play to break up the pass, ending the threat and the game.
The Studs:
Ray Lewis- The freshman linebacker showed the first flashes of the greatness that would have him remembered by many as one of the linebackers of all time. Stepping into a starting role on a team that had perpetual national title aspirations, Lewis shined immediately, sprinting from sideline to sideline to stymie a potent Colorado ground game that featured a future Heisman Trophy winner. Lewis earned player of the game honors in his first start, racking up 14 tackles.
Donnell Bennett- Often overlooked on the pantheon of great Miami backs, Bennett had what was probably his best game as a Cane, putting up 123 yards and 2 TDs, though he did most of his damage early on in the contest.
Kevin Patrick- He was his normal, outstanding self on the defensive line, helping to contain the pair of Buffalo backs as well as Kordell’s running through most of the contest. More importantly during the brawl he was ready to take on multiple Buffalo players despite losing his helmet early in the melee.
The Canes secondary- Charles Johnson eventually got his numbers, but for most of the game, the secondary flustered Kordell Stewart by locking down the Colorado weapons. CJ Richardson and the safeties did a number on Christian Fauria, which was vital because Miami needed to keep their linebackers near the LOS to combat the Buffalo rushing attack.
