BLACKSBURG, Va. — Miami already has one huge road victory on its resume.
With that in mind, why should Hurricanes sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris fear a visit to Virginia Tech for a key Atlantic Coast Conference game?
Harris seemingly spent the week downplaying the hype the Hurricanes' rise in stature has prompted after victories at Florida State and against Georgia Tech. He says he welcomes the chance to live up to the buildup for today's game with the Hokies in a sold-out, 66,233-seat stadium where the fans learned long ago to view Miami as an arch enemy.
"It'll be another hostile crowd. It'll be loud," he said. "Who doesn't want to play in front of a hostile crowd? Who doesn't want to go out there and have fun?
"I'll just go out there and be cool."
The No. 9 Hurricanes (2-0,2-0 ACC), led by Harris' brilliant play, have rocketed to their first top-10 ranking sincethe final poll of the 2005 season. Virginia Tech got through a three-game, nonconference warmup for ACC play with a 2-1 record and plenty of questions.
The No. 11 Hokies will need to have those answers today in a game that will make the winner the favorite in the Coastal Division.
"It's a pivotal game from that standpoint," Miami Coach Randy Shannon said.
Virginia Tech has been less impressive than Miami, needing an 81-yard pass from Tyrod Taylor to set up the winning touchdown with 21 seconds to play against No. 25 Nebraska last Saturday.
This matchup still resembles so many between the teams going back to their Big East days, although then they usually met in December with championships in the balance.
It also looks like the toughest league game left on each team's schedule.
"It's definitely huge," Virginia Tech linebacker Cody Grimm said. "Now every game matters a lot, especially when a team like Miami comes to town to open up ACC play."
It is a much different Hokies team, at least so far, that the Hurricanes will see. Typically one of the nation's stingiest defenses, the Hokies are allowing 364 yards overall and 200 yards rushing per game. The latter ranks 107th nationally of 120 teams.
Poor tackling has been mostly to blame, safety Kam Chancellor said.
"Once you correct that, you get back to playing Virginia Tech defense," he said.
The Hokies also have only three sacks in three games, and while defensive coordinator Bud Foster said his unithas put plenty of pressure on quarterbacks, the need to be disruptive could prove critical against the Hurricanes. Harris has been sacked only once and has thrown for 328 yards per game behind an offensive line giving him ample time to throw.
He has already connected with a dozen receivers, too, and allowing him to find a similar comfort zone at Lane Stadium could be decisive.
Instead, the Hokies hope to force Harris to think fast, scramble plenty and revert to the wide-eyed freshman briefly called to duty in Miami's 16-14 victory in last year's meeting.
"You know he stepped in a game last year against us and he kind of drooled down his leg, so to speak, dribbled ... and they played him one series and got him out," Foster said. "This year you just see a guy with a lot more confidence."
Sports, Pages 24 on 09/26/2009