Maybe, just maybe, the Miami Hurricanes aren't infallible.

At least that's what the rest of the college football world is hoping after the top-ranked Hurricanes were tested last Saturday for the first time this season.

While Miami went on to win its 28th consecutive game by defeating Florida State, 28-27, the Hurricanes sputtered enough to allow Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and a few others to think they may not be playing for second place.

Plenty of Fire In Rockets

After losing 14 starters from last season's MAC championship team, Toledo seemed almost certain to take a step back. But thanks to the inspired performance of quarterback Brian Jones and quality defensive play, the Rockets don't appear to have dropped off much, if any. Going into Saturday's important showdown at UCF, Toledo (4-2, 2-0) is tied atop the MAC's West Division with Bowling Green. If things continue to play out as they have, the division championship and a spot in the MAC title game could be decided when the Rockets and Falcons meet in the Glass Bowl on the season's final Saturday. The possibility might not thrill Bowling Green. Toledo beat Ball State last Saturday in the Glass Bowl and tied the school record for consecutive wins at home with 17. It might be too early to talk about a second straight MAC championship for Toledo, but there's no denying the Rockets will have a major say in who gets there. Not bad considering Toledo took more hits following the 2001 season than a punchdrunk fighter. Among the personnel losses were tailback Chester Taylor, the school's all-time leading rusher, and quarterback Tavares Bolden, who led the Rockets to a 10-2 record last season and a final No. 22 ranking in the USA Today/ESPN poll. "We're still a team that's developing," said Toledo second-year coach Tom Amstutz. "We're very young. We're a team that's trying to find out more about ourselves each week." Amstutz has found out all he needs to know about Jones, the 6-2, 215-pound senior who has ably filled the shoes of Bolden. After winning a three-man battle for the quarterback job, Jones has been brilliantly efficient. Jones has completed 71.1 percent (106-of-149) of his passes through six games, putting him on a course to break Bolden's MAC record for completion percentage (68.7) set last season. Jones, who has thrown only one interception this season, was at his most effective last Saturday during the Rockets' 37-17 victory over Ball State. He completed his first 15 passes and finished 21-for-26 with 258 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score. "I thought Bolden was a great player," said Ball State coach Bill Lynch. "But, I said a couple of times on the headset during the game that this quarterback is in total control of the game." Jones has also gotten help by one of the MAC's top offensive lines as well as William Bratton, a sixth-year senior who leads the team with 492 yards and nine touchdowns. The defense, which held Ball State running back Marcus Merriweather to 76 yards last week. has also played well. The Rockets rank second in the conference in scoring defense (22.5 ppg). -- Jorge Milian

Thanks mainly to the punishing running of Greg Jones, the Seminoles piled up 296 yards on the ground against the Hurricanes. The rushing total was the most against Miami since Syracuse gained 318 yards in a 66-13 win in the next-to-last game of the 1998 season.

Jones rushed 31 times for 189 yards (6.1 average), the highest output by an opposing runner since West Virginia's Amos Zereoue rang up 206 yards against Miami on September 27, 1997.

"Greg Jones is pretty special, so let's give him credit," said Miami coach Larry Coker. "And, their offensive line is good. But, are we concerned? Yes."

The Hurricanes' defensive front seven came into this season as, arguably, the nation's best. It played that way through UM's first five games, limiting opponents to 2.9 yards per carry and only 116.4 yards a game.

But, Jones gained that much by himself before halftime. Second-team tailback Nick Maddox played nearly as well in a more limited role, carrying 12 times for 75 yards (6.2).

"There was a concern all throughout the game when their running backs were ripping off big gains," Coker said. "When teams can do that, well, you have some real serious issues you have to deal with.

"We've got to do a better job with our linebackers and front people to shore that up."

Said DL Matt Walters: "I'm almost glad this stuff happened because we have something to learn from."

And the Hurricanes have to learn in a hurt. They will take a week off before facing West Virginia in Morgantown on Oct. 26. The Mountaineers rank second nationally in rushing yards with an average of 300.67. Tailback Avon Cobourne is Division I-A's fourth-leading rusher, averaging 149 yards per game.

There will be an even bigger challenge down the road. The Hurricanes meet fourth-ranked Virginia Tech in the regular-season finale on Dec. 7. The game will likely decide the Big East championship, with the winner heading to the Fiesta Bowl.

The Hokies are 11th nationally in rushing offense at 240.0 yards per game and may have college football's best tailback tandem in Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones.

Coker said his team's problems in stopping the run against Florida State center on one simple fundamental.

"We're going to have to do a better job of tackling," Coker said. "There were times we didn't tackle well and times we didn't get in position to tackle well."

Coker also pointed out that Miami adjusted and did a far better job of stopping the run on Saturday in the second half.

FSU gained 188 yards on 23 carries in the first half, but only 108 yards on 29 carries in the second half.

Jones gained 134 yards on 15 carries (8.9 ypc) in the first half. The 6-1, 248-pound junior was limited to 61 yards on 16 carries (3.7 ypc) in the third and fourth quarters.

Coker called the FSU game "a reality check. You better do things right. ... or you're not going to win."

But, despite the contentions of others, Coker never thought his Hurricanes were faultless.

"We're not a super team," Coker said. "I heard these comments that we could beat two NFL teams. Those are ridiculous comments. We've never put an 'S' on our chest. We're just a football team."

Around the Big East

Boston College
Any conference championship hopes the Eagles (3-2, 2-0) may have entertained vanished with the 28-23 loss to Virginia Tech last Thursday. ... The loss was costly for Boston College in more ways than one. Senior defensive end Antonio Garay fractured his left leg while making his third sack of the game and is out for the season. The same goes for starting defensive tackle Doug Goodwin, who suffered a broken right hip. Sophomore Phillip Mettling will replace Garay in the lineup on Saturday against Navy while Tim Bulman takes over for Goodwin. With the two starters out, Boston College gave up a season-high 334 yards rushing. ... The Eagles have now lost 23 of their last 24 games against ranked opponents. ... With no shot at a conference title, what does BC have to play for? "I don't know, we'll find out," said coach Tom O'Brien. "If we have the proper leadership that I think we have on this football team, we're going to forget about it and go on.". ... Quarterback Brian St. Pierre threw three interceptions against the Hokies and now has nine this season after throwing only 10 all of last year. The senior has thrown just seven touchdown passes. He had a Big East-best 25 during the 2000 season. ... BC has lost to Virginia Tech seven consecutive times.

Miami
Quarterback Ken Dorsey improved his chances to win the Heisman Trophy by directing two long touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to defeat Florida State. Dorsey, who tied his career high with 362 passing yards, struggled for the first three quarters before coming alive when the Hurricanes needed him most. "When a game is on the line, that's when he's at his best," Coker said. Dorsey, who improved his career record to 32-1, is the first quarterback in the history of the Miami-FSU series to win three starts. ... Willis McGahee failed to rush for 100 yards for the first time in five games. The sophomore tailback finished with 95 yards, but added three receptions for 78 yards, including a 68-yard screen pass that set up Miami's go-ahead touchdown. ... Punter Freddie Capshaw is struggling. He's had two punts blocked this season and shanked a three-yarder on UM's final possession Saturday that nearly turned into an FSU game-winning field goal. ... Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma registered a career-high 15 tackles against the Seminoles. ... Coker will probably announce this week that tailback Frank Gore, Miami's second-leading rusher last season, will redshirt. Gore is recovering from knee surgery. ... FSU led 17-14 at halftime, marking the first time in Coker's tenure that Miami has trailed after two quarters. ... The Hurricanes have a bye week before playing their next three games on the road. Miami has only played three consecutive road games once since 1986.

Pittsburgh
The Panthers (5-2, 2-0) blew a chance enter the national rankings for the first time since 1991 by dropping a 14-6 decision to Notre Dame. ... Quarterback Rod Rutherford threw for 313 yards, but committed two critical turnovers in the fourth quarter. One turnover, a fumble, led to the Irish's second touchdown and the second miscue, an interception, came with one minute to play after the Panthers had driven the ball down to Notre Dame's 21. ... Pittsburgh has not beaten a Top 10 team since defeating No. 10 Syracuse in 1989. ... Rutherford was sacked eight times. ... Pittsburgh's defense played well again, holding Notre Dame to 185 yards of total offense, including 40 yards on the ground. ... Kicker David Abdul has made four straight field goals after beginning the season 3-of-8. ... Pittsburgh's running backs continued to struggle, gaining 61 yards on 19 carries (3.1 per attempt) against the Irish. Starter Raymond Kirkley led Pitt with 23 yards on eight carries.

Rutgers
The Knights (1-5, 0-2) lost their 17th consecutive Big East game with a 40-0 defeat to West Virginia. Rutgers has lost its last two games to the Mountaineers by a combined 120-7. "As a football team, I think it's a step back," said coach Greg Schiano. ... Once again, the Knights' offense was abysmal. Rutgers generated only 90 yards of total offense, turned the ball over five times and had a long drive of only 24 yards. ... The Knights could be making a run a their own Big East record for offensive futility. Last season, they scored only 36 points in league games. Through two Big East games this year, Rutgers has managed only three points. ... Under Schiano, the Knights are 0-9 in the Big East and have lost five of those games by 40 or more points. ... As if the offense needed any more bad news, starting guard Brian Duffy was lost for the season with a knee injury. ... Out of 117 Division I-A teams, Rutgers ranks 116th in total offense, 114th in scoring and 113th in rushing offense. ... The worst may be yet to come. Rutgers plays No. 4 Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Hokies are No. 1 nationally against the run and scoring defense.

Syracuse
Just when it seemed things couldn't get any worse for Syracuse, they did. Kicker Collin Barber missed an extra point with 30 seconds remaining as the Orangemen lost to Temple, 17-16, for the first time since 1983. Barber also missed field goals from 27 and 44 yards. "It's all on me," Barber told the Syracuse Post-Standard. "It's on my shoulders." ... Syracuse's defense was atrocious again, allowing the Owls 500 yards of total offense. ... Starting cornerback Latroy Oliver did not accompany the team to Philadelphia after being suspended for violating team rules. ... Redshirt freshman James Wyche became the latest player to audition for Dwight Freeney's old spot at right defensive end. The Orangemen have already tried Ryan LaCasse, Tommy Harris and Julian Pollard. Wyche finished with nine tackles and a sack. "They miss Dwight Freeney," said Temple coach Bobby Wallace. "The passes we were able to throw (Saturday), we would have never gotten off last season.". ... Johnnie Morant played for the first time after a three-game suspension. Morant caught four passes for 25 yards, but dropped a certain touchdown pass in the third quarter that would have given Syracuse a 16-3 lead. ... Junior Jamel Riddle caught nine passes, the most by an Orangemen receiver since Marvin Harrison had nine receptions against West Virginia in 1995.

Temple
The Owls (2-4, 1-1) scored one of their biggest victories in recent seasons by upsetting Syracuse, 17-16, at Veterans Stadium. The win was the first against the Orangemen in the last 17 meetings. "I felt all week that we could win this game," said Temple coach Bobby Wallace. "I knew that we were playing as good a football as this program has played in a long time. This has to be a game that makes a difference in our program.". ... The Owls have now beaten every Big East team since the formation of the conference except for Miami. ... Senior tailback Tanardo Sharps gained 124 yards on 29 carries and moved into second place on the school's all-time rushing list with 2,657 yards. He trails only Paul Palmer, who had 4,895 yards. Sharps also turned a short pass into a 65-yard touchdown that tied the score at 10-10. ... Quarterback Mike McGann threw for a career-high 340 yards and was named co-Big East offensive player of the week. ... Temple meets Connecticut on Saturday. The Huskies are replacing the Owls in the Big East beginning with the 2005 season. The Owls demolished UConn last season, 56-7.

Virginia Tech
The Hokies (6-0, 1-0) ran the ball on 61 of 68 offensive plays during their 28-23 victory against Boston College. The way Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones were running, one wonders why Virginia Tech ever felt in necessary to throw. Suggs ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries while Jones contributed 144 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. ... Suggs' one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the 39th of his career, setting a Big East record. Suggs entered the BC game tied with West Virginia's Amos Zereoue with 38 touchdowns. Suggs scored for the 19th consecutive game. ... BC's Jamal Burke returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown. That marked only the fourth time in coach Frank Beamer's 16 seasons that the Hokies allowed a punt returner to score. ... Kicker Nic Schmitt, playing his first game for injured starter Carter Warley, missed his first career field goal attempt from 41 yards. ... The Hokies will play at home for the first time in 37 days when they face Rutgers on Saturday. Virginia Tech has beaten the Knights nine consecutive times and has won the last two games by a combined 99-0.

West Virginia
West Virginia defeated Rutgers, 40-0, and registered its first shutout since blanking the Knights, 48-0, on Oct. 4, 1997. ... Tailback Avon Cobourne rushed for 133 yards on 30 carries against the Knights, becoming the seventh runner in Division I-A history to gain 100 yards four times against the same opponent. Cobourne joins an exclusive list that includes Wisconsin's Ron Dayne (vs. Purdue), Illinois' Robert Holcombe (Iowa), TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson (Tulsa), Texas Tech's James Gray (TCU), USC's Charles White (Stanford) and Texas' Ricky Williams (Texas A&M). ... Quarterback Rasheed Marshall struggled throwing the ball for the third straight game. Marshall completed only 8-of-23 passes for 82 yards against Rutgers and has averaged only 73 yards passing in his last three games. The sophomore may still be bothered by a broken finger on his throwing hand sustained against East Carolina on Sept. 28. ... The Mountaineers did not return to Morgantown until 5 p.m. on Sunday because of problems with their chartered flight. At one point, the West Virginia team sat on the aircraft for six hours. "I hope that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said coach Rich Rodriguez. ... West Virginia hosts Syracuse on Thursday. The Mountaineers have lost three straight and six of seven to the Orangemen.

Around the MAC
Akron (1-6, 0-3) amassed 626 yards -- the second-highest total in school history -- in the Zips' 49-21 victory over Division I-AA Liberty. Junior Bob Hendry, who came into the game with 236 rushing yards, gained a career-high 240 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. "Any win is a good win at this point," said coach Lee Owens. ... For the first time in 24 games, Talmadge Hill was not Ball State's starting quarterback. Hill was replaced in the lineup in the 37-17 loss to Toledo by junior Andy Roesch, who made his first career start. Roesch completed 18-of-32 passes for 182 yards and one interception and will start again on Saturday when the Cardinals face Eastern Michigan. "It was a very difficult decision," Lynch said. "We just felt Andy deserved an opportunity to play." ... Ball State ranks last in scoring offense among MAC teams with a 17.7 average. "In the last five or six years, scoring offense has become very important to success in this league," said coach Bill Lynch. "We've got to score more points." ... Tailback Marcus Merriweather moved into third place on Ball State's career rushing list with 3,077 yards. Merriweather goes into Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan behind LeAndre Moore (3,080) and all-time leader Bernie Parmalee (3,483). ... The Cardinals have only four sacks in their six games. ... Bowling Green (5-0, 2-0) is ranked nationally for the first time since the end of the 1985 season. The Falcons are No. 23 in the ESPN/USA poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press rankings. In 1985, Bowling Green was ranked No. 20 in the AP poll after finishing the regular season 11-0. "We're shouting from the top of the mountain," said coach Urban Meyer. "We're very proud of that. It's great for Bowling Green and it's also great for the MAC." The turnaround at Bowling Green is somewhat amazing considering the Falcons were only 2-9 in the 2000 season. ... The Falcons are 5-0 for the first time since 1985. ... Josh Harris may be the best quarterback in the MAC not named Byron Leftwich. Against Central Michigan, Harris passed for 176 yards and one touchdown and ran for 138 yards and three scores. ... Starting tailback Joe Alls and starting safety Michael Malone did not play against Central Michigan. Meyer said Alls is "50-50" for Saturday's meeting with Western Michigan, but expects Malone to be back in action. ... Buffalo suffered its worse loss in 20 games, finishing on the short end of a 66-21 beating at the hands of Marshall...The Bulls' defense gave up 733 yards. ... Freshmen tailbacks Aaron Leeper (145) and Dave Dawson (103) accounted for 248 yards, most of it against Marshall's second-team defense. ... Central Michigan (3-3, 1-1) lost its third consecutive game, dropping a 45-35 decision to Bowling Green. ... The Falcons blocked two Brian Brandt punts that led to 10 points, the final margin of victory. "Special teams killed us," said coach Mike DeBord. ... Tailback Terrence Jackson returned from a knee injury and played for the first time this season, but Robbie Mixon will continue to be the starter for now. Mixon is second in the MAC in all-purpose yards with an average of 177.2 ypg and fourth with 758 rushing yards. Jackson, the conference's third-leading rusher in 2001, gained 16 yards on eight carries against Bowling Green. "Terrence tried to feel things too much," said coach Mike DeBord. DeBord said Mixon, Jackson and Kenan Lawhorne will all play. "We've got three very good tailbacks," DeBord said. "Every week we're going to say, who's the best guy to lead this football team? The guy that has the juice, we're going to go with that guy." ... Eastern Michigan (3-4, 1-2) gave up 55 points to an Ohio team that came into the game averaging just over 15 points. The Eagles' defense is allowing an average of 47.4 points per game...The Bobcats were averaging 209.8 rushing yards this season, but piled up 426 yards on the ground against EMU. ... As if those examples of defensive lowlights weren't enough, Ohio threw two touchdown passes. No big deal except that the Bobcats hadn't thrown a touchdown pass all season entering Saturday's game. ... Quarterback Troy Edwards completed 20-of-34 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns, but threw two interceptions. ... Kevin Walters leads the MAC with 57 receptions. No one is within 20 catches of the senior. Walters is also first in receiving yards with a 119.9 average and is tied for the lead with seven touchdown catches. ... After a bye week, Kent State returns to action on Saturday against Ohio. "We've lost three in a row," said coach Dean Pees. "We certainly need to get back in the win column and it's not going to be easy." ... Marshall (4-1, 3-0) took control of the MAC's East Division with its 66-21 win against Buffalo, giving the Thundering Herd a one-game lead over Miami and Ohio. ... Quarterback Byron Leftwich passed for 447 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half. Leftwich finished 70 yards shy of the NCAA record for most passing yards (517) in one half, set by Houston's Andre Ware against SMU in 1989. If Leftwich had played the second half, he might have surpassed the NCAA record for passing yardage in one game (716) set by Houston's David Klingler against Arizona State in 1990. Leftwich has passed for 902 yards and seven touchdowns in his last two games against Buffalo. ... Marshall is 21-1 in conference home games. The one defeat came to Western Michigan in 2000. ... Curtis Head kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal. ... The Herd scored 52 points in the first half, setting a school record. ... Wilbur Hargrove rushed 16 times for 153 yards, giving Marshall a 100-yard runner for the third consecutive game. That's something the Herd hadn't accomplished since 1998. ... Receiver Darius Watts, bothered by a separated shoulder since preseason practice, had his best game this season with six catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Watts, like most of Marshall's first-teamers, didn't play in the second half. ... Miami (4-3, 2-1) blew a 20-point lead during a 48-41 loss to Northern Illinois. RedHawks coach Terry Hoeppner said after the game he was to blame for the defeat. "I told the team that this loss is obviously on me," Hoeppner said. "For us to dominate the game like we did, have it turn around so quickly and for me not to have the guys prepared to the point where we can stem the tide is unacceptable. I apologize for the loss." ... The defeat overshadowed a sensational performance by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who passed for 525 yards, breaking the school record he set last season when he threw for 452 yards against Hawaii. Roethlisberger also completed 41 passes, breaking the conference mark he set against Hawaii with 40 completions. ... It wasn't all good for Roethlisberger, who threw three interceptions and was sacked six times in the second half. ... Michael Turner recorded his school-record fifth 200-yard game, gaining 222 yards in Northern Illinois' 48-41 victory over Miami. Turner, second nationally in rushing (156.3 ypg) and the first runner this season to reach 1,000 yards, scored on touchdown runs of 73, 31 and 15 yards. ... Three of the Huskies' four victories this season have come by seven or fewer points. "I'd like to have some easy ones, but that isn't the way this league is going to be," said coach Joe Novak. ... Miami ran 106 plays to NIU's 46 and dominated time of possession, keeping the ball for 44:07. "That was really a strange football game," Novak said. "I've never seen anything like that." ... The 3-0 conference start is NIU's best since 1983. ... The Huskies are going for their fifth straight victory over Central Michigan on Saturday. NIU has never won more than four consecutive games against the Chippewas. ... Chad Brinker rushed for 127 yards and tied a school record with four touchdowns as Ohio (2-5, 2-1) beat Eastern Michigan, 55-27. The two wins surpasses the Bobcats' total from last year when they finished 1-10. ... Quarterback Fred Ray made his first start in place of Dontrell Jackson, who sat out the game with a foot injury. Ray completed 7-of-9 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. ... The scoring output was the most by Ohio since a 63-15 win against Northern Illinois in 1976. ... Toledo's linebacker Tom Ward was named the MAC's West Division defensive player of the week after tying his career-high with 22 tackles against Ball State. Ward leads the MAC with 90 tackles this season. ... Wide receiver Donta' Greene extended his consecutive reception streak to 25 games against the Cardinals. ... Tight end Andrew Clarke caught a career-high six passes for 59 yards and one touchdown. ... UCF snapped a six-game road losing streak and won its first-ever MAC game by defeating Western Michigan, 31-27. ... Cornerback Asante Samuel saved the game for the Knights by intercepting a pass on the goal line in the final minute. It was Samuel's second pick of the game and his fourth of the season. ... UCF held Western Michigan to 36 yards rushing...The Knights have allowed only one sack in their last 10 quarters and just nine in five games this season. ... Receiver Jimmy Fryzel recorded career highs for receptions (six) and yards (113). ... UCF played without it two top tailbacks, Alex Haynes and Keith Williams, who were sidelined by ankle injuries. ... With the 31-27 defeat to Central Florida, Western Michigan (2-4, 1-1) has lost back-to-back home games for the first time in Gary Darnell's six seasons as coach of the Broncos. ... Quarterback Chad Munson played all but one series on Saturday, completing 25-of-47 passes for 306 yards and three interceptions. Jon Drach, who had been alternating with Munson, only played briefly. Still, Darnell is ready to commit to Munson as his full-time quarterback. ... Starting defensive end Chris Browning did not play against UCF because of a pulled hamstring...The Broncos gained only 36 rushing yards against UCF. "Right now, we're playing to our strengths and that's our quarterback and receivers," Darnell said. ... WMU faces a critical game Saturday against Bowling Green. A loss would like ruin any chances at a West Division crown.

Jorge Milian covers college football for the Palm Beach Post.