Miami pound machine

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It was an odd sight.

Virginia’s players entered the locker room excited about the numbers on the scoreboard.

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, those numbers came at halftime and those feelings were short-lived.

Miami blanked Virginia’s already stagnant offense in the second half, torched the Cavaliers’ defense for four touchdowns in the final two quarters and cruised to 52-17 victory at Land Shark Stadium in front of 48,350.

For UVa and embattled coach Al Groh, the dreams of contending for an ACC title were exchanged for heartache in a mere 30 minutes.

“I thought that we were doing pretty well,” Virginia wide receiver Jared Green said. “We went into halftime saying, ‘We are just down seven.’ We were excited about that given how we played at times.

“And then, the way it turned out, the game kind of got away from us after that.”

More than the contest may have gotten away from Virginia (3-6, 2-3 ACC).

Mired in a three-game losing streak, the Cavaliers’ dim postseason aspirations may have also vanished. They now must win their final three games to become eligible for postseason play.

That remained a mystery until Miami’s first two possessions of the second half.

The 16th-ranked Hurricanes (7-2, 4-2) appeared forced into a punting situation on a third-and-6 at their own 25 as Virginia linebacker Cam Johnson had Miami quarterback Jacory Harris in his grasp.

An instant later, Harris escaped and completed a 29-yard pass to LaRon Byrd that moved the chains.

“We get a good rush on the quarterback, had the opportunity to make the sack, [Harris] does a good job of getting free, actually gets out of the pocket and hits a big play down the field,” Groh said.

Johnson, who had two sacks, was just as miffed.

“He just got away from me,” he said. “I tried to hold onto him, but I guess a block came and chipped me off. I still should have been able to make the play.”

Seven plays after Harris’ game-changing heroics and with 10:14 left in the third, the Hurricanes pushed their lead to 31-17 on a two-yard run by Damien Berry.

Miami’s next possession was just as deflating for Virginia and once again centered on the actions of Johnson.

Having just converted a first down that pushed the ball to the Virginia 15, Harris was sacked for an apparent 13-yard loss by Johnson. But as the outside linebacker went to tackle the signal caller, he pulled Harris’ helmet off and forced a fumble.

After both players were whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct in a dust up that followed, the officials elected to use instant replay to determine the spot of the ball.

Referee Tom McCreesh returned and announced that Johnson would be flagged for a face-mask penalty.

Having never seen a replay official make a call on a penalty, Groh was stunned and irate on the sidelines.

“That is a new one on me,” he said.

Five plays later, Miami pushed its advantage to 38-17 with 27 seconds left in the third as Berry capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive with a plunge on a 1-yard carry.

“Now, all of a sudden, it’s 14 points,” Groh said of the deficit. “I thought that really swung things downhill for us at that stage.”

With Virginia merely going through the motions on offense, Miami added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to match the highest point total allowed by Virginia in two seasons.

It was easy to see why — the Cavaliers’ defense allowed 515 yards of total offense and was on the field for 83 plays, 30 more than what Virginia managed.

“We came in with a very specific plan to try to keep that from being the case,” Groh said. “Clearly, we missed the mark on that. I think we had played 70 plays by the end of the third quarter.

“Part of that was not getting off the field on third down.”

That was an issue in the first half, too, but Virginia managed to keep the game tight with an interception and two blocked punts, something that had not happened even once in a game for the Cavaliers in 13 years.

Trailing 3-0, Virginia cornerback Ras-I Dowling hauled in an errant pass from Harris and rumbled 49 yards down the Miami sideline.

After the Marc Verica-led offense stumbled, sophomore Robert Randolph converted a 34-yard field goal with 5:26 left in the first quarter.

After holding Miami on the ensuing possession, Virginia sophomore Terence Fells-Danzer blocked Matt Bosher’s punt, deflecting the ball out of bounds at the Miami 45. Rashawn Jackson, who led Virginia with 77 yards rushing on just eight carries, gave the Cavaliers a 10-3 lead after he broke free for a 34-yard touchdown run.

After a lackluster kickoff from UVa, Miami evened the score in two plays as Harris fired a 35-yard touchdown to wideout Leonard Hankerson with 2:29 left in the half.

Miami answered again in quick fashion after forcing Virginia to go three-and-out as sophomore returner Thearon Collier eluded six unblocked Cavaliers and sped 60 yards for a touchdown return.

“Collier’s return was unbelievable,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “We got some key blocks.”

After falling behind 24-10, Virginia inched closer with 2:28 left in the opening half when junior Trey Womack went untouched and blocked an attempted punt by Bosher at the Miami 20. After the ball squirted to Womack’s left, freshman Bill Schautz scooped up the ball and raced 20 yards into the end zone.

“It was a great call by [special teams coach Ron Prince] to go block it,” Schautz said. “I attacked the left wedge of the shield and Trey Womack made a great play and came in and blocked it.

“I ran after it and I was trying to make sure it didn’t bounce anywhere and it came right to me and I just ran with it. We work on that all the time and it came into play today.”

Despite playing without starting quarterback Jameel Sewell, who is nursing various injuries, Virginia suddenly had new life.

The offense never clicked, however, without Sewell on the field.

Verica, who passed for 240 yards against Miami last year, completed just 11 of 29 attempts and managed just 75 yards.

He refused to speak to reporters after the game.

Graig Cooper’s 152 yards on the ground led Miami’s rushing attack, which entered 95th in the nation amassed 268 yards.

That helped push Virginia’s slide even further — the Cavaliers have now lost 15 of their past 23 games and six straight in November.

“It’s tough. We were right there again,” Virginia linebacker Aaron Clark said. “I don’t think anybody in any athletic situation likes losing.

“It’s just one of those things were you have to try to forget about it and move on.”

Virginia will attempt to do that on Saturday at home against Boston College (6-3, 3-2). Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m.