Harris preparing for the Hurricanes

Maybe head coach Walt Harris counts Miami’s string of wins at night instead of sheep. Or… Maybe head coach Walt Harris counts Miami’s string of wins at night instead of sheep. Or maybe he counts the number of different weapons the Hurricanes have used during the last two-plus years in dismantling their past 31 opponents.

Judging by the way Harris talks about the No. 17 Panthers’ (8-2 overall, 5-0 Big East) next opponent, the top-ranked Hurricanes present a force-five obstacle that his team and coaches must focus on for the majority of their waking moments.

“The coaches more than the players are wondering ‘what day is this?'” Harris said. “The days are all mumbo jumbo – watching all of the tapes of our opponent probably adds to the ‘where are we?'”

With the open date last weekend, Harris and his staff have had extra time to formulate a game plan for the matchup at the Orange Bowl on Thursday. The added time, however, does not automatically translate into answers for the Hurricanes’ feared attack.

“We’ve had ample time to prepare,” Harris said, “but I think the challenge for us will be [whether we] are capable of executing against the talent level they have.”

Despite inconsistent play at times, the Hurricanes (9-0, 4-0) have proved during the course of their winning streak that they are a resilient squad with incomparable loads of talent on both sides of the ball. The bottom line, as Harris noted, is that the Hurricanes find a way to win the games.

“You have to have a fairly large game plan, because they do adjust with great talent and great technique,” Harris said.

The Hurricanes’ offensive arsenal features many of the top talents in the Big East. Quarterback Ken Dorsey currently holds three career conference records with 8,461 yards, 598 completions and 79 touchdown passes. Lining up behind the prolific passer is sophomore tailback and first-year starter Willis McGahee, who has rushed for 1,198 yards and 17 touchdowns so far this season.

“[Miami has] got it all,” Harris said. “When they’re on their ‘A’ game, they’re a great football team.”

Part of the responsibility for containing McGahee rests with lineman Vince Crochunis and the defensive front. To give the secondary a chance in stopping Dorsey, the Panthers’ front seven must first neutralize the Hurricane running attack.

“[McGahee’s] a power runner – guys get on him and he keeps running,” Crochunis said. “You have to hit him hard and hit him high and make sure you gang-tackle him.”

Offensively, Harris pointed to quarterback Rod Rutherford making “good decisions” while the line and backs establish the running game as a key to their success.

“Rod Rutherford must have an outstanding football game in terms of what we’re asking him to do,” Harris said, “[and] you’d love to establish the run, obviously.”

Addressing the possibilities of being overwhelmed by the mystical reputation of Hurricane football, Crochunis noted that there is a line between having respect for a team and being awestruck.

“We respect all of our opponents,” Crochunis said. “We know how great Miami is and how good they are, but we’re coming in this game thinking we can pull it off.”

Harris, meanwhile, will spend the next two days preparing his Panthers for the matchup of the two remaining teams that are undefeated in the conference, with the outcome holding potential Bowl Championship Series implications.

“I wish I was a fan, I think it’d be a lot more fun right now,” Harris said. “Right now I’m not in a position to be a fan, and we got to get ourselves ready to go.”