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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 1249653, member: 289"] Quotes from the Herald American on 11/22/92: (Source: Newspaper Archive.com) “University of Miami linebacker Darrin Smith couldn’t figure it out. The pained expression on his face was proof. According to the script, the second half is when the top-ranked defending national champion Hurricanes are supposed to stomp on the opponents, taunt them, beat them and leave them gasping for air, as they’ve done often during their 28 game winning streak. But a funny thing kept happening after the half ended. The Number 8 ranked Orangemen- owners of one, just one first down and no points in the first half- pulled something of a Superman act in their dramatic 16-10 loss. Down 13-0 at the half, the sleeping Giant awakened. Big Time. “I kept like saying ‘We’re going to stop them this time’ “, Smith, one of three touted Miami linebackers, said. “Then they made the play.” Syracuse pounded the ball at Smith’s fellow linemen and linebackers with big fullbacks Al Wooten and Marcus Lee, tailback David Walker and quarterback Marvin Graves. “Then I said, OK, we’re going to stop them this time”, Smith continued “And then they made the play again.” Smith’s face had the look of a new believer.” The paper reported that Syracuse had -1 yards total offense in the first half and 295 in the second half. Dan Conley’s interception at the Miami 22, which he returned to the 19, did indeed come in the first quarter- it was actually his second interception of the game- he’d picked off a pass at the SU goal line to stop Miami’s previous drive. The second pick, as exciting as it was, didn’t result in any points as John Biskup missed a field goal. (Note: there was no overtime in 1992 so if he’d made the field goal, then a field goal at the end of the game would not have given us a chance to win, which we needed to do to have a shot at the championship game.) George DeLeone: “In the first half, we couldn’t handle their pressure. Their theory was to come after us on every down and force us into third and long situations and they did. We felt the best answer to pressure was to go right after them.” Dennis Erickson: “In the second half they came out and started trapping us on running plays and then they got the option going.” Dan Conley: “We came into the locker room at halftime and knew we could stay with them and beat them. We just ran out of time.” The paper reported “In the first half, they couldn’t move the football, much less score. In the second half Syracuse dominated offensively and defensively. If not for some poor clock management that even head Coach Paul Pasqualoni referred to in his post-game comments, the outcome could have been different.” Miami increased their lead to 16-0 before SU got the ball. The Orange went on a 50 yard drive that was really a 65 yard drive but they stalled due to a couple of penalties and Biskup kicked a field goal to make it 3-16. After forcing Miami to punt, SU went on a 92 yard drive that ended with a 1 yard TD run by Graves. Terence Wisdom, our 297 pound tackle: “It seemed to me that they were getting a little tired.” SU forced another Miami punt and drove from their own 20 into Miami territory but a tipped pass interception by Rahon Marley, (Bob’s son), ended the drive at the 25. After forcing Miami to punt again, SU got the ball at their 28 with 3:49 left. The following is taken from the play-by-play that was printed in the paper. The final drive began with Graves being sacked and fumbling. Miami recovered and ran out the clock. Err…no they didn’t. They were offside and we were still alive. Graves ran for 4 yards. Brian Picucci tried to get the first down but was stuffed. Terry Richardson ran 14 yards on a “option run”, (so they did use it successfully in this drive) for the first down. One of the articles on the game said that graves “bounced the pitch” to him. Graves lost 2 on a run. “ABC TV play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger and football analyst Dick Vermeil couldn’t figure it out. With 45 seconds left in the game, they wondered why SU quarterback Marvin graves was talking such an awfully long time to get the ball into play. Then it hit Musburger. “You know, I’m wondering if Marvin Graves wasn’t shaken up on that hit back there when Terry Richardson took off. I don’t think he’s quite the same.” Qadry Ismael caught a pass for 11 yards. Graves ran for 15 yards. This would have taken it to the Miami 21, This is when he threw up. “Graves, apparently weakened by fatigue and emotion, got sick in the SU huddle, vomiting on the carpet. SU was forced to call a time time-out it dearly would have preferred to save. But if the officials had to call time because of a sick or injured player, Graves would have bene forced to leave the game for one play. So, while the time out was costly, SU coaches agreed it was well-spent. Graves still wasn’t OK. He went to the Syracuse sideline near head coach Paul Pasqualoni and vomited again. Then he went back on the field and came within inches of beating the #1 team in the country. Pasqualoni: “Marvin is not only a great player, a great person, the guy has got tremendous courage, as you’ve seen. He was not going to come out of the game under any circumstances. He was vomiting fluids, he was so tired.” (This is why I don’t much like it when people make fun of Donovan McNabb doing the same thing vs. Virginia Tech in 1998 or in the Super Bowl in 2005). Graves remained in the game and ran for 4 yards on the next play. (This would be the near-side option I remember). What I didn’t remember was that he was sacked on two plays before the final play, losing a total of 15 yards. I also didn’t remember that “The first sack forced SU to use its final time out with 31 seconds remaining. The clock continued to run after the second sack by Miami’s Darren Krein. The Orangemen scurried to the line and center John Reagan snapped the ball Graves with four seconds left on the clock. After Gedney was stopped on Miami’s 3 yard line by Miami strong safety Casey Greer, only zeros showed on the Dome scoreboard. Miami players celebrated their escape. Syracuse players lay stunned and motionless on the stadium carpet. Gedney: “I just wish I could have carried my momentum a little bit further into the end zone. I knew when I came down I wasn’t in the end zone. I didn’t know how far away I was from it. It was just a sickening feeling, really”. Greer: “I saw the pass coming and knew I couldn’t intercept it without getting pass interference. But I knew I was short (of the end zone), so I was looking to blast him and go right through him with a big hit” “With no time left, the second half comeback was over. Gedney and other SU players sprawled on the turf in disbelief for several seconds. “I lost it,“ Wisdom said. “I couldn’t believe it was over. Just one more play. Just 3 yards….Just one more play.” The paper reported that “Musburger and Vermeil fell silent for 15 seconds after the clock ran out, letting the pictures tell the story.” Fiesta Bowl director John Junker: “Those are two tremendous football teams. You really have to take your hat off to the tremendous, gutty job that Syracuse did. They really dominated Miami in the second half of play. No matter what you say about the Hurricanes, they’re still the heavyweight champion of the world. But Syracuse took them 15 full rounds on a decision .” DeLeone: “It was an example of great composure on our football team. To have a chance to beat the most dominant team of the decade and not get it done- and we had every chance to do it- it’s crushing.” Pasqualoni: “I don’t know if we were three plays short or one play short. We just didn’t get the whole thing done. We’re an awfully good football team. I think we showed we could compete with anybody.” [/QUOTE]

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