Not Pictured: Fans (Screenshot via ESPN3)

In front of a “crowd” at Sun Life Stadium, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the NC State Wolfpack, 44-37.

The difference was a Stephen Morris touchdown pass to Phillip Dorsett for 62-yards (GIF Here) with 32 seconds left in the game. A couple minutes prior, NC State kicker Niklas Sade kicked a 51-yard field goal to tie the game at 37-37.

Miami jumped out to a 23-7 lead to start the game, but NC State was able to get back and stay close with the Hurricanes.

Morris passed for 566 yards and five touchdowns in the win. With the 566 yards, he broke Gino Torretta’s single-game school record.

Phillip Dorsett and Rayshawn Scott were the recipients of four of those touchdown passes from Morris (two each). Dorsett had seven catches for 192 yards, while Scott caught six passes for 180 yards.

For NC State, Mike Glennon finished completing 24-of-42 for 441 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Wolfpack had much better luck establishing a running game as Tony Creecy was the game’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 19 times for 120 yards and one touchdown. NC State lost the turnover battle as they turned it over five times.

Both teams combined for 1,300 total yards and yes that is still less than the Baylor-West Virginia total.

Now as for the empty seats, I don’t know. This is Miami we’re talking about here. There’s things to do, people to see!

The Hurricanes will likely see a larger crowd next week when they play Notre Dame in Chicago. Of course, it might be a bit colder.

Week One was a good one for the SEC, with 10 of the 13 teams who played coming away with victories. Newcomer Texas A&M was the only team not in action, as their game against Louisiana Tech was postponed due to Hurricane Isaac. That means the Aggies won’t have a bye week this season, and they’ll play their first game of the season next week, against fellow conference member Florida. That’ll be Texas A&M’s home opener, too, and ESPN’s College GameDay announced that they’ll be in College Station to broadcast. Welcome to the SEC, Aggies. Read on for a recap of what went on around the conference in Week One.

(9) South Carolina 17, Vanderbilt 13 

The Gamecocks and Commodores kicked off the season – and SEC play – on Thursday night in Nashville. It was an ugly, somewhat boring game, but USC managed to come away with a narrow victory. That was somewhat overshadowed by the injury to QB Connor Shaw, though, and Cocks fans will now have to wait and see if their No. 1 guy will be able to play next Saturday in their home opener.

Vandy outplayed Carolina in almost all facets, but they just couldn’t capitalize when given opportunities. The Dores had a strong passing game, racking up 214 yards through the air, while South Carolina had less than 70. The Gamecocks won the battle on the ground, though, amassing 205 yards compared to Vandy’s 62. In his return from injury, Marcus Lattimore rushed for 100 yards for the ninth time in his career and notched two touchdowns.

South Carolina starts the season 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC. They’ll be home next weekend to take on East Carolina. Vanderbilt is 0-1 overall and in conference play. They’ll travel to Evanston to take on Northwestern next Saturday.

» Continue reading “SEC Summary – Week One”

After another day of Super Regionals action, one Southeastern Conference team is advancing to Omaha, another’s season is over, and two more will have to wait to find out their fates.

Florida 9, NC State 8

For the third year in a row, the Gators (47-18) are Omaha-bound. Despite a valiant last ditch attempt and multiple rallies by the Wolfpack (43-20), Florida managed to hang on and win in the 10th inning.

NC State got on the board first, in the bottom of the third, when Matt Bergquist knocked a one-out double to bring Brett Austin home from second. It didn’t take UF long to respond, though.

In the top of the fourth, the Gators put up four runs. Preston Tucker started things off with a homer to right, then Mike Zunino and Brian Johnson each doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. An RBI single from Casey Trugeon brought Zunino home and gave Florida the lead. A sac fly from Justin Shafer made it 3-1, and Vickash Ramjit singled to cap off the scoring.

The Wolfpack got right back in it in the bottom of the inning. Andrew Ciencin hit a one-out single, and Jake Fincher did the same thing. Brett Austin double to bring both men home and cut the score to 4-3. They had a chance to tie or take the lead in the inning, but couldn’t capitalize.

In the bottom of the fifth, though, NCSU tied it up with a homer from Chris Diaz. They took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Bergquist laced a one-out single and Trea Turner bunted to reach first base. With runners at first and second, Danny Canela roped an RBI single and brought Bergquist across the plate.

It was Florida’s turn to take the lead in the top of the eighth. Johnson went yard, then Daniel Pigott and Turgeon singled. Turgeon stole second, and with men at second and third, Shafer knocked an RBI single. » Continue reading “NCAA Super Regionals: Another Mixed Bag For The SEC”

Four teams from the Southeastern Conference are playing in the Super Regionals this weekend. Three of the teams, South Carolina, Florida, and LSU, are host sites for these games, while Arkansas is playing in the Waco Super Regional, where Baylor is the host. The Gamecocks and Gators currently have 1-0 leads in their Super Regional series, while Arkansas trails 0-1 and LSU is even at 1-1.

LSU 5, Stony Brook 4

This game was suspended in extras yesterday due to bad weather. It didn’t take long to finish up this morning, though, because just 10 minutes in, the Tigers walked off with a victory.

Kevin Gausmann, who would start Game 2, threw just 12 pitches to send the Seawolves down 1-2-3 in the top of the 12th. In LSU’s half of the inning, Tyler Moore singled, then advanced to second on a sac bunt by Austin Nola. JaCoby Jones was intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners with one out. Mason Katz was up next, and he knocked an RBI single to bring Moore home.

Stony Brook took an early lead when the game started Friday afternoon, when Sal Intagliata homered in the second inning. That gave the Seawolves a 2-0 lead, but the Tigers fought back to tie it, and Jones went yard in the bottom of the ninth to make the score 2-2.

SBU outhit LSU 14-9, but they also had three errors compared to LSU’s one. William Carmona led Stony Brook at the plate, going 3-for-5, and Moore went 2-for-3 to lead LSU.

Seawolves reliever Frankie Vanderka, who pitched only 1/3 of an inning Saturday morning, took the loss and dropped to 2-3 on the season. Gausmann got the win and improved to 12-1 on the year.

LSU’s record improved to 47-16 while Stony Brook fell to 50-13.

» Continue reading “NCAA Super Regionals: So Far, Mixed Results For The SEC”