ORLANDO, Fla. -- Feleipe Franks was clutch one minute and confused the next, showing the kind of inconsistency that got him benched five times in two years.
His job might be in jeopardy again if not for Florida's defense.
Franks made up for three inexcusable turnovers by accounting for three touchdowns, doing just enough to help the eighth-ranked Gators beat rival Miami 24-20 Saturday night in a wild and wacky opening game of the college football season.
"Last five minutes of the game, I aged 10 years," Florida coach Dan Mullen said. "That was exhausting."
Franks threw for 254 yards and two scores and ran for another as the Gators won for just the second time in their last nine meetings with the Hurricanes. Franks also threw two interceptions -- both horribly inaccurate passes -- in the fourth quarter.
He looked anywhere from good to great, from lost to downright awful.
He dropped in a perfect pass to Josh Hammond that gained 65 yards and set up the go-ahead score in the fourth and later in the quarter threw right to a defender. He also fumbled in the first half while deciding what to do on a read-option play.
Florida's defense bailed Franks out time and time again, finishing with a staggering 10 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss.
Miami converted a fourth-and-34 play with 1:30 remaining when Marco Wilson was flagged for pass interference. The Hurricanes moved the chains again thanks to another pass interference call against Trey Dean. One official threw one more flag in the end zone with 20 seconds to play, but it was picked up following a discussion.
The Hurricanes failed to score, and they needed a touchdown after Bubba Baxa missed a 27-yard field goal attempt wide right early in the fourth.
"We don't have the maturity level to see a victory through," first-year Canes coach Manny Diaz said. "That's a maturing process we have to go through."
Franks took a knee to run out the clock, celebrated with teammates and then ran toward the tunnel and punted the ball into the stands. At least this one didn't count as a turnover -- or result in a penalty.
The teams combined for five turnovers -- Florida had four -- and 225 yards in penalties.
Miami got to break out its revised Turnover Chain after each of Florida's gaffes and was able to debut its Touchdown Rings following both trips to the end zone.
"We wanted to spice it up," Diaz said. "The 305 (chain) came out really well. We talked about offense wanting something else, wanting something different. Hopefully we'll see a lot more of them."
Miami's Jarren Williams completed 19 of 29 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. DeeJay Dallas ran for 95 yards, including a 50-yard scamper that put the Canes up 20-17 early in the fourth.
Week 1 Top Stories
1. Notre Dame takes care of business as they take down rival Michigan.
2. Florida State celebrates going 1-0 in conference play.
3. Georgia proves again why winning in Athens is so difficult for opponents.
4. Trojans are looking to dominate Stanford in their Pac-12 opener.
5. Michigan is focused on defending their turf against Western Michigan after road loss.
6. #5 Ohio State faces cupcake Rutgers to open Big Ten play.
7. Clemson feels they have the advantage in upcoming visit to College Station.
NCAA Players of the Week
QB James Morgan, FIU: 17 of 26, 250 yards, 10 carries, 82 yards, 4 total touchdowns.
CB Dane Jackson, Pittsburgh: 6 tackles, forced fumble, 2 interceptions.
Last edited by Soapy on 01 Sep 2019, 11:40, edited 2 times in total.
Miami earns first win under Manny Diaz after slow start vs. FIU
The second game in the Manny Diaz era at Miami couldn't have gotten off to a worst start.
A punt on the first drive, a FIU touchdown, back-to-back interceptions on the next two drives for redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams.
And then DeeJay Dallas found the endzone -- twice -- in the second quarter and Miami was able to pull away in the fourth to avoid the upset with a 35-21 win over Florida International on Saturday night.
FIU did everything in its power to complete the upset, two long touchdowns over Miami's vaunted defense, two first quarter interceptions and shutting Miami's offense for nearly two quarters. Miami did everything in its power to lose the game, including missing a cheap shot field goal eerily similar to the Florida game. Yet, it was DeeJay Dallas once again on the rescue.
Dallas rushed for 134 yards and four scores, including one before the half ended where Williams was in scramble drill and threw it up in the endzone. Williams overcame the slow start, finishing the game 264 yards and two touchdowns, including one with his legs.
It was a "workman like" day for the defense according to Diaz. They surrendered two long touchdown passes but other then that, they were able to slow down much of the Golden Panthers' offense. Trevon Hill had two sacks while Shaq Quarterman led the way with nine tackles and a sack of his own.
Scoring Summary Quarter 1
4:46 (FIU) C. Gernal, 54 Yd pass from J. Morgan
Quarter 2
3:58 (MIA) D. Dallas, 0 Yd run
0:00 (MIA) D. Dallas, 19 Yd pass from J. Williams
Quarter 3
6:04 (FIU) A. Jones, 2 Yd run
3:34 (MIA) D. Dallas, 2 Yd run
1:31 (FIU) L. Joseph, 52 Yd pass from J. Morgan
Quarter 4
7:09 (MIA) J. Williams, 13 Yd run
2:42 (MIA) D. Dallas, 16 Yd run
Player Stats Miami Hurricanes (1-1, 0-0)
Jarren Williams, QB: 26 of 34, 264 yards, TD, 2 INT, 3 carries, 23 yards, TD
DeeJay Dallas HB: 18 carries, 134 yards, 3 TD
Lorenzo Lingard, HB: 8 carries, 38 yards
K.J. Osborn, WR: 6 receptions, 81 yards
Brevin Jordan, TE: 5 receptions, 47 yards
Mike Harley, WR: 3 receptions, 43 yards
Amari Carter, S: 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
Shaq Quarterman, LB: 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack
Jonathan Garvin, DE: 4 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack
FIU Golden Panthers (1-1, 0-0)
James Morgan, QB: 12 of 26, 210 yards, 2 TD
Napoleon Maxwell, HB: 18 carries, 59 yards
Leon Johnson, WR: 3 receptions, 94 yards, TD
Curtis Genal, TE: 3 receptions, 52 yards, TD
Isaiah Brown, LB: 9 tackles
Steve Lewis, LB: 8 tackles, INT
Week 2 Top Stories
1. Georgia beats rival South Carolina but D'Andre Swift will be sidelined for seven weeks.
2. Auburn looks forward to opening SEC play against No. 6 LSU
3. Ohio State opens conference play with a win over Rutgers.
4. Oklahoma routs UCLA in Hurts debut.
5. Oklahoma looking to dominate Iowa State in their Big 12 opener.
6. Penn State slips to #24 after losing to Pittsburgh.
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