‘Canes stun the Buckeyes in Kickoff Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/29/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 1999
Play By Play
By Richard Rosenblatt
Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. – The Miami Hurricanes waited four years to get back in the national championship race.
Guess what?
They’re back.
Kenny Kelly threw for one touchdown, ran for another and converted a pair of 2-point conversions in leading No. 12 Miami to a 23-12 victory over No. 9 Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic on Sunday.
The win was the biggest for the Hurricanes since the school was placed on NCAA probation for numerous infractions and coach Butch Davis was hired to change Miami’s bad-boy image and build another winner.
Although the game was sloppy at times, with numerous turnovers and penalties, Kelly made his first start a memorable one. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder from Tampa overcame two fumbles and two interceptions and finished 17-of-25 for 245 yards.
In a 3:06 span late in the first half, Kelly ran 7 yards on a nifty bootleg to put Miami ahead for good, and then threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss with eight seconds left in the second quarter to give the Hurricanes a 23-9 halftime lead.
After the first TD, Kelly threw for a 2-point conversion and after the second he ran for another 2-pointer as Miami erased Ohio State’s 9-7 first-quarter lead.
The Buckeyes, who have challenged for the national title the past four seasons, lost their first season opener since 1986, when Alabama beat them 16-10 in the Kickoff Classic. It was the Buckeyes’ lowest point total since a 13-9 loss to Michigan in 1996.
In the second half, the Buckeyes managed only a third-quarter 24-yard field goal by Stultz. Miami ran 7:39 off the clock to start the fourth quarter, moving 79 yards on 16 plays before Andy Crosland missed a 26-yard field goal, his second miss of the game. Miami’s Leonard Myers then intercepted a pass with 6:24 left, and the Giants Stadium crowd of 73,037 knew the game was over.
Ohio State managed only 220 total yards, while Miami gained 398. James Jackson led Miami with 89 yards on 13 carries. Michael Wiley, who had a 69-yard run in the first quarter, finished with 72 yards on nine carries.
Like Miami, Ohio State started a new quarterback in Austin Moherman, who was 10-of-22 for 107 yards, one TD and two interceptions. But it was his backup, Steve Bellisari, who really put the Buckeyes in a hole. Bellisari came on in the second quarter. His poor lateral on his first series cost the Buckeyes an easy field goal attempt. On Ohio State’s next possession, he fumbled the snap, linebacker Dan Morgan recovered and set the stage for Miami’s two-TD barrage at the end of the half.
When Miami took over after Morgan’s fumble recovery at the Miami 41, Kelly put the ball on his hip, ran a bootleg right and with nobody near him, threw a 40-yard completion to wide-open fullback Mondriel Fulcher, who was dragged down at the Buckeyes’ 9. After a 13-yard completion to Bubba Franks, Kelly faked two handoffs, ran a bootleg left and raced untouched into the end zone to put Miami ahead to stay with 4:13 left.
His 2-point conversion pass to Jackson gave Miami a 15-9 lead.
Miami wasn’t finished. After forcing Ohio State to punt, the Hurricanes took over at their own 22 and four plays later, Kelly connected with Moss on the 67-yard TD pass with eight seconds left in the half. Moss, who also had a 50-yard reception in the first quarter, took two steps back to catch the ball and then cut to the middle of the field, leaving cornerback Nate Clements on the ground and beating free safety Gary Berry into the end zone.
Kelly, who was 9-of-13 for 202 yards in the first half, ran for the 2-point conversion.
James Jackson ran 44 yards for a touchdown on Miami’s second play from scrimmage to put the Hurricanes up 7-0 just 3:16 into the game.
Stultz kicked a 23-yard field goal for Ohio State, and the Buckeyes took a 9-7 lead on Moherman’s 6-yard TD pass to Steve Wisnewski. Stultz’s extra point failed when the ball bounced off the left upright.
Ohio State’s TD was set up when Kelly was sacked by linebacker Na’il Diggs and fumbled the ball at the Miami 7.
Miami won four national titles from 1983-91 under three coaches, and were ranked in the Top 25 every week beginning in mid-1985 until a loss to Florida State in 1995 knocked them out of the rankings. The NCAA probation cut Miami’s scholarships so severely that the Hurricanes had just 58 players on the roster at one point.
