Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.sports From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Miami's coach fears polls may encourage teams to run up Date: Tue, 3 Nov 92 15:19:55 EST Message-ID: \SE D;SPORTS \SS (WS) \HD Miami's coach fears polls may encourage teams to run up score \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT MIAMI MIAMI (AP) - Coach Dennis Erickson, whose Miami Hurricanes dropped to No. 2 in the Associated Press college football poll after a 35-23 victory over West Virginia, fears poll voters may be encouraging ranked teams to run up the score against outmanned opponents. The Hurricanes led 35-3 Saturday night when Erickson took his starters out of the game. West Virginia then scored three touchdowns in the final 3:40. Voters on Sunday dropped Miami behind Washington, which routed No. 15 Stanford 41-7. Miami remained the top spot in the USA Today-CNN coaches' poll, edging the Huskies by one point. "If they moved us down or changed their votes because of what happened in the last five minutes of our game, then they're giving a bad message to college football," Erickson said yesterday. "The message they're sending is, 'Keep everybody in there and beat the heck out of everybody you play,' which is not what college football and athletics are about." A week ago, Miami led Washington in first-place votes, 32 to 29. This week the Hurricanes trailed, 27 1/2 to 33 1/2. Both teams are 8-0. "If we lost votes because of how Washington played against Stanford, that's fine," Erickson said. "They played extremely well and deserve that." Ironically, the drop to No. 2 came after perhaps Miami's most impressive offensive performance of the season. Gino Torretta threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns, bolstering his standing in the Heisman Trophy race. "There's no question that I think he's deserving of the Heisman Trophy," Erickson said. "What he has done since he's been at the University of Miami is win games and make big plays. . . . What we've got to do is keep winning. If we do, I would think he would be a top candidate for the Heisman Trophy." Miami had one serious injury against West Virginia. Sophomore defensive tackle Pat Riley sustained a dislocated shoulder and probably will be sidelined two to three weeks, Erickson said. The Hurricanes are off Saturday, then host Temple (1-7) on Nov. 14. Erickson said his team will practice four times this week, with the No. 1 offensive and defensive units going head to head. "We treat it as kind of a spring practice week," he said. "That way we feel we can improve." The team will have the weekend off, but Erickson still plans to watch some football. "Most important is my son, Ryan, who's 14, in his Little League game," Erickson said. "If I miss that one, I'm in real trouble." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM