Coach Rick Neuheisel knows Larry Tripplett.

Washington Huskies defensive line coach Randy Hart knows Tripplett, too.

And after Washington's 34-29 upset of his fourth-ranked team, Miami offensive lineman Joaquin Gonzalez knows him better than he would like.

"Tripplett definitely played a great game," Gonzalez said. "He was doing some great things in there that were tough to control."

The stats don't lie in this case. Showing extraordinary strength and quickness that on some occasions appropriately drew triple teams from the heart of the Miami offensive line, the 6-1, 300-pound junior tackle caused one fumble, recovered another and had two sacks to rattle young quarterback Ken Dorsey in what was perhaps the most emotional game in Tripplett's career.

Using a combination of power and speed, Larry Triplett often terrorizes the opposition.(Allsport)

"Larry played an outstanding game," Neuheisel said. "Larry's one of our captains and every Friday we have a captain meeting and Larry wanted me to make sure that the team understood that this wasn't a game to start worrying about them getting out of control. It was a game to stay focused.

"Larry isn't one of those snot-blowing defensive linemen, he's just an outstanding, level-headed player. He plays really hard, especially (Saturday)."

Tripplett knew he had little choice, considering all that could be accomplished by the upset. Maybe he wasn't blowing snot ... but Hart made it clear this was no time to be too cool, too calm, nor too collected.

"I knew that if I didn't play real hard and run the whole game, (Hart) would have me running all week," Tripplett said, breaking into a smile. "If I don't get pocket push, I'm in trouble."

No problem there. He was pushing the pocket so far back, twice he forced Miami center Brett Romberg straight back into Dorsey -- causing him to fall -- and once creating a fumble. Now, the Huskies and Tripplett are headed for Colorado this weekend, where Neuheisel left prior to the 1999 season on not exactly glowing terms.

Count on Tripplett being up for this week's game as well.

"It's my job to do what I'm supposed to do as a team player," Tripplett said. "If the center of the offensive line has to worry about dealing with me, then it opens things up for everybody else. That was my goal (against Miami) and that's what I want to do. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to make the play."

And he does, he does.