CBS SportsLine wire reports
Sept. 5, 1998
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A simple saying hangs in the Miami of Ohio locker room: "Trust yourself."
The RedHawks had plenty
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"All it was about was trusting what we are," said the emotional Randy Walker, who was an assistant at North Carolina for a decade under Dick Crum in the 1970s and early 1980s.
"We're a good football team and a lot of time we don't get the credit we deserve, but we can line up and play with folks -- and our kids are believing it. This was a confirmation."
TRAVIS PRENTICE CARRIED 37 TIMES for 162 yards as the RedHawks upset a top 15 team for the second season in a row on the road. Miami beat Virginia Tech 24-17 last Oct. 4 in Blacksburg, Va.
"People keep calling us the giant killers, but we proved we're the giants," said Scott, the senior who kicked the first game-winner of his football career.
The Tar Heels, coming off an 11-1 season and No. 6 ranking, went all but four plays with freshman quarterback Ronald Curry after losing starter Oscar Davenport to a knee injury.
Curry completed 11 of 22 for 115 yards and one touchdown after being inserted into the North Carolina offense when the injury-prone Davenport went down with a twisted left knee 21/2 minutes into the game.
School officials said Davenport will have arthroscopic surgery Sunday. It will be his third operation in less than four years. The senior tore up the same knee in 1995 and broke an ankle last season against Florida State.
CURRY, THE NATIONAL PREP PLAYER OF THE YEAR,
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Running back Travis Prentice scored Miami of Ohio's only touchdown Saturday. (AP)
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"I heard Carl (Torbush) talk a lot about the quarterback situation and their advantage, but it kind of got equal real fast -- our first-time starter against their first-time player," Walker said, referring to his QB Mike Bath. "I know it was a huge blow to their football team to lose Oscar."
Miami tied the score at 10 with 4:11 left when Prentice rambled in from two yards out.
After holding North Carolina on downs, a 31-yard punt return by Ty Buxton and a 15-yard face mask penalty by the Tar Heels set up Scott's game-winning kick.
"I went out there and just focused on what I had to do," said Scott, who was clutching the game ball. "I really wasn't nervous. I was pumped up and I was trying to relax.
"I HAVE A MENTAL ROUTINE I go over and over in my head, and I can honestly say I was able to block everything out. It was the most focused I have ever been."
It was the first time since 1989 that a running back had gained at least 150 yards against North Carolina. In contrast, the Tar Heels were able to gain just seven yards on their last five possessions and crossed midfield only once in the second half.
"We reported in great shape, we stay in great shape," Walker said. ``I talk about going 15 rounds. I tell them, `Men, the key thing when you're playing a great team is make it go 15, don't let them knock us out early, hang in there, hang in there and if we get this thing to the 15th round we're going to have a chance."'
"They played hard but it was our game and we lost it," North Carolina linebacker Brandon Spoon said. "I don't think we needed a wakeup call but we got one, whether we like it or not."
It took Curry three series to get into a groove before he completed passes of 11 and 33 yards to set up Josh McGee's 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
THE DRIVE FOLLOWED DRE' BLY'S 17TH CAREER INTERCEPTION, an over-the-shoulder pickoff of a long bomb intended for Sly Johnson. Bly's theft broke the North Carolina record set by Lou Angelo and tied the Atlantic Coast Conference mark shared by five players.
Curry drove the Tar Heels 66 yards for his first college score after John Scott missed a 51-yard field goal wide right. The freshman completed passes of 11, 10 and 12 yards before his fake pass and keeper gained 13 to the Miami 4.
On the next play, Curry found wide-open Allen Mogridge, who was filling in at tight end for all-ACC Algie Crumpler, who was lost for the season with a knee injury in the spring.
It was Mogridge's first catch of his career and Curry's first TD pass in his first game.
The last time a freshman started at quarterback for North Carolina was in 1991 when Jason Stanicek recorded a 3-1 record as a first-year player.
"We have to see what we did right, see what we did wrong, see what we need to correct and move on because we're not going to get this one back," Torbush said.