Shoulder, Hurricanes sideline Dwyer

By Jeff Shain

For the AJC

MIAMI – When they met last season, Jonathan Dwyer’s second touch against Miami went 35 yards deep into Hurricanes territory. He was done by halftime, having racked up 128 of Georgia Tech’s staggering 472 rushing yards.

Thursday night also brought an early conclusion for the Yellow Jackets’ workhorse — though under circumstances far more humbling.

A bum shoulder kept Dwyer on the sideline for the second half, a 6-yard night sufficiently summing up the reversal of fortune in the Jackets’ 33-17 setback.

“I hope he’s all right but you’ve got to tackle the dive [option],” said Miami linebacker Colin McCarthy, whose play helped limit Tech to just 95 yards on the ground. “We said we’ve got to keep hitting the running back and I think they felt it.”

Tech’s rushing total was a full 377 yards fewer than last year’s carnage, which went down as the school’s best rushing night since 1940. A year ago, the Jackets broke off nine runs of 20 or more yards; Thursday produced just one. The Hurricanes were watchful all night.

“Our motto for the week was ‘Eyes,’ ” Miami cornerback Brandon Harris said. “We took this loss personally last year. Our focus all week was tackle, tackle, tackle. We worked our tails off to make sure we tackled and it all paid off.”

What a difference a year makes. Not to mention, perhaps, a new defensive coordinator.

The defensive gem was put together by Miami’s Jon Lovett, imported from North Carolina by coach Randy Shannon during the offseason. The Tar Heels handed Tech one of its four losses last season, holding the option to a reasonable 326 rushing yards in a 28-7 decision.

The Hurricanes put their biggest bull’s-eye on Dwyer, swarming the inside creases where last year’s ACC Player of the Year frequently pops free for a big gain. His longest run from scrimmage was five yards; nothing else went for more than two.

“We were going at Dwyer every play,” Harris said. “We weren’t going to let [No.] 21 run on us.”

Dwyer suffered a shoulder stinger somewhere amid the punishment. Though still in uniform in the second half, his helmet was nowhere to be seen.

After a season that produced nine 100-yard games and 1,395 yards in all, Dwyer has yet to crack triple digits in 2009.

It took a while for the Hurricanes to find their rhythm, as the Jackets opened with a 13-play march that ended in Scott Blair’s 32-yard field goal. All of Tech’s 45 yards came on the ground.

The remaining 53 minutes, though, saw the Jackets held to just 50 yards rushing.

“We knew they like to start fast on offense,” Shannon said. “When we held them to three points, we felt real good. When we can stop people, it allows both sides to feed off each other.”