Graig Cooper said he hadn't felt as fresh as he did Saturday in more than a month. It showed.

Cooper ran into the UM record books with a career-high 152 rushing yards, which placed him eighth all-time for Miami with 2,001 career yards.

The junior from Memphis had a 70-yard burst in the fourth quarter -- UM's longest run since Frank Gore ripped a 77-yarder against Syracuse on Nov. 17, 2001 -- and scored on a 3-yard run.

``It was really the best I've felt since the Oklahoma game,'' said Cooper, who sustained an ankle injury against the Sooners. ``My offensive line did a great job, and my receivers we're helping me down field. I saw the open spaces and hit them hard. Everyone did their job.''

Cooper is the third Hurricane to break the century mark this season (Damien Berry had 162 yards against Florida A&M and Javarris James had 150 against Oklahoma).

UM finished with 268 yards on the ground, the most since it ran for 314 against N.C. State in 2007.

``It was a whole lot easier because Virginia runs that 3-4 [defense], and they'll drop eight into coverage,'' UM quarterback Jacory Harris said. ``With the running game, that made them come down more often because there was a run threat. They didn't just have to worry about the pass.''

HARRIS DOESN'T BACK DOWN

Harris got into a heated confrontation with Virginia linebacker Cam Johnson with 3:12 left in the third quarter when the two were wrestling on the ground for the football. Johnson eventually was penalized for a facemask.

``He grabbed me, grabbed my facemask and ripped my helmet off and I let the ball go,'' Harris said. ``When I got the ball back -- and I clearly had it -- I was just telling him I got the ball. But he kept fighting for it, gave me a little head butt and then . . . it was on.''

Left tackle Jason Fox came to his quarterback's rescue and shoved Johnson off Harris.

``They think just because I'm skinny I won't retaliate,'' Harris said after the game. ``I just told [the offensive line], I'm glad you got my back, didn't leave me out there alone. Sometimes, you're just doing everything for show. But what you really want is for somebody to come grab you and hold you back.''

• On his first-quarter interception, the 12th of the season, Harris said: ``It kind of sailed. I thought I drilled it, but it started going up in the air. I don't know if the wind took it or not. It was just a bad ball.''

DEFENSE BOUNCES BACK

It wasn't just a big day for the offense. After giving up 555 yards at Wake Forest, third most in school history, UM's defense allowed 149 -- third-fewest in 46 Atlantic Coast Conference games.

UM coach Randy Shannon said the Canes did a good job harassing Virginia backup quarterback Marc Verica, who was 11 of 29 for 75 yards and was sacked twice -- by Steven Wesley and Marcus Robinson. Defensive tackle Micanor Regis caught a deflected pass for an interception and safety Jared Campbell had a career-high three pass blocks.

``We got good pressure,'' said linebacker Colin McCarthy, who trailed leading tackler Sam Shields (six) by one take-down. ``We had a few blitzes, and we're just trying to rile him up. Allen [Bailey] did a great job drawing attention and playing on their side of the field.''

CANES LOOK 'SHARP'

After cutting back practices this week by an hour and putting his players through less physical contact during the week, Shannon said he thought his team was ``fresher'' Saturday.

``I thought it really made a difference,'' Shannon said. ``There's only so much you can do. We just have to be sharp and crisp, and we felt [cutting practice] was how we could do that.''