Reeling on defense after back-to-back losses to open play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the University of Miami got a double dose of bad news Sunday morning when it learned that two of its veteran leaders are likely done for the year.

Starting weak-side linebacker Colin McCarthy will miss the remainder of the season because of a shoulder injury, coach Randy Shannon said, and senior defensive end Eric Moncur also could be out for the rest of the year after sustaining a leg injury in the first half of Saturday's 41-39 loss to Florida State.

For the Hurricanes, who lost their fifth consecutive ACC game at home and have dropped 12 of their past 15 league games, it's only going to put more of a burden on a young team to grow up faster.

''You don't expect these things, but you got to get your mind ready for it'' Shannon said. ``I've learned to be prepared instead of just guessing. Guys got to play . . . That's why they came here. Coaches got to get these guys ready in some form or fashion.''

Shannon said McCarthy will likely need surgery, but he will be reevaluated Monday. Coaches originally thought McCarthy, who injured the same shoulder in high school, just had a ''stinger.'' But then, Shannon said, an MRI late last week revealed further damage.

Shannon expects to find out more Monday about Moncur, who had sports-hernia surgery before the season and whose 42-year-old mother died last month after a battle with cancer. But Shannon didn't sound optimistic.

'I talked to [Eric] a little bit, and I told him, `I love you to death, but I can't do this to you,' '' he said. ' `We can't do this to you. You can't do this to yourself. You just got to shut it down. We'll send you to a specialist. But right now you're not going to be able to help us this season.' ''

Moncur, whose college career could be over, was sharing the team lead in sacks (two) and interceptions (one) this season. McCarthy, a junior, ranked third on the team in tackles.

OVEREXPOSED

The losses couldn't have come at a worse time for Miami, which has been torched defensively in its past two games. North Carolina rallied from a 10-point deficit with nine minutes to go when third-string quarterback Cameron Sexton threw two touchdown passes against a struggling secondary. On Saturday, FSU ran for 281 yards and exposed several holes in UM's run defense as quarterback Christian Ponder scrambled for 144 yards on his own.

Shannon said his team had several busts defending the run and pointed to fatigue as a factor. FSU ran 85 offensive plays Saturday. Miami's first four opponents averaged fewer than 60 offensive plays a game. Shannon also said UM's secondary ''needs to stop arm-tackling'' and get off the field on third down.

FSU converted 11 of its 17 third-down situations -- including what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown on third-and-goal from the UM 20-yard line. Miami's red-zone defense has given up 14 touchdowns in 16 possessions.

''If we don't correct those things it's going to be a long season for us,'' Shannon said. ``This week we're going to keep working on our fourth-quarter [play]; also on red-zone defense. It's not very good right now.''

'FIXABLE' MISTAKES

Despite being 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play, Shannon said he believes Miami is a much better team than it was a year ago at 4-1. The mistakes, he believes, are ``fixable.''

''Losing is hard. We don't accept losing,'' Shannon said. ``I don't, players don't, coaches don't. We don't accept losing. It's hard to accept losing. Am I proud of those young guys fighting and coming back in the fourth quarter? Yes. I'm very proud of them.''

• Shannon said he thought the turning point Saturday was when UM failed to score a touchdown and settled for a field goal after a botched FSU punt gave the Hurricanes possession inside the FSU 5-yard line late in the game.

UM drew a costly penalty when receiver Sam Shields ran onto the field with the wrong unit and was flagged for illegal substitution.

''We score, we go up, and Florida State has a different mentality,'' Shannon said. ``I have no idea [why Shields was on the field]. He's not even in that personnel group -- second team, third team or fourth team. That's what had everybody baffled.''

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