Another strange game. Another case of the Miami Hurricanes seeming to do their best to give one away.

But the Knights of Central Florida were not going to let it happen. Not with their offense.

Robert Marve threw three interceptions, UM's offense could barely get it going, but the Hurricanes defeated UCF 20-14 on Saturday at Dolphin Stadium.

''Very weird game. Very sloppy on both sides,'' said Marve, who has seven interceptions in his past three games. ``A win is a win. We'll take it. We love it. It feels good right now.''

Kind of good, at least.

The Canes (3-3) struggled to gain their 216 yards and converted 2 of 17 third downs. But the Knights (2-4)? They suffered. Central Florida's ineptitude on offense combined with UM's stout defense resulted in 4 yards on the ground and 74 through the air.

The 78 yards of total offense were the fewest allowed by UM since Nov. 20, 1999, when Rutgers had 64 yards against the Canes. UM had a season-high five sacks Saturday, two by defensive end Allen Bailey.

UM coach Randy Shannon was asked if he thought his team had ''survived'' Saturday's game.

''You don't survive when you win,'' Shannon said. ``A win is a win. You don't survive.''

LETDOWN AVOIDED

The Hurricanes led 10-7 at halftime, but it would have been 10-10 had a 48-yard field goal by Daren Daly -- UM's kicker last year -- not been called back because of an illegal formation by the Knights.

UM scored on a fourth-quarter safety to make it 12-7 after a botched punt snap by UCF with 13:31 left in the game.

The Hurricanes made it 20-7 after a booming, 43-yard punt by Matt Bosher went through the arms of UCF returner Joe Burnett and was recovered at the UCF 5-yard line by Sam Shields. Graig Cooper, who had a career-high 23 carries for 90 yards, scored on the next play -- and the Canes got the two-point conversion when quarterback Jacory Harris ran it in.

But the ending would not be simple for the Hurricanes, who imploded last week and almost did again Saturday in front of 40,011 fans. UM's DeMarcus Van Dyke was flagged for offsides on the ensuing kickoff, and Bosher had to kick again. This time, UCF's Burnett returned the kick 91 yards for a touchdown.

Suddenly, the score was 20-14 with 4:57 left.

Harris was sacked for a loss of 15 yards on UM's next drive, and the Hurricanes punted from their 21. UCF started at its 41 and drove to the Miami 36, but Rob Calabrese's incomplete pass ended the Knights' hopes.

Harris took a knee the last three plays to run out the clock.

Marve completed 8 of 19 passes for 74 yards, with a 25-yard touchdown to Travis Benjamin and had his three picks.

QB CONTROVERSY?

Harris (4 of 6 for 14 yards) led six drives, including the initial one to end the first quarter. He came in again with 13:31 left in the game and wasn't replaced.

When asked if that was an indication that the quarterback position is open, Shannon quickly replied, ``Nope. Nope. Next.''

Said Marve: ``I think anyone would like to be in the game, honestly. But whatever the coaches think. I was cool with it. I was having a rough day. It happens in football. But it's great to have a rough day and still win the game.''

Marve conceded it was his responsibility to do better.

''Yeah, that's rough,'' he said of the picks. ``I'm trying to make plays. Maybe it's dumb freshman things. I don't know what it is. Sometimes I just see it there [or] I'm trying to force it or just little ones too -- ending games or ending halves.

``I'm going to keep slinging the ball. If anything I'm going to focus on the bonehead mistakes, the bonehead throws. Maybe I can work on that a little bit more, but I have to keep being aggressive.

``I'm still learning the offense, and when the defense, like this week, shows you a whole different defense than what we thought they were going to show, it tends to happen. They didn't run what we thought they'd run.''

Central Florida scored its second-quarter touchdown on Marve's second of three interceptions in the first half. Cornerback Johnell Neal ran in front of Benjamin for the catch and sprinted 62 yards for the touchdown.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@