Miami snaps skid with sloppy victory over UCF

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	10	12
Total Yards	78	216
Passing	74	88
Rushing	4	128
Penalties	7-63	6-53
3rd Down Conversions	3-18	2-17
4th Down Conversions	1-3	0-0
Turnovers	1	3
Possession	24:45	35:15

Air/Ground Leaders
UCF Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Calabrese 11/35 74 0 0 Greco 0/2 0 0 0	Miami (FL) Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Marve 8/19 74 1 3 Harris 4/6 14 0 0
UCF Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Calabrese 13 25 0 26 Weaver 12 20 0 8	Miami (FL) Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Cooper 23 90 1 18 Chambers 4 31 0 25
UCF Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Watters 5 37 0 15 Kay 3 16 0 9	Miami (FL) Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Benjamin 2 34 1 25 Epps 3 20 0 17

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				UCF	MIA
	TD	08:33	Travis Benjamin 25 Yd Pass From Robert Marve (Matt Bosher Kick)	0	7
	FG	05:35	Matt Bosher 35 Yd	0	10
SECOND QUARTER				UCF	MIA
	TD	07:22	Johnell Neal 62 Yd Interception Return (Daren Daly Kick)	7	10
FOURTH QUARTER				UCF	MIA
	SF	13:31	Ball Through End Zone	7	12
	TD	05:21	Graig Cooper 5 Yd Run (Jacory Harris Run For Two-Point Conversion)	7	20
	TD	04:57	Joe Burnett 91 Yd Kickoff Return (Daren Daly Kick)	14	20

MIAMI -- Graig Cooper had a career-high 23 rushes for 90 yards, including the clinching touchdown after a muffed punt return late in the fourth quarter and Miami pulled out a sloppy 20-14 victory over Central Florida on Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak.

Robert Marve found Travis Benjamin with a 25-yard touchdown pass in the opening quarter for Miami (3-3), offsetting part of a three-interception day for the Hurricanes' starting quarterback.

Miami's defense simply overwhelmed the Knights, forcing Central Florida (2-4) into a school-record 12 punts and only allowing 78 yards.

Joe Burnett had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Shar'eff Rashad had two interceptions and Johnell Neal returned one of Marve's turnovers for a Central Florida TD.

The Knights were poised to get the ball back trailing 12-7 with 5 1/2 minutes left, but Burnett -- major college football's active career leader in punt returns -- dropped the ball at his own 16, Sam Shields recovered for Miami at the 5, and Cooper rushed in on the next play. Jacory Harris ran in the 2-point conversion, and Miami had what seemed like a safe 20-7 lead.

Before Cooper's TD, the teams had gone 24 combined possessions without an offensive point.

The ensuing kickoff was nullified by a penalty, giving Burnett chance to redeem himself. He took advantage, going in for a touchdown and making the score 20-14.

The Knights had one more chance, but on fourth-and-4 from the Miami 36 with 1:52 left, Rob Calabrese's pass for Brian Watters was knocked down by Miami's Darryl Sharpton, and the Hurricanes ran out the clock.

Central Florida came in with 10 interceptions this season, tied for third-best in the nation, and the Knights padded those stats quickly. Marve threw an interception to Rashad on the game's opening drive.

Miami escaped that one unscathed, but wasn't so lucky with the second.

Marve telegraphed a pass toward Benjamin, Neal stepped in front and went 62 yards for a score that drew the Knights within 10-7.

It didn't get easier for Marve, whose third interception came 27 seconds before halftime. He went into the half having completed only 4 of 11 passes for 40 yards, most on the score to Benjamin.

The halftime stats were baffling. Miami outgained Central Florida 168-42, held nearly a 2-to-1 edge in time of possession, allowed Calabrese to connect on just 4 of 18 passes (including eight straight incompletions in one stretch), forced seven punts and blocked one of them -- yet still led by only a field goal.

Central Florida had chances, plenty of them.

The Knights started three possessions in Miami territory in the game's first 15 minutes, and not only didn't score on any, managed zero yards in those series.

And late in the third quarter, the Knights wasted another golden opportunity.

Still down 10-7, Burnett stood at midfield and got drilled by Shields before the ball arrived, costing the Hurricanes a 15-yard penalty. But Central Florida managed minus-5 yards before kicking the ball away once again, the Knights' 11th punt in the first three quarters.