(Sports Network) - Jacory Harris threw for 202 yards and three
touchdowns, as 17th-ranked Miami-Florida held on to beat No. 8 Oklahoma,
21-20, in a critical cross-conference battle.

Harris completed 19-of-28 passes and threw two early interceptions, but
overcame the slow start to help the Hurricanes (3-1) take the win. Miami,
which was coming off a 31-7 loss to then-No. 11 Virginia Tech last week in
Blacksburg, also got a career-high 150 rushing yards from Javarris James.

"Oh man, Javarris gave us a big lift today," Harris said. "We knew that we'd
need to have that running game. When he came through and made some late runs
during some clutch situations it really showed us that we could feed off him."

Travis Benjamin caught three passes for 61 yards and a TD in the victory,
which will likely mean a rise in the rankings for Miami.

Oklahoma (2-2), on the other hand, will likely see a drop after suffering its
second loss of the season, as the Sooners' national title hopes took a big
hit. Redshirt freshman Landry Jones, who again filled in for the injured Sam
Bradford, completed 18-of-30 passes for 188 yards and a score, with no
interceptions.

DeMarco Murray ran 23 times for 80 yards and a score for the Sooners, who fell
to 0-2 this season in games played outside of Norman. Cameron Kenney had six
catches for 72 yards and a TD in the setback.

Miami trailed by three at halftime, but used a strong third quarter to pull
ahead for good.

Oklahoma had the ball first to begin the second half, but on the second play
from scrimmage, Brandon Harris sacked Jones, who fumbled the ball away. The
Hurricanes took over at the Sooners' 11-yard line, and on the first play
Harris threw into traffic over the middle to Dedrick Epps for the TD catch.
The score came just 39 seconds into the half to give Miami a 14-10 edge.

Following an Oklahoma punt, Miami took over at its own 27 and marched to
another touchdown. After the 'Canes moved the chains with smaller gains,
Harris found Epps for a 19-yard gain to get the ball across midfield.

The drive seemed to stall there, as Miami faced a 3rd-and-7 at the Oklahoma
38. But after a timeout, Benjamin became open deep down the middle after an
apparent breakdown in coverage, and Harris hit him for the 38-yard scoring
strike. The touchdown, coming with 6:54 left in the quarter, boosted Miami's
lead to 21-10.

Oklahoma, though, responded with a touchdown of its own. The Sooners were
actually set to punt on a 4th-and-10 from the Miami 38, but a roughing-the-
kicker call on the 'Canes kept the drive alive. The flag put the ball at the
23, and Jones connected with Murray on a 21-yard pass play before Murray ran
the remaining two yards into the end zone with 3:43 to go.

After a series of punts, Oklahoma got the ball back with eight minutes left at
the Miami 48 -- thanks to a 51-yard punt return by Dominique Franks -- but
only managed a field goal. The run-heavy drive ended in a 39-yarder from
Jimmy Stevens to get Oklahoma within a point.

However, that score came with 4:18 left, and Miami ran out the clock to seal
the win, getting four first downs to prevent the Sooners from getting another
touch.

"Great, huge win for us tonight against Oklahoma," Miami head coach Randy
Shannon said. "Huge for the University of Miami, South Florida and the
ACC conference going against a tough opponent in Oklahoma. You got to give
credit to coach Bob Stoops' guys. They kept coming back and kept fighting."

Miami struggled in the first quarter, as its first two drives ended in a
Harris interception. The first was a deep heave from Harris that Franks
leapt to catch at the four-yard line before returning it to the 16.

The Sooners then went 84 yards in eight plays, capping the drive on a 16-yard
pass from Jones to Kenney. Jones placed the throw over a Miami defender into
the right side of the end zone, where Kenney made the catch.

Oklahoma began a drive later in the first that bridged into the second
quarter, resulting in a 21-yard field goal from Stevens for a 10-0 lead.

But Miami got back in the game on its next drive, despite starting at its own
nine-yard line. Harris helped get the 'Canes out of the poor field position
with back-to-back throws of 10 and 12 yards to Aldarius Johnson, and on the
next play, James ripped off a 50-yard run after finding a seam up the middle
and cutting to the left sideline.

That brought the ball to the Oklahoma 13, though on the next play Harris had
the ball knocked out of his hands. He recovered, and on 2nd-and-15 threw a
dart to tight end Jimmy Graham, who caught it and plowed into the end zone.
The 18-yard score cut Oklahoma's lead to 10-7 with 8:20 left, and the score
remained that way until halftime.

Game Notes

Miami had 342 total yards, while Oklahoma finished with 341...Chris Brown
finished with 71 yards on 11 carries for Oklahoma...Johnson had four catches
for 45 yards for Miami...Miami leads the all-time series, 4-3. The last time
these teams had played was September 8, 2007, when OU won a 51-13 contest in
Norman.



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