By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com
October 30, 1999

MIAMI, FLA. – Freshman Clinton Portis scored two second-half touchdowns to lead No. 23-ranked Miami to a 28-20 come-from-behind victory over West Virginia Saturday afternoon in the Orange Bowl.

Portis, a backup tailback, finished the afternoon with 104 yards on 17 carries to lead the Hurricanes.

West Virginia staked out to a 13-0 halftime lead on a stingy defense that blanked Miami in the first half at home for the first time since the ‘Canes lost 28-3 to Florida State in 1984.

The Mountaineers struck first when Marc Bulger found Jerry Porter wide open down the far sideline for a 43-yard touchdown. Porter, who caught five passes for 75 yards, had beaten Miami safety Edward Reed on the play.

WVU extended the lead to 10-0 on a Jay Taylor 33-yard field goal with 12:46 left in the second half.

West Virginia completed the first half scoring when Taylor nailed a 33-yard field goal as time expired.

Miami had an excellent opportunity to score midway through the second quarter when Leonard Myles picked off a Bulger pass inside the West Virginia 20, but the WVU defense forced an Andy Crosland field goal that missed wide left.

"We try to pump up our kids to believe that wherever we get on the field on defense we have to stop the offense," said West Virginia defensive backs coach Tony Pierce.

Miami stuffed West Virginia on its initial possession of the second half, and two plays later James Jackson found paydirt from 17 yards out to trim the margin to 13-7.

West Virginia answered five minutes later on an eight-play, 80-yard drive that ended when freshman Avon Cobourne scored from six yards out to make the score 20-7 with 7:52 left in the third quarter.

After Bulger’s third interception, Miami closed the margin to 20-14 when Kelly found tight end Daniel Franks on an eight-yard scoring play with 51 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Hurricanes took the lead with 10:17 left in the game when a scrambling Kelly eluded the grasp of West Virginia defensive end Antwan Lake, and hit a wide open Portis for a nine-yard touchdown.

UM expanded the lead to 28-20 with 1:49 remaining when Portis hurdled over the West Virginia defensive line from a yard out. The touchdown was set up on a 41-yard Portis run that placed the football at the goal line.

On West Virginia’s final possession, the Mountaineers advanced the ball inside the Hurricane 20, but Bulger’s desperation fling on fourth down was intercepted at the goal line to end the game.

Bulger finished the afternoon completing 32-of-48 passes for 346 yards and one touchdown. His 351 total yards were enough to pass Major Harris for the school record in total offense with 7,425 yards. He now owns 25 school records.

However, the Pittsburgh native threw four interceptions and the Mountaineer offense totaled five turnovers for the afternoon.

It was the fourth time Bulger has thrown two-or-more interceptions in a game this season. As a team, West Virginia has now committed 23 turnovers in eight games.

Khori Ivy led all receivers with a season-high nine catches for 142 yards.

"We played real well as a team, but we just made a couple of mistakes at key points in the game," admitted Ivy. "In order to finish this season strong, we have to improve on that."

Kelly, who was listed as questionable for the game, completed 21-of-34 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Franks and Reggie Wayne each produced 74 yards on five catches.

It was the second straight week Miami has overcome a large halftime deficit to pull out a victory. Last weekend at Boston College, the Hurricanes overcame a 28-0 halftime margin to win 31-28.

Avon Cobourne led West Virginia rushers with 76 yards on 22 carries. The freshman now needs just 36 yards to pass Garrett Ford Jr. (1989) for second place on the single season freshman rushing list with 733 yards.

The loss drops West Virginia to 3-5, while Miami improves to 4-3.

The task doesn’t get any easier for West Virginia next Saturday when the Mountaineers face No. 3-ranked Virginia Tech at Mountaineer Field. That game will be televised by CBS and will kickoff at 3:30 p.m.

Scoring Summary

West Virginia- Porter 43 pass from Bulger ( Taylor kick)
West Virginia- FG Taylor 33
West Virginia- FG Taylor 33
Miami Fla- Jackson 17 run (Crosland kick)
West Virginia- Cobourne 5 run (Taylor kick)
Miami Fla- Franks 8 pass from Kelly (Crosland kick)
Miami Fla- Portis 9 pass from Kelly (Crosland kick)
Miami Fla- Portis 1 run (Crosland kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing: West Virginia-Cobourne 22-76, Bulger 6-7, Team 1-5. Miami Fla-Portis 17-104, Jackson 16-72, Kelly 3-4.