MIAMI — After Jacory Harris threw his second interception of the opening minutes, Miami’s sophomore quarterback went to the sideline with a most unusual reaction.
He laughed.
Rattled? Not in the slightest.
Harris settled down, the Miami defense got rolling — and the result was the Hurricanes’ biggest win in years. Javarris James ran for a career-best 150 yards, Harris threw for three scores and No. 17 Miami knocked off No. 8 Oklahoma 21-20 on Saturday night — in what will join some games from the 1980s as another Hurricanes-Sooners classic.
“Big, huge win for us,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “It’s huge.”
With Oklahoma’s reigning Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford watching from the sideline, still out with a right shoulder injury, Miami scored 21 straight points to take control.
And then they held on, running out the final 4 minutes because James — who still beats himself up over a fumble that turned the tide in Miami’s 51-13 loss to the Sooners two years ago — churned up 38 yards against an Oklahoma defense that came into the game as the nation’s best against the run.
Not anymore.
“It’s our time,” linebacker Jordan Futch said. “We are back.”
Oklahoma’s last trip to the Hurricanes’ home field was last January, when it lost the BCS national championship game to Florida.
This one almost certainly ended any Sooners national title hopes too. Landry Jones threw for 188 yards and DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined to rush for 151 more for Oklahoma.
“They made the plays down the stretch that made the difference,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “We couldn’t come up with the plays to make it happen.”
Jones led a rally. Murray’s 2-yard run late in the third got the Sooners within 21-17, and Miami’s defense dug deep to hold Oklahoma to only a field goal on another drive in the fourth.
But the Sooners never got the ball again. And Miami ended its run of four straight ranked opponents to open the season with three wins.
“Don’t think I won’t enjoy it,” Shannon said. “I will enjoy it.”
