Coker Knows Right Thing Not to Say

Want to get Larry Coker on his toes?

Just ask the Miami football coach if he thinks Nebraska deserves to be the Hurricanes’ opponent Thursday in the Rose Bowl national championship game.

Coker tiptoes around the subject as if it were a pit bull sleeping in his path.

“I really think the whole thing is a little bit ridiculous,� Coker said of the controversy over the selection of the Cornhuskers after Nebraska lost its final regular-season game to Colorado, 62-36. “This is the system we agreed to play under.

“I know they keep hearing, ‘Why are you there? Why are you there?�’ Coker said. “They know why they are here. They know what they are capable of.�

Coker, of course, doesn’t want to say anything that would wind up on thebulletin board, anything that would further motivate the Cornhuskers.

Coker has seen inspired Nebraska teams in the past and it wasn’t a pretty sight for those on the opposing sideline.

He spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, Nebraska’s archrival.

And he still carries with him an image from the ‘80s when he was offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

Coker spotted a recreational vehicle, driven by an obvious Nebraska booster, that bore a bumper sticker reading “Avenge ’54.�

That referred to 1954, the year Oklahoma beat Nebraska, 55-7.

“They still hadn’t forgotten it 30 years later,� Coker said.

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Lawry’s The Prime Rib restaurant in Beverly Hills kicked off its 46th annual Beef Bowl Friday night with a dinner for the Miami players. The Cornhuskers will follow tonight.

Carlos Joseph, a 6-6 freshman offensive lineman who weighed 322 pounds coming in the door, won the team eating championship by consuming five prime rib dinners.

Miami was on a roll heading into its last regular-season game, having held five consecutive opponents to seven points or less. In all, the Hurricanes outscored those opponents, 225-17.

Then came the finale against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., where Miami struggled to a 26-24 victory.

The Hurricanes hung on only because Hokie receiver Ernest Wilford dropped a two-point conversion that would have forced a tie.

It wasn’t pleasant at the time, but, looking back, Coker figures the squeaker might have been the best thing for his team.

“If we had beaten Virginia Tech by a wide margin,� Coker said, “we could have flown into Los Angeles without an aircraft. We would have been extremely confident, to an unhealthy degree.�

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Asked who he wanted to see in the Rose Bowl, Hurricane tailback Clinton Portis said, “Halle Berry.�