Chestnut Hill, MA (Sports Network) - Duke Johnson rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns as the Miami-Florida Hurricanes defeated the Boston College Eagles 41-32 at Alumni Stadium.
Stephen Morris completed 28-of-45 passes for 207 yards for Miami (1-0), tossing one touchdown and one interception. Allen Hurns finished with a team- best eight receptions for 81 yards.
For the Eagles (0-1), Chase Rettig threw for a career-high 441 yards and two touchdowns, while Alex Amidon caught 10 passes for 149 yards and Tahj Kimble reeled in eight receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown.
BC got the scoring started on its first possession, an 80-yard drive punctuated by a 9-yard touchdown rush from Andre Williams.
The Eagles lead ballooned to 14-0 just a few minutes later when Rettig connected on a 15-yard touchdown strike to Jake Sinkovec.
A one-yard touchdown plunge from Eduardo Clements put Miami on the board with less than a minute left to play in the first quarter.
The Hurricanes knotted up the score at 14-14 just before the close of the first quarter when Denzel Perryman intercepted Rettig and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown.
BC opened the second quarter on a nine-play, 70-yard drive, but had to settle for a Nate Freese 26-yard field goal to go up 17-14.
Miami regained the lead on the ensuing drive on a 54-yard rushing touchdown from Johnson.
With under four minutes to play in the first half, a 37-yard field goal from Freese brought the Eagles to within one, 21-20.
After forcing a Miami three-and-out on the first drive of the second half, BC took the lead when Freese nailed a 30-yard field goal at the 9:52 mark of the third quarter.
Following a 22-yard field goal from Jake Wieclaw midway through the third quarter, the Hurricanes regained the lead, 24-23.
Another long touchdown run from Johnson - this time for 56 yards - extended Miami's lead to 31-23.
The Hurricanes brought their advantage to double-digits following a 24-yard field goal off the foot of Wieclaw early in the fourth quarter.
On Miami's next possession, Morris connected on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Lewis to make it 41-23, its biggest lead of the game.
BC would not go away quietly, however. Rettig added another touchdown midway through the fourth quarter on a 17-yard pass to Kimble to bring the score to 41-30.
The Eagles would drive to Miami's goal-line with just over two minutes remaining in the game, but the Hurricanes made a stand on 4th-and-one to keep BC out of the end zone.
The Eagles added two points in the waning seconds with a safety which narrowed the gap to nine points just before time ran out.
The Hurricanes were successful on 11-of-21 third down conversions, which helped overcome nine penalties.
Game Notes
