The stats are almost alarming: Jacory Harris connected for 210 yards and three touchdown passes in two quarters. The 'Canes scored 35 points in a half for the first time since December of '02. Their opponent was held to 52 yards on 39 carries.

But then, they should be. It was Florida A&M, after all, who are valient and brave and a Division I-AA program through and through. If Miami didn't beat them 45-0 on a Thursday night season opener, we'd be worried.

The real challenge comes next Saturday for the 'Canes, when they visit 2002 national championship foe Ohio State. While a rout of FAMU doesn't indicate how they'll fare against the second-ranked team in college football, it does shore up the young Hurricanes' claims that they've finally figured it all out.

"A lot of things we learned from last year really helped us out," coach Randy Shannon said. "Now we're an older group and they don't look ahead anymore. They stay focused on what we're trying to get done. They could have come out here and started off flat or got in a frenzy early and then in the second quarter went to sleep. But they didn't."

Indeed. The Canes earned a touchdown on each of their first four possessions, and all three of the top backs on the depth chart -- Mike James, Lamar Miller, and Damien Berry -- scored.

Sophomore safety Ray Ray Armstrong notched his first interception, and then returned it 22 yards for a score.

Leonard Hankerson's six catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns have the once-derided receiver tied for 10th in UM history with career touchdown passes.

Sophomore defensive end Olivier Vernon recorded six solo tackles and three and a half sacks, witnessed by a crowd of 53,674 -- the third-highest since the Hurricanes moved to Sun Life Stadium.

It wasn't perfect -- neither backup quarterback stood out, and there wasn't a single catch by a tight end -- but it was the perfect confidence-builder before heading into hostile territory in Columbus.

"Everybody else outside of your teammates [wants] to see the OSU game," said Jacory, or maybe it was J12. "They looked past FAMU. But as a team, we kept focus on FAMU and it showed out there because we were prepared."

And just like that, once it was over, the focus shifted.

"We know the magnitude of [the Ohio State] game...We know what's at stake." junior cornerback Brandon Harris said. "This game will put us in position to get us closer to our goal of winning a national championship this year. This is it. This year is the year we've been preparing for over the last couple of years. Week 2 is going to be a great test for us."