By KYLE ROBERTS

Sports Writer

After a blowout and a nailbiter leading to a 2-0 start, the Miami Hurricanes stormed past the Bulldogs with a 48-0 shutout on Sept. 18 at the Orange Bowl.

The Hurricanes held the Bulldogs offense to 183 totals yards and the nation's leading rusher Ryan Moats to 81 yards on the ground.

"Miami has a great defense," Tech's head coach Jack Bicknell said. "They're scary good. They did a great job of stopping the run by putting extra guys in the box. We had opportunities to go deep, and we tried. We just didn't make the plays."

Miami wasted no time and scored two touchdowns in the first quarter from sophomore running back Tyrone Moss inside the red zone.

Sophomore kicker Jon Peattie hit his first of two field goals in the second quarter with 13:33 on the clock, which preceded a 52-yard punt return by sophomore Devin Hester for a touchdown and an 11-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brock Berlin (10-14-1) to Darnell Jenkins.

Peattie added his second field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Hurricanes a 34-0 lead at halftime that would prove insurmountable.

Tech's junior quarterback Donald Allen (3-10-0) was put under heavy pressure in the first half by Miami's smothering defense and was sacked five times in the first half.

Second string quarterback Matt Kubik (5-10-0) took over in the second half and connected with Jonathan Holland for a 79-yard pass in the fourth quarter for Tech's only big play of the day.

The special teams could not convert either field goal attempt from Brad Oestriecher and Danny Horwedel in the final quarter, and the Bulldogs remained scoreless.

In the previous week, the Bulldogs had a scare as the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns came to Ruston on Sept. 11, and almost walked away with an upset.

Moats put together his second consecutive game of 257 yards rushing, but first half turnovers for the Tech offense kept UL-Lafayette in the game.

Tech's offense turned the ball over three times deep in Cajun territory in the first quarter on a fumble from junior wide receiver Eric Newman, an interception by Allen (17-28-1) and a fumble by Moats.

"When you have three turnovers in the red zone in the first quarter, it's a nightmare," Bicknell said. "You almost figure that it is just not your day. We are trying to get better, and starting 2-0 is a good feeling."

Oestriecher began the Bulldogs' scoring in the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal. Allen shortly followed with a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior Erick Franklin, and Moats ran in from 13 yards out to put the Bulldogs up 17-0 late in the first half.

The Bulldogs watched the lead slowly whither away as Louisiana-Lafayette's sophomore quarterback Jerry Babb (31-53-1) ran in for a 1-yard touchdown to make the score 17-7 and give the Cajuns momentum.

The Cajuns looked completely different in the second half as kicker Sean Comiskey hit a 41-yard field goal with 11:02 left in the third quarter.

Tech's offense seemed stagnant early in the second half and had to watch Louisiana-Lafayette cut into the lead. Babb connected with senior wide receiver Bill Sampy for a 59-yard touchdown pass that tied the game.

The Cajuns would finally take the lead with 1:19 left in the third quarter on another Comiskey field goal.

In the fourth quarter, the Bulldog offense finally got another score on the board when Allen ran in a 3-yard touchdown with 5:32 left in the game. The defense held on for Tech and stopped Louisiana-Lafayette on the final drive as time expired.

Defense was the name of the game for the Bulldogs in their Sept. 6 contest with the University of Nevada Wolf Pack, as Tech picked up a 38-21 victory at home to start the season with a Western Athletic Conference victory.

Moats put on his first 257 yard performance and led the Bulldog offense with three touchdown runs.

"He's just a fantastic player," Bicknell said. "I kept telling him that he can't get tired. He responded just like any great back. I'm really excited about the season I think he can have."

The win marked Tech's first-ever victory on national television, played in front of 21,127 fans.

After taking a 21-0 lead at halftime, Nevada came out in the second half and gave the Bulldogs a scare but not enough to overcome them.

Neither Allen (5-8-0) nor Kubik (3-8-0) had outstanding games, but both played well enough to keep the Bulldogs on top.

The Miami shutout was Tech's first since 1993 against the Tennessee Volunteers, who Tech will play Saturday at 6 p.m. in Knoxville.