Fateful day for ex-Miami Hurricanes

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Baltimore Ravens wear purple, but several of the stars on this team said they still bleed green and orange -- the colors of the University of Miami.

The Baltimore roster is replete with former Canes, and we're not just talking the guys at the bottom of the roster.
Ed Reed is the starting free safety. He had an interception and a 25-yard return Sunday that helped set up a touchdown.

Ray Lewis is the starting middle linebacker. He led the Ravens with 13 tackles, a sack, two quarterback hurries and a tackle for loss.

Willis McGahee is the team's change-of-pace running back. He carried the ball 20 times for 62 yards and one touchdown.

The Ravens, it should be noted, rushed 52 times for 234 yards against and four touchdowns against the Patriots.

``We had a good running game coming in,'' McGahee said, ``but busting the first run just opened everything up. We had three different styles of runners coming in, and we just switched it up and they didn't know how we were going to run the ball. It was a great feeling.''

Not all former Hurricanes went home happy Sunday.

Brandon Meriweather and Vince Wilfork play for the Patriots.

``I feel for Vince,'' Reed said. ``He's a Hurricane, so you know he came to play [Sunday]. Hurricanes don't quit. When we played there, we played a lot of big games and always expected to win. We always expected to go undefeated.''

TIME FOR LEWIS TO STUDY
The Ravens will play Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, who beat Baltimore 17-15 this season.

``I will be [studying] film on the plane going home,'' Lewis said. ``I give my team the 24-hour rule, but for myself, it's back to work. This journey has been up and down. We are on a great journey right now. We know what is going to be coming up next playing in Indy. We know that [Peyton Manning] is probably the best quarterback in the last 10 to 20 years. So here we go again.''



(miamiherald.com)