No. 16 Miami knows defense must get better soon

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — No. 16 Miami pulled off a better escape last week than originally thought.

Forget erasing a 13-point deficit in the final quarter, on the road no less, before beating Wake Forest 28-27 on a touchdown pass from Jacory Harris to Travis Benjamin with about 1 minute left.

The Hurricanes became just the fifth team this season to give up 555 yards or more and win.

So with Virginia (3-5, 2-2) coming on Saturday, Miami (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) is spending this week finding ways to make its injury-ravaged defensive unit better, knowing its hopes in the ACC race are at stake.