TOLEDO, Ohio _ For the better part of a half, the Miami Hurricanes looked every bit the favorite they were supposed to be against an upset-minded Toledo team hoping to make history at its famed Glass Bowl Stadium.
Then they lost one of their top defensive players and things got dicey.
Twice in the second half, with preseason All-American safety Jaquan Johnson on the sidelines because of a right hamstring injury, the Rockets pulled within a touchdown. And both times, one of the Miami's most maligned players helped the Hurricanes answer.
Quarterback Malik Rosier _ who has been scrutinized and questioned by Hurricanes fans because of his sometimes erratic, streaky play _ put together one of the best games of his career and was responsible for five touchdowns on Saturday afternoon helping No. 21 Miami earn a hard-fought 49-24 win over the Rockets.
Rosier's five touchdowns _ three that came via run plays and two via pass plays _ were a career high for the redshirt senior. His 37-yard scoring run with 12:18 left staked Miami to an 18-point lead and sent many of the 28,117 fans in attendance to the exits.
The quarterback finished the day 13 of 23 for 205 passing yards with his two touchdown passes. He also had eight carries for 80 yards. Receiver Jeff Thomas, who has emerged as one of Rosier's top targets through the first three games of the season, was electrifying again. He finished with five catches for 105 yards, his 38-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter giving Miami a 14-0 lead.
Also putting together a dominant effort Saturday was sophomore running back DeeJay Dallas, who finished with a game-high 17 carries for 110 yards.
Dallas, who made headlines this week after saying the Hurricanes were coming to Toledo to "crush" the Rockets' dream of an upset, also delivered one of the biggest plays of the day for Miami.
With Toledo having cut it to, 21-14, early in the third quarter after Art Thompkins' 5-yard scoring run, Dallas scored on a 19-yard run that put Miami back on top by two touchdowns.
One play before that, Rosier and Thomas connected on a 41-yard pass play that came on third down and extended the drive.
After Toledo cut it to, 28-21, later in the third quarter, Rosier helped Miami regain its 14-point margin with a 5-yard scoring pass to Lawrence Cager.
From there, all the Rockets would muster was a fourth-quarter field goal while Miami's lead continued growing.
In Saturday's win, the Hurricanes (2-1) seemed to have solved several problems that have plagued them early in the year. They were 7 of 15 on third-down conversions, outrushed the Rockets 268-112 and had no penalties.
