When asked to compare Heisman Trophy candidate Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State with a quarterback they have faced, several University of Miami defensive players had a hard time agreeing on one Tuesday.

Defensive tackle Marcus Forston went with Texas A&M's Jerrod Johnson, whose 6-5, 245-pound frame closely resembles Pryor's 6-6, 233-pound measurements.

Linebacker Colin McCarthy picked Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who is much smaller at 6-1 and 215 pounds and didn't even rush for half the yards Pryor did a year ago.

Cornerback Brandon Harris couldn't make a connection to a previous Canes opponent at all. He opted for the most popular comparison for Pryor: 2006 Heisman runner-up Vince Young.

But Harris did share the same opinion with his teammates on one important topic: Pryor isn't first on the 12th-ranked Canes' list of defensive priorities for Saturday's grudge match against the second-ranked Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium.

``Terrelle's a good football player,'' Harris said. ``He brings a lot of talent and diversity to that football team. He does a lot of things well and we have a lot of respect for him. But we don't feel the need to overemphasize the defensive game plan to Terrelle Pryor at all. If we're going to win this game, it's plain and simple: We can't let them run the football.''

Said McCarthy: ``I think if we force them to do one thing -- pass the football instead of running it -- we have a chance to win.''

UM coach Randy Shannon wasn't around when McCarthy and Harris made their comments about Ohio State's most dangerous force on offense. But had he been, he might have smiled like a proud father. STOPPING THE RUN

As tempting as it might be for the Canes to get wrapped up in the challenge of trying to shut down one of the nation's best players Saturday, they aren't doing that at all. Instead, their focus is on slowing tailbacks Brandon Saine (6-1, 219) and Dan Herron (5-10, 202) and preparing to win a physical battle in the trenches against a veteran offensive line.

``Knowing coach [Jim] Tressel and all the years he's been at Ohio State, they're successful when that guy carrying the ball is behind the quarterback,'' Shannon said. ``When that guy is carrying the ball 25, 30 times, that's when Ohio State is doing really good.

``If you're trying to play some kind of defense where somebody is spying the quarterback all the time, they'll run the ball and run you out of the ballpark. We got to do our job. Pass-rush guys have to stay in their lanes. Guys in coverage have to make sure they stay with their guys and break off when [Pryor] comes out and scrambles and stuff like that.''

The Hurricanes produced their first shutout in more than three seasons Thursday against Florida A&M, a competitive Football Championship Subdivision program. But there there were times when mobile Rattlers quarterback Martin Ukpai was able to scramble from pressure as the Canes missed open-field tackles.

That has been a problem against other mobile quarterbacks.

• In last season's 31-7 loss at Virginia Tech, Taylor escaped for 75 yards on 10 carries and the Hokies rolled up more than 272 yards on the ground.

• N.C. State's Russell Wilson ran 16 times for 58 yards and a touchdown and threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns as a dangerous dual threat in a road loss in the 2008 regular-season finale loss.

• Florida State's Christian Ponder ran for 144 yards and threw for 159 in a 41-39 Canes loss in Miami on Oct. 4, 2008.

``We can't leave the DBs back there to hang,'' defensive end Adewale Ojomo said. ``If we get 1-on-1, we've got to get to [Pryor]. We've got to get off those blocks.''

Past experience with mobile quarterbacks -- and maturity -- are big reasons why Harris believes the Canes will be better equipped to handle Ohio State's offense. All week in practice, Harris said, Shannon said he has had receivers ``run around extra to give us a feeling of covering a little longer.''

BIG TEN EXPERIENCE

Another reason the Canes feel better prepared? They experienced what it's like to battle a Big Ten team in the trenches in last year's Champs Sports Bowl loss to Wisconsin. Last year's team, McCarthy said, ``was beat up against the Badgers. This one is fresher.''

``We're definitely a more physical team than we were last year,'' defensive tackle Marcus Forston said. ``[Ohio State] is the same type of team [as Wisconsin]. They do a lot of zone, zone read, zone blocking. So the defensive line as a group has to do a good job of living in their backfield this week.''

More than anything, Harris said, UM's defense believes it has a lot to prove.

``We just have a chip on our shoulder,'' McCarthy said. ``We let a lot of games go last year that as a defense we could have won if we just came up with stops.

Said Harris: ``We feel like this game could be a turning point for our defense. If we can come out and stop a big-time offense and keep a Heisman candidate under control -- that would do wonders for our defense.''

But it doesn't have to happen.

This game can be the defining road win of the Randy Shannon era, with attempts against elite teams like Oklahoma two seasons ago and Virginia Tech last year having failed.

But it doesn't have to be.

A win Saturday can absolutely make the Hurricanes' season just two weeks into it. But a loss absolutely won't cost a thing.

For all the reasons Miami has to win this game, it feels more necessary than it actually is.

But in reality, this game for the Hurricanes is essentially a freebie. A win could mean a lot. A loss means almost nothing. And playing the game with that mind-set -- the pressure-free mentality that often gives underdogs an edge -- is the best approach for those Hurricanes who were robbed of a second consecutive national title thanks to a tardy, questionable-at-best interference call at the worst possible moment.

When it comes to actual meaning, this game means more to the Hurricanes fans than the players currently wearing the uniforms, and that includes the former players who can be little more than fans at this point.

ANCIENT HISTORY

As much as players might want to talk about it, revenge is a concept that means nothing to the Hurricanes this season, not when it concerns a game that happened eight years ago. If the Hurricanes lose on Saturday, sure they've lost a chance to exact some vengeance for that injustice in 2003, but that's about all they will have lost. Should UM drop to 1-1, it will still have 10 games to play in the regular season. And if the Hurricanes win those remaining 10 games, they will not only be preparing to play in a conference championship game, but they will also be in the heart of the national championship conversation.

This isn't assuming the Canes will win the remaining 10 games on the schedule. This isn't even suggesting this team is good enough to make that run (no one really knows yet). But if they do, the only loss on the résumé will have been to the No. 2 team in the nation on the road. That record would likely give the Canes a better argument for a national title berth than even an undefeated Boise State or TCU team, and would certainly align them with a one-loss team from a major conference.

So there's no pressure here. Not any real pressure anyway. Just the kind of internal motivation players at this level always search for anyway.

It's why Shannon spent the first several minutes of his weekly news conference Tuesday essentially downplaying the game as little more than an ``opportunity.''

It's why linebacker Colin McCarthy used the phrase ``great opportunity'' several times in his first few sentences Tuesday.

This game is a chance to do something special, but it isn't required for this team to succeed, or even to be special.

That means Jacory Harris shouldn't feel any pressure. He was never considered to be Terrelle Pryor's peer anyway, so why put any undue stress on yourself?

That means the defense should feel no pressure. This OSU offense is supposed to be more physical than UM's defense -- nearly the same defense that got pounded by Wisconsin to end last season and isn't necessarily better-suited to handle the bulk of the Big Ten. Without that added pressure, maybe the speed advantage will actually show up.

``This is a great chance to see where we are as a team,'' McCarthy said.

CAREFREE ATTITUDE

That might sound like the Hurricanes aren't sure they belong in the same class as Ohio State, but you know that's not true. Every UM team believes it can be elite, whether they're preseason top 15 or in the depths of probation.

McCarthy is simply acknowledging what this game actually is. It's an opening. But if Miami doesn't walk through it now, it doesn't close up. Not yet.

There's far too much left to play for.

The Canes should play like they believe they're OSU's equal, but without the nerves that force you into mistakes.

Make no mistake, win or lose, every other game on the schedule will start carrying that pressure.

This one, though, is a freebie. Treat it that way, and they might get the revenge they so badly want.