MIAMI (Ticker) -- For the first time in coach Larry Coker's tenure, No. 7 Miami will try to bounce back from a regular-season defeat on Saturday when it hosts No. 17 Tennessee.
Miami quarterback Brock Berlin struggled badly under constant pressure in last week's 31-7 loss at Virginia Tech. He was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for an interception.
But Coker is not ready to make a change as Berlin will remain the Hurricanes' starter after getting benched in the third quarter against the Hokies.
"I am not going to put him on a short leash," Coker said. "But we're going going to allow poor decisions to hurt our football team by any player."
Miami will be without cornerback Antrel Rolle, who was suspended for the game after getting into an altercation with Virginia Tech's DeAngelo Hall in the fourth quarter.
"We've got to put this game in the past," Berlin said. "It was a devastating loss for us, but we're going to put this behind us. All we can do is think about Tennessee."
The Hurricanes are coming off their first in-season defeat since a 34-29 setback at Washington on September 9, 2000. Coker, whose only previous defeat came to Ohio State in last season's Fiesta Bowl, had won 29 straight regular-season contests in his two-plus seasons at Miami.
While the defeat did not end completely Miami's national championship hopes, it did put the Hurricanes (7-1) in a position of needing help. The Hurricanes slipped from second to fourth in the BCS standings behind Oklahoma, Southern California and Florida State.
The setback also knocked Miami into a second-place tie with Virginia Tech in the Big East Conference, one-half game behind Pittsburgh.
Two other streaks ended for Miami - its 27-game Big East winning streak and an 18-game run on the road.
The Hurricanes have won 26 straight games at the Orange Bowl and has not lost two in a row since 1999.
Tennessee (6-2) is coming off a sluggish 23-6 victory over lowly Duke, a game in which the Volunteers led, 9-6, entering the fourth quarter.
Casey Clausen joined Peyton Manning as the only Tennessee quarterbacks to win at least 30 games. Manning posted a 39-6 record from 1994-97.
Saturday's contest marks just the third meeting between Miami and Tennessee. The Volunteers upset the second-ranked Hurricanes, 35-7, in the 1986 Sugar Bowl while Miami posted a 26-3 victory at Tennessee last season.
The Volunteers last played at the famed facility in South Florida when they suffered a 26-24 setback to Oklahoma in the 1968 Orange Bowl. Tennessee did play Nebraska in the Orange Bowl game at Joe Robbie Stadium in 1998.
