Behind three touchdown passes from Jacory Harris, the Hurricanes overcame a sluggish start and were able to score against Oklahoma (without Sam Bradford) 21–20, knocking Oklahoma out of national championship contention, with the Hurricanes having previously been beaten at Oklahoma 51–13 in 2007. Playing without defending Heisman Trophy winner Bradford, who missed the game with a sprained shoulder, Oklahoma controlled the early part of the game, intercepting Harris on the Hurricanes' first two possessions and taking a 10–0 lead early in the second quarter. On the Hurricanes' next series, Harris shook threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham to bring the Hurricanes within 3. The game seemed to turn on the opening kickoff of the second half when a tackle by special teamer Corey Nelms backed up Oklahoma on its own 15-yard line. Two plays later, cornerback Brandon Harris sacked Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, causing him to fumble. The ball was recovered at the 11-yard line by Miami's Joe Joseph, and on the next play, Jacory Harris gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the night with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dedrick Epps. After another Oklahoma punt, Harris put the Hurricanes up 21–10 with a 38-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Travis Benjamin. Oklahoma responded with a 9-play, 81-yard touchdown drive on its next possession (kept alive by a dubious roughing the kicker penalty on a punt) and added a field goal with 4 minutes 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter to cut the score to 21-20. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops then elected to kick deep rather than attempt an onside kick, and the Hurricanes, behind effective running by Javarris James (15 rushes, 150 yards) and a critical third-down conversion pass from Harris, was able to drive deep into Oklahoma territory and run out the clock for its first win over a top 10 opponent in five tries dating back to 2005. Offensive tackle Jason Fox graded out at 99 percent, achieved 3 pancake blocks, and did not allow a sack in a performance for which he was given ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors. Dropped in the rankings by nine spots, Miami headed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina without two starters: LB Sean Spence (who had a knee injury and was replaced by sophomore Ramon Buchanan) and RB Javarris James who had been injured in the lower extremities. Bosher continued his kickoff duties due to Uribe's struggle the previous week. Despite being outgained 555 to 356 (the most the school had trailed by in nine years) and playing behind most of the game, the Hurricanes managed to win 28–27 in BB&T Field after a 13-yard Jacory Harris rainbow pass to Travis Benjamin gave them the lead with 1 minute 8 seconds remaining.