MIAMI -- Quarterback Kenny Kelly has started just five games for the Miami Hurricanes.

But in those 20 quarters, Kelly has made a season's worth of improvement.

Kelly, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Tampa, played his best game with the Hurricanes last week against No. 1 Florida State. He was 27-of-41 for 370 yards and three touchdowns.

He stayed in the pocket longer than he did in previous outings, made better decisions and better throws, and he seems equally poised to lead the 24th-ranked Hurricanes (2-3, 0-0 Big East Conference) through their conference schedule, which begins Saturday against Temple (1-5, 1-1).

"You can just tell Kenny's confidence has risen to a different level," linebacker Dan Morgan said. "We saw some great effort from him last Saturday, and he's going to get better and better. And that's going to be scary for other teams."

Despite losing 31-21 to the Seminoles, Kelly certainly scared Florida State. He led the Hurricanes to three first-half touchdowns and a 21-14 lead, the only time Florida State has trailed all season.

"I knew it was going to come around sooner or later," Kelly said. "I prepared well and I felt good. It was just a matter of time before my time was going to come. Saturday was my time."

Kelly's time was supposed to have come earlier this season.

Also an outfielder in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization, Kelly took over Miami's starting quarterback job this fall and led the Hurricanes to an upset of Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic.

Then he struggled in losses to Penn State and East Carolina, scrambling when it wasn't necessary. He threw four interceptions against the Nittany Lions and completed just 40 percent of his passes against the Pirates.

"It's all part of the growth process and he had a growth spurt" against FSU, Miami coach Butch Davis said. "He played like we expect him to play for the next two years."

No pressure, right?

"After a game like that, he's going to have a lot expectations," wide receiver Andre King said. "They expect him to throw for 370 yards every week, but in reality that's probably not going to happen.

"He just needs to be himself and keep getting better. He's a great athletes and he's making great decisions. You can just see him getting more and more confident in the pocket as he's calling plays and throwing the ball."

With two more years of eligibility remaining, Kelly could be the key to Miami's climb back to national prominence.

"I don't consider myself a rookie anymore," said Kelly, who has thrown for 1,053 yards and eight touchdowns. "I know the offense and I've got five games under my belt, so I'm pretty much a veteran."