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Big East roundup
Big East Game of the Week
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No. 2 Virginia Tech 43, No. 19 Miami 10 |
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Virginia Tech rolled with a monster second half and looks like it'll roll right into the national championship game. Led by a defense that forced six turnovers, including three interceptions by cornerback Anthony Midget, and two touchdown runs by Shyrone Stith, No. 2 Virginia Tech sidestepped No. 19 Miami 43-10 Saturday night and kept alive its drive to the Sugar Bowl and a national title.
After coming back from an early 10-point deficit to take a 14-10 halftime lead, the Hokies (9-0, 5-0 Big East) blew open the fiercely fought game in the fourth quarter on a 64-yard punt return for a TD by Ricky Hall and a 51-yard fumble return for a score by Ike Charlton 24 seconds later. After Shayne Graham's third field goal of the game, a 42-yarder with 10:27 left, the Hokies added this finishing touch: Andre Kendrick ran 58 yards, was hit and fumbled into the end zone and wide receiver Andre Davis fell on the ball for a touchdown. The Hokies scored the game's final 43 points to beat Miami (5-4, 3-1) for the fifth straight time.
As long as Virginia Tech avoids upsets at the hands of Temple and Boston College (at home) in the next two weeks, they'll advance to the Sugar Bowl, probably to play Florida State or Florida, with Nebraska a third possibility. |
Other Big East action
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Pittsburgh 37, Notre Dame 27 |
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John Turman, benched more a month ago, threw two touchdown passes to Antonio Bryant and Kevan Barlow scored twice as the Panthers upset heavily favored Notre Dame in the final game in 74-year-old Pitt Stadium.
Hundreds of fans in the overcapacity crowd brought down the goal posts after Notre Dame's Jarious Jackson threw incomplete into the end zone on fourth down with nine seconds left, causing the officials to wave off the final seconds. Some fans ripped up small sections of the artificial turf field, some of which already had been sold via an Internet auction, but security officers managed to keep the damage to a minimum.
Turman threw for 231 yards, almost exclusively to the always-open Latef Grim and Bryant, as the Panthers (5-5) staged one of their biggest wins in the 1990s and positioned themselves for a possible bowl bid if they beat West Virginia on Nov. 27. |
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Rutgers 24, Syracuse 21, OT |
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Lee McDonald kicked a 25-yard field goal and Rutgers ended the nation's fourth-longest active losing streak at 11 games with a stunning overtime victory over four-touchdown favorite Syracuse. The win helped Rutgers (1-9, 1-5 Big East) avoid a second winless season in three years. Terry Shea's team was 0-11 in 1997. It also marked the first time that Rutgers has beaten Syracuse (6-4, 3-3) in 12 games since 1986, and this one may have cost the Orangemen a chance at a bowl game.
What made the win even more remarkable was that McDonald, a senior who was a starter in 1997, was forced into the placekicking job when sophomore Steven Barone was suspended on Saturday for an undisclosed violation of team rules. McDonald's wobbly game-winner came five plays after Nate Trout, Syracuse's all-time leading scorer, missed a 31-yard field goal attempt on the opening possession of overtime. The Orangemen had outscored Rutgers 162-17 in the last three games between the teams, and held a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter Saturday. |
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Boston College 34, West Virginia 17 |
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Boston College used big plays to take a big step toward its first bowl berth in five years as Cedric Washington rushed for 181 yards. The Eagles scored third-quarter touchdowns on Pedro Cirino's 63-yard fumble return and Tim Hasselbeck's 66-yard pass to Dedrick Dewalt to break open a game they led 17-10 at halftime. BC (7-2, 4-2 Big East) came back from a bye week to dominate the Mountaineers (3-7, 2-4), who nearly beat Virginia Tech a week earlier. |
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