Miami Dips To 11-Year Low, Falls To Unranked Virginia Tech

Dwayne Thomas ran for 165 yards and a touchdown to lead Virginia Tech to a 13-7 victory over No. 17 Miami, marking the first time the Hurricanes have lost to an unranked team in 11 years.

Miami drove from its 25 to the Virginia Tech 25 in the final 2 minutes, but substitute quarterback Ryan Clement’s fourth-down pass to Yatil Green with 23 seconds left was broken up at the goal line.

A mass of fans in the sold-out stadium stormed the field to celebrate the first victory by Virginia Tech (1-1 Big East, 2-1) over Miami (0-1, 1-2) in 13 meetings.

Miami had won its last 71 games against unranked opponents. Its last loss to a team outside the Top 25 was 42-40 against Maryland on Nov. 10, 1984. Virginia Tech was ranked No. 24 in the preseason poll.

Virginia Tech, which had some costly turnovers in its first two losses, played conservatively on offense and missed four field goals, but used an aggressive, blitzing defense to stifle Miami. The Hokies had six tackles for losses and six sacks for 70 yards.

Tech was ahead 10-7 at halftime, but could have been up 23-7. The Hokies missed two field goals and Bryan Still let a touchdown pass slip through his hands early in the second quarter.