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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tech soaks it up

No. 11 Hokies dominate No. 9 Hurricanes

Virginia Tech’s Jacob Sykes, left, blocks a punt by Miami’s Matt Bosher in the second quarter on Saturday.  (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

Jacory Harris planned to play it cool against Virginia Tech.

The 11th-ranked Hokies blew up that plan in about five minutes, harassing the Hurricanes’ quarterback and dominating No. 9 Miami 31-7 in a downpour Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.

Miami, ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2005, had a chance to take a commanding lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division. Instead, Virginia Tech (3-1, 1-0 ACC), Miami’s third consecutive ranked opponent, cooled off the Hurricanes.

Miami (2-1, 2-1) had given Harris all kinds of time in beating Florida State and Georgia Tech to start 2-0. The Hurricanes had a lot more trouble keeping the Hokies’ pass rush off their star.

After saying this week he looked forward to playing in front of a hostile crowd, he fumbled as he was being sacked on his fifth play, setting up a Hokies touchdown, and his day never got much better.

Harris finished 9 for 25 for 150 yards and was sacked three times.

(1) Florida 41, Kentucky 7: At Lexington, Ky., in one scary moment for Tim Tebow, another Florida laugher turned into the Gators’ worst fear.

Tebow was knocked out of Florida’s victory against Kentucky (2-1, 0-1 SEC) after taking a hard shot to the head in the third quarter.

The Gators (4-0, 2-0) were leading 31-7 and driving deep in Kentucky territory when Tebow was sacked by Kentucky defensive end Taylor Wyndham. As he fell back with Wyndham on top of him, Tebow’s head struck teammate Marcus Gilbert’s leg, violently bending his neck forward.

Tebow lay motionless for several minutes while Commonwealth Stadium fell silent. He sat up with some help then slowly made his way off the field to a loud ovation. He was eventually carted off the field with concussion-like symptoms, vomiting several times as he was taken by an ambulance to a local hospital.

(2) Texas 64, UTEP 7: At Austin, Texas, Colt McCoy and the Longhorns (4-0) got the fast start they had been missing in recent weeks, rolling to a 40-point lead by halftime in a victory over the Miners (1-3).

McCoy passed for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

(3) Alabama 35, Arkansas 7: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Greg McElroy passed for a career-high 291 yards and three touchdowns and the Crimson Tide (4-0, 1-0) opened Southeastern Conference play with an easy victory over the Razorbacks (1-2, 0-2).

Alabama picked on the Arkansas’ beleaguered defense with three huge plays and blocked a punt to win its 18th consecutive league opener.

Iowa 21, (5) Penn State 10: At State College, Pa., Adrian Clayborn returned a block punt for a touchdown and the Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) beat the mistake-prone Nittany Lions (3-1, 0-1).

A year after a 24-23 win knocked Penn State out of the national title race, Iowa took down the Nittany Lions again.

(7) LSU 30, Mississippi State 26: At Starkville, Miss., the Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) stuffed the Bulldogs (2-2, 1-2) at the goal line in the final 2 minutes to preserve their 10th straight victory against Mississippi State.

Brandon LaFell had 101 yards and two touchdown catches.

(13) Ohio State 30, Illinois 0: At Columbus, Ohio, Dan Herron slogged through a downpour for two touchdowns and the Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) collected a second straight shutout for the first time in 13 years with a victory over the Illini (1-2, 0-1).

Ohio State and Terrelle Pryor had zero passing yards in the first half and finished with just 82.

(14) Cincinnati 28, Fresno State 20: At Cincinnati, Tony Pike threw three touchdown passes in a quick-strike offense that was hardly on the field, and the Bearcats (4-0) held on against the Bulldogs (1-3).

Cincinnati came in averaging 48 points per game but was on the field for only 16:18.

(15) TCU 14, Clemson 10: At Clemson, S.C., the Horned Frogs (3-0) showed off their stellar defense and bolstered their BCS buster credentials with a victory over the Tigers (2-2).

Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes.

(16) Oklahoma State 56, Grambling State 6: At Stillwater, Okla., Keith Toston ran for 84 yards and three first-half touchdowns, and the Cowboys (3-1) overpowered the Tigers (2-2).

Oklahoma State piled up 587 yards of total offense.

(17) Houston 29, Texas Tech 28: At Houston, Case Keenum ran 4 yards for a touchdown with 49 seconds left to give the Cougars (3-0) a comeback win over the Red Raiders (2-2).

Houston trailed 21-10 in the first half, but held Tech’s high-powered offense to one second-half score.

(19) BYU 42, Colorado State 23: At Provo, Utah, Harvey Unga ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns and the Cougars (3-1) converted two interceptions and a blocked punt into scores while holding off the Rams (3-1).

Max Hall passed for two touchdowns and ran for another.

(20) Kansas 35, Southern Mississippi 28: At Lawrence, Kan., Todd Reesing threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, and the Jayhawks (4-0) shook off the effects of a midweek fight with the basketball team to defeat the Golden Eagles (3-1).

Kansas had no trouble moving the ball as usual in rolling up 433 total yards.

Georgia Tech 24, (22) North Carolina 7: At Atlanta, quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for two touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jackets (3-1, 2-1 ACC) to a victory over the Tar Heels (3-1, 0-1).

Georgia Tech opened in a 4-3 scheme instead of the 4-2-5 it ran in last week’s 33-17 loss at Miami and the Yellow Jackets held North Carolina to 154 yards.

(23) Michigan 36, Indiana 33: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Tate Forcier’s 26-yard pass to Martavious Odoms with 2:29 left lifted the Wolverines (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) to a victory over the Hoosiers (3-1, 0-1).

Donovan Warren’s interception on Indiana’s next snap sealed the tougher-than-expected victory for Michigan, which was outgained by Indiana despite being favored to win by about three touchdowns.

(25) Nebraska 55, Louisiana-Lafeyette 0: At Lincoln, Neb., Zac Lee passed for 238 yards and a touchdown, Roy Helu Jr. scored twice and the Cornhuskers (3-1) celebrated their 300th consecutive sellout with a victory over the Ragin Cajuns (2-2).