Miami Gets Off Block Just In Time

Across the nation

Because it couldn’t get off a punt, West Virginia was kicked out of the national championship picture.

Tremain Mack blocked Brian West’s punt with 29 seconds left and Nathaniel Brooks returned it 20 yards for a touchdown as No. 25 Miami stunned 12th-ranked and previously unbeaten West Virginia 10-7 Saturday night at Morgantown, W. Va.

“I don’t think their punt-protection team’s formation is very sound,” Mack said after West Virginia’s fifth blocked punt of the season. “Once you get outside, there’s no one there to stop you. Their up back stays in the middle to block guys in the middle. We had the block planned out and it worked.”

Miami (5-2, 3-0 Big East) seemingly was only seconds away from a third straight loss and a likely fall out of the top 25. Instead, West Virginia (7-1, 3-1) lost for the first time in nine games and surrendered its lead in the race for the conference’s berth in one of the alliance bowls.

West Virginia held Miami to 58 yards rushing and 104 yards passing, and got its only TD after Mike Logan’s 32-yard interception return to the Miami 3 early in the third quarter.

East

Syracuse 45, Boston College 17: At Boston, Donovan McNabb threw for two touchdowns and ran for two as the Orangemen (4-2, 4-0 Big East) won their fourth consecutive game after trailing the Eagles (4-4, 1-3) midway through the second quarter.

Rutgers 28, Temple 17: At Piscataway, N.J., Derek Ward recovered a fumble by Ramod Lee inches from the goal line with 2:36 to play, preserving the victory for the Scarlet Knights (2-6, 1-4 Big East) as the Owls (1-7, 0-4) lost their 21st consecutive conference road game.

South

(3) Florida St. 31, (14) Virginia 24: At Tallahassee, Fla., Thad Busby passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns, and Warrick Dunn scored on a 65-yard run as the Seminoles (6-0, 5-0 ACC) defeated the Cavaliers (5-2, 3-2), avenging their only ACC loss.

Last year, Virginia ended Florida State’s 29-game Atlantic Coast Conference winning streak with a 33-28 win in Charlottesville, Va.

(13) LSU 28, Mississippi St. 20: At Baton Rouge, La., Kevin Faulk ran for 170 yards and two TDs and passed for a third as the Tigers (6-1, 4-1 SEC) rushed for 246 yards against the Bulldogs (2-4, 1-3).

(24) Southern Miss 31, Tulane 28: At New Orleans, Kendrick Lee’s 29-yard punt return set up Eric Booth’s 1-yard TD run with 6:04 left as the Golden Eagles (7-1, 3-0 Conference USA) denied the upset bid of the Green Wave (2-5, 1-2).

Va. Tech 34, Pittsburgh 17: At Blacksurg, Va., Jim Druckenmiller threw two scoring passes to Shawn Scales, and Ken Oxendine ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns as the Hokies (5-1, 4-1 Big East) overcame the Panthers (2-6, 1-4).

Kentucky 24, Georgia 17: At Lexington, Ky., Derick Logan rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns and the Wildcats (2-6, 1-4 SEC) responded to the firing of coach Bill Curry with a homecoming victory over the Bulldogs (3-4, 2-3).

Curry has been told he will not return after this season.

Georgia Tech 27, Central Florida 20: At Atlanta, Charlie Rogers scored three touchdowns, including one on a schoolrecord 96-yard pass from Brandon Shaw, and the Yellow Jackets (5-2) held off the Knights (2-6), who are in their inaugural Division I-A season.

South Carolina 27, Vanderbilt 0: Scott Moritz scored two touchdowns filling in for injured Duce Staley and the Gamecocks (5-3, 4-2 SEC) converted two second-quarter turnovers into TDs in beating the Commodores (1-6, 0-5) at Nashville, Tenn.

Also: Maryland 22, Duke 19: Blocked punt by Eric Ogbogu sets up winning score. … Navy 47, Wake Forest 18: Chris McCoy runs for 181 yards, Midshipmen total 463 on ground - second best in academy history. … SW Louisiana 13, Memphis 9: Freshman Darren Brister’s two TDs lead Cajuns. … Cincinnati 10, Louisville 7: Bearcats manage just 148 yards and seven first downs but force five turnovers. … Mississippi 38, Arkansas St. 21: John Avery scores twice, including a 97-yard kickoff return, for Rebels. … Louisiana Tech 35, Ala.Birmingham 31: Freshman Bobby Ray Tell scores winning touchdown with four seconds remaining.

Midwest

(2) Ohio State 38, (20) Iowa 26: Stanley Jackson threw two touchdown passes and Damon Moore intercepted three passes as the Buckeyes built a big lead and hung on to defeat the Hawkeyes at Iowa City, Iowa.

The Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) spotted Iowa (5-2, 3-1) an early field goal, then built a 31-6 lead by halftime.

(5) Nebraska 63, Kansas 7: At Lincoln, Neb., Scott Frost threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores to lead the Cornhuskers (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) over the Jayhawks (3-4, 1-2), who played without star running June Henley, who was suspended earlier in the week after being charged with drunken driving.

(10) Michigan 44, Minnesota 10: At Minneapolis, Chris Howard ran for two touchdowns, including an 86-yarder as the Wolverines (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) repeatedly burned the Golden Gophers (3-3, 3-4), claiming the Little Brown Jug for the 10th consecutive year and 27th time in 29 years.

(16) Kansas St. 42, Oklahoma 35: At Manhattan, Kan., Brian Kavanagh (27 of 38 for 342 yards) tied a school record with four TD passes as the Wildcats (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) held off the Sooners (2-5, 2-2), who scored the game’s final 21 points.

(17) Penn State 48, Indiana 26: At Bloomington, Ind., Mike McQueary replaced an ineffective Wally Richardson and sparked the Nittany Lions (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) to 38 second-half points against the Hoosiers (2-6, 0-5), losers of 13 consecutive Big Ten games.

Army 27, Miami, Ohio 7: At Oxford, Ohio, Joe Hewitt ran for 148 yards as the Cadets (7-0) amassed 408 yards on the ground against the Redskins (4-5).

Michigan St. 30, Wisconsin 13: At East Lansing, Mich., freshman Sedrick Irvin rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown and caught a 25-yard pass for another, helping the Spartans (5-3, 4-1 Big Ten) past the Badgers (3-4, 0-4) for their third consecutive victory.

Missouri 35, Oklahoma St. 28 (OT): At Columbia, Mo., quarterback Corby Jones ran for 193 yards and accounted for four touchdowns and Brock Olivo scored on an 8-yard run in overtime as the Tigers (3-4, 1-3) defeated the Cowboys (4-4, 1-4) for their first Big 12 victory.

Southwest

(9) North Carolina 42, Houston 14: At Houston, Chris Keldorf completed 25 of 36 passes for 322 yards and four TDs and Leon Johnson set North Carolina career marks for touchdowns and all-purpose yardage as the Tar Heels (6-1) toppled the Cougars (4-4).

(15) Brigham Young 45, Texas Christian 21: At Fort Worth, Texas, Steve Sarkisian threw for 313 yards and three TDs as the Cougars (8-1, 4-0 WAC) took a 31-7 halftime lead and defeated the Horned Frogs (2-5, 1-3).

Texas Tech 13, Texas A&M 10: At College Station, Texas, Zebbie Lethridge threw an 81-yard TD pass to freshman Sammy Morris with 6:20 left, and Byron Hanspard rushed for 198 yards as the Red Raiders (5-3, 4-2 Big 12) rallied past the Aggies (3-5, 1-4) and into first place in the conference’s Southern Division.

Baylor 49, Iowa State 21: Jerod Douglas ran for 154 yards and two scores and Jermaine Alfred threw for three touchdowns in the third quarter, helping the Bears (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) erase a 14-point deficit against the Cyclones (2-5, 1-3) at Waco, Texas.

Baylor scored the final 42 points of the game.

Rice 48, Texas-El Paso 21: Quarterback Chad Nelson runs for 120 yards and three touchdowns for the Owls. … Southern Methodist 52, New Mexico 31: Ramon Flanigan accounted for four touchdowns and passed for 316 yards for the Owls.

West

(8) Colorado 28, Texas 24: John Hessler replaced injured Koy Detmer and engineered two second-half scoring drives, and safety Steve Rosga made a key interception with 1:35 left, allowing the Buffaloes (6-1, 4-0 Big 12) to hold off the Longhorns (3-4, 2-2) at Boulder, Colo.

(21) Utah 45, Tulsa 19: At Salt Lake City, Juan Johnson, taking over for the injured Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala, ran for a career-best 197 yards and three TDs and also caught a TD pass to lead the Utes (7-1, 5-0 WAC) past the Golden Hurricane (3-4, 1-3).

Air Force 34, Hawaii 7: Beau Morgan had 323 all-purpose yards and scored three TDs as the Falcons (5-2, 4-1 WAC) defeated the Rainbows (2-7, 1-5) at Air Force Academy, Colo.

Also: Colorado St. 27, San Diego St. 18: Calvin Branch runs for a career-high 196 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams. … Fresno St. 34, UNLV 23: Michael Pittman scores three touchdowns and rushes for 131 yards for the Bulldogs.