Hasta la vista BC

Diamond Ferri ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns and scored again on an interception Saturday as Syracuse rolled to a 43-17 victory over No. 17 Boston College in Boston, to deprive the Eagles of a Bowl Championship Series berth and a farewell outright Big East title.

BC needed a victory for its first championship in a league that has been depleted by the defections of Miami and Virginia Tech to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles will join them next year but Syracuse, which flirted with the ACC before being bypassed, made sure that they left on a sour note.

Damien Rhodes ran for a 69-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage and 107 yards in all for Syracuse (6-5, 4-2 Big East) before leaving with a leg injury. That pressed Ferri, a third-teamer behind Rhodes and the injured Walter Reyes, into the lead role.

The win elevated the Orangemen into a four-way tie with BC (8-3, 4-2), Pittsburgh and West Virginia for first place in the conference.

Pitt would earn the BCS berth and a possible Fiesta Bowl matchup against Utah with a victory over South Florida next week. BC will go to its sixth consecutive bowl game, but it will be a second- or third-tier event like the Insight or Gator.

Perry Patterson was 9 for 16 for 88 yards, adding 48 yards rushing and a touchdown for Syracuse.

BC was playing without quarterback Paul Peterson, who broke his right hand in last week’s victory over Temple.

Next for Boston College: end of regular season

(7) Louisville 70, Cincinnati 7

Montrell Jones caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt for a score, and the Cardinals (9-1, 7-0) clinched their third Conference USA championship since 2000 with a rout of the Bearcats (6-5, 5-3) in Louisville, Ky.

Brandon Johnson returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and Tiger Jones recovered another blocked punt in the end zone for Louisville, which reached 70 points for the first time since a 72-0 win over Wayne State in 1955.

The Cardinals’ top-ranked offense was unfazed by gusty winds and steady rain, piling up 357 rushing yards and 491 total yards. Eric Shelton rushed for 158 yards and Kolby Smith had three short touchdown runs in Louisville’s fifth game with at least 50 points this season.

Next for Louisville: at Tulane

(8) Georgia 19, Georgia Tech 13

David Greene led Georgia to an early lead over Georgia Tech, then returned at the end with an aching left thumb to make sure the Bulldogs (9-2) held on for a victory over the Yellow Jackets (6-5) in Athens, Ga.

Greene injured the thumb on his throwing hand in the first quarter after tossing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Fred Gibson. The senior quarterback was not expected to return, but he came back in with just over 7 minutes remaining and the Bulldogs (9-2) struggling to hang on to their fourth straight win over the Yellow Jackets.

Greene completed a couple of passes on a 40-yard drive that set up Brandon Coutu’s first career field goal, a 44-yarder with 2:22 left.

Next for Georgia: end of regular season

(11) Virginia Tech 24, (16) Virginia 10

Bryan Randall threw two second-half touchdown passes and the Hokies (9-2, 6-1) moved one victory away from the Atlantic Coast Conference title with a win over the Cavaliers (8-3, 5-3) in Blacksburg, Va.

The Hokies can win the league title and the Bowl Championship Series berth that goes with it by winning next week at No. 9 Miami, the team that moved from the Big East to the ACC with Virginia Tech this season.

The Hokies also deprived Virginia of a share of the league title, slowing the Cavaliers’ running game in the second half and daring quarterback Marques Hagans to try and beat them through the air.

Hagans threw one touchdown pass, a 32-yarder that Alvin Pearman pulled in over Jimmy Williams in the third quarter, but completed just seven other passes before the Hokies went ahead 24-10 with 5:08 to play.

Next for Virginia Tech: at Miami

Next for Virginia: end of regular season

(15) Tennessee 37, Kentucky 31

Gerald Riggs ran 12 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds remaining and the Volunteers (9-2, 7-1 SEC) rallied to beat the Wildcats (2-9, 1-7) in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Volunteers, who clinched a berth in the Southeastern Conference championship game last week, avoided embarrassment with a fourth-quarter comeback after trailing nearly the entire game.

Kentucky lost its 20th straight game to Tennessee.

Next for Tennessee: at Auburn

Texas Tech 31, (23) Oklahoma St. 15

Sonny Cumbie, the nation’s leading passer, had a season-low 281 yards but threw for three touchdowns to lead the Red Raiders (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) to a win over the Cowboys (7-4, 4-4) in Lubbock, Texas.

The Cowboys have dropped four of their last six games following a 5-0 start.

Cumbie, who came in averaging 394 yards passing, was 31 for 46 with an interception. His previous low of 294 yards came two weeks ago in a 42-35 overtime loss at Texas A&M.

Tech took the lead for good, 17-15, after a 13-play drive stalled at the 5 and Alex Trlica hit a 22-yard field goal with 9:43 remaining in the game.

Next for Oklahoma State: end of regular season

Tulsa 37, (24) UTEP 35

Ashlan Davis extended his own NCAA record with his fifth kickoff return for a touchdown this season and the Golden Hurricane (3-8, 2-5 WAC) beat the Miners (8-3, 6-2) in Tulsa, Okla., for their first win against a ranked opponent in more than eight years.

Brandon Diles scored on two short runs and Uril Parrish added 141 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries as Tulsa squandered a 17-point halftime lead before rallying for the win.

Next for Texas El-Paso: end of regular season