Moss leads Miami past Clemson in three overtimes

Tyrone Moss’ 25-yard touchdown run in the third overtime lifted No. 13 Miami to a 36-30 victory over No. 20 Clemson Saturday in Clemson, S.C., and helped the Hurricanes avoid their first 0-2 start in 27 years.

Moss bounced out to the right side for his scoring run and safety Kenny Phillips intercepted Charlie Whitehurst when the Tigers (2-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got their chance in the third extra period.

Phillips’ play ended the game and gave the Hurricanes (1-1, 1-1) a reason to forget their miserable 10-7 loss at Florida State nearly two weeks ago.

Moss finished 139 yards rushing and three touchdowns, two in overtime. His 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter put Miami up 20-10, while his 3-yard scoring run gave the Hurricanes a brief 27-20 lead in the first overtime.

It was Clemson’s first OT defeat after coming in 5-0.

Miami seemed like it would have its Death Valley revenge after Moss’ first score with 14:20 left in the game.

But the Tigers, who have already rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Texas A&M and Maryland this season, did it again to force overtime.

Whitehurst had a 1-yard quarterback sneak touchdown to cut the lead to three points with 2:58 to go. Then after the Hurricanes punted, Whitehurst led a 46-yard drive that ended with Jad Dean’s tying field goal from 27-yards out.

(2) Texas 51, Rice 10

Freshman Jamaal Charles ran for 189 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start to lead the Longhorns (3-0) over the Owls (0-2) in Austin, Texas.

Charles had a pair of 25-yard scoring runs in the first quarter and added another 4-yard TD in the second as Texas built a 42-0 lead by halftime. He had four runs of 20 or more yards in his first 10 carries.

(4) Virginia Tech 45, Ohio 0

Marcus Vick threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and the Hokies (3-0) got their second shutout in a row with a win over the Bobcats (1-2) in Blacksburg, Va.

The Hokies, who blanked Duke 45-0 last Saturday, turned three turnovers into touchdowns and turned the Bobcats away twice deep in Tech territory. Brooks Rossman missed a 36-yard field goal, and an interception ended the other drive.

(6) Florida 16, (5) Tennessee 7

The Gators (3-0, 1-0) held the Volunteers (1-1, 0-1) scoreless in the second half, took advantage of three special teams errors and won in Gainesville, Fla., to give new coach Urban Meyer a resounding victory in his Southeastern Conference debut.

The Gators had lost three of the last four against the Vols, including two in a row at Florida Field. They ended that streak and got an early edge in the Eastern Division race.

(7) Georgia 44, Louisiana-Monroe 7

Danny Ware rushed for 109 yards and Martrez Milner caught three passes for 79 yards and a TD as the Bulldogs (3-0) rolled to a win over the Indians (0-3) in Athens, Ga.

D.J. Shockley completed 13 of 20 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown and added a 28-yard touchdown run while playing three quarters for Georgia.

(8) Florida State 28, (17) Boston College 17

A.J. Nicholson intercepted two passes, scoring on a 19-yard return on the first play of the game, and Greg Carr caught two touchdowns to help the Seminoles (3-0, 2-0) spoil the ACC debut of the Eagles (2-1, 0-1) in Boston.

Nicholson’s interceptions sparked the Seminoles to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes before BC scored 17 unanswered points to take the lead. The Eagles nursed the lead until QB Quinton Porter left with an ankle injury and Florida State took advantage.

(9) Ohio State 27, San Diego State 6

Santonio Holmes’ punt returns set up Troy Smith’s two first-half touchdown runs to help the Buckeyes (2-1) shake off their Texas hangover with a win over the Aztecs (0-3) in Columbus, Ohio.

The Buckeyes, who lost 25-22 to No. 2 Texas last week before a record home crowd, took a while to find their bearings – trailing 6-0 just 11 seconds into the game.

San Diego State shocked the Buckeyes on the first play from scrimmage when Kevin O’Connell tossed a quick sideline pass to Brett Swain, who turned the corner at right end behind a block by Robert Ortiz and raced 80 yards untouched.

(14) Michigan 55, Eastern Michigan 0

Max Martin ran for two touchdowns, then Chad Henne threw two TD passes to Jason Avant as the Wolverines (2-1) tied a school record with 28 points in the first quarter and cruised past the Eagles (1-2) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

A week after losing to Notre Dame, the Wolverines recorded their most lopsided win since beating Indiana 58-0 in 2000. They led 54-0 early in the fourth quarter after scoring on 9 of 10 possessions and shut out a team for the first time since a 38-0 victory over the Fighting Irish two years ago.

(16) Georgia Tech 28, Connecticut 13

Georgia Tech stayed unbeaten, even with Reggie Ball in the hospital.

Redshirt freshman Taylor Bennett threw a touchdown on his first college pass, backup tailback Tashard Choice scored the first two TDs of his career and the Yellow Jackets (3-0) defeated the Huskies (2-1) in Atlanta.

Bell, coming off a career-best 320 yards passing the previous week, began feeling ill Friday and was taken to the hospital Saturday morning, school officials said. He was undergoing tests and scheduled to be kept overnight.

(19) Texas Tech 80, Sam Houston State 21

Cody Hodges threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns in the first half to lead the Red Raiders (2-0) to their highest scoring game in 52 years in a win over the Division I-AA Bearkats (1-2) in Lubbock, Texas.

(22) Iowa 45, Northern Iowa 21

Drew Tate returned from a concussion to throw two touchdown passes and Albert Young ran for two more scores, leading the Hawkeyes (2-1) to a victory over the Panthers (2-1) in Iowa City, Iowa.

(25) Virginia 27, Syracuse 24

Connor Hughes kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired, and the Cavaliers (2-0) escaped with a victory over the Orange (1-2) in Syracuse, N.Y.

Marques Hagans, who gained 110 yards rushing and was 16 for 26 for 145 yards passing, shook off three interceptions to lead the Cavaliers on their winning drive.