BLACKSBURG, Va. — 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.
Miami, ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2005, had a chance to take a commanding lead in the ACC's Coastal Division. Instead, Virginia Tech (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), Miami's third consecutive ranked opponent, cooled of 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.
In other games involving ACC teams, No. 15 TCU showed off its stellar defense and bolstered its BCS buster credentials with a 14-10 victory at Clemson in Clemson, S.C. Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and the Horned Frogs (3-0) held Clemson to 125 yards in the second half to take control. ... Toney Baker scored from 2 yards out with 6:28 left and North Carolina State's defense made a late stand to preserve a 38-31 victory over Pittsburgh in Raleigh, N.C. Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes and finished 21 of 35 for 322 yards for the Wolfpack (3-1). ... George Johnson recovered a Maryland fumble in the end zone to give Rutgers the lead, and the Scarlet Knights also scored on an interception return in a 34-13 victory over the bumbling Terrapins in College Park, Md. ... Wes Davis recovered a fumble in overtime to foil Wake Forest's drive for a winning touchdown as Boston College held on for a 27-24 victory behind Dave Shinskie's three scoring passesSaturday. The Demon Deacons (2-2, 0-1) had rallied behind Riley Skinner's two touchdown passes in the last 3:44 of regulation before the Eagles (3-1, 1-1) went ahead on a 23-yard field goal by Steve Aponavicius on the first series of overtime. ... Josh Nesbitt ran for twotouchdowns and Georgia Tech's defense made the most of a change to its scheme to beat No. 22 North Carolina 24-7 on Saturday. Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-1) held North Carolina (3-1, 0-1) to 154 yards. ... Thaddeus Lewis threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another score to help Duke beat North Carolina Central 49-14 in the Bull City Gridiron Classic in Durham, N.C.
BIG EAST Cincinnati tops Fresno St.
CINCINNATI - Tony Pike was on the field just long enough to save No. 14 Cincinnati.
Pike threw three touchdown passes in a quick-strike offense that was hardly on the field Saturday, and the Bearcats held on for a 28-20 victory over a Fresno State team that ran all over them for most of the game.
But it was a big gamble on a pass play that helped thwart the Bulldogs (1-3).
Facing fourth-and-2 at the Cincinnati 6-yard line to openthe fourth quarter, Fresno State chose to throw. Ryan Colburn's pass was picked off, and Pike put the Bearcats (4-0) in control with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Mardy Gilyard.
Gilyard also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in another career day. The senior receiver and returner had nine catches for a career-best 177 yards, giving him eight touchdowns in four games.
In another Big East Conference game, Connecticut's Cody Endres threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns as the Huskies beat Rhode Island 52-10 in East Hartford, Conn. ... Delone Carter scored four touchdowns and Syracuse overcame Maine's tricks to beat the Black Bears 41-24 in Syracuse, N.Y. It was the second consecutive victory for the Orange (2-2) and it put them at .500 for the first time in three years, a span of 35games. Maine (2-2) made it interesting, though, executing two onside kicks and two fake punts, and led 17-13 at halftime. The Black Bears, who were hurt by 17 penalties for 132 yards, failed to score again until the final minute.
Sports, Pages 36 on 09/27/2009