CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — First Virginia knocked Jacory Harris from a scoreless game, then it dashed No. 22 Miami’s (5-3, 3-2) hopes for the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division title in one afternoon.
Keith Payne ran for two touchdowns and the Cavaliers (4-4, 1-3) tied a school record with five interceptions - four against Harris’ backups - in a 24-19 upset Saturday.
“When you chop the head off a giant, the rest of the body goes with it,” said defensive tackle John-Kevin Dolce, who squared up Harris’ chest just as he released a pass, sending him airborne.
Harris’ head appeared to hit the turf first, and he remained down for four minutes.
Chase Minnifield intercepted the pass, and there was no flag on the play.
Harris eventually rose to cheers and was helped to the locker room. He did not return, and Hurricanes Coach Randy Shannon said he had no information on Harris’ condition.
In other games involving ACC teams, Chase Rettig threw a 36-yard touchdownpass to Montel Harris, Nate Freese made two field goals and Boston College (3-5, 1-4) stopped a five-game losing streak by holding off Clemson (4-4, 2-3) for a 16-10 victory in Boston. ... Johnny White’s 67-yard touchdown run with 5:27 to play capped North Carolina’s (5-2) rally from 10 points down in the fourth quarter and lifted the Tar Heels past William & Mary 21-17 in Chapel Hill, N.C. ... Danny O’Brien threw a career-high four touchdown passes, Kenny Tate and Ryan Donohue each scored on interception returns and Maryland (6-2, 3-1) rolled past Wake Forest (2-5, 1-4) 62-14 in College Park, Md., to become bowl eligible. ... Sean Renfree passed for 314 yards, threw for a touchdown, and ran for two more scores and Duke (2-6) nearly blew a 24-point lead before beating Navy (5-3) 34-31 in Annapolis, Md.
CONFERENCE USA Tulsa stuns Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - John Flanders intercepted a pass in the end zone with 36 seconds left, stopping Notre Dame’s final drive Saturday as Tulsa pulled off one of the biggest victories in school history, stunning the Irish 28-27.
G.J. Kinne hit a 31-yard pass to Ricky Johnson on a thirdand-26 and also connected on a 32-yarder to Genesis Cole to set up Kevin Fitzpatrick’s 27-yard field goal with 3:23 left, giving Tulsa the one-point lead.
Notre Dame drove down the field behind backup quarterback Tommy Rees, who entered the game in the first quarter when starter Dayne Crist left with a knee injury. Reese completed a 26-yard pass to Michael Floyd that carried to the Tulsa 32 as the Irish (4-5) tried to get in position for a field goal.
But on a second-and-8 from the Tulsa 19, Rees lofted a pass toward the corner of the end zone and Flanders picked it off. After the Golden Hurricane (5-3) ran out the clock, their players raced to the end zone to celebrate with their band.
Rees threw four touchdown passes but was also picked off three times.
In other games involving Conference USA teams, Brian Ellis threw for three scores and ran for another as Alabama-Birmingham (3-5, 2-2) outlasted Southern Mississippi (5-3, 2-2) in double overtime, winning 50-49. ... Ronnie Weaver had a career-high 180 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Central Florida (6-2, 4-0) took a huge step toward a conference title with a 49-35 victory over East Carolina (5-3, 4-1) in Orlando, Fla. ... Tron Martinez gained a career-high 116 yards and scored on a 1-yard plunge with 1:47 remaining to give Marshall (2-6, 1-3) a 16-12 victory over Texas-El Paso (5-4, 2-4) in Huntington, W.Va. ... Kyle Padron threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Aldrick Robinson to break a fourth-quarter tie, then scored on a 3-yard run to seal a 31-17 victory by SMU (5-4, 4-1) over Tulane (3-5, 1-3) in New Orleans. Padron passed for 354 yards, completing 18 of 32 attempts. ... Freshman quarterback David Piland passed for a career-high five touchdowns and Houston (5-3, 4-1) routed host Memphis (1-7, 0-5) 56-17. BIG EAST
Pitt decks Louisville
PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh’s Jabaal Sheard-led defense forced a fumble that led to a touchdown and never allowed Louisville’s ineffective offense to generate any momentum during a 20-3 victory Saturday that kept the Panthers unbeaten in the Big East.
Ray Graham and Dion Lewis ran for scores in the second half as Pittsburgh (5-3, 3-0) scored the game’s only two touchdowns after settling for a 6-3 halftime lead on two Dan Hutchins field goal.
Louisville (4-4, 1-2) never mounted a scoring drive after Chris Philpott kicked a 35-yard field goal on the game’s opening series.
In another Big East game, Ryan Nassib threw two touchdown passes, taking advantage of Cincinnati’s (3-5, 1-2) numerous turnovers, and Syracuse (6-2, 3-1) extended its best start in nine years with a 31-7 victory over the Bearcats.
Sports, Pages 38 on 10/31/2010