The Other Miami Is Red Hot, Stunning No. 14 Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech has lost to Miami before. But not this Miami.

Thanks to a big-play defense and a trick play, Miami of Ohio surprised No. 14 Virginia Tech, 24-17, Saturday at Blacksburg, Va., snapping the Hokies’ 11-game regular-season winning streak and their 12-game home winning streak.

For Miami (4-1), a 20-point underdog, it was the biggest upset since 1995, when the RedHawks beat Rose Bowl-bound Northwestern in a season when the Wildcats beat Penn State, Michigan and Notre Dame.

In the second quarter, Miami scored on a blocked punt and later, after a 46-run on an option by quarterback Sam Ricketts, the RedHawks scored on a fake field-goal try. Holder Mike Bath handed off to blocker Travis Prentice, who ran 32 yards virtually untouched for a touchdown that gave Miami a 14-10 lead over the Hokies (4-1).

Syracuse 56, East Carolina 0--Donovan McNabb scored two touchdowns and threw for another in leading the Orangemen at Syracuse, N.Y.

It was the first time since they opened the season with a 34-0 victory over Wisconsin that the Orangemen (3-3) played up to expectations. East Carolina (1-3), which had beaten Syracuse two straight times in the Carrier Dome, never had a chance in this one.

West Virginia 48, Rutgers 0--Marc Bulger threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third score before leaving with a hand injury as Mountaineers (4-1, 2-1) rolled to a 48-0 victory over the Red Raiders (0-5, 0-3) in a Big East game at Morgantown, W.Va.

Temple 17, Pittsburgh 13--The Owls (2-4, 2-1) made a late defensive stand for a Big East victory over Pitt (3-2, 1-1) at Philadelphia. Pitt threatened to tie or win after Tray Crayton returned an interception 53 yards to the Temple 18. The Panthers drove to the eight but had to settle for a field goal.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Jose Davis threw for a MAC-record 551 yards and six touchdowns in a losing effort as Central Florida (2-4) rode Daunte Culpepper’s five-touchdown performance to a 59-43 nonconference victory over Kent (1-4) at Kent, Ohio. Davis was 32 for 51. Culpepper was 26 for 35 for 322 yards and four touchdowns. . . . Bob Niemet threw three touchdown passes as Bowling Green (3-3, 3-0) recorded a 35-10 MAC victory over Northern Illinois (0-5, 0-3) at Bowling Green, Ohio. . . . The Akron Zips (1-4, 1-2), who dropped road games this year at Nebraska and Louisiana State by a combined 115-14, cruised to a 53-14 victory over Central Michigan (2-4, 1-2) in a Mid-American Conference game at Akron, Ohio. . . . Steve Hookfin rushed for three touchdowns and 177 of Ohio’s 612 yards as the Bobcats (5-1, 3-0) rolled to 47-7 MAC victory over Eastern Michigan (1-4, 1-3) at Ypsilanti, Mich. . . . Tim Lester threw for 303 yards, including 74 yards on a touchdown late in the fourth quarter that sealed a 21-13 MAC victory for Western Michigan (3-3, 2-2) over over Ball State (1-5, 0-3) at Kalamazoo, Mich.

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

No. 23 Air Force (6-0) remained unbeaten with a 17-3 victory over visiting The Citadel. Despite outgaining Air Force 367 yards to 302, with a career-high 185 yards by Antonio Smith, The Citadel (2-3) lost its 15th straight road game dating to 1994. Smith also had two costly fumbles. . . . Colby Cason tied a school record with five field goals and quarterback Graham Leigh’s ran 57 yards in two carries in the decisive drive as New Mexico (5-0, 2-0), off to its best start in 52 years, notched a 22-15 WAC victory over Southern Methodist (1-4, 0-2) at Albuquerque. . . . Wyoming (4-2) limited Montana (3-1) to 14 yards rushing and 195 passing to defeat the Grizzlies, 28-13, at Laramie, Wyo. . . . Benji Wood scored three touchdowns as Rice (3-2, 1-1) ran away with a 42-24 WAC victory over Tulsa (0-4, 0-1) at Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa had five turnovers. . . . Colorado State (3-2, 1-1) rolled to a 63-0 WAC victory over Hawaii (2-3, 0-3) at Fort Collins, Colo., as Moses Moreno passed for two touchdowns, Jaime Blake ran for two more and Geoff Turner and Darran Hall each scored on punt returns.

CONFERENCE USA

Sherrod Gideon had his third straight 100-yard receiving game, including a 67-yard touchdown play, as Southern Mississippi (3-2, 1-0) continued its dominance over Louisville (1-5, 0-1) with a 42-24 at Hattiesburg, Miss. . . . Chad Plummer ran two yards for the decisive touchdown and Memphis (1-4, 0-1) lost two pivotal fumbles in the fourth quarter as Cincinnati (1-1, 4-1) held on for a 20-17 Conference USA victory at Cincinnati. . . . Shaun King threw three touchdown passes to JaJuan Dawson and Tulane (2-2) shut down the No. 2 rushing offense in the country in 41-0 victory over Army (1-4) at New Orleans.

SOUTHLAND

Redshirt freshman Charles Dunn rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns in a school-record 41 carries as Portland State (1-4, 1-2) won its first game of the season with a 26-13 Big Sky victory over Cal State Northridge (2-3, 0-1) at Portland, Ore. . . . Cecil Churchill’s one-yard run provided the winning margin in a 28-21 victory Redlands (3-1, 1-0) over Cal Lutheran (1-3, 0-1) at Thousand Oaks. Marty Rincon threw two touchdown passes for Redlands in the Southern California Athletic Conference game. . . . An 82-yard scoring run by Ordell Williams and a 64-yard pass play from Brent Meier to Jason Flick proved too much for visiting Claremont Mudd (0-4, 0-2) in a 17-6 SCIAC victory for La Verne (2-2, 1-1).