Georgia Ends Frustration Against Georgia Tech

Verron Haynes ran for 207 yards and Billy Bennett kicked six field goals as No. 19 Georgia ended a three-year losing streak to Georgia Tech with a 31-17 nonconference victory over the No. 21 Yellow Jackets on Saturday night at Atlanta.

Tim Wansley returned an interception for the clinching touchdown as the Bulldogs (7-3) strengthened their bowl hopes. They close the regular season next weekend with a makeup game against winless Houston.

Georgia Tech (7-4) plays Saturday at Florida State. Instead of playing in the bowl championship series, the Yellow Jackets face the prospect of dropping all the way to the Seattle Bowl.

Haynes started the year as a fullback known mainly for his blocking. Because of an injury to Musa Smith, he was moved to tailback last week and gained 192 yards against Mississippi.

With his 39-carry performance against Georgia Tech, Haynes has more yards in two games (399) than Georgia’s leading rusher had last season. He scored on a three-yard run in the third quarter and finished off the Yellow Jackets with several tackle-breaking runs in the waning minutes.

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In other games involving Atlantic Coast teams, Philip Rivers threw for 221 yards and a touchdown before injuring a toe, and backup Olin Hannum took North Carolina State on three consecutive scoring drives as the Wolfpack (7-4) beat Ohio (1-10), 27-7, at Raleigh, N.C.... Tarence Williams ran for 140 yards to top 1,000 for the season, and James MacPherson threw two touchdown passes to lead Wake Forest (6-5) past Northern Illinois (6-5), 38-35, in a nonconference game at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Big East

James Mungro ran for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns as No. 22 Syracuse (9-3, 6-1) beat No. 25 Boston College (7-4, 4-3), 39-28, at Syracuse, N.Y., to clinch second place in the conference.... Nick Lotz kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter on drives highlighted by Antonio Bryant’s receiving and Pittsburgh (5-5, 4-3) won its fourth in a row, beating West Virginia (3-8, 1-6), 23-17, at Morgantown, W.Va.... Tanardo Sharps had a season-high 203 yards in 15 carries and Mac DeVito threw four touchdown passes as Temple (4-7) routed Connecticut (2-0), 56-7, in a nonconference game at Philadelphia.

Big 12

Josh Scobey ran for 198 yards and two scores in 38 carries as Kansas State became bowl-eligible with a 24-3 victory over Missouri at Manhattan, Kan. Scobey’s 1,263 yards this season broke Isaac Jackson’s record of 1,137, set in 1973.... Kliff Kingsbury threw five touchdown passes and Ricky Williams ran for two touchdowns to lead Texas Tech (7-4) to a 58-3 nonconference victory over Stephen F. Austin (6-5) at Lubbock, Texas.... Aaron Karas threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score in his first start as Baylor (3-8) ended its season with a 56-12 nonconference victory over Southern Illinois (1-10) at Waco, Texas.... Reggie Duncan ran for 168 yards and Kansas (3-8) ended a six-game losing skid with a 27-14 nonconference victory over Wyoming (2-9) at Lawrence, Kan.

Others

Byron Leftwich threw three touchdown passes, including a 14-yarder to Josh Davis in the fourth quarter as No. 20 Marshall (10-1) held off Division I-AA Youngstown State (8-3), 38-24, at Huntington, W.Va.

David Page threw three touchdown passes and ran for another to help Southern Methodist (4-6, 4-4 in Western Athletic) give Coach Mike Cavan a win in his final home game as the Mustangs beat Rice (8-4, 5-3), 37-20, at Dallas.... Jarrod Baxter ran for two touchdowns to lead New Mexico (6-5) to a 53-0 nonconference victory over New Mexico State (5-7) at Albuquerque.

Yohance Humphery ran for 116 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown run in the second overtime, to lift Montana (11-1) to a 33-27 nonconference victory over Division I-A Idaho (1-10) at Missoula, Mont.... Brock Forsey ran for 212 yards and two touchdowns as Boise State (8-4), playing without suspended quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie, concluded the regular season with a 26-10 victory over Central Michigan (3-8) in a nonconference game at Boise, Idaho.

Gino Guidugli threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jon Olinger with four seconds left as Cincinnati (6-4, 5-2 Conference USA) beat Memphis (5-6, 3-4), 36-34, at Memphis, Tenn.