Syracuse Hands Virginia Tech Another Loss

Freshman Damien Rhodes scored on a 25-yard run and ran for the two-point conversion in the third overtime Saturday night, giving Syracuse a 50-42 victory over No. 8 Virginia Tech at Syracuse, N.Y.

Virginia Tech, 8-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big East Conference, lost despite 504 yards passing and a school-record five touchdown passes from Bryan Randall. Randall’s yardage total was the second-best in school history, behind Don Strock’s 527-yard performance against Houston in 1972.

It was the second consecutive loss for the Hokies and the third win in a row for the Orangemen (4-6, 2-3), who also beat Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Va., last year.

Virginia Tech’s chance to tie the score ended when Maurice McClain intercepted Randall’s pass in the left corner of the end zone, sending the near-sellout crowd into a frenzy.

Randall completed 23 of 35 passes -- having three intercepted -- and Ernest Wilford had eight catches for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Syracuse’s quarterback Troy Nunes was 24 for 40 for a career-high 403 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions.

The teams combined for 1,163 yards in 160 plays.

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Claude Harriott returned a fumble 11 yards for the tiebreaking touchdown early in the fourth quarter as No. 22 Pittsburgh (8-2, 5-0) held on for a 29-22 victory over Temple (3-7, 1-4) at Pittsburgh.... Avon Cobourne rushed for 138 yards and James Davis blocked two field-goal attempts to lead West Virginia (7-3, 4-1) to a 24-14 victory over Boston College (5-4, 0-4) at Morgantown, W.Va.

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ATLANTIC COAST

Nick Novak kicked a 26-yard field goal with 34 seconds left as Maryland (8-2, 4-1) won its seventh in a row, a 24-21 victory over No. 14 North Carolina State (9-2, 4-2) at College Park, Md.... Adrian McPherson threw two touchdown passes, including a 72-yarder to Craphonso Thorpe, and No. 17 Florida State (7-3, 6-0) held on for a 21-13 victory over Georgia Tech (6-4, 3-4) at Atlanta.... Charlie Whitehurst threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns as Clemson (6-4, 4-3) rolled to a 42-12 victory over North Carolina (2-8, 0-6) at Chapel Hill, N.C.

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CONFERENCE USA

James Walley scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run with 11:27 left and visiting Southern Mississippi (6-3, 4-1) held on for a 20-13 victory over Alabama Birmingham (4-5, 3-2).... Lonta Hobbs rushed for 124 yards, and Texas Christian (8-1, 5-1) stopped Tulane (6-4, 3-3) at the Horned Frogs’ 15-yard line with 1:26 left to preserve a 17-10 victory at Fort Worth, Texas.... Art Brown scored his fourth touchdown on a 25-yard run in the third overtime as East Carolina (3-5, 3-1) rallied for a 54-48 victory over Houston (4-5, 2-4). Joffrey Reynolds of Houston had a school-record 300 yards and four touchdowns in 40 carries.... Leotis Palmer ran for a touchdown and threw for another on a halfback option pass as Air Force (7-3) ended a three-game losing streak with a 49-30 victory over Army (0-9) at West Point, N.Y.

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IVY

Neil Rose passed for 257 yards to lead Harvard (6-2, 5-0) to a 28-7 victory over Columbia (1-7, 0-5) at Boston.... Mick Razzano passed for 302 yards to lead Cornell (3-5, 2-3) to a 21-19 victory over Dartmouth (3-5, 2-3) at Ithaca, N.Y.... Jeff Mroz threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns to lead Yale (5-3, 3-2) to a 31-27 victory over Brown (0-8, 0-5) at Providence, R.I.... Mike Mitchell passed for 248 yards as Pennsylvania (7-1, 5-0) rolled to a 44-13 victory over Princeton (5-3, 3-2) at Princeton, N.J.

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MID-AMERICAN

Ryan Schneider passed for 360 yards and a career-high five touchdowns as Central Florida (4-5, 3-2) rolled to a 45-21 victory Buffalo (1-9, 0-6) at Amherst, N.Y.... Brian Jones threw for 323 yards as Toledo (6-3, 4-1) scored a 44-17 victory over Central Michigan (4-6, 2-4) at Toledo, Ohio.

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MOUNTAIN WEST

Brett Elliott threw three touchdown passes as Utah (3-6, 1-4) ended a six-game losing streak with a 28-17 victory over Nevada Las Vegas (4-6, 2-3) at Salt Lake City.... Matt Berry threw for a career-high 360 yards and found Gabriel Reid for a four-yard touchdown pass with 3:28 left as Brigham Young (5-5, 2-3) rallied for a 35-31 victory over Wyoming (2-8, 1-4) at Provo, Utah.... New Mexico (5-5, 3-1) got touchdowns from Casey Kelly and DonTrell Moore in a 15-8 victory over San Diego State (3-7, 3-2) at Albuquerque.

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WESTERN ATHLETIC

Zack Threadgill passed for 325 yards and Nate Burleson had 19 receptions for 179 yards to lead Nevada (5-5, 4-2) to a 23-17 victory over Texas El Paso (2-8, 1-5) at Reno, Nev.... Brock Forsey rushed for four touchdowns and Ryan Dinwiddie threw four touchdown passes as Boise State (9-1, 6-0) rolled to a 49-7 victory over Rice (4-6, 3-4) at Boise, Idaho.... Paul Pinegar threw for 295 yards to lead Fresno State (5-5, 3-2) to a 31-12 victory over visiting Tulsa (1-9, 1-5).