No. 1 Miami Pulls Away, 38-6

Willis McGahee had 221 total yards and top-ranked Miami scored three touchdowns during a three-minute span of the fourth quarter to defeat Boston College, 38-6, Saturday night at Miami and extend the Hurricanes’ winning streak to 26 games.

McGahee ran 17 times for 135 yards and caught three passes for 86 yards. He had three huge plays that led to three of Miami’s five touchdowns. McGahee, who ran for 204 yards at Florida two weeks ago, now has 533 yards rushing in four games.

Quarterback Ken Dorsey completed 13 of 26 for 202 yards and two touchdowns as Miami (4-0, 2-0 Big East) won its 19th consecutive conference game and 13th in a row over Boston College (2-1, 0-1).

With Miami on the verge of trailing at halftime for the first time in two years, McGahee broke four tackles and ran 48 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the Boston College one-yard line with less than a minute left. He scored on the next play to give Miami a 10-6 lead at halftime.

On Miami’s second play of the third quarter, McGahee started right, cut back to the left and ran 32 yards to set up a first-and-10 from the 18. He scored five plays later.

Then in the fourth quarter, McGahee took a screen pass in the right flat and ran 77 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the three. Dorsey passed to Kellen Winslow for a one-yard touchdown three plays later.

*

Gerald Hayes scored on an eight-yard fumble return in the second quarter as Pittsburgh’s defense picked up its slow-starting offense, and the Panthers (3-1, 1-0) went on to a 23-3 victory over Rutgers (1-3, 0-1) at Pittsburgh. The Panthers overwhelmed the Scarlet Knights in total offense, 371-164. Rutgers lost its 16th consecutive conference game.

*

ATLANTIC COAST

Tony Hollings ran for 189 yards and three touchdowns before leaving with a knee injury, helping Georgia Tech (3-1) rally for a 28-19 victory over Brigham Young (2-2) at Atlanta in the first meeting between the schools. BYU played most of the game without leading rusher Marcus Whalen, who left early in the second quarter with a pulled groin.... Matt Schaub threw touchdown passes to five players, and Virginia (2-2) also scored on defense and special teams in a surprisingly difficult 48-29 victory over Akron (0-4) at Charlottesville, Va.... J.J. McKelvey had a career-high 10 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, and Clemson (3-1) used a strong defense to score a 30-7 victory over Ball State (1-2) at Clemson, S.C. After Ball State went 77 yards on its opening drive, Clemson held the Cardinals to 143 yards the rest of the game.... Scott McBrien threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, and Chris Downs ran for two more scores as Maryland (2-2) rolled to a 45-3 victory over Eastern Michigan (1-3) at College Park, Md. McBrien completed 14 of 19 passes before leaving in the third quarter with the Terrapins ahead, 38-0. He threw touchdown passes of 14, 19 and 91 yards.... Chris Rix threw two touchdown passes during a 21-point second-quarter burst for Florida State (4-0, 3-0), helping the fifth-ranked Seminoles break open a tight game for a 48-17 victory over Duke (1-3, 0-1) at Tallahassee, Fla. The Blue Devils have lost 18 consecutive conference games. Rix left the game after the first series of the third quarter, having completed 16 of 22 passes for 244 yards.

*

CONFERENCE USA

Dave Ragone threw for 240 yards and a touchdown, and Louisville (2-2, 1-0) used two touchdowns by its special teams in a 45-14 victory over Army (0-3, 0-1) at West Point, N.Y. Damien Dorsey put Louisville up, 17-0, two minutes into the quarter when he returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown. Four plays later, Brandon Johnson blocked a Chris Castelli punt at the Army 18. The ball rolled into the end zone and Joshua Tinch fell on it to give the Cardinals a 24-0 lead.... Freshman Tye Gunn threw his first career touchdown pass to lead Texas Christian (3-1) to a 16-10 victory over North Texas (1-3) at Fort Worth. Gunn replaced starter Sean Stilley early in the second half after Stilley left the game with a separated right shoulder.... DeAngelo Williams ran for 166 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown run, to lead Memphis (2-2, 1-1) to a 38-10 victory over Tulane (2-2, 1-2) at Memphis, Tenn.... Jon Van Cleave threw for 242 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown pass to Fred Stamps, as Louisiana Lafayette (1-3) rolled to a 34-0 victory over Alabama Birmingham (1-3) at Lafayette, La.

*

MID-AMERICAN

Luke Clemens rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns to lead Miami of Ohio (2-2, 1-0) to a 27-20 victory over Kent State (2-2, 0-1) at Oxford, Ohio. Ben Roethlisberger completed 18 of 30 passes for 198 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to Michael Larkin that rallied the RedHawks from their only deficit.... Dan Orlovsky threw for one touchdown and ran for another as Connecticut (2-2) overcame a 13-point second-half deficit in a 37-19 victory over Ohio (0-4) at Storrs, Conn. It was Ohio’s 10th consecutive loss.... Quarterback Russ Michna threw for 383 yards and receiver Stacy Coleman had nine catches for 215 yards as Western Illinois (3-0) came back for a 29-26 victory against Northern Illinois (1-3) at Dekalb, Ill.

*

MOUNTAIN WEST

William Bratton rushed for 81 yards and three short touchdowns to lead Toledo (3-1) to a 38-21 victory over Nevada Las Vegas (1-3) at Toledo, Ohio. Astin Martin had a 25-yard touchdown run and Keon Jackson returned an interception 31 yards for a score for the Rockets, who were outgained 472 yards to 257 but didn’t commit a turnover. The Runnin’ Rebels hurt themselves with a fumble, an interception and 12 penalties for 88 yards.... Freshman Paul Dombrowski became the first New Mexico State (1-2) quarterback in 24 years to rush for over 100 yards and Dario Aguiniga kicked three field goals in a 24-13 victory over New Mexico (2-3) at Las Cruces, N.M. Dombrowski, starting in place of injured sophomore Buck Pierce, had a solid debut, rushing for 136 yards in 18 carries and scoring once as the Aggies rushed for 262 yards. Dombrowski became the first Aggie quarterback to run for more than 100 yards since David Spriggs did it against Texas El Paso in 1978.

*

WESTERN ATHLETIC

Zack Threadgill threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns to lead Nevada (2-1, 1-0) to a 31-21 victory over Rice (0-3, 0-1) at Reno, Nev. Threadgill completed 30 of 36 passes as the Wolf Pack won consecutive games for the first time since 1999.... Backup quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen split time with injured starter Timmy Chang but still threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as Hawaii (2-1, 1-0) scored a 31-6 victory at Texas El Paso (1-3, 0-1).

*

SOUTHLAND

Ryan Leadingham passed for 263 yards and a touchdown to lead Sacramento State (1-2) to a 27-17 victory over visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (0-4).... Chris Pitzer rushed for two touchdowns to lead Pacific Lutheran (1-1) to a 35-10 victory at Chapman (1-1).