Virginia Tech Rolls Past Rutgers

Rutgers upgraded its opposition and downgraded its mood Saturday, with the cold reality swooping in from the South.

The Scarlet Knights had a 7-0 lead before No. 4 Virginia Tech began a fast and ferocious charge. It left Rutgers reassuming its familiar role as Big East gnat, as the Hokies rolled to a 48-22 victory at Piscataway, N.J.

Although Rutgers entered with a 3-1 record, it was no match for Virginia Tech (5-0), falling behind by 34 points and having its Big East Conference losing streak extended to 23 games.

“We’re better than we played today,” Coach Greg Schiano said, “and that’s what’s disappointing.”

Bryan Randall threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the Hokies’ 11th consecutive victory against the Scarlet Knights.

Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer sees room for improvement, especially with Syracuse, West Virginia, Miami and Pittsburgh -- four teams that beat the Hokies last season -- coming up.

“Sometimes we do things as good as we have ever done them at Virginia Tech,” Beamer said. “At other times I scratch my head a little bit.”

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In other games involving teams from the East:

Kyle Eckel ran for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown at Landover, Md., as Navy (3-2) stunned Air Force, 28-25. The Midshipmen had lost six in a row to the Falcons (5-1), including a 48-7 rout last season. The victory also put Navy in position to win the Commander-In-Chief’s trophy, awarded to the team with the best record in games between the three major service academies. Navy can collect the trophy for the first time since 1981 by beating Army on Dec. 6.... Dan Orlovsky threw three touchdown passes and Connecticut (4-2) capitalized on three Lehigh (3-2) turnovers in a 35-17 nonconference victory at East Hartford, Conn.

SOUTH

Darrell Hackney threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns at Memphis, Tenn., as Alabama Birmingham (2-3, 1-1 Conference USA) built an early lead and held on for a 24-10 victory over Memphis (3-2, 0-2).... Ryan Dinwiddie threw for 532 yards -- 340 in the second half -- and accounted for five touchdowns in leading Boise State (4-0, 1-0 in the Western Athletic Conference) to a 43-37 victory over Louisiana Tech (2-3, 0-2) at Ruston, La.... Central Florida (2-3, 1-1 Mid-American) extended Buffalo’s losing streak to 16 games with a 19-10 victory over the Bulls (0-6, 0-2) at Orlando, Fla.... Temple (1-4) scored 41 unanswered points then held off a fourth-quarter rally by Middle Tennessee (0-5) for a 44-36 nonconference victory at Murfreesboro, Tenn.... South Florida (3-1, 2-0 Conference USA) extended its home winning streak to 21 games -- second longest in the nation behind Miami’s 25 -- with a 31-28 victory over Louisville (4-1, 0-1) in double overtime at Tampa, Fla.

MIDWEST

Ben Roethlisberger passed for 369 yards and two touchdowns as Miami of Ohio (4-1, 1-0 Mid-American) rolled to a 45-20 victory over Akron (3-3, 2-2) at Oxford, Ohio.... In other Mid-American games: Western Michigan (3-2, 2-0) brushed aside Eastern Michigan, 31-3, at Ypsilanti, Mich. The Eagles are 1-5, 0-2.... Ball State (3-3, 2-0) scored the final 20 points in a 34-17 victory over Kent State (3-3, 2-1) at Kent, Ohio.... Bowling Green (4-1, 1-0) rolled to a 23-3 victory over Central Michigan (2-3, 0-2) at Bowling Green, Ohio.... In a Conference USA game at Cincinnati, Southern Mississippi (3-2, 3-0) held off Cincinnati, 22-20. The Bearcats are 3-2, 1-1.

SOUTHWEST

Brandon Hassell threw two touchdown passes at Fort Worth, Texas, as No. 20 Texas Christian (5-0, 2-0 Conference USA) rolled to a 27-0 victory over Army (0-5, 0-3)....In WAC games: Tulsa (3-2, 1-0) used a big second half in a 27-16 victory over Hawaii (2-3, 1-1) at Tulsa, Okla. Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang, who had averaged 379.5 passing yards, finished with only 240.... Rice (1-4, 1-1) rallied for a 28-24 victory over San Jose State (1-4, 1-1) at Houston.... Texas El Paso (2-4, 1-0) ended a 17-game road losing streak with a 21-19 victory over Southern Methodist (0-5, 0-2) at Dallas.

WEST

Bradlee Van Pelt passed for 197 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 154 yards to spark Colorado State (3-3) to a 34-10 victory over Fresno State (3-3) at Fort Collins, Colo.... New Mexico (3-3) cruised to a 34-7 victory over Utah State (1-4) at Albuquerque.... In a Sun Belt opener at Las Cruces, N.M., Idaho (1-5) held on for a 35-31 victory over New Mexico State (1-4).... Nevada Las Vegas (4-1) struggled but scored a 16-12 victory over Nevada (3-2) at Reno.... Brigham Young (3-3) won a 44-36 shootout over San Diego State (3-3) at San Diego.

SOUTHLAND

Craig Ochs passed for 168 yards and a touchdown at Missoula, Mont., to lead Montana (4-1) to a 17-14 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (3-2).