Miami Has Its Swagger Back

It appeared that Roscoe Parrish secured a victory with a dazzling 62-yard punt return for a touchdown.

But when No. 10 Virginia rallied on Saturday at Charlottesville, Va., and Miami needed one more play to end a two-game losing streak, Parrish was the man again, catching a 25-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 51 seconds left for a 31-21 Miami victory.

The victory put the No. 18 Hurricanes, 7-2 and 4-2 in the Atlantic Coast, back on course for a possible conference championship and bowl championship series berth.

“You can’t just push us over,” Parrish said. “You can’t just expect for teams to come out and do whatever they want to do against us. When our backs are against the wall, we’re going to handle our business.”

Parrish handled a lot of it himself, adding a 45-yard punt return to set up another score.

Miami’s Frank Gore ran for a career-best 195 yards and a touchdown in 28 carries.

But Parrish, almost forgotten as a punt returner because of the exploits of speedster Devin Hester, did more damage than anyone.

He fielded a punt at his 38 with about seven minutes left, cut across the field and then turned down the sideline to make it 24-14.

Later, after Virginia (7-2, 4-2) used a four-play, 79-yard drive to close to 24-21 with 3:19 left, Parrish caught Brock Berlin’s pass in the corner of the end zone, restoring the margin to 10 and ending any comeback threat.

Duke 16, Clemson 13 -- Matt Brooks kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired at Durham, N.C., to lift the Blue Devils past the Tigers (5-5, 4-4).

Brooks’ kick capped a Duke rally from a seven-point deficit in the final 90 seconds and ended a four-game losing streak. His kick sent the Blue Devils spilling onto the field to celebrate, while orange-clad Clemson fans sat in silence as the Tigers lost a week after upsetting Miami. Duke is 2-8, 1-6.

North Carolina 31, Wake Forest 24 -- Darian Durant threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Holley in the final minute, helping the Tar Heels (5-5, 4-3) keep their hopes alive for a bowl bid by defeating the Demon Deacons at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Deacons (4-5, 1-5) have to win the final two games to qualify for a bowl, including a trip Saturday to Miami. Their five losses are by a total of 30 points, including two in overtime.

Georgia Tech 30, Connecticut 10 -- Djay Jones returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and knocked down another punt himself, leading the Yellow Jackets (6-3) past the Huskies (5-4) in a nonconference game at Atlanta.