Miami Keeps Hopes Alive

Knowing another loss would doom Miami’s hopes of winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title, Brock Berlin ensured that the Hurricanes would stay in the thick of the chase.

Berlin threw for a career-best 361 yards and four touchdowns in just over a half Saturday, leading No. 12 Miami past Wake Forest, 52-7.

He set the tone for Miami’s big-play bonanza by connecting with Sinorice Moss on a 42-yard pass on the game’s first play, as Miami improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the conference to set up a Dec. 4 showdown with Virginia Tech that probably will decide the conference title.

“We came in this week knowing that we were going to be able to hit some big plays if we ran good routes and threw it well,” said Berlin, whose previous career high was a 352-yard day last season against West Virginia. “Sure enough, we made it happen.”

Berlin completed 13 of 19 passes and threw touchdowns to four receivers. In his last seven games, Berlin has completed 55.9% of his passes for 1,894 yards with 19 touchdowns and only two interceptions -- none in his last 153 attempts.

The win kept alive Miami’s hopes of making a fifth consecutive appearance in the bowl championship series. To claim the ACC crown, Miami needs to defeat Virginia Tech, which probably would give the Hurricanes the advantage in any tiebreaker scenarios.

Florida 20, No. 10 Florida State 13 -- Chris Leak threw a touchdown pass, Ciatrick Fason ran for a score and the Gators (7-4) upset the Seminoles (8-3) to win at Tallahassee for the first time since 1986.

It also gave fired Coach Ron Zook a victory in his last regular-season game.

Florida ended any realistic chance that Florida State had of earning a third consecutive BCS berth. Florida State still could finish tied for the ACC title but would probably lose all tiebreaker scenarios because of its BCS ranking, which is expected to drop Monday.

Leak completed 19 of 39 passes with an interception. Fason’s eight-yard touchdown run with 4:59 left put the Gators ahead for good.

No. 18 Virginia 30, Georgia Tech 10 -- Alvin Pearman scored two touchdowns and the Cavaliers (8-2, 5-2) came up with four key turnovers in a victory over the Yellow Jackets (6-4, 4-4) at Atlanta.

Virginia kept alive its hopes of at least sharing the ACC title, though the Cavaliers are still a longshot to claim the conference’s spot in the BCS.

Pearman scored Virginia’s first touchdown on a six-yard run late in the first quarter, and he finished off Georgia Tech with a one-yard plunge in the opening minute of the fourth.

North Carolina 40, Duke 17 -- Chad Scott rushed for 144 yards and scored two touchdowns to help the Tar Heels (6-5, 5-3) become bowl eligible for the first time in three years with a victory over the Blue Devils (2-9, 1-7) at Durham, N.C.