Now Virginia Tech knows how Virginia felt.
It was three years ago that the Hokies, trailing 29-14, rallied with 17 straight points in the fourth quarter to beat the Cavaliers 36-29 at Scott Stadium, stealing a bowl alliance position from them in the process.
On Saturday, before 53,207 mostly maroon and burnt orange-clad fans at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., it was the No. 16 Cavaliers who pulled off the miracle, outscoring the 20th-ranked Hokies 29-3 in the second half to win 36-32.
Ahmad Hawkins caught the winner, a 47-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Brooks with 2 minutes 1 second remaining. The play capped a 93-yard, six-play drive by the Cavaliers, and was Hawkins’ only catch of the afternoon.
“Aaron put it so only I could get it and the corner gambled,” Hawkins said of Anthony Midget. “After that, I only had to beat the safety.”
When he spun free of Midget around the 25, “my eyes just got real big and I had to make sure I didn’t step out of bounds. It felt real good.”
While Virginia (9-2) accepted a Peach Bowl bid last Sunday, the Hokies (8-3) still don’t know their postseason fate. Scouts from the Gator Bowl, where the Hokies played last year, and the Music City Bowl were on hand.
The comeback was the biggest in Virginia history, surpassing a rally from 21-3 down against Duke in 1995, and helped ease the burden of a 41-38 loss to Georgia Tech earlier this season. Virginia blew a 38-17 lead in that game.
“It felt real good because I knew we worked real hard to come back from 29-7 and I was thinking how Georgia Tech came back on us and we had to do the same thing to show people we are a great team,” Hawkins said.
Trailing 32-29, the Cavaliers got their chance with 3:21 left.
After an incompletion on the first play, Brooks (345 passing yards) was 4 for 4 in the drive and Thomas Jones ran for a first down on third and 1 from the Virginia 16.
Shyrone Stith rushed for 124 yards and a 51-yard touchdown for the Hokies, Al Clark and Lamont Pegues also ran for TDs and Shayne Graham kicked four field goals, the last an apparent back-breaker with 12:12 left.
Syracuse 66, Miami 13: Donovan McNabb ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more as host No. 21 Syracuse routed No. 19 Miami to win the Big East title and earn a berth in the Bowl Championship Series. It was the second straight win over Miami (7-3, 5-2 Big East) for the Orangemen (8-3, 6-1), who will play in either the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl.
The Hurricanes allowed their most points since Syracuse beat them 56-16 in 1970. It was their second-largest margin of defeat behind a 70-14 loss to Texas A&M in 1944.
McNabb, whose 13-yard TD pass against Virginia Tech on the final play the previous week had given Syracuse a dramatic victory, continued his clutch play. He was 12 of 19 for 80 yards and rushed for 99 yards on eight carries.
“We came out with a lot of emotion,” said McNabb. “We just wanted to really set the tone early and let people know that we work hard just like they do. Just because (the Hurricanes) think they’re back doesn’t mean they’re going to come out here and kill us in our own home.”
Syracuse scored 24 points in the first quarter, and its much-maligned defense played a solid game. Miami, which entered the game averaging 190 yards rushing, was held to 149 yards on the ground and 210 overall.
Big plays, including two interceptions and a blocked punt, highlighted a surge that put Syracuse ahead 45-7 at halftime.
“It seemed like the harder we tried, the worse things got,” said Miami’s Scott Covington, who was only 7 of 20 for 61 yards before being replaced by Kenny Kelly in the fourth quarter. “It’s disappointing. We practiced hard all week and there was no reason we couldn’t come out and compete with these guys.”
North Carolina 37, N.C. State 34: What seemed like a lost season in September turned into a winner for North Carolina. The Tar Heels blew a pair of 21-point leads and fell behind by three in overtime before beating North Carolina State (7-4, 5-3 ACC) on Oscar Davenport’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Na Brown in Charlotte, N.C.
Brown’s catch over the outstretched arms of Lloyd Harrison, who leads the nation in interceptions, gave the Tar Heels (6-5, 5-3) their ninth straight winning season and kept their bowl hopes alive.
North Carolina won six of its last eight games after an 0-3 start to tie the school record for consecutive winning seasons set in 1905.
Carl Torbush shook off the poor start to become the first North Carolina coach since 1943 to post a winning record in his first year–a span of nine coaches.
Davenport also hooked up with L.C. Stevens on a pair of scoring passes, and Deon Dyer added scoring runs of 1 and 36 yards to provide the offensive spark for the Tar Heels, who led 24-3 at halftime and went on to beat their arch-rival for the sixth consecutive time.
Florida A&M 27, Troy St. 17: Pat Bonner ran for one touchdown and threw a pair of scoring passes to Tariq Qaiyim for Florida A&M (11-1) in the I-AA playoff game in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida A&M will play at Western Illinois in next Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Ga. Southern 49, Colgate 28: In Statesboro, Ga., Greg Hill and Adrian Peterson each ran for more than 100 yards and each scored three touchdowns to power No. 1-ranked Georgia Southern (12-0) in the I-AA playoffs.
Connecticut 42, Hampton 34: Shane Stafford threw four touchdown passes for No. 8 Connecticut (10-2) in the I-AA playoffs in Storrs, Conn.
Lehigh 24, Richmond 23: Jaron Taaffe made a 30-yard field goal with 3 seconds left as Lehigh (12-0) prevailed in the I-AA playoff game in Richmond, Va. Third-seeded Richmond (9-3) went ahead 23-21 on Jasper Pendergrass’ 5-yard TD run with 1:18 remaining, but the extra point was blocked by Sam Brinley.
UMass 21, McNeese St. 19: Todd Bankhead threw two touchdown passes and Kevin Quinlan ran for another score as Massachusetts (9-3) built a 21-0 lead in the second quarter then held off McNeese State (9-3) in a I-AA playoff opener in Lake Charles, La.
Southern 26, Grambling 14: Sam George threw three touchdown passes in the second half and Southern won in New Orleans. Grambling, which won or shared 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships under Eddie Robinson, finished 5-6 in its first season under Doug Williams. The victory gave Southern (8-3) the outright SWAC title.
Wis.-Eau Claire 10, St. John’s 7: In Collegeville, Minn., Jeremy Braun’s 42-yard field goal with 9:10 left gave visiting Wisconsin-Eau Claire the Division III quarterfinal victory. Eau Claire faces Rowan, a 19-17 winner over Buffalo State, in the semifinals.
Mt. Union 21, Wittenberg 19: Mt. Union (12-0) stayed alive in its bid for a third straight Division III title as Gary Smeck threw two TD passes in Alliance, Ohio. Mt. Union, which has won 40 in a row, plays host to Trinity University Saturday in the semifinals.
