Beamer gets 1 more win over Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — It looks like coach Frank Beamer has a chance for one more going-away party, at a bowl game.
Joey Slye kicked a 41yard field goal with 1:38 left and Virginia Tech beat Virginia 23-20 on Saturday to give Beamer the chance to close out his 29-year coaching career in the postseason.
A week after losing in Beamer’s final home game, the Hokies (6-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) didn’t let him down on the road in beating the Cavaliers for the 12th consecutive time.
After Slye’s kick, Chuck Clark sealed the outcome with an interception with 59 seconds remaining.
With Beamer set to retire, there have been reports that Memphis coach Justin Fuente will replace him. Fuente and Tech’s athletic director call the reports “premature.”
But while the Hokies are headed to a bowl for the 23rd consecutive season, Virginia coach Mike London may not return. The Cavaliers (4-8, 3-5) had already failed to qualify for a bowl, and losing to their state rival in a stadium that seemed to have as many Virginia Tech fans as Cavaliers’ fans surely won’t help.
On the Hokies’ winning drive, Michael Brewer hit Isaiah Ford for 21 yards. Then he gained 2 yards on a third-and-1 quarterback sneak near midfield and the Hokies gained 28 yards on five tries by Travon McMillian.
Slye, who hit earlier field goals of 48 and 44 yards, made it a perfect day with his game-winner.
The game was a punting contest with a few field goals sprinkled in until the third quarter when Albert Reid cut through the left side of the line and went 57 yards untouched for a touchdown and 13-6 lead for Virginia.
On the next play, Brewer hit tight end Ryan Malleck over the middle, where he shed a tackle by safety Quin Blanding and went 71 yards to the 4. Two plays later, Brewer hit Sam Rogers for 3 yards and the touchdown.
The Cavaliers responded by driving 90 yards in 12 plays, with Johns hitting Canaan Severin for 27 yards and the touchdown. The play was initially ruled an incompletion, but the call was overturned after an official review.
The Hokies needed six plays to pull even again. Brewer hit Isaiah Ford for 38 yards early in the drive, and then hit him again for 32 yards and the touchdown on a third-and-15 play.
Before halftime, the Hokies pulled even at 6-all thanks to a curious call by Virginia. Facing fourth-and-16 from their 34, they elected to try a fake, and punter Nicholas Conte was pulled down 2 yards shy of midfield. A pass interference call against Kelvin Rainey negated Quin Blanding’s interception, and Slye hit from 44.
Virginia took a 6-3 lead with a 67-yard drive in the second quarter. Johns looked to have hit Olamide Zaccheaus in stride in the end zone, but Zaccheaus couldn’t hang on and Ian Frye booted his second 42yard field goal.
Miami 29, Pittsburgh 24: Brad Kaaya threw for 261 yards and a touchdown and ran for another as Miami continued its surge under interim coach Larry Scott with a win over Pittsburgh on Friday.
Kaaya moved past Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde and into fifth on the school’s all-time passing list after completing 21 of 35 passes. Joseph Yearby ran for 99 yards and Michael Badgley tied a school record with five goals for the Hurricanes (8-4, 5-3 ACC). Miami improved to 4-1 under Scott, who took over in October when Al Golden was fired.
Pitt, searching for its first nine-win regular season since 2009, couldn’t complete a late rally from a 20-point deficit. Nathan Peterman threw for a touchdown and ran for another and freshman Darrin Hall ran for 103 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers (8-4, 6-2). Wide receiver Tyler Boyd finished with 117 total yards in perhaps his final game at Heinz Field. Georgia 13, Georgia Tech 7: Sony Michel rushed for 149 yards and scored Georgia’s lone touchdown on the first possession of the game Saturday, enough for the Bulldogs to pull out an ugly victory over Georgia Tech that likely boosted the job prospects of embattled coach Mark Richt.
While hardly an impressive effort, Georgia (9-3) got back on the winning side in its state rivalry and put Richt in position for the 10th double-digit-win season of his 15-year tenure with a bowl victory.
That may be enough to keep his job after a disappointing season in which the Bulldogs started as the favorite in the Southeastern Conference East, only to get blown out by both Alabama and Florida.
For Georgia Tech (3-9), it was the fitting close to a dismal season. The Yellow Jackets, who won the Orange Bowl last season, lost nine of their last 10 games to finish with their worst record since going 1-10 in 1994. Duke 27, Wake Forest 21: Thomas Sirk threw two touchdown passes to Max McCaffrey and ran for another, and Duke held on to beat Wake Forest Saturday.
Sirk was 26 of 39 for 275 yards, hit McCaffrey with touchdown passes covering 18 and 28 yards, and ran 3 yards for another score to help the Blue Devils (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap a four-game losing streak.
John Wolford threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter for Wake Forest (3-9, 1-7), including a 22-yarder to Cortez Lewis that made it a one-score game with 1:46 to play.
Braxton Deaver recovered the ensuing onside kick for Duke at the Wake Forest 45, and the Blue Devils ran out most of the clock before punting with seven seconds left.
Tabari Hines fielded the punt at the 1 as time expired but was swarmed before he could get past the 5.
Syracuse 20, Boston College
17: Cole Murphy kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired, giving Syracuse a victory over Boston College on Saturday in coach Scott Shafer’s final game as head coach of the Orange.
Shafer was fired on Monday but coached the finale of his third season at Syracuse (4-8, 2-6 ACC). The Orange had lost eight straight games, but they rallied around their coach one final time, carrying him off the field in celebration.
Boston College (3-9, 0-8 ACC) has lost eight straight.
The game featured 17 penalties for 174 yards — including 11 by BC for 119 — and that helped spell doom for the Eagles. BC had only nine first downs and 239 yards offensively, all but nine of that on the ground.
Ervin Philips rushed for 73 yards and scored on a 2-yard reception, and Steven Ishmael had a 1-yard TD catch for the Orange.