No. 8 Miami holds off Syracuse, 27-19
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Malik Rosier threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns, and Travis Homer’s 33-yard touchdown run with 2:48 left helped No. 8 Miami defeat upset-minded Syracuse 27-19 on Saturday as the Hurricanes extended their winning streak to 11 games.
It was the third consecutive down-to-the-end game for Miami (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which is off to its best league start since joining the ACC in 2004.
The Hurricanes needed last-second plays to beat Florida State two weeks ago and Georgia Tech last week. This one was nearly as dramatic.
Miami’s defense intercepted Syracuse’s Eric Dungey four times, all in the first half.
Christopher Herndon had a career-best 10 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown for Miami. Jeff Thomas caught a 48-yard touchdown pass for the Hurricanes, who haven’t had a winning streak this long since winning 34 straight from 2000 to 2002.
Cole Murphy kicked four field goals for Syracuse (4-4, 2-2), including a career-best 53-yarder with 5:23 left to get the Orange within 20-19. But Miami answered with a nineplay, 85-yard drive capped by Homer’s TD run that helped the Hurricanes escape.
Syracuse faced a fourthand-7 with 1:38 left, but Dungey’s pass for Ervin Philips was incomplete and Miami ran out the clock.
Dontae Strickland rushed for 105 yards for the Orange and Moe Neal had a touchdown run for Syracuse. The Orange beat defending national champion Clemson last week, but now is 0-10 when facing Top 25 opponents outside of Syracuse since 2010.
Dungey finished 13-for-41 for 137 yards and rushed for another 100. Steve Ishmael and Philips — the nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 receivers coming into the weekend — were held to nine catches for 98 yards on 25 targets.
› No. 14 Virginia Tech 59, North Carolina 7 BLACKSBURG, Va. — Josh Jackson threw three touchdown passes and Virginia Tech scored on fumble, interception and punt returns to rout North Carolina.
Jackson passed for 132 yards and the Hokies (6-1, 2-1) dominated in sending the Tar Heels (1-7, 0-5) to their fifth straight loss.
Off last week, Virginia Tech looked rested and focused and played that way, scoring in all three phases in the first half and bolting to a 35-0 halftime lead. Virginia Tech scored twice on defense, getting the first score of the game on defensive tackle Ricky Walker’s 12-yard fumble return.
› Louisville 31, Florida State 28
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Blanton Creque made a 34-yard field goal with five seconds remaining as Louisville defeated Florida State and got its first win at Doak Campbell Stadium since 1952.
The Cardinals (5-3, 2-3) took over on their own 24 with 2:05 remaining after Henry Famurewa recovered a James Blackman fumble. They then drove 59 yards in eight plays before Creque’s kick. The win ends a Louisville nine-game losing streak in Tallahassee.
Lamar Jackson accounted for 334 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns. The junior had 23 rushes for 178 yards and was 13-of-21 passing for 156 yards. Reggie Bonnafon had 74 yards on 16 carries as the Cardinals snapped a three-game conference losing streak.
Florida State (2-4, 2-3) has dropped its first three home games for the first time since 1974.
› Pittsburgh 24, Duke 17
DURHAM, N.C. — Darrin Hall rushed for career highs of 254 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 4-yard score with 10:48 to play, and Pittsburgh upset Duke.
Hall broke a century-old school record with his 92-yard touchdown run that came 18 seconds after Duke took a double-digit lead, and also scored on an early 79-yard run for the Panthers (3-5, 1-3).
The touchdown underdogs had lost five of six but gained a season-high 485 total yards and beat a power-conference team for the first time this season.
Daniel Jones was 15-of-33 for 272 yards with two touchdown passes in the second half, a 58-yarder to Shaun Wilson and a 39-yarder to T.J. Rahming that gave the Blue Devils a shortlived 17-7 lead in the final minute of the third quarter. Duke (4-4, 1-4) has lost four straight after opening the season with four wins.
› Boston College 41, Virginia 10 CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Anthony Brown threw three touchdown passes and Boston College’s defense stifled Virginia.
The Eagles (4-4, 2-3) won their second straight road game, and did it behind Brown, who completed 19 of 24 passes for 275 yards, and a defense that limited Virginia to 247. The Eagles, by contrast, had 275 through the air and 237 on the ground.
Virginia (5-2, 2-1) came up well short in its bid for a fifth straight victory and bowl eligibility for the first time since 2011.