BLACKSBURG, Virginia, 7 November 2005 — Fifth-ranked Miami put the clamps on Marcus Vick, forcing him into six turnovers, and blew Virginia Tech out of the national title picture with a stunning 27-7 victory on Saturday.
The third-ranked Hokies (8-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had hoped an impressive win over Miami would not only take them a step closer to their second straight ACC title, but also give them a boost in the Bowl Championship Series standings. Virginia Tech was in third place behind Southern California and Texas in the BCS standings, with designs on making a late-season run to the Rose Bowl.
USC 51 Stanford 21: At Los Angeles, USC scored on each of its seven first-half possessions to take an insurmountable lead, and Pete Carroll’s Trojans went on to beat Stanford. Matt Leinart passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns, Reggie Bush rushed for 113 yards and another score, and the Trojans (9-0, 6-0) had no trouble extending their conference-record winning streak to 31 games.
2 Texas 62 Baylor 0: At Waco, Texas, receiver-turned-starting tailback Ramonce Taylor ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns and had a 42-yard catch from Vince Young for another score in Texas’ 16th straight victory.
Young, the Heisman Trophy contender who is 26-2 as the Longhorns’ starter, had 351 total yards in just more than three quarters — 16-of-27 passing for 298 yards and two TDs, and 53 yards rushing on eight carries. Jamaal Charles ran for two scores for Texas (9-0, 6-0 Big 12).
Florida 49 Vanderbilt 42, 2OT: At Gainesville, Florida, backup cornerback Reggie Lewis, beaten all game by Vanderbilt’s bigger receivers, intercepted Jay Cutler’s first pass in the second overtime to give Florida the victory over Vanderbilt. The Gators also kept alive hopes of winning the Southeastern Conference. Cutler threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the final 2:17 of regulation to send the game into overtime. Jeff Jennings ran 8 yards for a score for the Commodores, then Chris Leak answered with a 9-yard TD pass to Chad Jackson. Leak finished 32-of-41 for 257 yards with three touchdowns. He also ran for a career-high 67 yards and two scores.
Alabama 17 Mississippi State 0: At Starkeville, Mississippi, Kenneth Darby ran for 122 yards and Alabama returned two turnovers for touchdowns. Brodie Croyle was 14-of-22 for 116 yards for Alabama (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference), which forced four takeaways and held the Bulldogs to 26 yards rushing in beating Mississippi State coach and former ‘Bama player Sylvester Croom.
LSU 24 Appalachian State 0: At Baton Rouge, Louisiana, JaMarcus Russell passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and LSU beat Appalachian State in a non-conference game. The Tigers (7-1) extended their winning streak to six heading into their SEC West showdown at No. 4 Alabama next Saturday. The Mountaineers, ranked No. 7 in Division I-AA and tied for first in the Southern Conference, are 6-3.
Arizona 52 UCLA 14: At Tucson, Arizona, freshman Willie Tuitama threw for two early touchdowns and Arizona rolled for 519 yards in a rout of the previously unbeaten and seventh-ranked Bruins. Arizona, losers of 19 of its last 21 Pac-10 home games, rushed for 320 yards. Mike Bell had 153 yards in 16 attempts, including an 8-yard touchdown run.
Notre Dame 41 Tennessee 21: At South Bend, Indiana, Brady Quinn threw three touchdown passes and Tom Zbikowski had a punt return and interception return for scores to lead Notre Dame.
Quinn was 20-of-33 for 295 yards and threw two touchdown passes in the span of a minute to give the Irish a 14-0 lead. The Irish went ahead 21-3 on a Zbikowski’s 78-yard punt return for a score. After the Vols rallied to tie the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by Arian Foster, Quinn threw a 4-yard TD pass to Jeff Samardzija.
North Carolina State 20, Florida State 15: At Tallahassee, Florida, Andre Brown ran for 179 yards and a 65-yard touchdown and North Carolina State intercepted Drew Weatherford three times to beat Florida State for the third time in five years. Florida State (7-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) backed into the league’s first championship game scheduled next month in Jacksonville because Boston College lost at North Carolina.
Penn State 35 Wisconsin 14: At State College, Pennsylvania, Michael Robinson threw two touchdown passes and ran for 125 yards, and linebacker Tamba Hali led a ferocious defense as Penn State shut down Wisconsin’s high-scoring attack. Penn State held Wisconsin tailback Brian Calhoun to 38 yards on 20 carries — well below his 135-yard average.
Ohio St. 40 Illinois 2: At Columbus, Ohio, Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes and Antonio Pittman ran for two scores for Ohio State.
