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NO. 15 VIRGINIA TECH 41, NO. 22 CLEMSON 23: Who needs an offense with a return game like Virginia Tech's?

The 15th-ranked Hokies had a record-tying 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Victor Harris and an 82-yard punt return score from Eddie Royal in topping No. 22 Clemson 41-23 Saturday night in Clemson, S.C.

In 21 seasons under coach Frank Beamer, the Hokies (5-1, 2-0 ACC) have become college football's gold standard for special-teams play. But Virginia Tech never had returned a kickoff and punt for scores in the same game before.

Virginia Tech's defense was strong, too. D.J. Parker had a 32-yard interception return TD on Clemson's first series and the Hokies held Clemson (4-2, 2-2) without a first down for nearly 21 minutes.

It barely mattered that the Hokies' attack sputtered almost as much with just 98 yards in the first two quarters -- they still led 31-8 at the half.

The Hokies came into the season a national title contender, but were sent reeling after a 48-7 loss at No. 1 LSU on Sept. 8. The defeat led Beamer to promote talented freshman Tyrod Taylor at quarterback over Sean Glennon, and led some to speculate about just how good were these Hokies.

After a fourth straight victory, Virginia Tech looks as good as ever.

The loudest cheers at the end were "Let's Go Hokies" as much of the orange-clad home fans filed out.

Virginia Tech 17 14 0 10 -- 41 Clemson 0 8 0 15 -- 23

VT--D.Parker 32 interception return (Dunlevy kick)

VT--FG Dunlevy 32

VT--Royal 82 punt return (Dunlevy kick)

Clem--FG Buchholz 33

VT--Harris 100 kickoff return (Dunlevy kick)

Clem--Merling

VT--Harper 21 pass from T.Taylor (Dunlevy kick)

Clem--FG Buchholz 30

Clem--Grisham 3 pass from Harper (Buchholz kick)

VT--FG Dunlevy 47

Clem--Kelly 18 pass from Harper (Grisham pass from Harper)

VT--Ore 2 run (Dunlevy kick)

A--82,000

Virginia Tech Clemson

First downs 9 20

Rushes-yards 41-154 23-8

Passing 65 372

Comp-Att-Int 7-14-0 38-67-2

Return Yards 158 55

Punts-Avg. 8-46.4 7-48.0

Fumbles-Lost 3-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 6-52 7-53

Time of Possession 27:16 32:44

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--Virginia Tech, T.Taylor 15-118, Ore 23-35, K.Lewis 3-1. Clemson, Davis 6-9, Spiller 6-3, Harper 11-(minus 4).

PASSING--Virginia Tech, T.Taylor 7-14-0-65. Clemson, Harper 38-66-2-372, Team 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--Virginia Tech, Harper 3-33, Hyman 2-31, J.Morgan 1-4, Ore 1-(minus 3). Clemson, Kelly 11-174, Grisham 11-100, Spiller 6-29, Ashe 5-44, Harris 2-18, Davis 2-5, Linthicum 1-2.

NO. 7 BOSTON COLLEGE 55, BOWLING GREEN 24: Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes and host Boston College pulled away with four interceptions late in the first half to get off to its best start in 65 years.

The No. 7 Eagles entered the game with their highest ranking in 23 years after two unimpressive wins over Army and Massachusetts.

There was nothing questionable about Saturday's rout as Boston College scored 38 straight points after Tyler Sheehan's 6-yard pass to Freddie Barnes with 8:55 left in the half cut Boston College's lead to 14-10.

Less than seven minutes later, it was 38-10 as the Falcons pass-happy offense backfired when Boston College picked off four passes in the last six minutes of the half. Two were returned for touchdowns -- 65 yards by Jamie Silva and 7 yards by Nick Larkin -- and another led to a career-long 45-yard field goal by Steve Aponavicius.

Bowling Green 3 7 0 14 -- 24 Boston College 7 31 14 3 -- 55

BG--FG Vrvilo 40

BC--Callender 51 pass from Ryan (Aponavicius kick)

BC--Callender 14 pass from Ryan (Aponavicius kick)

BG--Barnes 6 pass from Sheehan (Vrvilo kick)

BC--Callender 4 run (Aponavicius kick)

BC--Silva 65 interception return (Aponavicius kick)

BC--FG Aponavicius 45

BC--Larkin 7 interception return (Aponavicius kick)

BC--Jarvis 71 pass from Ryan (Aponavicius kick)

BC--Robinson 14 pass from Ryan (Aponavicius kick)

BG--Barnes 32 pass from Glaud (Vrvilo kick)

BC--FG Aponavicius 25

BG--Macon 12 run (Vrvilo kick)

A--40,117

Bowling Green Boston College

First downs 26 26

Rushes-yards 23-64 35-146

Passing 401 325

Comp-Att-Int 37-58-6 25-34-0

Return Yards 0 74

Punts-Avg. 2-46.0 1-31.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 12-92 3-33

Time of Possession 28:20 31:40

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--Bowling Green, Bullock 7-27, Macon 2-24, Glaud 1-7, Geter 2-7, Turner 3-4, Barnes 1-2, Sheehan 7-(minus 7). Boston College, Callender 15-74, Whitworth 13-50, Brooks 4-21, Ryan 1-8, Team 1-(minus 3), Crane 1-(minus 4).

PASSING--Bowling Green, Sheehan 27-43-5-275, Glaud 10-15-1-126. Boston College, Ryan 24-32-0-312, Crane 1-2-0-13.

RECEIVING--Bowling Green, Partridge 12-100, Barnes 8-112, Geter 4-21, Charles 3-50, Winovich 3-28, Cheathem 2-32, M.Parks 2-25, Brighton 1-17, Bullock 1-9, Pronty 1-7. Boston College, Callender 5-84, Jarvis 4-102, Purvis 4-42, Gunnell 3-21, Megwa 2-26, R.Thompson 2-7, Robinson 1-14, Momah 1-13, Brooks 1-9, Challenger 1-8, Whitworth 1-(minus 1).

MARYLAND 28, GEORGIA TECH 26: In his first career start, Chris Turner threw for 255 yards, and Lance Ball ran for three touchdowns as host Maryland barely held on for the victory.

Travis Bell sent a 52-yard field goal attempt wide right with 54 seconds remaining. Andrew Gardner was whistled for holding on the previous play, knocking the Yellow Jackets back 10 yards and preventing them from lining up for what would have been a 40-yard try.

Turner had three passes of longer than 40 yards in the first half, including the first touchdown pass of his career, a 78-yard strike to Jason Goode. He cooled off in the second half but finished 10 of 17 for 255 yards and a touchdown.

Ball carried 16 times for 86 yards and three touchdowns. Dave Philistin finished with 21 tackles.

Georgia Tech 3 7 7 9 -- 26 Maryland 14 7 7 0 -- 28

Md--Goode 78 pass from Turner (Egekeze kick)

GaT--FG Bell 23

Md--L.Ball 7 run (Egekeze kick)

Md--L.Ball 1 run (Egekeze kick)

GaT--Robertson 32 fumble return (Bell kick)

GaT--Choice 1 run (Bell kick)

Md--L.Ball 1 run (Egekeze kick)

GaT--FG Bell 37

GaT--Thomas 39 pass from Bennett (run failed)

A--47,527

Georgia Tech Maryland

First downs 24 12

Rushes-yards 43-175 35-88

Passing 309 255

Comp-Att-Int 22-34-0 10-17-0

Return Yards 21 11

Punts-Avg. 3-34.7 5-49.6

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1

Penalties-Yards 6-50 2-10

Time of Possession 37:19 22:41

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--Georgia Tech, Choice 32-135, Grant 9-27, Nesbitt 1-10, Bennett 1-2, Cox 0-1. Maryland, L.Ball 16-86, Lattimore 13-31, Oquendo 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 2), Turner 4-(minus 26).

PASSING--Georgia Tech, Bennett 22-34-0-309. Maryland, Turner 10-17-0-255.

RECEIVING--Georgia Tech, Thomas 9-139, G.Smith 5-82, Peek 3-31, Choice 2-23, Grant 1-16, Cox 1-10, J.Johnson 1-8. Maryland, Heyward-Bey 4-109, Oquendo 2-27, I.Williams 2-21, Goode 1-78, Haynos 1-20.

VIRGINIA 23, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 21: Chris Gould kicked a 34-yard field goal with 8 seconds left, redeeming himself for an earlier extra-point miss, and Virginia beat pesky Middle Tennessee for its fifth consecutive victory.

The Cavaliers had 151 yards rushing and matched their longest winning streak since 2004, spoiling the Blue Raiders' hopes of becoming the third Sun Belt team to knock off a school from a Bowl Championship Series conference this year. Troy had defeated Oklahoma State, and Florida Atlantic also won over Minnesota to score wins for the Sun Belt this season.

Andrew Pearman rushed for two touchdowns for the Cavaliers in relief of ACC leading rusher Cedric Peerman, who left the game with a leg injury in the second quarter. His status for next week's game against Connecticut was not announced.

Virginia 7 7 0 9 -- 23 Middle Tennessee 7 7 0 7 -- 21

MTSU--Henry 24 pass from Dasher (King kick)

UVa--Phillips 20 pass from Sewell (Gould kick)

MTSU--B.Williams 7 pass from Dasher (King kick)

UVa--Pearman 21 run (Gould kick)

UVa--Pearman 5 run (kick failed)

MTSU--McNair 1 run (King kick)

UVa--FG Gould 34

A--23,227.

Virginia Middle Tennessee

First downs 23 16

Rushes-yards 37-151 39-127

Passing 223 181

Comp-Att-Int 22-38-1 17-34-0

Return Yards 0 33

Punts-Avg. 8-40.9 8-40.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0

Penalties-Yards 5-48 5-40

Time of Possession 28:58 31:02

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--Virginia, Payne 18-70, Pearman 5-45, Peerman 5-19, Gorham 1-8, Sewell 6-8, R.Jackson 1-3, Team 1-(minus 2). Middle Tennessee, Dasher 17-63, McNair 17-49, Tanner 4-11, Longoria 1-4.

PASSING--Virginia, Sewell 22-37-1-223, Team 0-1-0-0. Middle Tennessee, Dasher 17-33-0-181, Honeycutt 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--Virginia, Santi 5-82, Pearman 5-56, Stupar 3-27, Phillips 3-25, Inman 2-8, Koch 1-12, Zidenberg 1-11, Gorham 1-4, Peerman 1-(minus 2). Middle Tennessee, Grigsby 3-39, McNair 3-18, Henry 2-36, B.Williams 2-27, Chicola 2-15, Cannon 2-10, Honeycutt 1-24, Tanner 1-9, Longoria 1-3.