MIAMI 24, VIRGINIA 17 (OT): Jacory Harris threw a tying touchdown pass in the final minute and another one in overtime to give Miami a 24-17 win over Virginia on Saturday that gave the Hurricanes a tie for the lead in the ACC's Coastal Division.
Harris hit Laron Byrd with a desperation heave from 26 yards to tie it, and then found Aldarius Johnson near the left pylon to give them the lead in overtime.
When Virginia tailback Cedric Peerman was stripped of the ball on the Cavaliers' first play of overtime, the Hurricanes (6-3, 3-2 ACC) had their fourth victory in a row -- and a spot in the tight battle for a berth in the ACC championship game.
Virginia (5-4, 3-2) had its four-game winning streak end, and in heartbreaking fashion, too, after shutting down the ACC's best scoring offense until the very end.
Miami's tying drive was a 95-yard, 15-play march, and it featured a 13-yard pass on a third-and-13 play at the beginning, and the touchdown on a third-and-15 prayer at the end.
"Unbelievable," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "These guys came out and they never quit. They kept fighting, they kept trying to press on and every time we put ourselves in a bad situation with penalties, they found a way to get it done."
In the overtime, Harris faced a third-and-5 from the 9 when he passed to the 6-foot-2 Johnson, who beat 5-9 cornerback Vic Hall for the ball to give the Hurricanes the lead.
Hall also was beaten on the tying touchdown when safety Byron Glaspy fell down and Harris got away from pressure and lofted an ugly, arching pass that remarkably found Byrd.
The catch was Byrd's first of the day and just his 13th of the season.
When Peerman broke into open field on Virginia's first play of overtime, Miami's Lovon Ponder caught up to him and stripped the ball away, and Bruce Johnson recovered to end it.
Johnson also recovered a fumble by Virginia quarterback Marc Verica at the Miami 32-yard line after a 10-yard run late in regulation.
Miami 7 3 0 7 7 --24
Virginia 10 7 0 0 0 --17
UVa--FG Reyering 23
Mia--Marve 6 run (Bosher kick)
UVa--Ogletree 16 run (Reyering kick)
Mia--FG Bosher 33
UVa--Green 2 pass from Verica (Reyering kick)
Mia--L.Byrd 26 pass from J.Harris (Bosher kick)
Overtime
Mia--A.Johnson 9 pass from J.Harris (Bosher kick)
A--53,308
Miami Virginia
First downs 22 18
Rushes-yards 40-197 24-78
Passing 251 240
Comp-Att-Int 18-33-1 27-41-0
Return Yards 11 17
Punts-Avg. 6-43.7 7-42.7
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 3-2
Penalties-Yards 12-81 1-5
Time of Possession 32:10 27:50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Miami, Cooper 24-131, James 9-55, Marve 3-16, McNeal 1-1, J.Harris 3-(minus 6). Virginia, Peerman 15-78, Ogletree 2-9, Team 1-(minus 2), Verica 2-(minus 2), Simpson 4-(minus 5).
PASSING--Miami, J.Harris 12-21-0-160, Marve 6-12-1-91. Virginia, Verica 27-41-0-240.
RECEIVING--Miami, Collier 3-64, Shields 3-32, D.Johnson 2-35, A.Johnson 2-27, Farquharson 2-12, Cooper 2-7, Benjamin 1-30, L.Byrd 1-26, P.Hill 1-10, James 1-8. Virginia, J.Phillips 7-36, Ogletree 5-71, Covington 4-54, Koch 4-41, Green 3-25, Peerman 3-12, Simpson 1-1.
CLEMSON 27, BOSTON COLLEGE 21: C.J. Spiller's day wasn't done after a hit left him wobbly on the sideline. First, though, he had to pass a test from the Clemson medical staff to prove he was lucid enough to return.
"He had to fight with the doggone trainers. They weren't going to let him back in," interim Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after Spiller returned to lead the Tigers to a 27-21 victory over Boston College. "I guess he guessed right on the three questions. I asked him what the three questions were and helped him with the answers."
The Tigers (4-4, 2-3 ACC) had not beaten the Eagles (5-3, 2-3) in six tries since 1958, including three straight heartbreakers since BC joined the league: One in overtime, one in double overtime and one on a touchdown pass in the final minutes.
Spiller, who missed most of the third quarter after what was called a head injury, caught six passes for 105 yards -- the most for a running back in Clemson history -- while setting up one touchdown with a 57-yard scamper run and another with a 64-yard kickoff return.
Clemson 14 3 0 10 -- 27
Boston College 0 0 7 14 -- 21
Clem--Davis 23 run (Buchholz kick)
Clem--C.Harper 3 run (Buchholz kick)
Clem--FG Buchholz 27
BC--Haden 1 run (Aponavicius kick)
BC--Rollins 25 blocked punt return (Aponavicius kick)
BC--Robinson 15 pass from Crane (Aponavicius kick)
Clem--Kelly 4 pass from C.Harper (Buchholz kick)
Clem--FG Buchholz 43
A--41,863
Clemson Boston College
First downs 16 11
Rushes-yards 31-87 30-120
Passing 252 116
Comp-Att-Int 21-33-3 18-39-0
Return Yards 30 85
Punts-Avg. 5-25.6 7-41.6
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-2
Penalties-Yards 5-35 3-30
Time of Possession 29:01 30:59
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Clemson, Spiller 8-55, Davis 13-52, J.Ford 1-2, Korn 1-1, Team 3-(minus 6), C.Harper 5-(minus 17). Boston College, Haden 15-71, Crane 4-27, Harris 9-13, Herzlich 1-6, J.Smith 1-3.
PASSING--Clemson, C.Harper 21-33-3-252. Boston College, Crane 18-39-0-116.
RECEIVING--Clemson, J.Ford 7-72, Spiller 6-105, Grisham 4-43, Palmer 2-19, Kelly 2-13. Boston College, Robinson 5-60, Gunnell 3-24, Megwa 2-13, McCluskey 2-6, Harris 2-2, Jarvis 1-4, Momah 1-3, Purvis 1-3, Haden 1-1.
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