NO. 19 GEORGIA TECH 28, NO. 4 VIRGINIA TECH 23: Josh Nesbitt rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns -- the last of them tiptoeing down the sideline to finish off the fourth-ranked Hokies with 3 minutes left -- as No. 19 Georgia Tech ran to a 28-23 win over Virginia Tech in Atlanta that threw the ACC race up for grabs.
Georgia Tech (6-1, 4-1 ACC) completed just one pass but ran for 309 yards out of its spread option offense -- all but 37 of those yards coming in the second half, to drop the Hokies to 5-2, 3-1 in the ACC.
Georgia Tech has certainly proven in Paul Johnson's two seasons as coach that its run-oriented offense -- incorporating elements of old formations such as the wishbone and veer -- can win at the major-college level.
VIRGINIA 20, MARYLAND 9: Virginia defensive end Nate Collins scored on a 32-yard interception return to help the Cavaliers beat host Maryland 20-9 in a cold, steady rain.
It was the third straight victory for Virginia (3-3, 2-0 ACC). The Cavaliers trailed 9-3 late in the third quarter before scoring 10 points in a 19-second span.
After Robert Randolph kicked a 31-yard field goal, linebacker Darren Childs deflected a pass by Maryland quarterback Chris Turner. The 290-pound Collins latched onto the ball, broke to his left and took it down the sideline into the end zone.
Virginia played the fourth quarter without quarterback Jameel Sewell, who left with an undisclosed injury.
NO. 9 MIAMI 27, CENTRAL FLORIDA 7: Jacory Harris completed 20 of 26 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown, Javarris James rushed for another score on the way to topping the 2,000-yard mark for his career, and No. 9 Miami methodically pulled away to beat Central Florida.
Damien Berry added a fourth-quarter touchdown run for the Hurricanes (5-1), who matched their best start since 2005.
Brett Hodges threw for 163 yards for UCF (3-3), but the team's top rusher, Brynn Harvey, was held to 25 yards on 12 carries.
Not all of the newspaper's content appears online.
*There is a fee for downloading some older articles.