Canes Fall To No. 10 Virginia Tech, 16-10

[DJRamFan]

Reddick blocks punt; Tyrone Moss tallies 2-yard touchdown run.

Dec. 4, 2004



By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer


MIAMI - Virginia Tech can now proclaim itself the Atlantic Coast Conference's best team.

The 10th-ranked Hokies capped their inaugural ACC season with the league's outright championship, getting two touchdown passes from Bryan Randall and holding Miami's high-powered offense to 190 yards in a 16-10 win on Saturday.

Eddie Royal caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Randall with 11:29 remaining, putting Virginia Tech (10-2, 7-1) ahead to stay. Miami's Orien Harris blocked the extra-point try, keeping his team within six, but the ninth-ranked Hurricanes never created another scoring chance.

Virginia Tech will learn Sunday to which BCS bowl it's headed; the probable choice is the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 3. Miami - which was the only team to play in the BCS each of the past four seasons, and would have extended that streak with a win Saturday - will play Florida in the Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve.








Virginia Tech entered the game with the ACC's top scoring defense, and thoroughly frustrated Miami's offense all day. Miami quarterback Brock Berlin completed 16 of 31 passes for 139 yards - 98 off his season overage. And the Hurricanes managed only 51 yards rushing on 22 attempts.

Randall completed 11 of 18 passes for 148 yards, and Cedric Humes added 110 rushing yards for the Hokies, who were picked to finish sixth in the ACC before the season and won their final eight games to cap a surprising title run.

Virginia Tech led 10-7 at halftime, getting all of its points on possessions immediately following Berlin's turnovers.

Berlin was picked off with 3:22 left in the first quarter, a fourth-and-inches play from the Virginia Tech 35 where he tried to hit Roscoe Parrish - who was double-covered - in the end zone. Virginia Tech's Eric Green made the interception, the first thrown by Berlin in a span of 163 attempts.

The Hokies responded by marching 80 yards in 10 plays, with Randall tossing a 3-yard pass to Jeff King for the game's first touchdown.

Miami tied it midway through the second quarter on Tyrone Moss' 2-yard run, capping a drive that was set up by freshman Anthony Reddick's blocked punt deep in Virginia Tech territory. Rashaun Jones covered the ball at the 14.

Randall was hit by Miami's Javon Nanton two plays after Moss' TD, fumbling the ball away at the Hokies 18.

But Berlin gave the turnover immediately back, getting stripped by Virginia Tech linebacker James Anderson. The Hokies chewed up the final 7:18 of the half, retaking the lead on Brandon Pace's 45-yard field goal.

Another Randall fumble - this time, following Roger McIntosh's blindside hit - gave Miami the ball at the Hokies 30 early in the third quarter, and Jon Peattie's 23-yard field goal with 7:59 left tied the game at 10.

Miami, though, wouldn't score again, and had to watch Virginia Tech celebrate for the second straight year.