Virginia Tech Stands Tough Against West Virginia, 27-13

One goal-line stand hurt. Two proved decisive for West Virginia.

Ike Charlton intercepted three passes, including one in the end zone, and No. 20 Virginia Tech defeated No. 21 West Virginia, 27-13, on Saturday at Blacksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech’s defense, ranked second nationally in scoring and third overall, scored the first points by returning a blocked punt for a touchdown. It also blocked an extra point by a kicker who had made 96 in a row.

The Hokies also had four interceptions and four sacks, and stopped the Mountaineers on two goal-line stands in a two-minute span in the third quarter as Virginia Tech was clinging to a 17-13 lead.

“They figured they would come in and make a quick touchdown and get back into the game,” Charlton said of the stands. “That took a lot out of their hearts. They no longer had a glimmer in their eyes.”

West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen agreed.

“When we had the ball down there on the 10-yard line, and we didn’t get in, and then intercepted it and did not get in again, that’s when we lost the ball game,” he said. “The other stuff did not really matter that much.”

Virginia Tech (7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big East) needs to beat Syracuse and Rutgers to win the conference title, while West Virginia (4-3, 1-2) might be out of the running.

EAST

Donovan McNabb threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 17 Syracuse (5-2, 3-0) warmed up after a shaky start for a 45-28 victory over Pittsburgh (2-5, 0-3) in a Big East game at at Syracuse, N.Y. McNabb was 12 for 23 for 228 yards. He also rushed for 98 yards in 17 carries. . . . Edgerrin James sparked a 21-point first quarter with two touchdown runs, shredding the Boston College defense for 182 yards rushing as No. 25 Miami beat the Eagles, 35-17, in a Big East game at Miami. James, who set a Big East rushing record with 271 yards in last season’s 45-44 overtime victory, scored on runs of two and one yards as Miami (5-2, 3-1 Big East) put things away early against Boston College (3-5, 2-3). . . . Mike McMahon threw a go-ahead, 10-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and Jacki Crooks ran for a 159 yards and a late score to lead Rutgers (4-4, 2-3) to a 21-10 Big East victory over Temple (1-7, 1-3) at Piscataway, N.J. . . . Jim Finn rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns and Matt Rader threw for two touchdowns to help Penn (5-2, 3-1) post a 34-21 victory over Yale (3-4, 2-2) in an Ivy League game at Philadelphia. . . . Chris Menick ran for two touchdowns and gained 104 yards rushing as Harvard (4-3, 3-1) posted a 20-7 victory over Dartmouth (2-5, 1-3) in an Ivy League game at Hanover, N.H. . . . Kevin Coyne rushed for 171 yards in 41 carries and caught a touchdown pass as Brown (4-3, 2-2) beat Cornell, 20-7, in an Ivy League game at Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell fell to 4-3 and 1-3. . . . Derek Theisen’s one-yard touchdown run ignited a 17-point second quarter that carried Princeton (4-3, 3-1) to a 20-0 Ivy League victory over Columbia (2-5, 1-3) at New York.

SOUTH

Chris Weinke passed for 338 yards and two long fourth-quarter touchdowns as No. 5 Florida State (8-1, 5-1) posted a 39-13 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over North Carolina (3-4, 2-2) at Tallahassee, Fla. It was the Seminoles’ seventh consecutive victory. . . . Shaun King personally outgained Southwestern Louisiana (1-7) by 102 yards and accounted for three touchdowns as No. 19 Tulane, with its best record in 67 years, routed Southwestern Louisiana, 72-20, in a nonconference game at New Orleans. King was 20 for 38 for 380 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 28 yards for Tulane (7-0). . . . Dez White returned a kickoff 100 yards and Joe Burns’ 44-yard touchdown run sparked a second-half surge that carried Georgia Tech past Maryland, 31-14, in an ACC game at Baltimore. The No. 23 Yellow Jackets (6-2, 5-1) managed only 95 yards, missed two field-goal tries and didn’t score on offense during a 14-14 first half. But Georgia Tech amassed 149 yards in the third quarter and outscored Maryland, 17-0, to pull away. The Terrapins fell to 2-6, 0-5. . . . Thomas Jones rushed for 142 yards to crack the 1,000-yard barrier as No. 15 Virginia (7-1, 5-1 ACC) defeated Wake Forest (3-5, 2-3) for the 15th consecutive time, rolling over the Demon Deacons, 38-17, at Winston-Salem, N.C. . . . Torry Holt caught four touchdown passes from Jamie Barnette, the last one with 37 seconds to play, to give North Carolina State (5-3, 3-2 ACC) a 46-39 victory over Clemson (2-7, 1-6) at Clemson, S.C. . . . Mike Green’s 57-yard run after a screen pass from Jason McKinley set up his one-yard touchdown run with just more than a minute left, lifting Houston (3-5, 2-1) to a 34-31 Conference USA victory over East Carolina (4-4, 1-2) at Greenville, N.C. . . . Teofilo Riley rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns to lead Memphis (2-6) to a 35-19 nonconference victory over Arkansas State (3-6) at Memphis. . . . Leroy Collins matched a school record with five touchdowns and Chris Redman threw for 474 yards and three touchdowns as Louisville (5-4) registered a 63-34 rout of Western Kentucky (5-3) in a nonconference game at Louisville, Ky. . . . Tim Rattay threw six touchdown passes--three to Troy Edwards--as Louisiana Tech (6-4) posted a 56-28 rout of Nicholls State (2-5) in a nonconference game at Rustin, La.

MIDWEST

Bob Niemet ran for one touchdown and passed for two as Bowling Green (3-5, 3-2) shocked Marshall, 34-13, in a Mid-American Conference game at Bowling Green, Ohio. The Thundering Herd is 8-1 and 6-1. . . . Travis Prentice ran for four touchdowns to lead Miami of Ohio (7-1, 4-1 MAC) to a 35-21 victory over Ohio (2-6, 2-3) at Oxford, Ohio.

WEST

Jamie Kimbrough ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns and cornerback Efrain Guizar had a fourth-quarter interception as Fresno State (3-5, 3-2) posted a 28-20 victory over New Mexico (3-6, 1-5) in a Western Athletic Conference game at Albuquerque. . . . Mike Anderson rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns and Andre Dyson returned a kickoff for a touchdown to lead Utah (5-3, 3-2 WAC) to a 49-17 victory over San Jose State (3-6, 2-3) at San Jose. Anderson, a junior college transfer from Mt. San Jacinto College and the WAC’s leading rusher, has 1,001 yards. . . . Running backs Reggie Williams and John Mosley combined for 128 yards and one touchdown to lead Tulsa (3-5, 1-5 WAC) to a 20-16 victory over Nevada Las Vegas (0-9, 0-6) at Las Vegas. . . . Quarterback Chad Richardson scored three touchdowns and rushed a career high 224 yards as Rice (3-5, 3-2 WAC) took advantage of three early turnovers in a 35-23 victory over Colorado State (7-3, 4-2) at Houston. . . . Blane Morgan passed for two touchdowns and Jason Blevins returned a blocked punt 19 yards for another, leading Air Force (7-1, 5-1 WAC) to a 31-7 triumph over Southern Methodist (3-6, 3-3) at Air Force Academy, Colo. . . . Del Bates returned the second-half kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and Chris Lemon ran for three scores to lead Nevada (4-4, 2-2) to a 52-24 Big West victory over Boise State (5-4, 1-2) at Reno, Nev. Wolf Pack freshman quarterback David Neill passed for 355 yards and two touchdowns.

SOUTHLAND

Marcus Brady threw three touchdown passes, completing 27 of 39 passes for 264 yards, to lead Cal State Northridge (5-3, 4-2) victory over Weber State (5-4, 3-3) in a Big Sky Conference game at Ogden, Utah. . . . Portland State (5-3) overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit after squandering a 17-point lead of its own to score a 41-34 nonconference victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (2-6) at Portland. . . . Andy Huegli threw two touchdowns passes to Eric Zodrow and ran for two others as Valparaiso (3-5, 2-2) posted a 31-7 Pioneer League victory over San Diego (2-6, 0-3) at San Diego.