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Saturday, Oct. 23 12:00pm ET
Miami comeback clips Eagles' wings | |||||
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BOSTON (AP) -- Fifteen years after "Hail Flutie," Miami mounted a miracle comeback of its own. The Hurricanes rallied from a 28-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Boston College 31-28 Saturday -- Miami's 10th consecutive victory over BC since the Eagles' epic victory in 1984.
After a first half in which the Hurricanes made virtually every mistake imaginable, Kenny Kelly led No. 23 Miami (3-3, 1-0 Big East) to four touchdowns in 13:20. Then, facing a fourth-and-17 from the BC 35 with 14 seconds to play and no timeouts, Kelly hit Reggie Wayne for a 22-yard gain. He caught the pass at the sideline and stepped out of bounds to stop the clock, setting up Andy Crosland's game-winning 30-yard field goal with 3 seconds left. The Eagles (5-2, 2-2) have come close at home the past three times but have not beaten Miami at all since Flutie heaved a 48-yard pass to Gerard Phelan to win a 47-45 shootout and the 1984 Heisman Trophy. "I don't know what it is about coming to Boston, but it makes for this type of game," Hurricanes coach Butch Davis said. "The last time was a double-overtime game. Today, it was a miraculous effort by our kids in the second half." Kelly completed 20-of-36 for 218 yards and three touchdowns, going 9-for-14 for 124 yards in the fourth quarter alone. Cedric Washington ran for a career-high 183 yards for Boston College, and he also recovered a fumble to help put Miami in a 28-0 hole. It was the biggest lead Boston College has ever had against Miami, breaking a previous best of two touchdowns set in Flutie's famous shootout against Bernie Kosar. "It's inexcusable," Eagles safety Pedro Cirino said. "We're never going to let it happen again." Kelly hit Will McPartland on an 8-yard pass with 2:11 left in the third to make it 28-7, then added a 32-yard pass to James Jackson with 10:07 left in the fourth. On Boston College's next play from scrimmage, Washington fumbled and defensive end William Joseph recovered, taking it to the Eagles 6. Jackson took it in on the Hurricanes' first play to make it 28-21 -- just 22 seconds after their last score. The first half could not have been more different. Boston College's first two scores also came courtesy of Miami mistakes, as the Hurricanes committed two fourth-down penalties in the first quarter that led to BC's first two touchdowns. The Eagles had lined up for a 39-yard field goal on their first drive when defensive end Michael Boireau jumped offsides to give BC a first down. On the next play, Tim Hasselbeck hit Bryan Arndt on a fly pattern for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 7-0. On BC's next possession, John Matich kicked a 44-yard field goal but was knocked down by linebacker Chris Campbell. The Eagles took the three points off the scoreboard and, after Carlton Rowe's two carries brought it to the 2, William Green went in to make it 14-0. In the third quarter, BC had a second-and-12 when Edward Reed picked off Hasselbeck's pass at the Miami 46 and returned it 22 yards before Dedrick Dewalt stripped him of the ball. Washington fell on it for BC at his 35, a net gain of two yards and a first down for the Eagles. Washington ran three times from the 31, punching it in from 3 yards to make it 28-0 with 6:18 left in the third. Miami, which started the season with two victories, hadn't beaten a Division I-A team since August. Since beating Ohio State in the kickoff classic, the Hurricanes have beaten I-AA Florida A&M, lost three times and had three off weeks -- the most recent last Saturday when Hurricane Irene forced postponement of the game
against Temple until Dec. 4.
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