The Hurricanes (5-3, 3-0 Big East) had then-No. 2 Penn State beaten on September 18, but James Jackson came up a yard short of a first down and Kevin Thompson threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Chafie Fields on the next play in a 27-23 loss. On October 9 against top-ranked Florida State, Miami had a 21-14 lead in the second quarter and was tied into the third before falling, 31-21.

Virginia Tech (8-0, 4-0) had turned back all opponents with relative ease before going to West Virginia last weekend. Leading 19-7 late in the game, the Hokies allowed a pair of touchdowns and found themselves behind by two. But freshman quarterback Michael Vick engineered a drive and Shayne Graham came through with a 44-yard field goal as time expired to keep the Hokies unbeaten.

Even with the loss by Penn State, the thrilling win was not enough to allow Virginia Tech to move into the second spot in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings. The top two teams in the BCS standings will meet for the national championship in the Sugar Bowl on January 4 in New Orleans and right now Florida State and Tenneessee hold those slots.

The Hokies might have been looking ahead to Miami last weekend, but they certainly should be focused on this game, since Temple and Boston College are their remaining two opponents. They have beaten the Hurricanes four straight times to pull within 12-4 in the all-time series and have blocked a kick in six of the last seven meetings.

Virginia Tech is trying to start a season with nine wins for the first time in school history. To do so, Vick -- a freshman -- will have to continue to play beyond his years. He is the third-ranked passer in the nation, completing 61-of-106 passes (57 percent) for 1,228 yards and seven touchdowns with just three interceptions. He also has run for 324 yards and five touchdowns.

Miami is coming off its most impressive win of the season, a 33-3 trouncing of Pittsburgh on the road. The previous week, Pittsburgh fell, 30-17, to Virginia Tech, racking up more than 400 passing yards.

The Hurricanes should try to pass the ball with Kenny Kelly, who is 133-of-242 (55 percent) for 1,775 yards and 14 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. Like Pittsburgh, Miami also has a standout group of receivers, with possession men Reggie Wayne and Andre King, deep threat Santana Moss and tight end Daniel "Bubba" Franks.

Kelly might have to look for Franks and the running backs on short routes to avoid the heavy rush applied by Corey Moore and John Engelberger, who combined for five sacks against West Virginia.

MIAMI (FLA.) Season schedule and results	VIRGINIA TECH Season schedule and results
Aug. 29 @Ohio State W 23-12 Sep. 4 Florida A&M W 57-3 Sep. 18 Penn State L 23-27 Sep. 25 @East Carolina L 23-27 Oct. 9 @Florida State L 21-31 Oct. 16 Temple Postponed 0-0 Oct. 23 @Boston College W 31-28 Oct. 30 West Virginia W 28-20 Nov. 6 @Pittsburgh W 33-3 Nov. 13 @Virginia Tech 7:30pm ET Nov. 20 Rutgers 12:00pm ET Nov. 27 Syracuse 3:30pm ET	Sep. 4 James Madison W 47-0 Sep. 11 Alabama Birmingham W 31-10 Sep. 23 Clemson W 31-11 Oct. 2 @Virginia W 31-7 Oct. 9 @Rutgers W 58-20 Oct. 16 Syracuse W 62-0 Oct. 30 @Pittsburgh W 30-17 Nov. 6 @West Virginia W 22-20 Nov. 13 Miami (Fla.) 7:30pm ET Nov. 20 @Temple TBA Nov. 26 Boston College 2:30pm ET