Sept. 23, 2006

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -Branden Ore ran for 170 yards and a touchdown and No. 11 Virginia Tech overcame a sluggish first half for a 29-13 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday.

The Hokies (4-0) rallied from a halftime 10-5 deficit with 17 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the pesky Bearcats (1-3).

Ore had 152 yards in the second half, and his 1-yard TD run with 8:30 left put Virginia Tech ahead 21-13. The victory was assured when Tech's Victor "Macho" Harris returned his second interception of the game 72 yards for a score late in the game.

The Hokies went ahead for good at 15-13 on a 21-yard field goal by Brandon Pace with 14:51 left. The drive featured six carries by Ore, one a 24-yard run.

Ore set up his own TD with consecutive runs of 11, 46 and 8 yards, followed by a pair of 1-yard runs before he scored from a yard out.

Virginia Tech went ahead 12-10 early in the third quarter when Josh Harper caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from Sean Glennon.

Cincinnati didn't flinch, though, launching a 15-play drive that lasted 8:45. Kevin Lovell finished it with a 46-yard field goal to put Cincinnati ahead 13-12.

The Hokies struggled with their passing game. Glennon was 11-for-23 for 188 yards with one interception. He was sacked three times and had minus 21 yards rushing.

The Hokies finished with 145 rushing yards after heading into the locker room with minus-8 yards at halftime. The Bearcats had 121 yards on the ground and 280 in all.

Butler Benton had a 40-yard run late in the second quarter to set up the Bearcats' first score. Two plays later, Greg Moore's 1-yard run gave Cincinnati a 7-5 lead.

Cincinnati kept up its momentum, intercepting a Glennon pass at Tech's 24. That led to Lovell's 34-yard field goal with 58 seconds left in the half.

Josh Morgan blocked a punt out of the end zone in the first quarter to give the Hokies a safety, and Pace kicked at 37-yard field goal late in the first quarter.