Nov. 24, 2007

• ACC Football: The Road To Jacksonville
• Box Score

BOSTON (AP) -Boston College ended a 15-game losing streak against Miami - and didn't even need Doug Flutie to do it.

Matt Ryan threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns Saturday to send the Eagles into the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 28-14 win - BC's first victory over Miami since the 1984 "Hail Flutie" pass that ended one of the greatest games in college football history.

No. 15 BC (10-2, 6-2 ACC) will play in the conference title game Dec. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla., against Virginia Tech, which beat Virginia 33-21 Saturday for the Coastal Division title. The Eagles beat the Hokies on Oct. 25 when Ryan threw a 24-yard touchdown pass across the field with 11 seconds left, propelling himself into the Heisman Trophy race.

No BC player has won the Heisman since Flutie took it home, thanks largely to the 48-yard pass to Gerard Phelan as time expired that beat Miami on Thanksgiving weekend in 1984.

Ryan completed 26 of 43 passes Saturday, hitting Rich Gunnell nine times for 135 yards. Andre Callender ran 15 times for 96 yards and a 45-yard touchdown that made it 28-14 after Miami hung close for most of the game.

The Hurricanes (5-7, 2-6) failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time in 10 years.

Kyle Wright completed 23 of 42 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

BC's turnovers kept it close, and the Hurricanes made it 14-7 early in the third on a 23-yard pass to Ryan Hill one play after Glenn Sharpe intercepted Ryan. Near the end of the quarter, BC got the ball on Wright's fumble, then Ryan fumbled it back two plays later.

Wright led the Hurricanes on an eight-play, 41-yard drive, hitting Sam Shields from the 2 to tie it with 11:44 left in the game.

That's when BC took over the game.

Ryan hit Gunnell on the right sideline and he broke free for a 49-yard gain, then Clarence Megwa laid out for a 22-yard touchdown pass to complete the two-play, 16-second drive that made it 21-14. After Miami went three-and-out, Callender broke through the middle and went 45 yards to the end zone.

The Eagles have won 10 regular-season games for the second consecutive season. With a victory next Saturday, they would play in the Orange Bowl - their first-ever appearance in a Bowl Championship Series game.

Boston College started slowly, giving the ball away on Jon Loyte's fumble on the second play of the game, then driving to the Miami 14 on its second possession only to see Steve Aponavicius miss a 31-yard field goal.

Francesco Zampogna missed a 23-yarder for the Hurricanes in the second. Ryan took BC down the field, completing a 33-yard pass to Ryan Purvis and a 22-yarder to Megwa to get to the Miami 8 before hitting L.V. Whitworth from the 8 for a touchdown.

It stayed that way until the final 2:00 of the half, when Ryan's pass bounced out of Gunnell's hands and into the arms of Miami safety Kevin Phillips. But DeLeon Gause picked Wright off on the next pass to give BC the ball back at the Hurricanes' 32.

A 22-yard pass to Megwa, plus a personal foul, put the ball on the 5, and Ryan hit Challenger for the touchdown with 29 seconds left in the half.