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Boston College Snaps Losing Streak To Miami

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By JIMMY GOLEN, The Associated Press

Published: November 25, 2007

BOSTON - Boston College ended a 15-game losing streak against Miami to head into the Atlantic Coast Conference title game with a victory.

And the 15th-ranked Eagles didn't even need Doug Flutie to do it.

Matt Ryan threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns Saturday to lead the Eagles to a 28-14 win, BC's first victory against Miami since the 1984 "Hail Flutie" pass that ended one of the greatest games in college football history.

"What Doug did ... and all that, that was great," BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "Now they're going to talk about what Ryan did and what safety Jamie Silva did and what defensive lineman Nick Larkin did. We've done something special up to this point, and it's a good thing to keep building on the tradition."

Boston College (10-2, 6-2 ACC) will play for the conference championship in Jacksonville on Saturday against Virginia Tech, which beat Virginia 33-21 Saturday for the Coastal Division title. BC clinched the Atlantic Division with last week's victory against Clemson.

But they wanted the win anyway.

"Coach was telling us we didn't want to go in with a flat tire, with a setback," said receiver Rich Gunnell, who caught nine passes for a career-high 135 yards. "We want to go in with all the momentum we can."

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

"Very disappointing," Coach Randy Shannon said. "A lot of guys' expectations when they come to the University of Miami is to win."

The Eagles beat the Hokies on Oct. 25 when Ryan threw a 24-yard touchdown pass across the field with 11 seconds left. The victory propelled him into the race for the Heisman Trophy, an award no BC player has won since Flutie did following the 48-yard pass to Gerard Phelan as time expired that beat Miami on Thanksgiving weekend in 1984.

But Ryan fell back out of the race with the Eagles' back-to-back losses to Florida State and Maryland, which dropped them from No. 2 in The Associated Press rankings to No. 18. Virginia Tech has won four in a row since losing to BC, including the winner-take-all matchup against Virginia.

"We knew the other team was going to come in with a win," Ryan said. "We wanted to match their momentum."

Ryan completed 26 of 43 passes and finished with 28 touchdowns for the regular season to break the school record Flutie set in '84. Andre Callender ran 15 times for 96 yards and a 45-yard TD.

With a victory Saturday, the Eagles would play in the Orange Bowl - their first appearance in a Bowl Championship Series game.

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