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Canes Lose Third Straight To Jackets

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The Associated Press

Published: October 14, 2007

MIAMI - Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey got one last special memory of the Orange Bowl, courtesy of Tashard Choice.

The senior ran for a career-high 204 yards on 37 carries against an injury-depleted Miami defensive line, quarterback Taylor Bennett rushed for two touchdowns and the Yellow Jackets dominated the second half to beat the Hurricanes 17-14 on Saturday.

Choice had 152 of his yards after halftime for Georgia Tech (4-3, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which became the fourth team since 1978 to beat Miami in three consecutive seasons, joining Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and FSU.

'It's pretty impressive,' Gailey said. 'I didn't know he had that many carries, but I knew he carried it a lot and I knew that he wanted it. I knew that he wanted the football.'

Travis Bell's 39-yard field goal with 7:34 left was the eventual game-winner for Georgia Tech, which got the ball back 2 minutes later and ran out the clock - dealing the Hurricanes' ACC title hopes a serious blow.

Shawnbrey McNeal had a 39-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play for Miami (4-3, 1-2), which also got a fourth-quarter TD pass from Kyle Wright to Sam Shields. But the Hurricanes were outgained 244-79 after halftime and lost at home for the first time this season.

'There's a lot of history here,' said Wright, whose team has lost two straight. 'There's a lot of tradition in the Orange Bowl that a lot of us don't really understand. To know that you've let people down in the last year of the Orange Bowl is truly disappointing.'

Gailey never seems to leave the Orange Bowl disappointed.

He played for the Florida Gators in 1971 when they pulled off the infamous 'Florida Flop' - where Gator defenders dropped to the Orange Bowl turf and let Miami score, putting Florida's offense back on the field and giving John Reaves the chance to break Jim Plunkett's record for NCAA career passing yards.

And two years ago, his underdog Tech team came into the Orange Bowl, stunned the then-No. 3 ranked Canes and knocked Miami out of the ACC and national-title pictures.

'It's got some great memories for me, to say the least,' said Gailey, whose club beat Miami in Atlanta last season as well.

The Yellow Jackets pulled into a 7-7 tie when Bennett curled to his left and made a 10-yard sprint for the score.

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 49, FLORIDA A&M 14: Quarterback Cleveland McCoy went 14 of 19 for 178 yards and ran for a career-best 143 yards as host South Carolina State (3-3, 2-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic) beat Florida A&M (2-4, 1-2).

South Carolina State gained 402 of its 611 total yards in the first half to take a 35-7 lead at halftime. The 611 yards allowed by Florida A&M were the most in school history.

FAMU was held to 198 yards. Philip Sylvester led FAMU with 31 yards rushing. Starting quarterback Leon Camel was 5-for-16 for 52 yards and two interceptions and backup Eddie Battle was five of seven for 54 yards and a TD.

JACKSONVILLE 34, MOREHEAD STATE 24: Quarterback Chris Horton passed for a school-record 450 yards and four TDs to lead Jacksonville (2-4, 1-2) past visiting Morehead State (4-2, 2-1).

Included in Horton's totals were 80- and 90-yard scoring tosses to Geavon Tribble, who set a school record for most receiving yards in a game with 229.

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