TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Ryan Rallies Boston College Past Virginia Tech

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: October 26, 2007

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Put that comeback at the top of Matt Ryan's Heisman resume.

Ryan threw a 24-yard touchdown pass on the run and across the field to Andre Callender with 11 seconds left, and No. 2 Boston College remained undefeated with an improbable 14-10 victory over No. 8 Virginia Tech on Thursday night.

Ryan sealed his status as a serious Heisman Trophy contender with two touchdown passes in the final 2:11 after doing little for the first 55 minutes against the Hokies' swarming defense.

'Well, you know there's still time left on the clock,' Ryan said. 'You know you still have a shot and you still got a chance. We've been in this situation so many times through the course of the year in practice, and we've prepared ourselves really well.'
Boston College (4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) improved to 8-0 for the first time since 1942 and validated itself as a national title contender.

Ryan finished 25-for-52 for 285 yards with two interceptions, but the final numbers hardly told the story.

'I told our guys at halftime, don't you dare look up until the end of the game and we'll go on to win this thing,' Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said.

With the Hokies (6-2, 3-1) leading 10-0 late in the fourth and the Eagles backed up against their own goal line, Ryan finally found a rhythm. He led a 91-yard scoring drive, capped by a 16-yard TD pass to Rich Gunnell with 2:11 left.

After BC recovered an onside kick, Ryan went back to work. Three times he scrambled away from pressure to complete passes.

On the last play, Ryan slipped away from the rush, slid to the left, and spotted Callender drifting back into the end zone away from the defense. Ryan let loose, Callender cradled the winning score and BC narrowly avoided becoming the fourth second-ranked team to lose in the last four weeks.

LOUISVILLE: Defensive tackle Adrian Grady will miss the rest of the season after tearing a pectoral muscle.

MICHIGAN ST.: Starting linebacker SirDarean Adams, Starting cornerback T.J. Williams and reserve cornerback Jeremy Ware have been charged with unarmed robbery in the parking lot of a store.

Coach Mark Dantonio said the players will remain on the roster and retain the opportunity to play.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT