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Hurricanes Remain On A Roll

AP Photo

Miami QB Robert Marve takes off against Virginia Tech Thursday night.

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The Associated Press

Published: November 14, 2008

Updated: 11/14/2008 01:24 am

MIAMI - Javarris James ran for a touchdown, Matt Bosher kicked three field goals, and Miami got a huge defensive stand in the final minutes to beat Virginia Tech 16-14 on Thursday night and move into first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division.

Marcus Robinson had three sacks and a big third-down tackle for a loss with 2:27 left to help the Hurricanes win their fifth in a row.

Robinson's stop on Dustin Pickle forced the Hokies, who were out of timeouts, into a fourth-and-3 - and Allen Bailey sacked Tyrod Taylor to seal the win for the Hurricanes, who knelt three times to run out the clock.

Taylor ran for two touchdowns, including a 6-yarder with 3:28 remaining for the Hokies (6-4, 3-3), who had won four of the last five meetings against the Hurricanes, but now essentially need a miracle to stay in the ACC title picture.

So for now, Miami (7-3, 4-2) holds the outright lead in the ACC Coastal, a half-game ahead of North Carolina, which will need to win Saturday at Maryland to keep pace in the race for a trip to the league title game in Tampa.

Former Plant High star Robert Marve threw for 121 yards and rushed for 44 more for the Hurricanes, who won just five games total last season and started 0-2 in the ACC this year - yet have been the league's hottest team since.

It was the defense that carried the Canes again.

Miami ran 20 plays from scrimmage in the third quarter, compared to six by Virginia Tech - which never advanced the ball farther than its 18 in that period, adding to the Hurricanes' run of defensive dominance coming out of halftime.

Over the last five games, the Hurricanes' defense has been on the field for 76 plays in third quarters and given up a mere 139 yards, a paltry 1.8 yard-per-play average.

Bosher connected from 21 and 31 yards in the third quarter, then added a 23-yarder early in the fourth for a 16-7 Miami advantage.

Not only was it senior night for 23 Hurricanes, but Miami added five players - Jim Kelly, Cortez Kennedy, Jim Otto, Gino Torretta and Edgerrin James - to its ring of honor in a halftime ceremony.

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