Football | Boston College escapes
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Matt Ryan bought some time, scrambling to his left away from the Virginia Tech rush while searching for an open receiver.
He found just what he was looking for, fired a pass all the way across the field and kept No. 2 Boston College perfect.
Call it Ryan’s Heisman moment.
The senior quarterback threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andre Callender with 11 seconds left and the Eagles validated themselves as national-title contenders with an improbable 14-10 victory over No. 8 Virginia Tech on Thursday night.
Boston College avoided becoming the fourth second-ranked team to lose in the past four weeks, with Ryan throwing 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), second in the BCS standings this week, improved to 8-0 for the first time since 1942. Despite the fast start, some were skeptical of the Eagles, who had played only one ranked team before Virginia Tech.
Ryan finished 25 for 52 for 285 yards with two interceptions, but the final numbers hardly told the story.
“That’s what Heismans do,” Hokies defensive end Chris Ellis said. “They don’t ever give up. We beat the O-line, put licks on him and he came through at the end. He had a two-minute drill - two of them. He did what he had to do.”
With the Hokies (6-2, 3-1) leading 10-0 late in the fourth quarter 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.
“Matt Ryan, what he did tonight, along with the receivers and the whole crew there in the last three minutes of the game, that was special,” first-year Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. “There wasn’t one bit of panic - nothing - with those kids, especially that guy.”
Jagodzinski was pointing to Ryan.
After BC recovered an onside kick at its own 34, Ryan went back to work. Three times he scrambled away from pressure to complete passes, showing off the powerful right arm NFL scouts love and some nimble feet, too.
On the deciding play, he slid to his left and spotted Callender drifting back into the end zone away from the defense. Ryan let loose, and Callender cradled in the winning score.
Sean Glennon, making his first start for the Hokies since being benched after a 48-7 loss to Louisiana State in the second week of the season, played steady on a soggy night He was 15 for 25 for 149 yards with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal in the second quarter. Glennon’s 41-yard pass to Royal in the third quarter set up Jud Dunlevy’s 44-yard field goal that made it 10-0.
Virginia Tech, eighth in the BCS standings, appeared to be on its way to sneaking back into the national-title race after D.J. Parker picked off Ryan’s pass at the Eagles’ 31 with 6:01 left in the fourth quarter.
The Hokies couldn’t convert the interception into points.
“You think back to several times during the game where you have an opportunity to go ahead and win it,” Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “We just didn’t quite get it done.”
Notes
• USC announced after practice that Mark Sanchez would make his third start at quarterback against Oregon on Saturday. John David Booty had thrown in practice but continued to nurse a broken middle finger on his throwing hand.
• Michigan State players SirDarean Adams, T.J. Williams and 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.