As the third-ranked team in the BCS standings despite an 8-0 record and two impressive wins over top-25 teams, No. 3 Virginia Tech was hoping that a win over No. 5 Miami could change its fortunes and put it in the Rose Bowl picture.
Instead, the Hurricanes rolled into Blacksburg, Va. and destroyed the Hokies, blowing Virginia Tech right out of the national title picture.
Miami's defense dominated the game, holding the Hokies to just 167 yards of total offense, recording six sacks, forcing six turnovers and scoring a touchdown to lead the Hurricanes to a 27-7 road victory.
The upset dropped the Hokies to No. 8 in the AP rankings and vaulted the Hurricanes into the national title picture at No. 3 in the AP.
Virginia Tech entered the game with plenty of momentum, having just knocked off No. 13 Boston College 30-10. The Hokies were counting on the hot play of quarterback Marcus Vick to propel them into national title contention with a convincing win over a highly-ranked team.
As it turned out, Vick was no match for a Miami defense that had him running for his life all game. The Miami pass rush sacked Vick six times and forced two interceptions and four lost fumbles. Late in the third quarter, with Vick in his own endzone, the Miami pass rush flushed Vick out of the pocket and forced a fumble that was recovered in the endzone by Kareem Brown to give Miami a commanding 27-0 lead.
At that point, the Hokies had little chance of coming back into the game and were just looking for a score to avoid their first shutout since 1995. The game was another notch in the belt for a Miami defense that has given up just 83 points in eight games. That includes 30 allowed in week two against No. 20 Clemson.
If it weren't for a 10-7 opening week loss to Florida State, the Hurricanes would be undefeated and right in the thick of the national championship race. They still could find themselves playing the Seminoles once again, this time for the ACC Championship. Regardless, if either USC or Texas falters, Miami would be in the running with the Alabama Crimson Tide for an invitation to the Rose Bowl.
After flattening Stanford 51-21 this week, USC will face three tough games to end its season. Next week, the Trojans will travel to Memorial Stadium to take on a California team that just lost an overtime heartbreaker to No. 11 Oregon. After that, they will host No. 20 Fresno State and No. 14 UCLA, which just dropped its first game of the season, a 52-14 shocker to Arizona. The way USC's offense has played the last two years, it would be a surprise if the Trojans lost any of those games.
Like the Trojans, Texas appears destined for a trip to Pasadena. This week, Texas routed overmatched Baylor, 62-0. With a schedule that includes Kansas, Texas A&M and possibly Colorado in the Big 12 Championship Game, the Longhorns should be able to walk into the Rose Bowl, barring an upset.
With Texas, USC and Miami seemingly having locked up BCS bids, a slew of other teams are left jockeying for the remaining top bowl berths. Alabama, with its perfect record, is the front-runner for the SEC bid, but will not have an easy time beating No. 5 LSU, No. 15 Auburn and possibly No. 9 Georgia in the SEC Championship game.
In the Big Ten, No. 6 Penn State seems to have wrapped things up this weekend with a convincing 35-14 win over then-No. 14 Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions will travel to Michigan State next weekend to take on a reeling Spartans team.
In the Big East, West Virginia has the edge on the bid with a 4-0 conference record and no games left against ranked teams.
Because the BCS added another bowl this year, that leaves four at-large bids for the taking. These bids could be gobbled up by SEC also-rans as well as Independent Notre Dame.
