LITTLE ROCK — CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Butch Davis' latest reclamation project took a major step in the right direction.
The coach's old team is still trying to find its way back to elite status.
Brandon Tate scored on a long end-around in a spurt of 27 points to start the game and Connor Barth kicked four field goals to help North Carolina hold off Miami 33-27 on Saturday, giving Davis his first Atlantic Coast Conference victory against a program he once built into a national champion.
Anthony Elzy ran for 95 yards and a score for the Tar Heels (2-4, 1-2 ACC), who turned in a dominating performance to take a 27-0 lead at halftime and then hung on as the Hurricanes (4-2, 1-1) twice rallied to within a touchdown in the second half.
In other ACC games, Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes and host Boston College (6-0) pulled away with four interceptions late in the first half to overwhelm Bowling Green (3-2) in a 55-24 victory and get off to its best start in 65 years. ... In his first career start, Chris Turner threw for 255 yards, and Lance Ball ran for three touchdowns as host Maryland (4-2, 1-1) barely held on for a 28-26 victory over Georgia Tech (3-3, 1-3). ... Receiver Kenneth Moore rushed for two touchdowns and Wake Forest (3-2, 2-1) withstood Thaddeus Lewis' four-touchdown performance to win 41-36 against host Duke (1-5, 0-3). ... Fifteenth-ranked Virginia Tech (5-1, 2-0) had a record-tying 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Victor Harris and an 82-yard punt return score from Eddie Royal in its 41-23 victory over host and No. 22 Clemson (4-2, 2-2). ... Michael Ray Garvin returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown to spark host Florida State (4-1, 1-1) to its fourth consecutive victory, a 27-10 victory over North Carolina State (1-5, 0-3). ... Chris Gould kicked a 34-yard field goal with eight seconds left, redeeming himself for an earlier extra-point miss, and Virginia (5-1) won 23-21 at Middle Tennessee (1-5).
BIG EAST
No. 6 team holds off FAU
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - South Florida's highest ranking in school history was nearly short-lived.
Benjamin Williams ran for 186 yards and four touchdowns, Matt Grothe added 120 yards rushing and a score and the No. 6 Bulls held off fellow upstart Florida Atlantic 35-23 Saturday.
South Florida (5-0) committed four turnovers for the second consecutive game.
Williams had a 10-yard scoring run to break a 7-7 tie in the third quarter. Grothe made it 21-14 with a spinning, juking, tackle-breaking 32-yard run two possessions later.
But Florida Atlantic (3-3) didn't quit in its first game against a top-10 opponent.
Rusty Smith threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to DiIvory Edgecomb, cutting the lead to 26-23 with 6:42 to play. The Owls missed the two-point conversion.
In other Big East games, Owen Schmitt scored his first two touchdowns of the season, defensive tackle Keilen Dykes returned an interception 19 yards for another score, and 13th-ranked West Virginia (5-1, 1-1) got back on track with a 55-14 victory over host Syracuse (1-5, 1-1). ... Ben Mauk threw two of his three touchdowns in a 19-second span late in the third quarter and visiting Cincinnati (6-0, 1-0) forced four turnovers, including a game-saving interception by linebacker Ryan Manalac with 1:19 to play in the Bearcats' 28-23 victory over No. 21 Rutgers (3-2, 0-1).
Sports, Pages 40 on 10/07/2007