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 completed 25 of 52 passes 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 goal line, Ryan finally found a rhythm. He led a 91-yard scoring drive, capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Rich Gunnell with 2:11 left.
"We started making plays," Jagodzinski said. "We started making plays."
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 in the winning score and BC narrowly avoided becoming the fourth AP or BCS second-ranked team to lose in the past four weeks.
Sean Glennon, making his first start for the Hokies sincebeing benched after a 48-7 loss to LSU in the second week of the season, played steady on a soggy night at Lane Stadium. He completed 15 of 25 passes for 149 yards with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal in the second quarter and a 41-yard completion to Royal in the third that set up Jud Dunlevy's 44-yard field goal that made it 10-0.
Glennon was better than Ryan for most of the game and it looked as if Virginia Tech would get a second chance to sneak into the national title race after D.J. Parker picked off Ryan's pass in Eagles territory late in the fourth quarter.
The Hokies couldn't convert the interception into points and Ryan went 9 for 15 on the final two drives.
For most of the night it looked as if all of BC's high hopes - a national title, a Heisman Trophy for its quarterback - would be washed away on a windy and rainy night.
NEW MEXICO 34, AIR FORCE 31
ALBUQUERQUE - Tailback Rodney Ferguson rushed for 146 yards and two touhdowns on 41 carries and John Sullivan kicked four field goals as host New Mexico (6-2, 3-1 Mountain West) ended a threegame losing streak to Air Force (6-3, 5-2).
Sports, Pages 29 on 10/26/2007