10/04/97 - 7:21PM ET - Click reload often for latest version
NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- MIAMI OHIO 0 14 7 3 24 VIRGINIA TECH (12) 10 7 0 0 17 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QTR: VTCH - TD, KEN OXENDINE 1 YD RUN (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK), 6:47 VTCH - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 44 YD, 9:15 2ND QTR: MOHI - TD, DUSTIN COHEN 3 YD RETURN OF BLOCKED PUNT (JOHN SCOTT KICK), 1:10 MOHI - TD, TRAVIS PRENTICE 32 YD RUN (JOHN SCOTT KICK), 5:11 VTCH - TD, KEN OXENDINE 3 YD RUN (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK), 7:44 3RD QTR: MOHI - TD, TRAVIS PRENTICE 8 YD RUN (JOHN SCOTT KICK), 10:38 4TH QTR: MOHI - FG, JOHN SCOTT 36 YD, 3:06
NCAAF 1 2 3 4 F - - - - -- Miami Ohio 0 14 7 3 24 Virginia Tech (12) 10 7 0 0 17 FINAL
Virginia Tech-Oxendine 1 run (Graham kick) Virginia Tech-FG Graham 44 Miami Ohio-Cohen 3 blocked punt return (Scott kick) Miami Ohio-Prentice 32 run (Scott kick) Virginia Tech-Oxendine 3 run (Graham kick) Miami Ohio-Prentice 8 run (Scott kick) Miami Ohio-FG Scott 36
Miami Ohio Virginia Tech First downs 12 19 Rushed-yards 38-141 51-157 Passing yards 190 172 Sacked-yards lost 2-15 6-32 Return yards 27 17 Passes 13-24-0 14-24-0 Punts 7-39.9 6-35.5 Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-2 Penalties-yards 5-30 3-41 Time of possession 26:47 33:13
Individual Statistics RUSHING: Miami Ohio-Prentice 21-82, Ricketts 9-32, Monk 6-15, Adkins 2-12. Virginia Tech-Oxendine 23-105, Clark 20-21, Parker 5-19, Pegues 3-12.
PASSING: Miami Ohio-Ricketts 13-24-0-190. Virginia Tech-Clark 14-24-0-172.
RECEIVING: Miami Ohio-J Hall 5-66, S Johnson 2-59, Vaughn 2-28, Monk 1-19, Buxton 1-13, Gaylor 1-5, Prentice 1-0. Virginia Tech-Harrison 4-40, Scales 3-81, Gildersleeve 2-28, Oxendine 2-minus 4, Parker 1-18, Handy 1-5, Stuewe 1-4.
Att: 42,878
GAME RECAPTravis Prentice ran for a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with less than five minutes left in the third quarter, as Miami of Ohio stunned host and 12th-ranked Virginia Tech, 24-17, halting their 12-game home winning streak.
The win was the 45th at Miami for Randy Walker, who became the school's winningest coach, breaking a tie with Frank Wilton. Walker did it in 82 games, six fewer than Wilton. The victory was Miami's first over a ranked opponent since a 30-28 victory over number 25 Northwestern in 1995. A 21-12 victory over number 10 LSU in 1986 marked the highest-ranked opponent Miami has ever beaten.
"The key is how we respond next week," Walker said. "They are going to win the Big East and they have a great chance of beating the rest of the teams on their schedule. I knew we had to have things go our way and make big plays. I can't say enough about our defense."
The Hokies (4-1) were held scoreless in the second half and never recovered after Prentice scored on an eight-yard run with 4:22 left in the third quarter to give Miami (4-1) a 21-17 edge. The score was set up when Virginia Tech's Ken Oxendine fumbled the ball away at his own 28-yard line.
Virginia Tech lost two fumbles after turning the ball over twice in their first four games of the season. The Hokies missed a chance for their first 5-0 start since 1967 and also had their school-record streak of 23 straight games with at least 20 points come to an end.
"That was a classic example of what happens when guys spend the week talking about too many other teams and forget the team that is at hand," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "And when you have two punts blocked and fumble away the ball on two drives, you can expect to get upset."
John Scott booted a 36-yard field goal with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game to make the final margin in the first-ever meeting between the schools.
Prentice, who carried 21 times for 82 yards, has scored 11 of Miami's 14 rushing touchdowns this season and has at least one touchdown in 10 of his last 11 games.
Oxendine scored on a three-yard run midway through the second quarter to give the Hokies their final lead, 17-14. That countered a 32-yard TD run by Prentice 2:33 earlier. Oxendine finished with 105 yards on 23 carries.
Oxendine burst in from a yard 6:47 into the game as Virginia Tech gained the early lead. Shayne Graham kicked a 44-yard field goal less than three minutes later as the Hokies increased their lead to 10-0.
But Miami turned the game around 70 seconds into the second quarter. Virginia Tech's Jimmy Kibble took a bad snap and had his punt blocked by safety Bryan McCullough before linebacker Dustin Cohen picked it up and ran three yards for the RedHawks' first touchdown.
"Coach (Jack) Glowik said all week, `I think we can get a punt (block) off these guys,'" Walker said. "We came up with about three different blocks. Jack called it all week, he said we are going to block one for a score. It's going to happen, and he called it. I can't say enough about our defense."
Among other plays, the punt block, something which Virginia Tech excels at, turned out to be the difference, since Miami finished with 331 yards of total offense, two more than the Hokies.
Sam Ricketts finished 13-of-24 for 190 yards for the RedHawks, while Al Clark was 14-of-24 for 172 yards for Virginia Tech. Neither quarterback had a touchdown or interception.
Jay Hall caught six passes for 66 yards to lead Miami, while Virginia Tech's Shawn Scales had three grabs for 81 yards.
"We need to regroup now and get ready for a big conference game next week against Boston College," Beamer said. "The only good thing that comes out of this is that it was not a Big East Conference game. Miami of Ohio beat Northwestern two years ago and Northwestern came back to go to the Rose Bowl. We have a chance to do the same thing and can still wind up in an Alliance Bowl. But we will have to be a whole lot better football team than we were today."