BLACKSBURG, Va. — Miami swaggered into Virginia Tech as underdogs and took a huge bite out of the Hokies' national title hopes.

The fifth-ranked Hurricanes put the clamps on Marcus Vick, forcing him into six turnovers, and blew the Hokies right out of the national title picture with a stunning 27-7 victory on Saturday night.

The third-ranked Hokies (8-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had hoped an impressive win over Miami would not only take them a step closer to their second straight ACC title, but also give them a boost in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

Virginia Tech was in third place behind Southern California and Texas in the BCS standings, with designs on making a late-season run to the Rose Bowl.

Instead, Miami (7-1, 4-1) helped clear the clutter at the top of the BCS and ensure that Virginia Tech won't be this season's Auburn — perfect but left out of the national title game.

There was little drama in the first game pitting longtime friends Pete Carroll and Walt Harris against each other as head coaches.Southern California saw to that.USC scored on each of its seven first-half possessions to take an insurmountable lead, and Carroll's Trojans went on to beat Stanford (4-4, 3-3 Pac-10).Matt Leinart passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns, Reggie Bush rushed for 113 yards and another score, and the Trojans (9-0, 6-0) had no trouble extending their conference-record winning streak to 31 games.

Receiver-turned-starting tailback Ramonce Taylor showed he can run the ball for Texas. He can still catch it, too.Taylor ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns and had a 42-yard catch from Vince Young for another score in the Longhorns' 16th straight victory. The sophomore was the third different starting tailback for Texas this season.Young, the Heisman Trophy contender who is 26-2 as the Longhorns' starter, had 351 total yards in just more than three quarters — 16-of-27 passing for 298 yards and two TDs, and 53 yards rushing on eight carries. Jamaal Charles ran for two scores for Texas (9-0, 6-0 Big 12).The 16-game winning streak is the longest for the Longhorns since they won a school-record 30 in a row from 1968-70.Baylor (4-5, 1-5) has lost eight straight in the series and been outscored 203-14 the last four games, three of those shutouts.

Backup cornerback Reggie Lewis, beaten all game by Vanderbilt's bigger receivers, intercepted Jay Cutler's first pass in the second overtime to give Florida the victory over the pesky Commodores.The Gators also kept alive hopes of winning the Southeastern Conference.Cutler threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the final 2:17 of regulation to send the game into overtime.Vanderbilt (4-5, 2-4) and Florida (7-2, 5-2) exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime. Jeff Jennings ran 8 yards for a score for the Commodores, then Chris Leak answered with a 9-yard TD pass to Chad Jackson. Leak finished 32-of-41 for 257 yards with three touchdowns. He also ran for a career-high 67 yards and two scores.Jemalle Cornelius made a leaping, 16-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone that put the Gators ahead in the second overtime.

Kenneth Darby ran for 122 yards and Alabama returned two turnovers for touchdowns.Brodie Croyle was 14-of-22 for 116 yards for Alabama (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference), which forced four takeaways and held the Bulldogs to 26 yards rushing in beating Mississippi State coach and former 'Bama player Sylvester Croom.Mike Henig, a redshirt freshman making his first start, was 9-of-28 for 78 yards with three interceptions for the Bulldogs (2-7, 0-6), who have lost five straight and were shut out for the second time this season.

JaMarcus Russell passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and LSU beat Appalachian State in a non-conference game.The Tigers (7-1) extended their winning streak to six heading into their SEC West showdown at No. 4 Alabama next Saturday. The Mountaineers, ranked No. 7 in Division I-AA and tied for first in the Southern Conference, are 6-3.It was LSU's closest game ever against a I-AA opponent, surpassing a 35-10 victory against The Citadel in 2002. It was Appalachian State's closest game against a Division I-A opponent since a 15-7 loss to Auburn in 1999.

Freshman Willie Tuitama threw for two early touchdowns and Arizona rolled for 519 yards in a rout of the previously unbeaten and seventh-ranked Bruins.Arizona, losers of 19 of its last 21 Pac-10 home games, rushed for 320 yards. Mike Bell had 153 yards in 16 attempts, including an 8-yard touchdown run.It was the highest-ranked team to lose to Arizona (3-6, 2-4) since the Wildcats beat No. 1 Washington 16-3 in Tucson on Nov. 7, 1992.

Brady Quinn threw three touchdown passes and Tom Zbikowski had a punt return and interception return for scores to lead Notre Dame.Quinn was 20-of-33 for 295 yards and threw two touchdown passes in the span of a minute to give the Irish a 14-0 lead. The Irish went ahead 21-3 on a Zbikowski's 78-yard punt return for a score. After the Vols rallied to tie the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by Arian Foster, Quinn threw a 4-yard TD pass to Jeff Samardzija to give the Irish the lead again.The victory made Notre Dame (6-2) bowl eligible in consecutive years for the first time since 1997-98, Bob Davie's first two years as coach.The Volunteers (3-5) lost their fourth straight for the first time since 1988, which also is the last time they failed to go to a bowl game. The Vols must win their last three against Memphis, Vanderbilt and Kentucky to become bowl eligible.

Andre Brown ran for 179 yards and a 65-yard touchdown and North Carolina State intercepted Drew Weatherford three times to beat Florida State for the third time in five years.Florida State (7-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) backed into the league's first championship game scheduled next month in Jacksonville because Boston College lost at North Carolina.Without injured tailback Leon Washington, Florida State's offense managed 43 yards rushing and was unable to get the ball to 6-foot-6 receiver Greg Carr, who came into the game leading the ACC in touchdown catches and yards receiving. N.C. State (4-4, 2-4) built a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter when Anthony Hill caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Stone.

Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes and Antonio Pittman ran for two scores for Ohio State.Ohio State's fourth win in a row allowed the Buckeyes (7-2, 5-1) to keep pace with first-place Penn State in the Big Ten with two league games left — against Northwestern and at Michigan.Illinois (2-7, 0-6) lost its seventh game in a row. The Buckeyes piled up 526 yards while holding the Illini to 160.Smith completed 13-of-21 passes for a career-high 298 yards, and ran for 55 yards on seven carries. His scoring passes covered 41 and 3 yards to Santonio Holmes, and 73 yards to Ted Ginn Jr., who totaled 138 yards on four catches.

Third-string quarterback Brady Leaf threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to James Finley in overtime to lift Oregon.The Ducks (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) played their first game without starter Kellen Clemens, who is out for the season with a broken ankle. Dennis Dixon started, but it was Leaf who led them to victory in a game played in constant rain and unpredictable winds.California (6-3, 3-3) had a chance to win in regulation, but Tom Schneider missed a rushed, 53-yard field goal attempt. The Bears have lost three of their last four games. Leaf, the younger brother of former Washington State star Ryan Leaf, completed 9-of-13 passes for 93 yards, while Dixon was 15-of-26 for 139 yards and a score. He threw one interception.

Taurean Henderson ran for 109 yards and four touchdowns and Texas Tech beat Texas A&M for its sixth straight home win over the Aggies.It took a half for Tech's passing game to click, and surprisingly, the Red Raiders rushed as many times as they passed (19), sputtering through the first two quarters.Quarterback Cody Hodges, who likes to spread his passes around to as many as seven receivers, threw to only three for just 211 yards in the first half.When the Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) did begin to click in the third quarter, they used the pass to get close and scored touchdowns on six of their seven possessions in the second half — four on rushes.The margin of victory was the largest for Tech in the history of the series. In 1954, Paul "Bear" Bryant's first year at the helm of the Aggies (5-4, 3-3).

Kenny Irons, Tristan Davis and Tre Smith combined for 364 yards rushing and five touchdowns for the Tigers.Irons carried 23 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half, while Davis added 162 yards and a touchdown on eight carries as the Tigers (7-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) prepped for a showdown next Saturday at No. 11 Georgia.Kentucky (2-6, 1-4) has lost 15 straight games to Auburn, dating to 1966, but scored more points against the Tigers than any other team this season.

Connor Barth broke out of a season-long slump with three field goals and Wallace Wright ran back the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.Jesse Holley set career highs with eight catches for 125 yards for the Tar Heels (4-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who got their second consecutive upset at home. Two weeks ago, they beat then-No. 23 Virginia 7-5, and their defense was every bit as stingy in this one.After the Eagles (6-3, 3-3) drove 63 yards on their opening drive to tie it 7-7, they gained only 274 the rest of the way.

No. 20 TCU wrapped up its first outright conference title in nearly 50 years by beating Colorado State.Robert Merrill and Aaron Brown combined for 178 yards on 29 rushes to lead the league's highest-scoring offense. The TCU defense, which leads the conference in points allowed, shut down the Rams, intercepting four passes and sacking Justin Holland five times.TCU (9-1, 7-0), playing its first season in the MWC, last won an outright league title in 1958 when it was in the Southwest Conference.The Horned Frogs shared SWC titles in 1959 and 1994 and won a piece of championships in the Western Athletic Conference (1999, 2000) and Conference USA (2002).