STANFORD, Calif. — Darius Walker ran 6 yards for the winning touchdown with 55 seconds remaining and took a direct snap to run in for the 2-point conversion, and No. 6 Notre Dame became eligible for the Bowl Championship Series with a 38-31 victory over Stanford on Saturday night.

Brady Quinn passed for 432 yards and three touchdowns but also threw two interceptions, and Notre Dame survived a wild final few minutes for its fifth straight victory since a 34-31 loss to No. 1 USC on Oct. 15. Walker ran for 186 yards on 35 carries.

The Irish (9-2) won seven of their final eight games under first-year coach Charlie Weis.

D.J. Fitzpatrick missed a 29-yard field goal wide left with 2:15 to play after his earlier extra point missed off the left upright and then his 42-yard field goal attempt in Notre Dame's next possession went wide left.

Stanford took advantage.

The Cardinal, who will miss a postseason trip in coach Walt Harris' first year, went ahead 31-30 with 1:46 left after backup quarterback T.C. Ostrander's 4-yard touchdown pass to Matt Traverso.

Jeff Samardzija caught two touchdown passes and Travis Thomas ran 8 yards for a score with 9:44 left for the Irish, who played in front of three representatives from the Fiesta Bowl and beat Stanford for the fourth straight time.

Samardzija increased his school-record single-season touchdown receptions mark to 15 and finished with nine catches for a career-high 216 yards.

Notre Dame could receive big money from this victory, too — at least $14 million for playing in the BCS.

The Cardinal finished 5-6 against the second-toughest schedule in the nation and missed a chance at the school's first trip to the postseason since 2001.

Chris Leak threw two touchdown passes, the defense created four turnovers and Florida overwhelmed Florida State at The Swamp.Now Urban Meyer's first season at Florida can be called successful, despite three losses and the Gators' failure to reach the Southeastern Conference title game.Florida (8-3) finished undefeated at home for the first time since 2000 and knocked off its top three rivals — Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State — in the same season for the first time since 1996.The Seminoles (7-4) may have reached a new low under longtime coach Bobby Bowden, losing three in a row for the first time since 1983. Florida State still has a chance to turn the season around, though. It can win the inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference championship game next week in Jacksonville and advance to the Orange Bowl.Florida's victory against its in-state rival was the most lopsided in the series since a 52-20 win in the 1997 Sugar Bowl, which gave the Gators their lone national title.Chad Jackson finished with nine catches for 97 yards and a touchdown for Florida.

Cedric Humes ran for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns and Virginia Tech advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a victory.The Hokies (10-1, 7-1) led only 6-3 at halftime, but Humes scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards and Branden Ore added a TD run — all in the third quarter — as Virginia Tech made certain it didn't squander a second chance to win the ACC's Coastal Division.While the Hokies move on to the inaugural championship game next Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla., against Florida State, the loss deprived the Tar Heels (5-6, 4-4) of becoming the ninth conference team to have the six wins needed for a bowl berth.

Kyle Wright threw for 248 yards and the go-ahead score, then scampered a career-long 31 yards to set up the final touchdown as Miami beat Virginia.Charlie Jones ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns for Miami, which was eliminated from contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division title when Virginia Tech beat North Carolina.Wright completed 23 of 30 passes, including a 17-yard touchdown to Sinorice Moss that put the Hurricanes (9-2, 6-2) ahead for good. And his long run on third-and-2 with 1:58 left set up Jones' 1-yard run that sealed Miami's fifth regular season with at least nine wins in the past six years.Deyon Williams had a pair of touchdown catches for Virginia (6-5, 3-5), including a 6-yarder from Marques Hagans with 27 seconds remaining. Williams also caught a 90-yard scoring pass from wide receiver Emmanuel Byers in the first quarter — the longest pass allowed in Miami history.

D.J. Shockley threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Bryan McClendon with 3:18 remaining and Tim Jennings clinched the victory with an interception at the goal line, giving the Bulldogs a victory over Georgia Tech.Georgia (9-2) defeated its state rival for the fifth year in a row.Both teams scored in the first quarter, then slogged it out much of the night in a field-position battle. Finally, Georgia Tech (7-4) cracked.Thomas Flowers, who had two big punt returns in the second half, broke off a 33-yarder that gave the Bulldogs possession on the Georgia Tech 39.On second-and-5 from the 19, Shockley laid the ball out perfectly for McClendon, who hauled in the pass despite tight coverage by Dennis Davis.Georgia will return to Atlanta next Saturday to face LSU in the Southeastern Conference title game, trying to earn a third straight trip to the state capital. The SEC champion will play in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl, being held at the Georgia Dome this year while New Orleans recovers from Hurricane Katrina.

Robert Hubbard ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns and Jeff Rowe hit Nichiren Flowers with a 12-yard scoring pass with 1:29 remaining as Nevada upset Fresno State to claim at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference title.Paul Pinegar threw a 3-yard TD pass to Matt Rivera and then a 2-point pass to Joe Fernandez to make it 38-35 with 31 seconds left, but Nevada's Anthony Pudewell recovered an onside kick to secure the victory in a crazy finish played without the stadium clock the final 6 minutes.Pinegar completed 30-of-45 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns a week after Fresno State put a scare into top-ranked USC before falling 50-42. The Bulldogs have already accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl.Nevada (8-3, 7-1) got a pair of turnovers in the final 7 minutes to overcome 17 straight points in the second half by Fresno State (8-3, 6-1).

Montrell Jones caught six passes for a career-high 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Brandon Johnson had a key third-quarter interception to help Louisville overcome a sloppy performance and win a school-record 12th straight home game.The Cardinals (8-2, 4-2 Big East) held off a late rally by the Orange (1-10, 0-7), who finished with the first 10-loss season in the program's 110-year history.The Cardinals bolstered their quest for a Jan. 2 bowl bid thanks to a defense that tightened up after Louisville starting quarterback Brian Brohm went down with a sprained right knee in the third quarter.Brohm threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions, twice as many as he'd thrown in Louisville's first five home games this season.Perry Patterson threw for 259 yards and a touchdown for Syracuse.