BOSTON - Diamond Ferri ran for 141 yards two touchdowns and scored again on an interception as Syracuse deprived the Eagles of a Bowl Championship Series berth and a farewell outright Big East title.

BC needed a victory for its first championship in a league that has been depleted by the defections of Miami and Virginia Tech to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles will join them next year.

Damien Rhodes ran for a 69-yard touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage and 107 yards in all for Syracuse (6-5, 4-2 Big East) before leaving with a leg injury. The injury pressed Ferri, the Orange's starting safety, into action at tailback.

The win elevated the Orangemen into a four-way tie with BC (8-3, 4-2), Pittsburgh and West Virginia for first place in the conference. Pitt would earn the BCS berth with a victory over South Florida next week.

Matt Leinart passed for a career-high 400 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns Saturday night, leading top-ranked Southern California to a 41-10 victory over Notre Dame.The win was USC's 20th straight and 21st in a row at the Los Angeles Coliseum - a new school record. The Trojans haven't lost at home since being beaten by Stanford 21-16 on Sept. 29, 2001. That team was coached by current Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham.The victory gave the Trojans (11-0, 7-0 Pac-10) their best start since 1972, when they won the national championship with a 12-0 record.More important, USC's 34th win in 37 games since the start of the 2002 season kept its current national title hopes alive.Should the Trojans beat UCLA next weekend in their regular-season finale, they will almost surely secure a spot in the Orange Bowl for the Bowl Championship Series title.Notre Dame (6-5) leads the series 42-29-5 and had a 15-3-1 record against the Trojans from 1983-2001. But USC has dominated the Irish the last three games, winning each by 31 points.

Bryan Randall threw two second-half touchdown passes and Virginia Tech moved one victory from the Atlantic Coast Conference title.The Hokies (9-2, 6-1) can win the league title and the Bowl Championship Series berth that goes with it by winning next week at No. 9 Miami, the team that moved from the Big East to the ACC with Virginia Tech this season.The Hokies also deprived Virginia (8-3, 5-3) of a share of the league title.Randall passed Don Strock as Virginia Tech's career passing yardage leader on a 12-yard completion to Jeff King with 10 minutes left. Randall also hooked up with Josh Hyman for touchdowns of 32 and 45 yards.

Montrell Jones caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt for a score, and Louisville clinched its third Conference USA championship since 2000.Brandon Johnson returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and Tiger Jones recovered another blocked punt in the end zone for Louisville (9-1, 7-0), which reached 70 points for the first time since 1955.The Cardinals' top-ranked offense was unfazed by gusty winds and steady rain, piling up 357 rushing yards and 491 total yards.Cincinnati (6-5, 5-3), which had a four-game winning streak snapped, mustered only 186 yards without senior quarterback Gino Guidugli, who sat out with a broken hand.

David Greene led Georgia to an early lead, then returned at the end with an aching left thumb to make sure the Bulldogs held on for their fourth straight win over the Yellow Jackets.Greene injured the thumb on his throwing hand in the first quarter after tossing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Fred Gibson. The senior quarterback was not expected to return, but he came back in with just over seven minutes remaining to led a 40-yard drive that set up Brandon Coutu's 44-yard field goal with 2:22 left.Greene finished 6-of-12 for 80 yards for Georgia (9-2) to become the Southeastern Conference's career leader in passing yards.Georgia Tech (6-5) trailed 16-0 at halftime.

Jared Zabransky passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns to lead Boise State to its Division I-A best 22nd straight win and keep the Broncos' alive for a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.Cam Hall returned one interception 52 yards for a touchdown and another 64 yards to set up a late score for Boise State (11-0, 8-0 Western Athletic Conference), which claimed its third consecutive WAC title with its record 26th straight league win, dating to 2001.Jeff Rowe passed for 245 yards and a touchdown for Nevada (5-7, 3-5), which suffered its first loss at home this year and hasn't had a winning season since 1998.

Gerald Riggs ran 12 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds remaining and Tennessee rallied to beat Kentucky for the 20th straight time.The Volunteers (9-2, 7-1), who clinched a berth in the Southeastern Conference championship game last week, avoided embarrassment with a two touchdowns in the fourth quarter after trailing nearly the entire game.Rick Clausen was 26-of-41 for 349 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Vols.Shane Boyd threw two touchdowns to freshman Jacob Tamme and finished 20-of-32 for 218 yards for Kentucky (2-9, 1-7).

Sonny Cumbie, the nation's leading passer, had a season-low 281 yards but threw for three touchdowns to lead Texas Tech.Jarett Hicks caught his second TD pass of the game, a 14-yarder, midway through the fourth quarter to make it 24-15 for the Red Raiders (7-4, 5-3 Big 12). Taurean Henderson sealed the win with a 6-yard TD run.The Cowboys (7-4, 4-4) have dropped four of six games, following a 5-0 start.Cumbie, who came in averaging 394 yards passing, was 31-for-46 with an interception.

Ashlan Davis extended his own NCAA record with his fifth kickoff return for a touchdown this season and Tulsa beat a ranked opponent for the first time in more than eight years.Brandon Diles scored on two short runs and Uril Parrish added 141 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries as the Golden Hurricane (3-8, 2-5 WAC) squandered a 17-point halftime lead before rallying for the win against the Miners (8-3, 6-2).