College Football | Hokies humble No. 10 Clemson

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech felt disrespected after a two-game losing streak that bounced the Hokies from the polls and made them look like pretenders.

They probably fixed that Thursday night, getting 203 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Branden Ore and a magnificent defensive effort that limited No. 10 Clemson to 76 yards in the final three quarters of a 24-7 victory.

"We knew tonight was our night," right tackle Duane Brown said after the maligned offensive line made Ore the first back in Hokies history to have back-to-back 200-yard games. He had 207 yards five days earlier against Southern Mississippi.

"Everybody thought we were going to lose," Brown said. "We were the underdogs on our home field. We took that to heart."

The Hokies (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) also took it to the Tigers, who came in with the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, averaging better than 42 points, and did nothing after a first-quarter TD.

Clemson (7-2, 4-2) had just three first downs in the last three quarters, and the third one came in the final minute, not long before the final gun sounded and Hokies fans streamed onto the field, surrounding the team and celebrating around midfield.

"We put ourselves back in the race," said Ore, who carried a career-high 37 times.

The Tigers had 10 series that didn't yield a first down, including eight three-and-outs.

Clemson arrived with the more vaunted running game — a tandem of James Davis and C.J. Spiller averaged 185 yards between them. They managed 71 yards on 22 tries.

"They had more people in there than we could block," Spiller said.

"It's just so satisfying to have a great team win," said coach Frank Beamer, whose team has drawn negative publicity recently after having three arrests off the field and a slew of unsportsmanlike penalties on it. "We did it the right way."

Clemson was in great position to at least tie it in the second quarter when C.J. Gaddis stripped the ball from Sean Glennon. Gaines Adams recovered the quarterback's fumble for the Tigers on the Tech 25 and Clemson trailing 10-7.

Three plays later, however, Proctor never got the handle on the third-and-nine snap, and Hokies defensive end Barry Booker jumped on the loose ball to end the threat.

Notes

• Louisville WRs Chris Vaughn and Scott Long were suspended for at least one game after being arrested for shooting a woman with a paintball gun.

• Florida QB Chris Leak, Penn State LB Paul Posluszny and Rutgers FB Brian Leonard are among 17 finalists for the Draddy Trophy, given to college football's top scholar-athlete. Each finalist will get an $18,000 postgraduate-studies scholarship.

• Miami WR Ryan Moore is expected to face a felony charge for his role in an August altercation with two women, and will not accompany the team to Georgia Tech for its game Saturday. The felony charge is not why Moore isn't traveling to Atlanta, coach Larry Coker said.

• The Miami players who were suspended for their role in a sideline-clearing brawl against Florida International will participate in several community initiatives as part of their sanctioning, school officials said.

• Marlin McKeever, 66, a two-time All-American at USC who played 13 years in the NFL, was comatose and in critical condition following a fall at his home. McKeever had a blood clot on his brain and was in the intensive care unit at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.