Associated Press
The college football roundup …
GREENVILLE, S.C. ó Chris Forcier recorded 288 all-purpose yards to lead Furman over Appalachian State 20-10 on Saturday.
Furman (6-3, 4-2 Southern Conference) opened the scoring by capping a 7-play, 85-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Forcier to Ryan Culbreath. Forcier’s second score came on a 79-yard bomb to Sederrik Cunningham to give Furman a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Forcier finished with 224 yards on 9 of 16 passing and added 64 yards on 11 carries.
Appalachian State (6-3, 5-2) outgained Furman 399-365 and held possession for 36:15 compared to just 23:45 for Furman. But penalties and turnovers marred the Mountaineers’ offense.
Appalachian State committed seven penalties, lost two fumbles, and Jamel Jackson threw interceptions on the Mountaineers’ first two possessions.
Jackson finished with 312 yards on 29 of 44 passing.
ACC
COLLEGE PARK, Md. ó Now that Virginia has finally won a game in November and become bowl eligible, the Cavaliers have no intention of coasting to the finish.
Perry Jones ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns, Michael Rocco threw for two scores, and Virginia beat Maryland 31-13 to qualify for a bowl bid for the first time in four years.
It was also the Cavaliers’ first November win in 14 tries since Nov. 10, 2007.
Playing on the road against their border rivals, the Cavaliers (6-3, 3-2 ACC) trailed 13-7 in the second quarter. Instead of wilting, they scored the final 24 points.
Midway through the second quarter, the Terrapins stuffed former West Rowan star K.P. Parks on a fourth-and-1 at the Maryland 40. The Terps got a first-and-goal at the 2, but couldn’t push the ball into the end zone.
Rocco then foiled a blitz with a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Parks, capping a four-play drive that took only 67 seconds.
Miami 49, Duke 14
MIAMI ó Lamar Miller backed up his words, and ran into the Miami history books.
Days after predicting this would be the week where he topped the 1,000-yard mark, Miller rushed for 147 yards ó giving him 1,016 for the season ó and two touchdowns, leading Miami to a 49-14 win over Duke.
Miller is Miami’s first 1,000-yard back since Willis McGahee in 2002.
CONFERENCE USA
GREENVILLE ó Jamie Collins scored on a 97-yard interception return and Deron Wilson added one of 79 yards to lead Southern Mississippi to a 48-28 win over East Carolina.
The Golden Eagles also got return touchdowns on punt plays as Tracy Lampley scored from 60 yards and Emmanuel Johnson scooped up a blocked punt and rambled 15 yards for another touchdown.
Southern Miss (8-1, 4-1 Conference USA) gave up a 72-yard touchdown pass from Dominique Davis to Reese Wiggins on the second play of the game, but the Golden Eagles scored the next four touchdowns en route to a 38-14 halftime lead.
Southern Miss seized control of C-USA’s East Division with its seventh straight win, while East Carolina (4-5, 3-2) had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Golden Eagles have dominated the series against the Pirates with wins in 16 of their last 19 visits to East Carolina.
OTHERS
CULLOWHEE ó Wofford had its best rushing game in more than a decade and beat Western Carolina 42-24 on Saturday.
The Terriers (7-2, 5-1 Southern Conference) rushed for six touchdowns and 500 yard.
Eric Breitenstein surpassed 100 yards for the eighth time this season.
Butler 17, Davidson 7
INDIANAPOLIS ó Wade Markley threw two touchdown passes to help Butler beat Davidson 17-7.
Davidson (2-7, 0-6) dominated the statistics. Jonathan Carkhuff threw for 303 yards, completing 37 of 47 attempts, but Carkhuff was intercepted three times, twice inside the 10-yard line.
Air Force 00, Army 00
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. ó Army’s Scott Williams was twisting his way toward the goal line when Air Force defensive back Josh Hall punched the ball out of his arms and out of the back of the end zone for a touchback .
“That was a huge play, goodness. Gigantic play,” Falcons coach Troy Calhoun said.
It was the kindling for the Falcons’ rally from a two-touchdown halftime deficit and a 24-14 win over the Black Knights on Saturday. With the win, Air Force retained the coveted Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
Coastal Carolina 15, Presbyterian 8
CONWAY, S.C. ó Former Catawba coach David Bennett beat his alma mater in front of almost 9.000 fans.