Boston College

BLACKSBURG, Va. - This is how Heisman Trophies get won. This is how quarterbacks without mega cannons on their shoulders or wings on their feet make millions in the NFL. This is how national championships get won. Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan shook off 55 minutes of futility last night and led two touchdown drives against a suddenly passive and possibly flagging Virginia Tech defense. After Ryan led a 92-yard drive against a prevent scheme, BC regained the ball on an onside kick at its 34 with 2 minutes, 7 seconds to play.

If it was Larry Coker's final game at Miami, at least the Hurricanes sent him off with a victory. Kirby Freeman threw for 181 yards and a touchdown, Javarris James' 2-yard run in the third quarter put Miami ahead to stay, and the Hurricanes' defense stifled No. 18 Boston College in rallying for a 17-14 win last night. The Hurricanes (6-6, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a four-game losing streak and became bowl-eligible. Soon, they'll know if they'll get an invitation to a postseason matchup - and if the embattled Coker will be coaching.

Dee Brown backpedaled with his right arm held high and wrist cocked after making a three-pointer. It was a sight No. 1 Illinois forced Michigan State to get used to. Luther Head scored 22 points, Brown had 18, and the Fighting Illini made 13 three-pointers to remain undefeated with an 81-68 victory over the 12th-ranked Spartans last night in East Lansing, Mich. Illinois (22-0 overall, 8-0 Big Ten) was expected to face a tough test against Michigan State (14-4, 5-2) in an arena known to be raucous.

Boston College will join the Atlantic Coast Conference as its 12th member, guaranteeing the league a future football playoff game while landing another major television market. The school had until Nov. 1 to accept the ACC's offer, but agreed in less than four hours after ACC presidents and chancellors voted unanimously yesterday to include Boston College in their expansion plans. Big East bylaws require that a team give 27 months' notice to leave that conference or face a reported $5 million exit fee - meaning the Eagles cannot begin participating in ACC sports until 2006.

Marc Dowdell, a polite and unassuming Villanova junior who majors in business and favors the button-down look, has recently become a basketball terror. The 6-foot-9 center and forward has been charging to the basket with no regard to life or limb, his or anybody else's. Last night, in a generally sloppy and ugly game, Dowdell - who is more likely to be described as awkward than athletic - fit in perfectly. Dowdell scored a career-high 18 points, added four rebounds and three assists, and led Villanova to a 72-59 Big East win over Boston College at the Conte Forum.

No. 24 Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak and made sure the Big East race will come down to the final weekend of the regular season. Chris Taft had 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the visiting Panthers (19-7, 9-6), 72-50, over No. 5 Boston College last night. The Eagles (23-3, 12-3), who are leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, could still win the Big East outright or share it if they beat Rutgers on Saturday. No. 15 Connecticut, which is a half-game behind BC, plays Georgetown tomorrow and No. 13 Syracuse on Saturday.

Boston College cornerback Kiernan Speight, accused but exonerated in the gambling scandal that led to the suspension of 13 teammates, said yesterday he will not return to the team. "Right now, I think the door's been shut as far as I'm concerned," he said during a news conference. "I'm going to go . . . finish the semester out and put the whole thing behind me and try to start anew somewhere. " The sophomore was among four players confronted by the team's captains and coach Dan Henning during a contentious meeting following the Eagles' Halloween night loss to Pittsburgh.

Judge rebuffs FDA on Plan B NEW YORK - A government appeal of a ruling giving women of all ages broad access to morning-after birth control is frivolous, a federal judge said Friday as he refused to suspend enforcement of his decision pending appeal. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn did agree to postpone implementation of his month-old decision until Monday to give the government time to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan. The judge had ruled that the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill could be sold to everyone without a prescription.

BOSTON - They were wed in Boston in August, an unlikely match who fell in love and shared a passion for running. Monday, watching the Boston Marathon - a race one had run before - the couple each lost a leg after one of the two explosions that killed three and wounded scores more. Patrick and Jessica Downes each "sustained amputations below the left knee," according to an e-mail sent to friends. A page hosted by GiveForward.com, which helps users create fund-raising sites, was established to raise money that will go toward the couple's medical bills and related costs.

THESE DAYS in college athletics, coaches aren't the only recruiters. Right up there on the importance meter are players . . . even those who've yet to don a uniform. Thaddius Smith, a 5-10, 170-pound junior at Cardinal O'Hara High, Monday announced his commitment to Boston College. Quite crucial to the woo-him process, of course, were coach Steve Addazio and assistant Ryan Day (both formerly of Temple), but so were Marcus Outlow, a running back from Connecticut, and Darius Wade, a quarterback from Delaware.

JAROMIR JAGR scored off his skate in his Bruins debut and Tuukka Rask stopped 40 shots to lead Boston to a 1-0 victory over the visiting New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. Acquired from Dallas this week shortly before the trade deadline, Jagr joined the Bruins for the pregame skate Thursday morning and quickly endeared himself to the Boston fans. Brad Marchand's centering pass went off Jagr's left skate and past Martin Brodeur to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 80 seconds gone in the second period.

The Eagles signed 6-foot-7, 239-pound wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah, who last played football at Boston College in September 2011. Momah suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the season opener and considered giving up football after he was denied a sixth year of eligibility. Momah was recently clocked running the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, a time that likely caught the Eagles' attention along with the 23-year-old's impressive size. He caught 39 passes for 629 yards and six touchdowns at Boston College.

Hello there Glen Mills native Megan had just hoisted the last box of her belongings into her new Boston apartment. She and her roommate needed a celebratory drink. Chris, who has lived near Boston all his life, was out with his friend, the friend's fiance, and the rest of the wedding party. And so that night in May 2009, Megan and Chris wound up next to each other in the same long, slow line at The Harp's bar. Megan, who had moved from the Boston burbs to the city to be closer to her law school at Suffolk University, and Chris, then a counselor for the state's department of social services, discovered they had both recently traveled in Europe.

Villanova announced its 2013 football schedule on Monday, and the Wildcats will open the season on Aug. 30, at Boston College. It will be the first game against the Eagles since the 1980 season. Villanova's home and Colonial Athletic Conference opener is Sept. 21 against Stony Brook in a rematch of last year's first-round NCAA playoff game won by Stony Brook. 2013 Villanova Football Schedule Aug. 30    at Boston College Sept. 7    at Fordham Sept. 14    Bye Sept.

Aaron Craft slashed through the lane for a career-high 21 points on Sunday - more than he had scored in the last three games combined - to lead No. 18 Ohio State to a 68-60 victory over fourth-ranked Michigan State. The loss crippled the Spartans' hopes of catching up with top-ranked Indiana, which now leads the Big Ten race by two full games with four remaining. Deshaun Thomas added 12 of his 14 points in the second half for the Buckeyes (20-7, 10-5 Big Ten), who stand fifth in the conference.

Thadd Smith was almost certain he would return from Boston College last weekend with a scholarship offer. And he had good reason to believe so. "Ever since [coach Steve Addazio] left Temple, he's been telling me to come up there," Smith said. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior at Cardinal O'Hara now lists the Eagles alongside Temple and Rutgers among his scholarship offers. Owls coaches visited Smith on O'Hara's campus after Addazio's departure and assured him he remained on their radar, Smith said.