MIAMI -- Undefeated again and ready for a repeat.
Top-ranked Miami will play for the national championship in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl after completing a second straight perfect season with a wild 56-45 victory over Virginia Tech (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) on Saturday.
Willis McGahee ran for a school-record six TDs and career-high 205 yards.
Willis McGahee ran for a school-record six touchdowns and career-best 205 yards.
The Hurricanes (12-0, 7-0 Big East) rolled up enough points to handle the Hokies (9-4, 3-4) and set up a national title game between the only unbeaten teams: No. 1 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State (13-0) in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 3.
The Hurricanes won their 34th game in a row, tying Penn for the sixth-longest winning streak in Division I-A history. Miami's streak is the longest since Toledo won 35 straight from 1969-71.
"It was a lot of fun. The running game really came up big here in the second half, and we had to have that in order to get to the Fiesta Bowl,'' said Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey, 38-1 as a starter.
"I couldn't be more happy with my guys.''
While Miami seemingly had control with a 49-21 lead early in the third quarter, the Hokies came up with three big plays to pull within striking distance and then hung in until the end.
Willie Pile returned an interception 96 yards for a score -- on a play in which Dorsey was the intended receiver. Then DeAngelo Hall returned a punt 71 yards to set up a field goal, and Roynell Whitaker ran 56 yards with an interception to set up Lee Suggs' 9-yard TD run.
And just like that, Virginia Tech whittled away Miami's lead to 49-37 entering the fourth quarter.
Miami regrouped, though, thanks to Heisman Trophy contenders Dorsey and McGahee, who finished with 39 carries to tie a school record. On the opening drive of the fourth quarter, McGahee ran nine times for 31 yards, and Dorsey went 2-of-2, hitting Kellen Winslow Jr. with an 11-yard TD pass with 10:06 left to give the Hurricanes breathing room.
Suggs scored from 4 yards with 1:51 left, and the Hokies added a 2-point conversion pass to close the scoring.
McGahee had TD runs of 1, 4, 3, 10, 1 and 31 yards in his final Heisman audition, raising his single-season school record to 27 touchdowns. McGahee, who broke Miami's single-game TD record set by Bill L'Italien in 1933, finishes the regular season with 1,686 yards. Dorsey also did his best to stay in the running for college football's top individual prize.
When Dorsey connected with Andre Johnson for 68 yards on the first play of the third quarter to set up McGahee's fifth TD, the quarterback was 9-of-9 for 261 yards and a touchdown -- and Miami was ahead 42-21.
Dorsey, 38-1 as a starter, finished 12-of-20 for 300 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Johnson had six catches for 193 yards and TD.
Virginia Tech, which came into the game with five wins in its last seven games against the Hurricanes, made Miami work for the this one. After McGahee's 31-yard scoring run put Miami up 49-21, some of the Orange Bowl crowd of 76,108 started tossing foam rubber corn chip hats on the field to celebrate a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.
Miami reacted by blocking a punt and then moving to the Hokies' 1. But a trick play designed to have Dorsey catch a TD pass backfired. Jarret Payton took a handoff from Dorsey and tried to throw the ball back to the quarterback. But Pile stepped in front of Dorsey, picked off the pass and scored at the other end.
On Hall's punt return, Maurice Sikes made a TD-saving tackle at 18-yard line, and the 'Canes held the Hokies to a 20-yard field goal by Carter Warley. Whitaker picked off a pass by Dorsey and returned it 56 yards to the Miami 9. On the next play, Suggs scored his first TD of the game.
The final Bowl Championship Series standings will be released Sunday but will be a mere formality when it comes to deciding who plays for the national title.
Ohio State completed its season Nov. 23 and accepted an invitation to play in the Fiesta Bowl. The Hurricanes received their invitation from Fiesta Bowl officials at midfield after Saturday's game.
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