TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Colin McCarthy returned a fumble 27 yards for Miami's second touchdown in 11 seconds late in the fourth quarter and the Hurricanes beat Florida State, 37-29, yesterday.

For the first time since 1977, the rivalry game that helped decide so many national titles during the 1980s and '90s was played with neither team ranked. Fittingly, the Seminoles and 'Canes combined for nine turnovers, five by FSU.

Minutes before Miami's two quick touchdowns, the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) appeared to have lost their best chance to get the win when Kirby Freeman was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 at the Florida State 1 with 5:29 left and the 'Canes trailing 29-24.

"There wasn't no doubt," said FSU linebacker Toddrick Verdell, who returned an interception for a touchdown. "In the back of my head, I thought we had the game won."

But Freeman, who replaced injured Kyle Wright in the first half, drove Miami 83 yards in a 1 1/2 minutes to take the lead 30-29 on a 13-yard pass to Dedrick Epps with 1:15 left.

Xavier Lee, who was intercepted twice, then fumbled after being hit by Miami's Teraz McCray, and McCarthy ran it in for the clincher.

The Seminoles (4-3, 1-3) wasted five field goals by Gary Cismesia and Antone Smith's 114 rushing yards on 22 carries.

ATLANTIC COAST

GEORGIA TECH 34, ARMY 10: Rash-aun Grant ran for 119 yards and a touchdown in place of Tashard Choice, who was injured in the first quarter, as the host Yellow Jackets (5-3) rolled past the Black Knights (3-5) in Atlanta.

Clemson 70, Central Michigan 14: Cullen Harper completed 20 of 22 passes for 273 yards and matched a school record with five touchdown passes as the host Tigers (5-2) amassed 656 total yards to pound the Chippewas (4-4) at Clemson, S.C.

Virginia 18, Maryland 17: Reserve running back Mikell Simpson scored on a yard plunge with 16 seconds left to cap a 90-yard, seven-minute drive, lifting the visiting Cavaliers (7-1, 4-0 ACC) over the Terrapins (4-3, 1-2) at College Park, Md., for their seventh straight victory.

BIG 12 CONFERENCE

Texas A&M 36, Nebraska 14: Stephen McGee set career highs with 35 carries for 167 yards and Jorvorskie Lane rushed for 130 yards and four touchdowns, leading the visiting Aggies (6-2, 3-1 Big 12) past the Cornhuskers (4-4, 1-3) at Lincoln, Neb.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

Syracuse 20, Buffalo 12: Doug Hogue scored on a 6-yard run and Andrew Robinson hit Mike Williams with an 11-yard TD pass to open up a 17-3 lead just before halftime as the host Orange (2-6) beat the Bulls (3-5) at Syracuse, N.Y., to snap a three-game losing streak.

BIG TEN CONFERENCE

Penn State 36, Indiana 31: The Nittany Lions (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) forced four second-half turnovers, three of that led to short field goals, and Rodney Kinlaw scored on a 5-yard run with 4:03 left for a 36-24 lead to beat the Hoosiers (5-3, 2-3) at Bloomington, Ind.

Purdue 31, Iowa 6: Curtis Painter passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns, and Dorien Bryant had nine catches for 167 yards and two TDs, as the host Boilermakers (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten) cruised past the Hawkeyes (3-5, 1-4) at West Lafayette, Ind.

North Dakota State 27, Minnesota 21: Tyler Roehl rushed for a school-record 263 yards and a touchdown as the visiting Bison (7-0) overpowered the Golden Gophers (1-7) from down the road in Minneapolis to extend the nation's longest winning streak in Division I — Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision — to 11 games.

Wisconsin 44, Northern Illinois 3: P.J. Hill reached 1,000 yards rushing for second straight season, running for 184 yards and two touchdowns, as the host Badgers (6-2) romped past the Huskies (1-7) at Madison, Wis., to end a two-game losing streak.

CONFERENCE USA

North Carolina State 34, East Carolina 20: Daniel Evans threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns and the visiting Wolfpack (2-5) built a 21-point first-half lead before holding off the Pirates in a non-conference game at Greenville, N.C.

Memphis 38, Rice 35: Martin Hankins' 45-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Jones opened a 38-28 lead and the visiting Tigers (3-4, 2-1 CUSA) recovered the onside kick following Chase Clement's 20-yard scoring pass to James Casey with 2:09 left to beat the Owls (1-6, 1-2) in Houston.

INDEPENDENTS

Wake Forest 44, Navy 24: Riley Skinner passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns to Kenny Moore, who caught 15 passes for 181 yards, and the visiting Demon Deacons (5-2) beat the Midshipmen (4-3) at Annapolis, Md. Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, a Kapolei high alum, suffered a neck injury late in the first half.

MID-AMERICAN

Bowling Green 31, Kent State 20: Willie Geter ran for 203 yards and a touchdown, and Tyler Sheehan threw for two second-half touchdowns as the visiting Falcons (4-3, 2-1 MAC) beat the Golden Flashes (3-5, 1-3) at Kent, Ohio.

Ball State 27, Western Michigan 23: Frank Edmonds scored on a 1-yard run with 1:07 remaining as the visiting Cardinals (5-3, 2-1 MAC) rallied past the Broncos (3-5, 2-1), who took a 23-20 lead with 9:38 left in the fourth quarter when Tim Hiller found Jordan White for a 50-yard touchdown, at Kalamazoo, Mich.

Temple 24, Miami (Ohio) 17: Backup quarterback Vaughn Charlton threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Francis in the third quarter for a 21-7 lead to help the host Owls (3-5, 2-2 MAC East) beat the RedHawks (4-4, 2-1) at Philadelphia.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Air Force 20, Wyoming 12: Shaun Carney threw two touchdown passes, Bobby Giannini returned a fumble 85 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter, and the host Falcons (6-2, 5-1 MWC) forced five turnovers to beat the Cowboys (4-3, 1-2) at Air Force Academy, Colo.

BYU 42, Eastern Washington 7: Harvey Unga rushed for 145 yards and scored two touchdowns, and Corby Hodgkiss returned an interception 39 yards for a first-quarter TD, leading the host Cougars (5-2) past the Eagles (4-3) despite heavy snow that blanketed the field by the end of the game at Provo, Utah.

New Mexico 20, San Diego State 17: Rodney Ferguson's 6-yard touchdown run with 15 seconds left in the game lifted the visiting Lobos (5-2, 2-1) over the Aztecs (2-5, 1-2) for the seventh straight time.

PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE

Stanford 21 Arizona 20: Jeremy Stewart scored on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter as the visiting Cardinal (3-4, 2-3 Pac-10) rallied to beat the Wildcats (2-6, 1-4) at Tucson, Ariz. for their second straight road win.

SOUTHEASTERN

Arkansas 44, Mississippi 8: Darren McFadden ran for 110 yards, Felix Jones rushed for 101 and two touchdowns and the defending SEC West champion Razorbacks (4-3, 1-3) rolled past the host Rebels (4-3, 1-3) at Oxford, Miss.

ELSEWHERE

Georgia Southern 38, Appalachian State 35: Lamar Lewis ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns, including a 15-yard run with 9:50 remaining for a 38-20 lead, as the visiting Eagles (5-2, 2-2 Southern Conference) held off the Mountaineers (5-2, 1-2) at Boone, N.C.