BLACKSBURG, Va. — Miami celebrated in the end zone while Marcus Vick lifted himself out from under an avalanche of Hurricanes.
Kareem Brown's fumble recovery for a touchdown made one of the rowdiest stadiums in the country sound like a library as Virginia Tech's championship hopes were being blown away by the 'Canes.
No. 5 Miami put the clamps on Vick, forcing him into six turnovers, and knocked the Hokies out of the national title picture with a stunning 27-7 victory on Saturday night.
"We played with a chip on our shoulder," said Miami quarterback Kyle Wright, who passed for 146 yards and a touchdown. "I've been saying it for the whole week down there, if we come out and play the way we should, I didn't think they could play with us."
The third-ranked Hokies (8-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) had hoped an impressive win over Miami would not only take them a step closer to their second straight ACC title, but also give them a boost in the Bowl Championship Series standings.
Virginia Tech was in third place behind Southern California and Texas in the BCS standings, with designs on making a late-season run to the Rose Bowl.
Instead, Miami (7-1, 4-1) swaggered into Lane Stadium as a rare underdog and helped clear the clutter at the top of the BCS. Virginia Tech won't be this season's Auburn — perfect but left out of the national title game.
"We didn't come in here to be the underdog," Miami coach Larry Coker said.
The day started with five unbeaten teams in major college football, but the Hokies and UCLA fell. Texas and Alabama stayed perfect and USC was trying to do the same against Stanford.
"We were well prepared and ready to play, but they played great and we just couldn't quite get going," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.
The Hokies were a 6 1/2-point favorite, and the Hurricanes were none too pleased about it.
"I think we did have a little edge — there's no doubt about it," Coker said. "We took it a little personal."
Looking for respect, the 'Canes refused to be the foil in the Hokies' national title scenario, took control of the ACC's Coastal Division race and even made themselves a dark horse to reach the Rose Bowl.
Miami turned four lost fumbles by Vick and two interceptions into 17 points.
"One fumble slipped out of my hands," said Vick, who had turnovers on four straight possessions in the second half. "The other fumbles was my ball security and me being reckless out there."
Rocky McIntosh led the charge for Miami's defense with 10 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery.
Pinned deep in their own territory late in the third quarter, the Hokies couldn't hold out the Miami rush and Vick was swarmed under by Javon Nanton and company. The ball squirted loose and Brown jumped on it give Miami a 27-0 lead.
"We noticed that (Vick) carried the ball really loose," Brown said. "We emphasized that in practice that we needed to get a strip."
Vick finished 8-for-22 for 90 yards against the top-ranked defense in the country, the worst performance of his college career, by far.
"He had a lot of people back there in the backfield with him," Beamer said.