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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Michael Vick's fleet feet could have carried
him all the way to New Orleans.
Vick, No. 2 Virginia Tech's dazzling freshman quarterback, ran
for a season-high 134 yards and two touchdowns and passed for two
more as the Hokies allowed a brief early lead by Temple before
storming back for a 62-7 win Saturday.
How fast is Vick?
|  | | Virginia Tech's Jarrett Ferguson leaps over teammate Shyrone Stith for a first down against Temple. |
"He's just a special player, and I'm glad he's with us," coach
Frank Beamer said. "He's faster than the guys chasing him."
The victory clinched at least a share of the Big East
championship for the Hokies (10-0, 6-0). More importantly, it
bolstered their bid for a berth in the national championship game
at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
With a win over No. 25 Boston College next Friday, they can
finish the regular season undefeated for the first time since going
8-0-1 in 1954.
The Hokies think Vick for putting them in that position. He
burned the Owls' porous defense with touchdown runs of 53 and 75
yards, and got out of other jams by using his mobility to buy time
outside the pocket.
"I was very tired after that. I was out of shape. I have to get
in shape," Vick said.
Tech linebacker Ben Taylor said he's scared to see how fast Vick could be if he was in shape.
"He does that all the time," said Taylor, who fired up the
defense in the second half with two big hits to break up pass
plays.
"Michael can do whatever he puts his mind to, because that's the
way he plays," Taylor said.
Virginia Tech hopes their impressive win over Temple (2-8, 2-4)
strengthens their position in the Bowl Championship Series
standings, where they are second.
Top-ranked Florida State all but clinched a spot in the Sugar,
beating No. 3 Florida 30-23 Saturday.
The Hokies also avenged a 28-24 loss to Temple last year in
Blacksburg when the Owls were a 35-point underdog.
Vick was a one-man wrecking crew against Temple's poor-tackling
defense. He completed 7-of-10 passes for 171 yards and two long
touchdowns to Andre Davis besides his two spectacular touchdown
runs.
His most impressive score came early in the third quarter. Under
pressure in the pocket at his own 25, Vick eluded a couple tackles,
reversed field, then raced down the sideline for his 75-yard score
to give the Hokies a 34-7 lead.
"Eighty-five to 95 percent of the other quarterbacks would have
been sacked. He goes for two long touchdowns," Temple coach Bobby
Wallace said.
Andre Kendrick added two rushing scores, while Larry Austin had
a 31-yard interception return for the Hokies. Tech outgained Temple
in total yardage (511-224) and first downs (20-10).
Temple quarterback Devin Scott was sacked three times, finishing 12-of-21 passing for 152 yards.
For the first five minutes at least, the Owls played like they
could pull off another unlikely upset.
Off the opening kickoff, Scott led Temple's offense to a
surprisingly easy scoring drive. Five plays after finding Jamal
Wallace down the sideline for a 62-yard completion to the Tech 15,
Marcus Godfrey rushed for a 2-yard score to give Temple a 7-0 lead
3:10 into the game.
It was the first time the Hokies were behind in the first
quarter all season. It gave them a quick wake-up call.
"I'm not sure we played as consistently as we're used to
playing, especially in the first half," Beamer said. "It was an
eye-opener, certainly."
On the ensuing drive, Vick got out of trouble in the pocket and
dashed 53 yards untouched into the end zone for his first touchdown
and tie the score at 7 with 10:49 left in the first quarter.
The Hokies were stopped deep on their next two drives deep in
Temple territory, coming away with only Shayne Graham's field goal
at the end of the first quarter.
After Austin's interception return, Vick threw two sloppy passes
intercepted by Temple's Kevin Harvey on consecutive possessions,
and it looked like the Owls may have another shot for an upset.
It only delayed the inevitable.
Vick found Davis for a 65-yard TD pass after Harvey missed a
tackle with 2:25 left in the first half. The two connected for a
30-yard TD to put Tech up 41-7 in the third quarter.
"The thing about this time is we don't get down when the other
team scores a touchdown. We don't get scared," Vick said.
"Sometimes I like to get down because it motivates me to play
better."
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Virginia Tech Clubhouse
Temple Clubhouse
College football Top 25 overview
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Andre Davis takes the Michael Vick pass, breaks a tackle and races 65 yards for the TD.
avi: 1041 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Michael Vick scrambles 53 yards for the touchdown.
avi: 1116 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Larry Austin picks off Devin Scott and leaps into the end zone.
avi: 1184 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kevin Harvey picks off Michael Vick in the end zone.
avi: 680 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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