Oct. 18, 1997 Two-point Conversion Costs Boston CollegeCHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Ryan Clement's 21-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Daryl Jones and Andy Crosland's extra point lifted Miami of Florida to a wild 45-44 double-overtime victory over Boston College in the first extra-session game in Big East history. Omari Walker's 25-yard touchdown run on the first play of Boston College's second overtime possession gave the Eagles a 44-38 lead. However, the Eagles went for a two-point conversion and the decision backfired when Matt Hasselback's pass to Dennis Harding fell incomplete in the right corner of the end zone. Miami needed five plays to score the winning touchdown and snap a four-game losing streak, its longest in 20 years. But the win did not come before Boston College (2-5, 2-3 Big East) staged a furious comeback. The Eagles rallied from a 24-3 deficit midway through the second quarter to force overtime on Walker's two-yard TD run with 50 seconds left in regulation. The Eagles got the first possession in overtime and went up 38-31 on Walker's two-yard run, but Miami answered on Trent Jones' nine-yard TD scamper. Edgerrin James rushed for three touchdowns and set a Miami and Big East rushing record with 271 yards on 33 carries. He broke Curtis Martin's previous Big East record of 251 yards against Texas on September 3rd, 1994, and Lorenzo Roan's Miami mark of 245 yards set against East Carolina in 1980. Walker, who scored Boston College's last three TDs, rushed for 186 yards on 24 carries, while Mike Cloud added 156 yards on 18 carries for the Eagles. Miami (2-4, 1-2) posted its first Big East conference win of the season and won its eighth straight against the Eagles. Boston College has not beaten the Hurricanes since 1984, when Doug Flutie's pass to Gerard Phelan on the game's final play gave the Eagles a 47-45 win in the Orange Bowl. The loss saddled Boston College with its first four-game losing streak since the Eagles opened the 1991 season with four straight defeats. Miami needed just 54 seconds to get on the board as James' 69-yard TD run gave the Hurricanes a 7-0 lead. BC answered on John Matich's 40-yard field with 10:56 left in the first quarter, but Clement fired a 19-yard TD strike to Reggie Wayne and James ripped off an eight-yard TD run to increase Miami's lead to 21-3 with 1:32 left in the period. Crosland's 25-yard field goal made it 24-3 with 8:15 left in the second quarter, before the Eagles started their comeback. Boston College closed within 24-10 at the half on Hasselbeck's 10-yard TD toss to Scott Dragos with 4:53 remaining. Mike Hemmert's two-yard TD run cut the Hurricanes' lead to 24-17 4:56 into the third quarter. Miami regained a two-touchdown lead on James' two-yard scoring run with 1:03 left in the period but Boston College responded with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Cloud's 37-yard TD scamper with 13:16 left in regulation cut Miami's lead to 31-24.
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