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CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- It took 49 days and the best comeback in school history, but 23rd-ranked Miami finally got a win. Kenny Kelly and Reggie Wayne backed up Butch Davis' gutsy fourth-down call with 14 seconds left, setting up Andy Crosland's game-winning 30-yard field goal in Miami's thrilling 31-28 Big East Conference victory over Boston College. The Hurricanes (3-3, 1-0) became the last team in the nation to play their first conference game and appeared headed for a loss, allowing the first 28 points. Their rally beat by 12 points the previous best in school history and rivaled the best in NCAA history. After coming all the way back to tie and facing 4th-and-17 on the Boston College 30, Davis elected to go for the first down instead of trying a long field goal, perhaps since Crosland is nursing a strained hip flexor. Kelly, heavily favoring his left leg, threw a 22-yard pass to Wayne on the left sideline and Crosland came on to make the winning kick with three seconds left. "Even with my sore leg, I felt I had a pretty good chance from 50, but when we completed that big play to Reggie, I had the opportunities to take my time, relax and line it up," Crosland said. "No big deal. It just feels great to finally have one of those in the bank." Miami had not won since a 57-3 whipping of Division I-AA Florida A&M on Setpember 4. The Hurricanes started the season August 29 with a 23-12 victory over Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic. In between wins, Miami suffered heartbreaking losses to Penn State, East Carolina and Florida State, blowing leads in each to the No. 2, No. 20 and No. 1 teams in the country. This time, the comeback was made by the Hurricanes, who have beaten Boston College (5-2, 2-2) 10 straight times since the Doug Flutie "Hail Mary" game on November 23, 1984. Thirteen days before, Miami blew a 31-0 third-quarter lead in a 42-40 loss to Maryland, the biggest comeback in NCAA annals. "Somebody asked me after the game if I've ever been associated with a game like that and I said, 'Unfortunately, I was with Miami when we had a 31-0 lead against Maryland,' and the same sort of thing that happened then happened today," Davis said. "We came out on the field with no momentum that day, but today we were the team to catch on fire. "It makes me very proud of my guys, to see what they accomplished today. We've been through a brutal part of our schedule -- a lot of tough games, a lot of tough losses. This one was rewarding." The Eagles held nearly a 13-minute advantage in possession time and were penalized just three times for 15 yards. They also made good on 8-of-19 third-down conversions, yet could not hold the huge lead. "It shows me we need better athletes and the ones that are here better grow up," Boston College coach Tom O'Brien said. "We just quit playing hard out there, that's all that happened." "What you just saw out there was total bull," Eagles cornerback Pedro Cirino said. "We have a great opportunity to beat an upper-echelon team and what happens is not enough players on our team step up and make big plays. This is totally inexcusable." Boston College built a 21-0 halftime lead and made it a 28-point game with 6:18 left in the third quarter when Cedric Washington ran three yards for a touchdown. Washington had a career-high 183 yards on 29 carries. Miami started its comeback with 2:11 left in the period when Kelly threw an eight-yard TD pass to fullback Will McPartland. The Hurricanes halved the deficit with 10:07 left when Kelly tossed a 32-yard scoring pass to running back James Jackson. But an even bigger play came right after the ensuing kickoff, when Washington fumbled and freshman defensive lineman William Joseph recovered on the Boston College 6. Jackson found the end zone on the next play. Jackson carried 22 times for 134 yards and Kelly added 32 on seven. Kelly completed 20-of-26 passes for 218 yards and was not intercepted, hitting Franks seven times for 78 yards. With 3:51 remaining, Kelly tied the score with a 10-yard scoring pass to tight end Daniel "Bubba" Franks. Tim Hasselbeck threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bryan Arndt 3:56 into the game and William Green ran two yards for a score with 3:47 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0. Carlton Rowe scored Boston College's third touchdown on a seven-yard run with 12:05 left in the second quarter. Hasselbeck was 18-of-35 for 139 yards and was intercepted once.
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