Boston College sends Big East out undefeated

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Boston College's victory over Georgia gave the Big East a 4-0 record in the Music City Bowl, and Eagles coach Tom O'Brien offered a parting shot.

"I guess we beat up on the SEC too much so they didn't invite us back," O'Brien said after the 20-16 win on Friday, only about half-joking.

Boston College followed fellow Big East members Virginia Tech, Syracuse and West Virginia as winners of the Music City Bowl. Beginning next year, the bowl will keep its affiliation with the Southeastern Conference but drop the Big East representative in favor of a Big Ten team.

"I think the Big East sometimes gets a bad rap," Boston College quarterback Brian St. Pierre said. "I think we're better than a lot of people think. I think the SEC would attest to that."

The Eagles kept their conference perfect in the bowl and broke a 21-game losing streak to ranked teams by sticking with what they intended to do - run William Green between the tackles and keep mistakes to a minimum.

Green finished with 149 yards on 35 carries and scored the game-winner from 7 yards with 4:43 remaining. He also broke a 75-yard run in the first half that led to BC's first touchdown on St. Pierre's 10-yard pass to Dedrick Dewalt.

The Eagles (8-4) benefitted from a slew of Georgia mistakes, including four turnovers, nine penalties and a missed extra point.

"We had enough mistakes that got us beat. A lot of missed opportunities," Georgia coach Mark Richt said.

Green reiterated after the game that he'll decide whether to enter the NFL draft after meeting with his coaches next month.

The Eagles were glad to have him Friday, especially after he missed last year's bowl game and this year's biggest regular-season game against Miami, both due to suspensions for undisclosed violations of team rules.

"As long as you have a back like No. 1 here you have to give him the ball," O'Brien said. "You keep pounding away, and sooner or later he'll break one."

Georgia (8-4) saw its string of four straight bowl victories snapped. The Bulldogs had their chances both before and after Green's touchdown run.

Leading 16-13 midway through the fourth quarter, Georgia faced a fourth-and-5 at the Boston College 32. The Bulldogs tried a draw to Musa Smith, who stumbled coming out of his stance. David Greene tried the handoff anyway, but hit Smith in the helmet with it and BC's Sean Guthrie recovered.

"I thought that play had a real good shot," Richt said.

Instead, Boston College took it 73 yards in nine plays for the lead.

Georgia, which had 410 yards of offense to BC's 306 and added an 86-yard kickoff return to set up its first touchdown, again moved downfield after the Eagles' kickoff. On a second-and-2 from the BC 38, Greene tried to got for it all but badly underthrew Terrence Edwards, who was called for offensive pass interference.

That pushed the Bulldogs back 15 yards, and two plays later Richt decided to punt with 1:32 left rather than attempt to convert a fourth-and-12.

"I thought we'd get it back with 30 or 40 seconds left, which isn't insurmountable," Richt said. But only 14 seconds remained when the Bulldogs got the ball back, and it wasn't enough.

The Bulldogs might have tried to get into position for a field goal to tie, except they had jumped offsides on an extra-point attempt earlier in the half and missed the ensuing 25-yard kick. It was their first missed extra point of the year.

"That changed the dynamics of the game," Richt said.

Verron Haynes rushed for 132 yards for the Bulldogs and his 1-yard scoring run put Georgia ahead 16-13 in the third quarter.

O'Brien said he knew it was just a matter of time before the Eagles beat a ranked team.

"I told the team before the game, 'We've had a good year. We can't call ourselves a good team unless we beat one,' and we beat a good team tonight," he said. "This team deserves a national ranking, in my opinion."