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Boston College rolls over Buffalo in rain-soaked contest

Oct 28, 2006 - 8:04 PM CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts (Ticker) - Chris Crane made sure that Matt Ryan was not missed at all.

Making his first start, Crane ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as No. 18 Boston College routed Buffalo, 41-0, in a rainy, windy non-conference matchup.

Playing in place of Ryan, who sat out with a sore left ankle, Crane completed 17-of-26 passes for 142 yards. He also rushed 10 times for 12 yards.

"It had to do with the weather," Boston College coach Tom O'Brien said. "I didn't want to put (Ryan) out there and take a chance in the rain and I didn't know if we were going to slip and slide around and do everything else.

"I made the decision (Friday) and called him in just so Chris would know. It was pretty obvious then that it was going to be a terrible day."

Amid heavy winds gusting up to 55 miles per hour, the Eagles (7-1) kept the ball on the ground early, finishing with 246 yards on 48 carries.

"They established a running game and got that going," Buffalo coach Turner Gill said. "When you have the rain, the wind, and the conditions the game was in, you're going to have success."

After an early field goal by Steve Aponavicius, Crane went in from four yards out for a 10-0 advantage with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bulls (1-7), who had trouble moving the ball all day, were intercepted at their 37-yard line on the next drive, setting up a eight-yard scoring run for Crane.

"I knew that with all of the varying factors of the weather, running the ball would be a great option because just to be able to throw and catch it is a tough task on its own," Crane said.

"I think (Crane) did a great job considering the circumstances," O'Brien said. "It's extremely hard to come in and play, but to come in and play under those circumstances, where you can't hold onto the ball, he did a nice job managing the game."

Losing for the seventh straight time, Buffalo failed to get into Boston College territory until a blocked punt provided a first down at the 26 with 2:38 remaining.

L.V. Whitworth rushed 10 times for 84 yards and a touchdown and Andre Callender also ran for 84 yards for the Eagles, who improved to 6-2 all-time in the series.

Freshman linebacker Mark Herzlich had 11 solo tackles and forced a fumble for Boston College, which also blanked Division I-AA Maine, 22-0, on September 30.

"Our defense came up and played extremely well," O'Brien said. "All in all, it's a win and now we can head back to the (Atlantic Coast Conference) and get ready to see if we can win some games now." Bulls quarterback Drew Willy was just 13-of-25 for 80 yards and was intercepted twice.

Only 14,682 of the 40,162 tickets that were sold were used.