MORGANTOWN, W.VA. -- Shane Graham's 44-yard field goal with no time left lifted No.3-ranked Virginia Tech to a 22-20 win over West Virginia Saturday in Morgantown.

It appeared West Virginia was going to pull off the upset when backup quarterback Brad Lewis hit Khori Ivy for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:15 left, but freshman quarterback Michael Vick engineered a 58-yard march without any time outs to win the game and preserve Tech's bid for a national championship.

A key play in the winning drive was Vick's 26-yard run up the far sideline that placed the football at the West Virginia 36. Another Vick pass to Ricky Hall for nine yards put the football at the Mountaineer 27 yard-line. As the clock was moving, the freshman spiked the ball with five seconds left to give Graham the winning opportunity.

"I was over on the sidelines praying," said Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer of the kick. "Shane's a heck of a kicker."

"We've got a lot of sick kids in that locker room," admitted West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen. "Vick makes a great run and then the doggone kid makes a long field goal. It just makes you sick."

In the last four years, West Virginia is no stranger to heartbreaking losses at Mountaineer Field. Last year, kicker Jay Taylor missed an opportunity to tie the Miami game with a 53-yard field goal that fell short as time expired.

In 1996, WVU had the Miami game secured until Tremain Mack blocked a Brian West punt and the football was returned for a touchdown in Miami's 10-7 come-from-behind win.

The Mountaineers dropped an overtime decision to Pittsburgh in 1997 that elevated the Panthers to a bowl game, and a Bryan Baumann missed a chip shot as time expired that allowed Purdue to come away with a 26-24 win in 1995.

Tonight's loss to the No. 3 Hokies ranks among the toughest at the 20-year-old facility.

After playing to a 7-7 first half tie, the Hokies made it 10-7 on its initial possession of the second half on a Graham 20-yard field goal.

Tech increased its margin to 12-7 near the end of the third period when Chris Cyrus knocked the football out of backup quarterback Brad Lewis' hands in the end zone. Lewis recovered the football for a safety.

Lewis had replaced starter Marc Bulger, who suffered a bruised thumb in the second quarter and sat out the remainder of the game.

The Hokies expanded the lead to 19-7 when Shyrone Stith bounced in from six yards out with 4:59 left in the game.

On the ensuing kick, it appeared to be disaster for West Virginia when Richard Bryant fumbled at the 17, but an alert Boo Sensabaugh picked up the football and raced 44 yards up the near sideline. A late hit by Hokie kicker Jimmy Kibble added another 15 yards and West Virginia was in business at the Tech 24.

Six plays later, Lewis found Jerry Porter in the corner of the end zone to close the margin to 19-14.

West Virginia got its big break after kicking off deep to Virginia Tech. On Tech's third play, Mountaineer senior linebacker Barrett Green jarred the football loose from Stith, and the ball was recovered by Sensabaugh at the Hokie 34. It was Green's 10th tackle of the game.

Lewis hit Anthony Becht on a diving 17-yard pass to the Tech 15, and three players later found Khori Ivy for an 18-yard touchdown on third and 13.

For Ivy, it was his second TD catch of the day; Ivy caught a six-yard pass from Bulger with 49 seconds remaining in the first half.

"This is a tough one," admitted Nehlen. "The last two games our kids played their hearts out."  

Vick, who was just 2-of-11 passing in the first half, finished the evening 14-of-30 for 255 yards. He also rushed for 50 yards on nine carries.

Stith led the Hokies with 84 yards, but backup Andre Kendrick added 71 yards including the game's first touchdown on a 46-yard run in the second quarter.

Freshman Avon Cobourne was the game's top rusher with 133 yards on 27 carries. He moves into second place in freshman rushing, passing Garrett Ford Jr.'s 733 yards. Cobourne now shows 831 yards on the season and has topped the 100-yard mark four times this year.

Lewis finished the evening nine-of-16 for 98 yards and two scores while Bulger completed 10-of-21 passes for 94 yards in the first half.

Ivy caught seven passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns. The Boca Raton, Fla., native moved into 10th place on the career receptions list with 100.

"I'd like to give Don Nehlen and his team credit," said Beamer. "They've had some tough losses this year, but they're playing better and that's what he does -- he gets his team playing better as the season goes along. I hope they can finish strong right now."

West Virginia gained 299 yards against Tech's ranked defense, while the Hokies piled up 469 total yards.

The loss eliminates West Virginia from bowl contention with a 3-6 record. The Mountaineers will play at Boston College this Saturday at noon.

Tech, meanwhile, improves to 8-0 for the first time in school history and should advance one spot in the national rankings after Penn State's loss to Minnesota earlier today.

The Hokies host Miami Saturday night in Blacksburg at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Scoring Summary