The Associated Press

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Top-ranked Miami will be without wide receiver Kevin Beard and backup defensive end Cornelius Green for the rest of the season.

Both players tore anterior cruciate ligaments in their right knees, Hurricanes coach Larry Coker said Friday. Beard and Green were helped off the field in the second quarter of Thursday night's 28-21 win over No.17 Pittsburgh, and tests Friday confirmed the seriousness of the injuries.

"That's a blow to our football team, and a blow to them," Coker said.

Beard, a junior, is third on the team in receiving with 23 catches for 262 yards and four touchdowns. Without him, Miami will turn to senior Ethenic Sands and freshman Roscoe Parrish.

Green, one of six seniors on the Hurricanes' highly regarded defensive line, has 35 tackles, six sacks and 10 quarterback hurries.

Miami's sophomore running back Willis McGahee continued to dazzle. He tied a school record with his eighth 100-yard game Thursday and had more than 165 all-purpose yards for the eighth time in nine games.

McGahee ran 19 times for 159 yards and scored two touchdowns - both impressive runs by the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder. He ran 10 times for 125 yards in the first half and accounted for all but 13 of the team's total yards.

McGahee broke the school record for rushing touchdowns, Edgerrin James' 17 in 1998. He also tied the school's single-season record of eight 100-yard rushing games with Ottis Anderson (1978) and Clinton Portis (2001).

MARSHALL-OHIO: A berth in the Mid-American Conference championship game is at stake when the Thundering Herd (7-2, 5-1 MAC) travel to Ohio (4-6, 4-2) in the Battle of the Bell today.

The last time Marshall hit the road, Akron won just its second game all season, handing the Herd a 34-20 loss Nov.2 and sending quarterback Byron Leftwich to the sidelines with a lower leg injury for the next three weeks.

Marshall would host the Dec.7 MAC title game with a victory over Ohio. If Marshall loses, that will set the stage for a wild finish in the East Division.

PAC-10: Third-ranked Washington State is prepared to meet cross-state rival Washington in the Apple Cup today.

The Cougars (9-1, 6-0) are trying to clinch the Pac-10 championship and secure their second Rose Bowl appearance in five years. A win also would keep alive the possibility of playing for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl, should Miami or Ohio State stumble.

The Huskies (6-5, 3-4 Pac-10) are playing for a winning season record, a bowl bid and a sweep of their conference rivals in Pacific Northwest. They defeated Oregon 32-21 on Nov.9.