MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- It has been a long wait for Miami, much longer than anticipated, but now the Hurricanes are in a formidable position to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game for the first time since the league was split into two divisions in 2005, a year after they joined the conference.

The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (8-0, 6-0 ACC) clinched at least a share of the Coastal Division title with their 28-10 victory over No. 13 Virginia Tech on Saturday night and would have to lose both of their remaining conference games to miss out on a trip to Charlotte to play the Atlantic champion on Dec. 2.

One of those games will be Nov. 18 against Virginia, which has two league losses but remained in mathematical contention for a share of the division title and a title game berth with its 40-36 win over Georgia Tech earlier in the day.

"It's great," said Miami coach Mark Richt, who is on the verge of achieving in his second season what his immediate predecessors Larry Coker, Randy Shannon and Al Golden failed to do. "It takes a lot of work to get to a point that you can get into a game like this and then to win it, it was spectacular.

"At least that's how I feel. I don't know if it was a spectacular win, but it certainly feels that way now."

The loss to Miami eliminated the Hokies (7-2, 3-2 ACC) from consideration for the championship game. They could still get a share of the division crown.

Though the final margin was a three-score difference, it didn't come easy for the Hurricanes.

Junior quarterback Malik Rosier had his first multi-interception game while passing for a season-low 193 yards, but Miami's defense allowed the visiting Hokies only seven points off the miscues while holding them to just 299 yards in total offense.

"I felt like just in general offensively, whether it was off a turnover or starting a series we could get a little big going but we couldn't convert on third downs," said coach Justin Fuente, whose Hokies were only 3 of 14 on third-down conversions. "It was really bad, and Miami deserves credit for that."

Tech quarterback Josh Jackson passed for only 197 yards, failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season, and was intercepted twice, though the second was on Tech's final series when the issue had been decided. He also lost a fumble.

After scoring their only touchdown on Jackson's quarterback sneak on their first possession of the second half, the Hokies got past midfield only three more times, the last time in the closing seconds.

"They're a good defense," Jackson said. "They have a good defensive line. They covered well. They schemed us out pretty good."

Rosier was able to make up for some of his woes with a solid rushing game, gaining a season-high 84 yards on 13 carries and scoring on a 13-yard burst up the middle in the first minute of the fourth quarter to put the Hurricanes up by 18 points.

"I feel like the biggest thing was our defense," Rosier said. "Every pick I had, Chad Thomas, Shaq Quarterman -- those guys would come up to me and say, 'You're fine. We'll get you the ball back. Don’t worry. For an offense, for that to happen, most defenses hang their heads or the offense would hang their heads, but for us they kept their heads high and kept fighting and gave us the ball back.

"For us, that was huge momentum."

Running back Travis Homer rushed for a game-high 95 yards with 64 coming on one play for Miami's second touchdown. With 219 yards, Miami was only the second team to top the 200 mark rushing against Tech, which ran for 102.

NOTES: The last time Miami and Virginia Tech met as Top 15 teams was in 2009 when the No. 11 Hokies beat the ninth-ranked Hurricanes 31-7. ... Tech LT Yosuah Nijman did not start because of a leg injury, ending a streak of 22 consecutiver. ... QB Malik Rosier recorded the first reception of his career in the Miami's opening series, hauling in a 17-yard pass from wide receiver Braxton Berrios. ... Miami TE Christopher Herndon's 18-yard reception early in the second quarter gave him 349 receiving yards for the season, bettering the school season record of 334 for tight ends he set last year. He later scored on a 43-yard reception to end the night with 392 career receiving yards.