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Virginia Tech is exactly where it wants to be at this point in the season: tied for the ACCs Coastal Division lead in the loss column and in control of its chance to play for its fifth conference championship.The No. 25 Hokies (5-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) can significantly enhance their chances Thursday night at Pittsburgh. The Panthers (5-2, 2-1) also share the loss-column lead, although they have played two fewer division games than No. 22 North Carolina (6-2, 4-1) and one fewer than the Hokies.Virginia Tech holds the tiebreaker against the Tar Heels, having beaten them 34-3 on Oct. 8, but in their first season under coach Justin Fuente, the Hokies are disinclined to look any further than the game just ahead. They wont even allow themselves to feel too good about reappearing in the AP Top 25.Of course we like being in the Top 25, but at the end of the day, we just want to win a football game, regardless of whether were in the Top 25 or if were not ranked at all, rover Terrell Edmunds said Monday, before offering a mantra for this team. We just want to go out and play Virginia Tech football and go 1-0 each week.The Hokies last appearance in the Top 25 came two weeks ago, when consecutive routs of Boston College, East Carolina and North Carolina allowed them to rise to No. 17. But they were stunned 31-17 at Syracuse and fell out again before getting back to their dominant ways in a 37-16 victory against Miami last Thursday night.The Panthers, though, present a significant challenge. They have won four in a row at Heinz Field against Virginia Tech, and are tied for 22nd nationally in scoring at 38.4 points per game.Coach Pat Narduzzi, in his second season, said he was pretty frank with his team about whats at stake in the game.I told our kids, its right there for you, the pursuit and what you want is right there for you, he said Monday. Its there for the taking. Everything you wanted to do at the beginning of the season is sitting right in front of you on this Thursday night.On defense, Pitt is fifth nationally at stopping the run, but 122nd against the pass.Virginia Tech prefers to be a run-first team, but quarterback Jerod Evans has proven more than capable of getting things done through the air in his first season with the Hokies. Hes thrown for 19 touchdowns with just two interceptions.Theyre a heavy run-stop team, Evans said. They will force you to throw in man-to-man coverage.Evans is comfortable doing that because hes got plenty of targets he trusts to come down with the ball. Isaiah Ford has 36 catches and five touchdowns. Bucky Hodges has 25 catches and five touchdowns. And five other receivers have at least one touchdown reception this year.Defensive coordinator Bud Foster, a holdover from the teams that have struggled at Heinz Field, said its not the venue but the way the Panthers have played, and the way the Hokies have played, that produced the losses.Now, with the Hokies angling for their first ACC title game berth since 2011, its time to end the skid.If we want to stay in the hunt, we need to win it, Foster said. ... Its been a couple years since weve been in this position, but these games get more and more important as we move forward in the season.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr Ozzie Smith Jersey . 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Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Nothing has come easy for the New York Giants this season, even the games they are supposed to win.The difference this year is they are winning the close games, a big change from previous seasons.Eli Manning threw a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie Sterling Shepard in the third quarter as the Giants rallied for their fifth straight win with a 22-16 decision Sunday over the Chicago Bears in a gusty MetLife Stadium.New York (7-3) remains two games behind the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East.We did find a way, thats the resiliency of this team, guard Marshall Newhouse said. In the past wed lose a lot of close games, now we are winning a lot of close games. People see that as a negative and I dont see why. Obviously there is stuff to improve on, but if you can play, maybe not playing your best, and you win, thats a positive.Manning (21 of 36 for 227) also threw a third-quarter touchdown to Will Tye, Rashad Jennings scored on a 2-yard run and Robbie Gould kicked a 46-yard field goal on a day he missed two extra points.The Giants got a second-half shutout from their defense and a game-clinching interception from Landon Collins .After taking a surprising 16-6 lead, injuries on the offensive line finally caught up with the Bears (2-8) and left Jay Cutler under constant pressure.The winning streak is New Yorks longest in the regular season since 2010, while the Bears starts matches their worst since 2002.This one is going to be a hard one to swallow, said Cutler, who was 17 of 30 for 252 yards and sacked four times. These games that you lose when you definitely have a chance at the end to win, those are the ones that kind of keep you up at night.Down 16-9 at the half, the Giants grabbed the lead in the third quarter, scoring on their first two possessions. The second featured a third-down scramble by Manning and 48-yard pass to Victor Cruz on the next play. Manning ran toward the line on what looked like another run, then found Cruz behind the defense.Shepard split a seam in the middle of the Bears defense three plays later, but Gould missed the extra point keeping things tense.Well take it as it comes, Cruz said. Were continuing to rally these victories and continuing to build on them. With every victory, with every week, were getting stronger as a team. Thats what you want to see.Chicago got to the New York 30 inn the final two minutes but Jason Pierre-Paul had a 13-yard sack and Cutler was picked off by Collins, his fifth interception in the last four games.dddddddddddd even told some guys that it is time to blow up, it is on us, and guys responded, said Pierre-Paul, whose 2 1/2 sacks were his best performance since injuring a hand in a fireworks accident last year. I responded myself. I cant just do the talking, I have to show up and we came out with a win.Cutler found Miller for a 19-yard TD on the opening possession. A 34-yard pass to Miller set up Barths 40-yard field goal and Langfords short TD lunge put Chicago ahead halfway through the second quarter.GOING FOR IT: A couple of fourth-down gambles got the Giants nine points in the half. A 15-yard pass to Shepard on a fourth-and-2 at the Bears 17, set up Jennings TD run. A 5-yard pass to Jennings on fourth-and-2 at Bears 33 set up Goulds 46-yard field goal with 3:33 left in the half.INJURIES: Leonard Floyd, the Bears first round draft pick from Georgia, was removed from the field on a stretcher with 5:53 to go against the Giants with a neck injury. He gave a thumbs-up to teammates leaving the field and returned Sunday night to Chicago after being released from a hospital, the Bears said. ... Miller had to leave the game early in the second half with a possible broken foot. ... Giants receiver Roger Lewis Jr. and Bears cornerback CreVon LeBlanc left in the first-half with concussions.ACTIVE-INACTIVE: Cruz returned to the lineup after missing a game with an ankle injury. Tight end Larry Donnell was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. ... Bears right tackle Bobbie Massie (concussion), nose tackle Eddie Goldman (ankle) and defensive end Mitch Unrein (back) were inactive. ... Chicago receiver Alshon Jeffery served the first game of a four-game suspension for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancing substances. Bears also were missing guard Kyle Long, who was placed on injured reserve last week with an ankle and shoulder injuries.UP NEXT:Bears: Host the Titans and Marcus Mariota on Sunday.Giants: Start two-game road trip with a trip to winless Cleveland on Sunday.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '