Virginia .............. 0 0 0 0 - 0 Virginia Tech (17)..... 0 7 10 0 - 17 Scoring Summary: 2nd Quarter 00:39 VT - Bell 1 yd run (Pace kick) 3rd Quarter 09:24 VT - Pace 23 yd FG 00:31 VT - Royal 49 yd pass from Glennon (Pace)
#17 Virginia Tech ended the season in style with a 17-0 victory over instate rival UVA on Saturday afternoon in Lane Stadium. The Hokies improve to 10-2 with the win, their third consecutive season with at least 10 wins. They are 6-2 in the ACC. UVA drops to 5-7 on the season, and will not be going to a bowl this year. The Hokies have now won seven of the last eight games in the rivalry.
The Tech offense didn’t dominate UVA, but they were balanced and opportunistic. The Hokies rushed for 156 yards and passed for another 146. Kenny Lewis, Jr. enjoyed another solid game, carrying the ball 19 times for 79 yards, an average of 4.2 yards per carry. George Bell had 14 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Sean Glennon also enjoyed his best rushing game of the season. He repeatedly avoided UVA pass rushers, carrying the ball seven times for 31 yards. His 19 yard run was Tech’s longest run of the game. He also enjoyed an efficient game through the air, completing 12-of-18 passes for 146 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
Glennon completed passes to five different receivers. Eddie Royal hauled in four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. Josh Morgan had two catches for 24 yards, while tight end Sam Wheeler continued his good play with two receptions for 29 yards. David Clowney had one catch for 12 yards in his final game in Lane Stadium, while Josh Hyman had three catches for nine yards.
The offense was efficient, but as usual, the defense stole the show. The UVA offense managed just 112 total yards, 46 on the ground and 66 through the air. Tailback Jason Snelling was completely bottled up on the ground, running for just 21 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Jameel Sewell was 10-of-21 for 66 yards and an interception.
Linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi dominated the Cavalier offense for the entire game. Hall led the team with 12 tackles, including a tackle for loss. Adibi had eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
Defensive tackles Carlton Powell and Barry Booker plugged up the middle of the field all day long. They combined for 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. D.J. Parker enjoyed arguably his finest game of the season, with and interception and two passes defended.
Senior punter Nic Schmitt also played a big part in Virginia Tech’s victory in his final game in Lane Stadium. He averaged 46.6 yards on five punts, with a long of 58 yards. Three of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line.
The only downer of the day was a missed field goal by Brandon Pace. Pace connected on a 23 yarder in the third quarter to extend his streak to 22 consecutive made field goals, but he later missed from 47 yards on a kick that would have made the score 20-0.
Recap
The 2004 Virginia Tech-UVA game in Lane Stadium was scoreless at halftime, and for most of the first half it appeared that the 2006 game would take the same direction. Both defenses dominated the first half, each forcing a turnover.
Virginia Tech made the first mistake of the game in the first quarter. On third and four from their own 46 yard line, the Hokies tried a pass play, and Sean Glennon was flushed from the pocked to his left. Instead of taking a sack or throwing the ball away, he attempted a one-handed flip to a receiver in the flat, but it was picked off by UVA defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald, and he was tackled at the UVA 49 yard line.
The Tech defense needed to come away with a big stop, and they did. The Cavaliers moved the ball one yard to the 50 yard line, but were forced to punt. The Glennon interception gave UVA their best chance to score on the day, and they failed to capitalize.
The Virginia Tech offense did not fail to capitalize on a UVA mistake late in the second quarter. On third and five from the UVA 14, Jameel Sewell dropped back to pass, but Xavier Adibi blitzed untouched through the line and knocked the ball away. Defensive tackle Carlton Powell recovered the fumble at the 12 yard line, and the Hokies were knocking on the door with 2:27 left in the second quarter.
All the Hokies needed was four George Bell carries to reach the end zone. The key play of the drive came on third and three from the five yard line, and Bell pounded his way through the middle of the defense for a four yard gain to the one yard line. On the next play, he found the endzone, putting the Hokies up 7-0 with 39 seconds left in the half. UVA kneeled on the ball after the ensuing kickoff, and Tech took their 7-0 lead into halftime.
Tech’s offense put together an impressive drive on the opening possession of the second half. Starting at their own 20 yard line, the Hokies handed the ball to Kenny Lewis, Jr. five straight times, and he took Tech to the 50 yard line.
Facing third and eight from the UVA 48, Sean Glennon dropped back to pass, but scrambled to his right as the play broke down. He avoided the first pass rusher and scrambled 19 yards to the 29 yard line, and was hit late out of bounds by UVA safety Byron Glaspy, which tacked on another 15 yards to the end of the run.
The Hokies took the ball to the six yard line, but couldn’t punch it in. They settled for a 23 yard Brandon Pace field goal to take a 10-0 lead with 9:24 left in the third quarter.
Virginia Tech put the game away on their very next possession with a 91 yard scoring drive for a touchdown. Sean Glennon was a perfect 3-of-3 passing on the drive. He had passes of 19 yards to Eddie Royal and 12 yards to David Clowney, both of which turned third down situations into first downs. He also had a 20 yard pass to Clowney that was called back because of a holding penalty on Sergio Render.
On third and four from the UVA 49, Glennon dropped back and faced a heavy pass rush. He quickly dumped the ball to Eddie Royal on a short out pattern. Royal broke a tackle and made another defender miss. As he got downfield, he picked up a great block by Josh Hyman and took it to the house for a 49 yard touchdown. Pace’s extra point made the score 17-0 Hokies with 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The touchdown drive was Sean Glennon’s best drive of the game. He was 3-of-3 passing for 80 yards, and all three of his completions came on third down. The Hokies out-gained Virginia 160-12 in offensive yards in the third quarter.
The Hokies spent the rest of the game running out the clock. Tech’s defense dominated for the entire 60 minutes. UVA ran just one play on Tech’s side of the field, and that was a punt.
The Hokies have now won six games in a row after losing 22-3 to Boston College. They have defeated Southern Miss, Clemson, Miami, Kent State, Wake Forest and Virginia by a combined score of 144-29.
The Hokies now await word on their bowl destination. They decision will likely come soon after the ACC Championship Game next Saturday. Possible destinations are the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, and the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.
STATISTICS
VT UVA
---- ----
First downs 14 5
Rushed-yards 45-156 23-46
Passing yards 146 66
Sacked-yards lost 2-11 1-2
Passes 12-18-1 10-21-1
Punts 5-46.6 8-42.1
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 3-29 6-45
Time of possession 37:16 22:44
Att: 66,233
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, K. Lewis 19-79, G. Bell 14-41,
Glennon 7-31, Jefferson 1-3, E.Lewis 2-3, Allen 1-2, Pickle 1-(-3).
UVA, Snelling 13-21, Sewell 8-20, Ogletree 1-6, TEAM 1-(-1).
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Glennon 12-18-146-1.
UVA, Sewell 10-21-66-1.
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Royal 4-72, Hyman 3-9,
Wheeler 2-29, Morgan 2-24, Clowney 1-12. UVA, Snelling 3-11
Ogletree 2-31, Mines 2-19, Stupar 2-5, Peerman 1-0.
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