Maryland (23) ............. 0 3 10 0 - 13 Virginia Tech ............. 7 10 3 3 - 23 Scoring Summary: 1st Quarter 02:49 VT - Boone 5 yd pass from Glennon (Keys kick) 2nd Quarter 13:36 MD - Egekeze 41 yd FG 03:48 VT - Evans 1 yd run (Keys kick) 00:09 VT - Keys 35 yd FG 3rd Quarter 12:44 VT - Keys 30 yd FG 06:43 MD - Heyward-Bey 63 yd pass from Turner (Egekeze kick) 02:29 MD - Egekeze 27 yd FG 4th Quarter 07:30 VT - Keys 27 yd FG
Blacksburg, VA – Virginia Tech got back to the basics on Thursday night, using a power running game to control the clock and knock off #23 Maryland 23-13 in Lane Stadium. Darren Evans ran for a school record 253 yards in the victory, outgaining Maryland’s offense all by himself. The Hokies improved to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in ACC play. They still control their own destiny in the Coastal Division.
Tech’s much-maligned offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage in this game. Evans got his 253 yards on 32 carries, and also added a touchdown. He broke Mike Imoh’s single game rushing record of 243 yards, which was set in 2004 against North Carolina. As a team, the Hokies ran for 273 yards and put up exactly 400 yards of total offense, their highest output of the season.
This was the third 100 yard rushing performance of the season by a Tech player, but the first by a running back. The previous two 100 yard games came from quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Sean Glennon got the start at quarterback and played a solid football game. Glennon was 14-of-20 for 127 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions. He made several clutch completions on third down for the Hokies, who were 6-of-15 on third downs for the game.
Glennon was the only Tech quarterback to see action, though the Hokies did let Greg Boone take shotgun snaps on several occasions. Tech tried several trick plays with Boone in the game, mostly reverses, with mixed success. Boone had six carries for 22 yards.
Maryland’s running game didn’t fare quite as well as Tech’s. Da’Rel Scott came into the game averaging 102 yards per game, tops in the ACC. In this game he totaled just 11 yards on 10 carries. As a team, the Terps had -12 yards rushing. Quarterback Chris Turner threw for 240 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked three times and Maryland was one dimensional on offense all night.
Virginia Tech dominated the game in the first half, jumping out to a 17-3 halftime lead. Sean Glennon threw a five yard touchdown pass to Greg Boone on the second drive of the game to make the score 7-0, and the Hokies gradually poured it on from there.
Late in the second quarter, Darren Evans broke off a 50 yard run and was rewarded with a one yard touchdown run with 3:48 remaining in the half. That made the score 14-3.
After Maryland went three-and-out, the Hokies got the ball back with 2:39 remaining. Sean Glennon engineered a quick scoring drive. The key play came on third and 18, when Glennon hit Boone for a 26 yard gain to the Maryland 21. The drive bogged down, but Dustin Keys hit a 35 yard field goal to give Tech a 17-3 lead at halftime.
On the first play of the second half, Maryland quarterback Chris Turner was sacked by Orion Martin and he coughed up the football in the process. Tech couldn’t get a first down, but a 30 yard field goal from Dustin Keys made the score 20-3, and it appeared the rout was on.
Maryland got back into it by spreading the field with five wide receivers and putting the ball in the hands of Chris Turner and speedy wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. Turner hit Heyward-Bey on a wide receiver screen, and the All-ACC wideout turned it into a 63 yard touchdown. With 6:43 left in the third quarter, the score was 20-10.
A special teams miscue allowed the Terps to draw even closer. Maryland was forced to punt the ball away from the VT 44 late in the third quarter. The punt bounced inside the 15 and hit Kam Chancellor, who was attempting to block for Macho Harris. The Terrapins fell on the loose ball and were in a good position to score.
The Tech defense stood tall, as usual, limiting the Terps to a 27 yard field goal. With 2:29 remaining, the Hokies led 20-13. This looked like another close one heading into the fourth quarter.
However, the Tech offensive line and Darren Evans got even better as the game went on. The Hokies added another field goal in the final frame, and controlled the ball for 12:26 of the final 15 minutes. Evans had 77 yards on Tech’s final drive of the game, which chewed up the final 5:38 off the clock.
Virginia Tech returns to action next Thursday night when they travel to Miami. Coverage will begin at 7:30pm, and the game will be televised by ESPN.
STATISTICS
MD VT
---- ----
First downs 12 20
Rushed-yards 18-(-12) 51-273
Passing yards 240 127
Sacked-yards lost 3-26 3-8
Return yards 5 20
Passes 19-31-0 14-21-0
Punts 6-48.3 5-39.2
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 3-19 8-55
Time of possession 22:26 37:34
Att: 66,233
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Evans 32-253, Boone 6-22, V. Harris 1-8,
Roberts 1-3, Oglesby 1-1, Coale 1-(-3), Team 3-(-5), Glennon 6-(-6).
Maryland, Meggett 4-13, Scott 10-11, Heyward-Bey 1-(-10),
Turner 3-(-26).
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Glennon 14-20-0-127, Team 0-1-0-0.
Maryland, Turner 19-31-0-240.
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Coale 3-38, Boykin 3-13, Boone 2-31,
Evans 2-20, Oglesby 2-1, Roberts 1-13, Pickle 1-11.
Maryland, Heyward-Bey 5-92, Scott 5-57, Smith 4-62, Watson 1-11,
Oquendo 1-10, Williams 1-4, Gronkowski 1-4, Meggett 1-0.
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