Virginia ............ 0 0 0 7 - 7 Virginia Tech (14)... 0 17 14 6 - 37 Scoring Summary: 2nd Quarter 14:45 VT - Williams 5 run (Hazley kick) 10:33 VT - Wilson 20 pass from Taylor (Hazley kick) 00:22 VT - Hazley 40 yd FG 3rd Quarter 11:24 VT - Williams 15 run (Hazley kick) 03:51 VT - Evans 6 run (Hazley kick) 4th Quarter 04:53 VT - Wilson 2 run (kick blocked) 02:59 VA - Payne 11 pass from Metheny (Randolph kick)
Blacksburg, VA – Virginia Tech blew out in-state rival UVA 37-7 on Saturday afternoon, finishing the season 10-2 and a perfect 8-0 in the ACC. The Hokies are the first team to finish ACC regular season play with an undefeated record since Florida State did it in 2000. UVA finished their season with a 4-8 record, and they managed just one ACC win.
NC State was defeated by Maryland 38-31, which means that the Hokies will face Florida State in next Saturday’s ACC Championship Game. The Seminoles crushed the Florida Gators 31-7 on Saturday.
The Virginia Tech defense played one of their best games of the season, shutting down the UVA running game and limiting the Wahoo offense to just 291 yards. The Hoos were averaging 415 yards per game heading into this contest.
UVA had just 70 yards rushing against the Hokies. Starting tailback Perry Jones had 11 carries for 11 yards, and Keith Payne had just eight yards on seven carries. Quarterback Marc Verica was sacked four times. J.R. Collins had 1.5 sacks for the Hokies, Dwight Tucker had a sack, Chris Drager had a sack, and Derrick Hopkins added half-a-sack.
True freshman cornerback Kyle Fuller, starting at boundary corner in place of the injured Rashad Carmichael, had three tackles for loss and broke up two passes. Eddie Whitley had an interception for the Hokies which led to Tech’s first touchdown of the game.
In his final game in Lane Stadium, Tyrod Taylor was 13-of-23 for 176 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He added 24 yards on the ground.
David Wilson was the star of the game, carrying the ball 13 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. Wilson also had three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown, including a big 39 yard reception down the right sideline that would have gone for a touchdown had he not lost his footing.
Darren Evans also enjoyed a good game with 13 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Williams had seven carries for 24 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, the Hokies rushed for 201 yards and averaged five yards per carry.
Jarrett Boykin led the receiving corps with six catches for 72 yards. He now has 45 receptions on the season, and 115 for his career. Boykin, a junior, needs just 11 more catches to tie Ernest Wilford’s career receiving record. Punter Brian Saunders also deserves a mention. Four of his six punts were downed inside the 20, including one at the UVA 9 and another at the UVA 1.
Recap
The Virginia Tech offense seemed to take the first quarter off, gaining only 15 yards on three drives in the opening 15 minutes. They finally broke through in the second quarter when UVA made their first mistake of the game.
From his own 8, Mark Verica floated a pass downfield into a swirling wind that was intercepted by free safety Eddie Whitley. Whitley ran the pick back to the UVA 5, and one play later Ryan Williams took it in from five yards out to give the Hokies a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
The Hoos handed the Hokies another short field on their next drive. On fourth and two from their own 45, UVA went for a fake punt, throwing a pass to Colter Phillips in the flat. The Hokies were in punt safe, and Bruce Taylor and Jeron Gouveia-Winslow were there to rudely meet Phillips, stopping him short of the first down marker. Tech took over on the UVA 46.
Tyrod Taylor quickly made them play. He went deep to an open Danny Coale, who was interfered with by Chase Minnifield. Two plays later, Taylor hit David Wilson on a 20 yard screen pass down the right sideline. Wilson leaped over the pylon, beating the UVA defense for the touchdown, and the Hokies led 14-0 with 10:33 remaining in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter, UVA gambled again on fourth down. Facing fourth and one at the Tech 14, UVA coach Mike London elected to go for it. UVA’s 250-lbs tailback Keith Payne took the handoff, and he was met by Bruce Taylor, John Graves, and most of the rest of Tech’s front seven and stuffed for a no gain.
The Hokies took over, and Tyrod Taylor quickly found David Wilson down the right sideline for a 39 yard gain. Wilson slipped behind a UVA defensive back, and Taylor scrambled to his right and made the throw. The drive stalled, but not before senior kicker Chris Hazley added a 40 yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining to give Tech a 17-0 lead heading into halftime.
Tech once again took advantage of good field position to start the third quarter. Marc Verica was sacked by Chris Drager on third down, and the UVA punt was a short one, going out of bounds at the Tech 47. Tyrod Taylor hit Jarrett Boykin for a 24 yard gain on the first play of the drive, and five plays later Ryan Williams ran it in from 15 yards out to put Tech up 24-0 with 11:24 remaining in the third quarter.
The Hokies had an 88 yard touchdown drive on their next possession, and the big play of the drive was once again a pass from Taylor to Boykin, this time for 25 yards. Darren Evans finished the drive with a six yard touchdown run. Overall it was an 11 play drive covering 88 yards that took over six minutes off the clock, and the Hokies led 31-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Tech scored once again midway through the fourth quarter. Logan Thomas entered the game at quarterback and completed one six yard pass to Jarrett Boykin, but David Wilson was the star of the drive. He had runs of 16 yards and 25 yards, and eventually scored from two yards out. The extra point was blocked, and the Hokies led 37-0 with 4:53 left in the game.
UVA finally managed a touchdown against Tech’s backup defense, just barely. The Hoos completed a 34 yard gain over the middle to Matt Snyder, who fumbled, but UVA was able to fall on the loose ball. A personal foul penalty on walk-on senior defensive end Josh Eadie also aided the drive, and Ross Metheny eventually hit Keith Payne on an 11 yard screen pass for the touchdown to make the final score 37-7.
The Hokies are on a roll, and they’ll face their old nemesis from the Sunshine State in a battle for the ACC Championship next Saturday. Tech and Florida State will kickoff at 7:45pm on ESPN.
STATISTICS
UVA VT
---- ----
First downs 13 20
Rushed-yards 34-70 40-201
Passing yards 221 182
Sacked-yards lost 4-13 1-3
Return yards 78 74
Passes 16-26-1 14-24-0
Punts 6-40.2 6-41.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 5-45 5-32
Time of possession 29:48 30:12
Att: 66,233
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Wilson 13-84, Evans 13-70, Williams 7-24,
Taylor 7-24. UVA, Mack 5-31, Jones 11-11, Verica 8-10, Payne 7-8,
Metheny 1-7, Fells-Danzer 2-3.
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 13-23-176-0, Thomas 1-1-6-0.
UVA, Verica 12-20-168-1, Metheny 2-2-50-0, Rocco 1-3-2-0,
Howell 1-1-1-0.
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Boykin 6-72, Wilson 3-65, Coale 3-17,
Evans 1-17, Smith 1-11. UVA, Inman 3-65, Payne 3-48, Burd 3-47,
Jones 3-16, Snyder 2-37, Skrobacz 1-2, Phillips 1-1, Keys 0-5
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