Hokies Taken Behind the Woodshed in Baton Rouge


Virginia Tech (9)...0  0  7  0 -  7
LSU (2)............14 10 10 14 - 48

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter
10:46 LSU - Hester 3 yd run (David)
05:54 LSU - Flynn 7 yd run (David) 

2nd Quarter
14:55 LSU - David 30 yd FG
11:55 LSU - Williams 67 yd run (David)

3rd Quarter
08:30 LSU - David 28 yd FG
04:38 VT - Taylor 1 yd run (Dunlevy)
01:36 LSU - Doucet 34 yd pass from Perrilloux (David)

4th Quarter
09:29 LSU - Williams 32 yd run (David)
03:18 LSU - Toliver 28 yd pass from Perrilloux (David)


#2 LSU handed Frank Beamer his worst loss ever at Virginia Tech, crushing the #9 Hokies 48-7 on Saturday night. Not only did Tech lose badly, the defense played poorly and the coaching staff burned the redshirt of Tyrod Taylor, which could lead to a possible quarterback controversy in Blacksburg.

The Hokies were mauled in every phase of the game. They finished with just 149 yards of total offense, while LSU racked up 598. The Tigers averaged 7.2 yards per carry on their way to 297 yards on the ground against Tech’s vaunted defense.

After going 2-of-10 for 16 yards and an interception, Sean Glennon sat down in favor of Tyrod Taylor. Taylor did as well as can be expected in his first college game, completed 7-of-18 passes for 62 yards. His 44 yards rushing on nine carries led the team, and he was generally very poised, despite it being a very long night for the team overall.

Tailback Keiland Williams finished the game with seven carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers, while Jacob Hester had 12 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Another tailback, Charles Scott, had four carries for 24 yards.

LSU wide receiver Brandon LaFell had the biggest game of his career, finishing with seven catches for 125 yards. Highly-touted Early Doucet finished with six receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. Tech’s leading receiver was Josh Morgan, who had four catches for 20 yards. True freshman tight end Chris Drager and r-sophomore wide receiver Ike Whitaker made the first reception of their careers.

Defensively, free safety D.J. Parker led Tech in tackles with 11. Xavier Adibi added nine tackles and a sack, while Brandon Flowers had nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Chris Ellis chipped in with three tackles and a sack.

Game Recap

LSU didn’t waste any time in taking this game to Virginia Tech. After great kickoff coverage by the Hokies, the Tigers began their first drive on their own 13. Jacob Hester rumbled up the middle for 13 yards on second down to get the game going. On the next play, Hester was stuffed, but Brandon Flowers was flagged for a personal foul, giving LSU 15 yards and a first down.

A 28 yard Jacob Hester reception took the ball to the Tech 3 yard line, and Hester plowed in from there to make the score 7-0 LSU with 10:46 remaining in the first quarter.

On LSU’s next drive, the key play came when Tiger quarterback Matt Flynn found receiver Brandon LaFell running open over the middle for a 56 yard gain. LaFell took the ball to Tech’s 25 yard line. Flynn later took it in himself from seven yards out to make the score 14-0 with 5:54 left in the quarter. Things were getting out of hand early in Baton Rouge.

That 14-0 score held up until the end of the first quarter, but LSU kicker Colt David booted a 30 yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter to make the score 17-0. The Hokies started the game poorly on offense and defense. The Tech offense had two three-and-outs and one interception in the first quarter.

The Hokies managed to finally pick up a first down on their first possession of the second quarter, but they were still forced to punt. Upon getting the ball back, LSU didn’t waste any time scoring. On the first play of the possession, Keiland Williams rumbled 67 yards for a touchdown, making the score 24-0 with 11:55 left in the second quarter. The rout was on.

Later in the quarter, true freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor made his college debut. However, he couldn’t get the Hokies on the scoreboard in the first half, and Tech went into the halftime intermission trailing 24-0.

Tech got the ball first in the second half and opened it in familiar fashion, going three-and-out. LSU took over on their own 45 yard line, and promptly marched down field to add a field goal. The drive lasted 10 plays and covered 45 yards, and the result was a Colt David 28 yard field goal to make the score 27-0. A 23 yard pass to Brandon LaFell on third and seven was the key play of the drive.

The Hokies finally got on the scoreboard on their next drive. The first big play came on a 23 yard scramble by Tyrod Taylor that took the ball to the LSU 39. On the next play, Taylor hit Branden Ore with a shovel pass for a 19 yard gain to the LSU 20. Two plays later, Ore took a handoff and gained nine yards.

Facing third and three from the LSU 15, Taylor scrambled for a 12 yard gain and was hit late out of bounds, giving the Hokies the ball just outside the one yard line. A fullback dive to Carlton Weatherford didn’t work, but Taylor’s quarterback sneak on second down put the Hokies on the board. With 4:38 left in the third quarter, LSU led 27-7.

Any thoughts of Taylor leading the Hokies to a big comeback were squashed on the next LSU drive. Facing third and nine from their own 37, LSU hit another big play, this time a 29 yard pass to Early Doucet all the way to the Tech 34. On the next play, backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux ran an option pass, throwing a 34 yard touchdown to a wide open Doucet. The Tigers now led 34-7 with 1:36 left in the third quarter, effectively ending the game.

LSU managed to tack on two more touchdowns before the end of the game. The first was a 32 yard run by Keiland Williams, and the second was a 28 yard touchdown pass from Perrilloux to Terrance Toliver. Those touchdowns made the final score 48-7.

The Hokies (1-1) return to action next Saturday when they face Ohio in Lane Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:30pm, and the game will be broadcast on the internet by ESPN360.


STATISTICS

                          VT         LSU
                        ----        ----
First downs               11          28
Rushed-yards           28-71      41-297
Passing yards             78         301
Sacked-yards lost       3-22         2-2
Return yards             176          21
Passes                9-29-1     22-32-0
Punts                 8-40.1      3-44.7
Fumbles-lost             1-0         0-0
Penalties-yards         7-65        7-62
Time of possession     25:27       34:33
Att: 66,233

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 9-44, Ore 14-28,
Glennon 2-2, Lewis 1-1, Weatherford 1-0, Royal 1-(-4).
LSU, Williams 7-126, Hester 12-81, Holliday 4-32,
Scott 4-24, Perrilloux 4-21, Flynn 7-12, Murphy 2-2,
TEAM 1-(-1).

PASSING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 7-18-62,
Glennon 2-10-16-1. LSU, Flynn 17-27-217, 
Perrilloux 5-5-84.

RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Morgan 4-20, Ore 2-24
Drager 1-14, Harper 1-11, Whitaker 1-9.
LSU, LaFell 7-125, Doucet 6-75, Byrd 2-22, Williams 2-10
Hester 1-28, Toliver 1-28, Scott 1-11, Holliday 1-3
Mitchel 1-(-1).