William & Mary..........0 3 0 0 - 3 Virginia Tech (17).... 27 14 3 0 - 44 Scoring Summary: 1st Quarter 11:58 VT - Dunlevy 25 yd FG 07:37 VT - Dunlevy 27 yd FG 04:47 VT - Ore 2 yd run (Dunlevy) 03:56 VT - Flowers 49 yd INT return (Dunlevy) 00:17 VT - Lewis 8 yd run (Dunlevy) 2nd Quarter 13:56 VT - Royal 60 yd punt return (Dunlevy) 05:07 WM - Pate 22 yd FG 02:13 VT - Ore 34 yd pass from Taylor (Dunlevy) 3rd Quarter 07:51 VT - Dunlevy 38 yd FG
#17 Virginia Tech performed poorly offensively, but their defense was dominant, and the Hokies used their superior athletes to defeat William & Mary 44-3 in Lane Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies improved to 3-1 on the season, and await their first ACC contest against UNC.
Facing one of the worst rushing defenses in 1-AA, Tech struggled on the ground. The Tribe came into the game allowing 237 yards per game on the ground, ranking 107th in 1-AA. The Hokies managed just 133 yards on the ground, and averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.
Last year an All-ACC running back, Branden Ore had 10 carries for just 25 yards and one touchdown. 20 of those came on one play. On Ore’s other nine carries, he netted just five rushing yards. Tyrod Taylor led the team with 52 yards on five carries, with a long of 45 yards. Kenny Lewis, Jr. added 43 yards on 10 carries, with one touchdown.
If you throw out Taylor’s long run of 45 yards, and Ore’s 20 yarder, Tech managed just 68 yards on 36 carries.
Tyrod Taylor played the entire first half and completed 6-of-13 passes for 72 yards, with one touchdown. The touchdown was a 34 yard pass to Ore. No wide receiver caught a pass for the Hokies in the first half. Sean Glennon played the third quarter and was 5-of-9 for 49 yards. Cory Holt played the fourth quarter, and he was 4-of-5 for 33 yards.
Tech’s leading receiver was Branden Ore, who had four receptions for 48 yards. Tight end Andre Smith had two catches for 39 yards, while Sam Wheeler added two for 15 yards. Only three wideouts caught a pass in the game. Josh Hyman had one catch for eight yards, Zach Luckett caught one pass for nine yards, and Ike Whitaker had one reception for five yards.
Defensively, Tech limited William & Mary to 262 yards of total offense, including just five rushing yards. Hokie defenders were in the backfield all day long, and backup defenders saw a lot of action. R-junior linebacker Purnell Sturdivant, who backs up Xavier Adibi, was all over the field. Sturdivant led the team with eight tackles, and also had 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions and a quarterback hurry.
The other reserve linebacker, Brett Warren, had seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries. As a team, the Hokies recorded five sacks. They also had 11 tackles for loss. All-American cornerback Brandon Flowers returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown.
Recap
William & Mary went three and out on their first possession, and the Hokies took over on their own 43 yard line. Taylor’s first pass attempt was dropped by Justin Harper, but the true freshman quarterback made up for it on the next play by running for 45 yards on a designed play on second down.
Taylor’s run gave Tech the ball at William & Mary’s 12 yard line, and from there the Hokies’ redzone trouble began. Ore was immediately stopped for a three yard loss on first down, and Tyrod Taylor’s second down pass hit linebacker Josh Rutter in the chest, but he dropped the easy pick. Ore gained seven yards on a screen on third down, and the Hokies had to settle for a 25 yard Jud Dunlevy field goal to make the score 3-0.
Virginia Tech’s next scoring drive was set up by a 16 yard punt return by Eddie Royal to the William & Mary 39 yard line. The drive started well, with Taylor hitting Sam Wheeler for a 10 yard gain, and then Branden Ore running for a 20 yard gain. However, the drive bogged down inside the 10 yard line, and Dunlevy had to finish the drive with a 27 yard field goal. The Hokies led 6-0 with 7:37 left in the first quarter.
From there, Tech blew the game open. William & Mary punter David Miller dropped a snap on his own five yard line, and the Hokies took over there. It took Ore three plays, but he finally scored on a two yard run on a toss sweep to the left to make the score 13-0 at the 4:47 mark of the first quarter.
Tech’s defense got on the scoreboard next. On second and four from his own 46 yard line, Tribe quarterback Jake Phillips was intercepted by Brandon Flowers, who returned it 49 yards for a touchdown to put Tech up 20-0 with 3:56 in the first quarter.
Despite the big lead, the Hokies weren’t done scoring in the first quarter. They began their next drive on their own 42 yard line, and Tyrod Taylor and Kenny Lewis, Jr. took them down the field. Taylor scrambled twice for a total of 19 yards, while Lewis had two 11 yard runs to spark the drive. Lewis later found the end zone from eight yards out, putting Tech up 27-0 with 17 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Hokies continued to pile up the points at the start of the second quarter. Eddie Royal returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown to put Tech up 34-0 with 13:56 left in the half. However, the Hokies’ offense remained quiet for the remainder of the quarter.
William & Mary finally got on the board later in the quarter with a very impressive drive. The drive began at their own two yard line, and they advanced the ball all the way to Tech’s four yard line. The drive was sparked by a 43 yard completion to Joe Nicholas on the first play, and later a 27 yard pass to tight end Drew Atchison. The Tribe ultimately had to settle for a field goal, cutting the lead to 34-3 with 5:07 remaining in the second quarter.
Tech’s final score of the half was set up by another great play by Royal. This time Royal returned a punt 39 yards to the William & Mary 34 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Tyrod Taylor threw a screen pass to Branden Ore, who scampered 34 yards for the touchdown to put Tech up 41-3 heading into the halftime intermission.
The Hokies had just one field goal in the second half, a 38 yarder from Jud Dunlevy. The field goal was set up by a Purnell Sturdivant interception, which he returned to the William & Mary 27 yard line.
At that point, Tech’s backups were in the game on both sides of the ball, and the Hokies coasted to the easy victory. Tech returns to action next Saturday when they host the North Carolina Tar Heels. Kickoff is scheduled for noon, and the game will be televised by Lincoln Financial/Raycom. Check your local listings.
STATISTICS
VT WM
---- ----
First downs 12 13
Rushed-yards 38-133 28-5
Passing yards 154 257
Sacked-yards lost 4-25 5-42
Return yards 170 128
Passes 15-27-0 19-46-3
Punts 8-43.1 11-38.1
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 11-95 3-25
Time of possession 29:57 30:03
Att: 66,233
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 5-52
Lewis 10-43, Ore 10-25, Holt 4-10, Pickle 2-8
Cheeseman 4-6, Team 1-(-1), Glennon 2-(-10).
WM, Schonder 9-42, Viola 10-17, Archer 1-(-1),
Potts 1-(-9), TEAM 1-(-17) Phillips 6-(-33).
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 6-13-72
Glennon 5-9-49, Holt 4-5-33. WM, Phillips 17-40-243-3
Potts 2-6-14.
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Ore 4-48,
Smith 2-39, Wheeler 2-15, Boone 1-14, Drager 1-9,
Luckett 1-9, Hyman 1-8, Lewis 1-6, Whitaker 1-5
Perez 1-1. WM, Atchison 5-81, Archer 3-39
Nicholas 2-63, Mack 2-30, Varno 2-10, Viola 2-4
Dohse 1-16, Falbo 1-10, Schonder 1-4.
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