2008 Football Game Recap: Hokies Beat Hoos, Win Coastal Division


Virginia ........   7   7   0   0 - 14
Virginia Tech ...   7   0   7   3 - 17

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter
11:57 VA - Hall 40 yard run (Randolph kick)
05:27 VT - Boykin 3 yd pass from Taylor (Keys kick)

2nd Quarter
03:24 VA - Hall 16 yd run (Randolph)

3rd Quarter
12:54 VT - Boone 4 yd run (Keys)

4th Quarter
06:37 VT - Keys 28 yd FG

Blacksburg, VA – A fourth quarter field goal from Dustin Keys gave the Hokies a 17-14 win over Virginia, and sent Virginia Tech back to the ACC Championship Game for the third time in four years. Tech finished the regular season 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the ACC. They’ll face Boston College next Saturday in Tampa. Virginia finished 5-7 and will not go bowling.

This was a game in which Virginia Tech dominated in the box score, but not on the scoreboard. The Hokies racked up 392 yards of total offense, their second highest total of the season. However, they missed opportunities to put the game away. Tech failed to score on two 14-play drives and another 13-play drive, and that kept the game close.

The Hokies dominated time of possession 36:25 to 23:35. They ran 80 offensive plays to UVA’s 46, but the missed opportunities in the redzone made it a close game in the fourth quarter.

Tyrod Taylor played perhaps the best game of his career, just a week after the worst game of his career. He was 12-of-18 for 137 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for 137 yards. Taylor came up with numerous big throws to keep drives alive, and didn’t turn the ball over. The Hokies only had one turnover on the day, an interception thrown by Sean Glennon late in the first half.

Taylor got help from Tech’s rapidly improving wide receivers. Jarrett Boykin finished with six catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. It was his second straight game with a touchdown reception. Danny Coale added five receptions for 66 yards.

Virginia played cornerback Vic Hall at quarterback for most of the game. The strategy was similar to Duke’s strategy last week. They wanted to shorten the game and limited turnovers from interception prone quarterback Marc Verica. Hall ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Verica played on obvious passing situations, and threw a critical interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter when the Hoos were driving for the potential game-winning score.

The VT offensive line continued their up and down play, this time with a good performance. UVA had just one sack on the day, and that was when cornerback Vic Hall beat tailback Darren Evans on a blitz. In general, Tech’s quarterbacks had time to read the defense and make good throws down field.

Overall, the Tech defense played well. They held UVA to 249 yards of total offense, and shut the Hoos out in the second half.

Purnell Sturdivant led the team with eight tackles, and he came away with the game-ending sack in the fourth quarter. Defensive end Jason Worilds continued his terrific play, finishing with two tackles for loss and a sack.

Recap

Virginia began the first drive of the game with Vic Hall at quarterback on their own 29. They didn’t waste time in drawing first blood. On the second play from scrimmage, Hall ran for a 14 yard gain, and that was a sign of things to come. Marc Verica completed a pass for a first down on a critical third down, and one play later Hall got loose from 40 yards out and took it in for a touchdown. With 11:57 left in the first quarter, Virginia led 7-0.

The Tech offense responded with one of their best drives of the year. The Hokies marched 65 yards in 13 plays to tie the game. Tyrod Taylor completed three passes for 33 yards to Danny Coale on the drive, and the Hokies hit the Hoos with a steady diet of Darren Evans to move the ball down the field.

Tech picked up a first down at the Virginia 3 on two yard run by Josh Oglesby, and the Hokies didn’t waste time scoring from there. On first down, Taylor hit Jarrett Boykin on a flag route in the corner of the end zone, and just like that the score was 7-7 with 5:27 remaining in the first quarter.

The Hoos went three and out on their next drive, as the Tech defense started to figure out the unique UVA offense. The Hokies took over possession on their own 32 and drove into the redzone, but didn’t come up with any points. The possession lasted 14 plays, but came up empty.

It was an impressive drive for Tech, with the Hokies picking up a third and 14 on an 18 yard strike from Taylor to Boykin. That gave VT a first down at the UVA 37. They gradually drove down to the 4, where they faced third and two. However, the zone stretch play to the right by Josh Oglesby was not only stopped for a one yard loss, but it put the ball on the far right hash for a short 22 yard field goal attempt. The result was a missed field goal that was wide right.

Virginia was able to find the end zone again in the second quarter. They took over possession at their own 38 with 6:21 remaining in the half. The Hoos picked up a critical first down on third and 10. Marc Verica’s shuffle pass to Cedric Peerman was read perfectly by Jason Worilds, but he didn’t wrap up. Peerman broke to the outside and dove across the first down marker, keeping the drive alive.

Later in the drive, a pass interference call on Kam Chancellor gave the Hoos a first down at the Tech 16, and one play later Vic Hall took it into the end zone. With 3:24 left in the second quarter, UVA held a 14-7 lead.

The Hokies had one more chance to score before the half. Sean Glennon played most of the possession, as Tech ran the two-minute offense. The drive was aided by a pass interference penalty, but once again Jarrett Boykin stepped up with a big play on another 18 yard reception on second and 18.

Tech drove the ball to the UVA 18, but Sean Glennon third down pass sailed over the head of Greg Boone and was intercepted in the end zone by Byron Glaspy. Once again, a promising 14-play drive netted no points. The Hoos went to the locker room with a 14-7 halftime lead.

The Hokies tied the game on their first possession of the third quarter. The key play came on third and 7 from the Tech 18. Tyrod Taylor made one of the biggest plays of his career, juking and breaking arm tackles through the UVA defense and carrying the ball 73 yards all the way to the 8 yard line before being tackled by Vic Hall.

Two plays later, Greg Boone took the direct snap at quarterback and pounded his way into the end zone. His touchdown made the score 14-14 with 12:54 left in the third quarter.

UVA went three and out on their next drive, and Tech took over at their own 23. Yet again, the Hokies had a terrific drive end in no points. Tyrod Taylor sparked the drive, hitting Danny Coale for a 20 yard gain, and he later found Greg Boone for a 17 yard gain to the UVA 23. On the next play, Taylor took the ball on a designed run and gained 15 yards, giving Tech a first and goal at the 8.

The Hokies moved it to the 1 yard line, where they faced fourth and goal. They decided to go for it, and they lined up Greg Boone in the shotgun again. He faced an end around, but the UVA defense wasn’t fooled. The Hoos got penetration, and Boone was stopped for a four yard loss. The drive lasted 13 plays, covered 72 yards and took 6:56 off the clock, but it didn’t get Tech any points.

Tech was finally able to take the lead in the fourth quarter. They took over possession at their own 49 with 11:54 remaining in the game. The drive only went 40 yards, but it took 5:17 off the game clock. Tyrod Taylor completed three passes on the drive, two to Jarrett Boykin and another to Danny Coale, and they all went for first downs in second and long situations.

The Hokies were finally stopped at the UVA 11, but a 28 yard field goal attempt from Dustin Keys was good. The home team led for the first time in the game, 17-14, with 6:37 remaining.

The Hoos still had fight in them. A quick 39 yard run by Vic Hall on their ensuing possession gave them a first down at the Tech 24. Then two consecutive plays happened that determined the outcome of the game.

Facing second and eight from the Tech 22, UVA ran an option to the right with Vic Hall. Jason Worilds barreled through the line, planted tight end Joe Torchia into the turf, and tackled Hall for a three yard loss. It was a physically dominated play by a r-sophomore defensive end who is rapidly developing into one of the best players in the nation at his position.

They play was huge, because it put UVA in an obvious passing situation at third and 11. Into the game came the interception-prone Marc Verica, and he served one up to the Tech defense. Verican dropped back and floated a pass over the middle into the end zone, right into the teeth of the Tech defense. It’s not clear who the pass was intended for, but Hokie rover Dorian Porch caught it and returned it to the Tech 40.

However, the game wasn’t quite over. UVA got the ball back on their own 13 with 1:38 remaining. Since the Hoos had to throw the ball to win, Verica was the quarterback, and Bud Foster unleashed the hounds. His first two passes were incomplete, and his third down pass to John Phillips gained just one yard.

On fourth down, Foster called a linebacker blitz, and Purnell Sturdivant broke through clean up the middle, chased Verica down, and sacked him. The Tech offense took the field and ran out the clock, giving the Hokies their fifth straight win over Virginia, and their ninth in the last 10 meetings.

The Hokies will play for the ACC Championship in Tampa next Saturday against Boston College. If the Hokies win, they’ll go back to the BCS for the second straight season. It would be the first time they’ve won back-to-back conference championships since 1995 and 1996. Kickoff is scheduled for 1pm, and the game will be televised by ABC.



STATISTICS

                          VT          VA
                         ----        ----
First downs               24          12
Rushed-yards          52-216      31-172
Passing yards            176          77
Sacked-yards lost        1-8        2-17
Return yards              75         100
Passes               15-28-1      8-15-1
Punts                 3-48.3      5-38.2
Fumbles-lost             1-0         2-0
Penalties-yards         4-32        4-40
Time of possession     36:25       23:35
Att: 66,233

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 16-137, Evans 25-72, Boone 3-8,
Harris 1-6, Oglesby 3-2, TEAM 2-(-2), Glennon 2-(-7).
VA, Hall 16-109, Peerman 12-67, TEAM 1-(-1), Verica 2-(-3).

PASSING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 12-18-137, Glennon 3-9-1-39
Boone 0-1-0. VA, Verica 8-14-1-77, Hall 0-1-0.

RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Boykin 6-65, Coale 5-66, Boone 2-29,
Jefferson 1-9, Evans 1-7. VA, Jackson 2-18, Peerman 2-10,
Covington 1-38, Koch 1-6, Ogletree 1-4, Phillips 1-1.