Dukes Stun Hokies in Blacksburg


James Madison .....    0 7 7 7 - 21
Virginia Tech (13)..   7 6 3 0 - 16

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter
03:24 VT - Boykin 9 yd pass from Taylor (Hazley kick)

2nd Quarter
07:03 VT - Hazley 30 yd FG
04:53 JM - Sullivan 77 yd pass from Dudzik (Wright kick) 
00:19 VT - Hazley 41 yd FG

3rd Quarter
11:32 VT - Hazley 28 yd FG
04:06 JM - Dudzik 7 yd run (Wright)

4th Quarter
13:45 JM - Dudzik 12 yd run (Wright)


Blacksburg, VA – Despite outgaining James Madison 362-235, three turnovers were the difference as the Dukes pulled off one of the greatest upsets in college football history on Saturday afternoon in Lane Stadium. JMU beat the Hokies 21-16, improving to 2-0 on the year, while Tech dropped to 0-2.

The Hokies put up 238 rushing yards, while holding JMU to just 2.8 yards per carry. However, an interception and two fumbles were the key ingredients to James Madison’s upset on Saturday.

The Tech offensive line played poorly again. Ryan Williams ran for 91 yards on 20 carries, but many of his yards came after he broke tackles by players who came in unblocked. Tyrod Taylor also ran for 86 yards, but it wasn’t enough.

Virginia Tech had two sacks, while JMU had none. The Dukes lost the time of possession battle, and the Hokies looked like the better team in general. However, Tech had three turnovers while JMU had none, and the Dukes seemed a lot more focused than Virginia Tech.

In the second half, Virginia Tech had the ball deep in James Madison territory a total of three times and came up with three points. Darren Evans fumbled to kill one drive, while an incomplete pass on fourth down killed another. Tyrod Taylor was also intercepted once, and that interception resulted in a James Madison touchdown.

Recap

This game actually got off to a good start for Virginia Tech, as they drove 94 yards in 18 plays, taking 8:48 off the block to go up 7-0 in the first quarter.

Tech’s offensive line didn’t block particularly well on the drive, but Ryan Williams was able to break tackles and Tyrod Taylor was able to make plays with his legs and his arm. A nine yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Boykin ended the drive, which turned out to be Boykin’s only catch of the day. Tech led 7-0 with 3:24 left in the first quarter.

The Hokie defense continued to play well, but the offense blew a golden opportunity in the second quarter. Starting with the ball at the 50, Tyrod Taylor dropped back to pass and scrambled up the middle. However, the rainy conditions caused Taylor to lose his grip on the football, dropping it at the JMU 35, and the Dukes recovered.

Despite that turnover, the defense held firm, and the offense added a field goal to go up 10-0 with 7:03 remaining in the second quarter. The Hokies weren’t playing great, but they were in control of the game … at least until James Madison’s next possession.

On third and 17 from the JMU 23, quarterback Drew Dudzik checked down to his tailback on a flat pass after no one down field was open. Several missed tackles later, Jamal Sullivan was off to the races, beating Lyndell Gibson in a foot race to the end zone to make the score 10-7 Hokies with 4:53 left in the second quarter.

Virginia Tech drove down the field on their final possession of the half, with Chris Hazley booting a 41 yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining. Tech led 13-7 at halftime, and with the exception of the one long pass play by James Madison, the Hokies were in control of the game. Or so it seemed.

The second half even started off well, with Hazley booting another field goal to make it 16-7, this time from 28 yards with 11:32 left in the third quarter. Little did we know, that was the last time the Hokies would score during the game.

JMU responded with a 68 yard touchdown drive that was kept alive by a critical Virginia Tech penalty. The Dukes faced third and goal from the Tech 15 and threw an incompletion into the end zone, but Tech mike linebacker Bruce Taylor was flagged for holding, giving the Dukes a free first down at the Tech 7.

Two plays later, quarterback Drew Dudzik kept the ball on a read option and scored a touchdown, and the Tech lead was cut to 16-14 with 4:06 left in the third quarter. Dudzik completed just five passes on the day, but made excellent decisions on the read option.

Then Tech started tripping over its own feet at that point, with Tyrod Taylor throwing an interception on the next drive. James Madison used that turnover to go 62 yards for a touchdown, with Dudzik again keeping the football for a 12 yard touchdown run to put his team up 21-16 with 13:45 left in the game.

From there, the Tech offense self destructed. They drove the ball to the JMU 17 on their next possession and faced 4th and 2. Instead of going for the first down, the pass went towards the end zone to Jarrett Boykin, where it fell incomplete. James Madison took over on their own 17, but failed to do anything offensively.

The Hokies had a golden opportunity later in the fourth quarter, advancing the ball to the JMU 12 where they faced 2nd and 1. However, a Darren Evans fumble was recovered by James Madison with 5:23 left.

The Dukes then used their read option and good clock management to run out the clock, beating the Hokies 21-16 in Lane Stadium in one of the biggest upsets in the history of college football. It was James Madison’s first ever victory against Virginia Tech. The Hokies had outscored the Dukes 99-0 in their previous two meetings.

Virginia Tech will look to pick up their first win of the season next Saturday when they host ECU. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30pm, and the game will be broadcast on the internet at ESPN3.com.


STATISTICS

                          VT         JMU
                         ----        ----
First downs               23          14
Rushed-yards          44-238      41-114
Passing yards            124         121
Sacked-yards lost        0-0        2-15
Return yards              49         126
Passes               10-16-1       5-8-0
Punts                      0      4-44.8
Fumbles-lost             0-0         2-1
Penalties-yards         4-48        7-75
Time of possession     31:43       28:17
Att: 66,233

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Williams 20-91, Taylor 13-86, Evans 7-27,
Wilson 3-23, Roberts 1-11.
JMU, Sullivan 20-49, Dudzik 12-35, Noble 3-17, Long 4-15, TEAM 2-(-2).

PASSING-Virginia Tech, Taylor 10-16-124-1. 
JMU, Dudzik 5-8-121-0.

RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Coale 3-52, Williams 2-35, Younger 2-12, 
Boykin 1-9, Evans 1-8, Smith 1-8.
JMU, Barlow 2-11, Sullivan 1-77, Sharp 1-17, Hunter 1-16.