Cody Journell connected on the game-winning field goal as time expired, giving Virginia Tech a 17-14 win over in-state rival UVA on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies finished the season 6-6, with a 4-4 mark in the ACC, and they are now bowl eligible. UVA dropped to 4-8 overall, and 2-6 in league play.
UVA fans are left puzzled by a pair of decision by Mike London in the second half of the game. Leading 14-7 in the second half, the Hoos had a chance to kick a field goal that would have put them up two scores against a struggling Tech offense. London decided to fake the field goal, but the inside running play was stopped short of the first down. The Hokies responded by going on a 15-play, 85 yard touchdown drive. After the fake field goal, Tech outgained UVA 182-13.
With just under a minute left in the game, and with the Hokies positioning the ball for the last-second field goal, London had two timeouts remaining. Instead of using the timeouts on third and fourth down, he elected to let the time go off the clock and use the timeouts to ice Cody Journell, rather than stopping the clock. The plan failed, as Journell’s 29 yard field goal was good as time expired.
Virginia Tech outgained UVA 303 to 217, ran 95 plays to UVA’s 56, and held the ball for 37:30. UVA had the ball for under nine minutes in the entire second half. Logan Thomas had 29 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Martin Scales started and had 37 yards on 10 carries. J.C. Coleman had 13 carries for 36 yards. Tech’s offense was very bad in the second half, but they got it going late.
Thomas was 18-of-38 for 129 yards and a touchdown pass to Randall Dunn. He started off poorly, and was very inaccurate, though he settled down late and was difficult for UVA to stop late in the game. Thomas also coughed up a fumble on a sack, which was returned by the Hoos for a touchdown.
Demitri Knowles and Marcus Davis both had four catches for 33 yards, and except for a 42 yard catch and run for a touchdown by UVA’s Tim Smith, neither passing offense could get much accomplished on a cold, windy day in Lane Stadium.
The Tech defense had a terrific performance, holding UVA to just 30 yards rushing. They sacked Michael Rocco twice, while Antone Exum pulled in a critical interception late in the game to set up Cody Journell’s game-winning field goal.
Detrick Bonner had a very good game at free safety. He led the team with 10 tackles, and with the exception of Smith’s catch and run for a touchdown, Bonner made a number of very good open field tackles on Saturday. He also broke up two passes, and he is likely the defense’s most improved player from the middle of the season until now.
Antone Exum locked down the UVA wide receivers all afternoon. He finished with five tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. Tech’s secondary has improved substantially thanks to the progress of Bonner and Exum.
Senior linebacker Bruce Taylor, playing his last game in Lane Stadium, pitched in with a sack. Derrick Hopkins and J.R. Collins also split a sack of Michael Rocco.
Virginia Tech has now won nine consecutive games against UVA, the longest winning streak in the history of the rivalry. The Commonwealth Cup will reside in Blacksburg, VA for at least another year. The Hokies have also won 13 out of the last 14 against the Hoos, and are 16-4 against their in-state rivals since the beginning of the Beamer Bowl Era in 1993.
We don’t know exactly where the Hokies will be bowling yet, but we do know that Virginia Tech will be playing in the postseason.
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Hey if a kid wants to wear an orange uniform and it makes him play a little better because he feels good in it I say let him wear it. Who hasn’t gone into an interview with a new suit on and not felt a little more confident? Maybe not an orange suit but they are not getting anything above a college education so let them have some fun if they want to. Yes, maybe the helmet decals are a little over the top but even the great and powerful Oz, I mean Notre Dame made a change this year to there gear. And if CFB can get the offense fixed and go 12-0 I don’t care what color they wear! T
Sorry, cant agree with the comment above. I think it is obvious that the uni’s are not helping one bit. If the Hokies need to change their identity to attract recruits we are in even more trouble than what we have seen this year. I cant imagine that funky uniforms attract more recruits than going to the ACCC and a BCS bowl.
Maybe it works for Oregon and WV, but that is not the Hokie way. We built the program based on the Lunch Pail attitude and it served us well. Let get back to it! (Anyone notice how many time the lunch pail was featured on TV this year?)
Agree. Uni’s got to go back to more maroon. What the heck was the team thinking about?
Thank goodness we beat UVA but we will be embarrassed in the bowl game. Uniforms make us look like clowns. I am ready for our coaches to become leaders.
In the past, VA Tech Football was known for its hard nose, slobber knocking, snot nose play. We did not always win, but we did win a lot and everyone respected the program. Coach Beamer did a great job in building the program and he appeared to be in control.
Currently; however, it appears the inmates are in control. Coaches depend too much on seniors for their leadership, instead of developing all the players to take responsibility for their assignments on each play. That develops character and leaders. The recent viral video exposing one over-hyped receiver’s poor performance on multiple plays in one game is a perfect example. It wasn’t the only game he “played” that way. Sadly, It took the video to force the coaching staff to sit the young man down and let him watch for awhile last week. Let’s be honest, the lad’s attitude about his performance on the field should not have been tolerated this long and he definitely should not have been allowed the priviledge of holding a scholarship for 5-years.
The developing of talent and play of the Offense appears to the casual observer to be declining the past few years. In other words, VA Tech’s Offense is Offensive! In the past, a few shining stars have carried the load and made the rest look acceptable. However, without superstars this 2012 campaign, the Hokies looked really less than average. Beamer should take a hard look at his “Program” in the off-season and make the necessary coaching changes. His legacy depends upon it. More importantly, VA Tech’s future football prominance depends upon it. If he doesn’t make a change, someone else may make it for him. And it may be sooner than he thinks!
Like the team’s offensive play of late, the uniforms really are an embarrasment. When watching a game on TV, I am constantly reminded by my non Hokie friends how hillbilly looking the Hokies have become. I understand the seniors are responsible. They are allowed to select the team’s wardrobe each week. In the opinion of this 71-year old architectural school graduate, FB and athletic director, Weaver should listen to the alumni and fans on the message boards. We hate seeing our Hokies in Halloween-type drag each week. Orange colored turkey feet prints on an earlier helmet design was over-the-top. This Thanksgiving week-end was just not the time to trot out a larger-than-life turkey cartoon on the player’s helmet. In case those in charge hadn’t noticed lately, the team is playing like a bunch of turkeys and we really don’t need egg on our face for more emphasis. To have TV announcers poke fun at a great school and say “all we need is some gravy on the other side of the helmet” should be enough for Beamer and Company to again take charge of the asylum.
We like being conservative with a “lunch pail” work attitude and love our Chicago Maroon helmets and jerseys. And we hate the bright orange effect. Leave that color for Clemson. If a uniform change is to be, lets have some input from those who support the school and professional designers – not a bunch of kids. Their thoughts should be on their studies and the game, not the uniforms. If the kids want to wear multiple uniform designs throughout the season, let them attend Oregon, where with the help of design professionals, they do it well.
Re: Our ugly, inconsistent, embarrassing helmets and unis…
Branding a football program requires professional marketing. Helmet and uniform designs are too important to be left to the players except where there is some intelligent guidance.
The latest helmet disaster is hard to take, as it put our team on the field with ZERO identification as to what school they represented. Why in God’s name would you put a number on one side of the helmet and completely omit the VT logo. The players’ numbers already appear FOUR times on their jerseys. Even the TV announcers were critical on two or three occasions. And what’s with the sudden love affair with turkeys and turkey tracks? Seems strange (actually dumb) when we are marketing “HOKIES” as our primary name. Maybe the same folks designing our “all of the above” offensive schemes have had a hand in this helmet design disaster.
How many different helmet designs did the team wear this year? Not sure how many actual helmets were used, but aren’t those changes expensive?
As I said previously on this uniform discussion. There should be a standard HOME and a standard AWAY uniform which should denote the “blue collar” effort by the team and not be a marketing fashion statement.
Do we want to be like Barney Stinson that has a lot of suits?
OR
Do we want to be like Barney Stinson that is – wait for it – AWESOME!!!!!
GO HOKIES AND WIN THE BOWL GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Post!
Agree on the uniforms; stick to maroon, with a few all maroon looks for big home games.
We’re a football team, not a men’s fashion show!
Chris, one note, the offense was very bad way before the second half. That aside, it is always great to beat UVA, no matter how the ugly game might be.
O&M 69 is right, we need to WIN the bowl game.
The timing of the staff changes will be interesting. Will Frank go outside the family (like he did with Elmasian) or keep it in house? Whatever he does, he needs a Foster equivalent on O, someone skilled at their craft AND and the authority within the organization to put their product on the field. Oddly, I expect the latter to be the biggest challenge.
Happy for the win, but jeez the O is painful to watch. Thanks to London for doing his best algroh impersonation – unbelievable.
Glad to beat the Hoos yet again and keep the bowl streak alive. Hopefully the team is focused on winning the game and not just satisfied with keeping the streak alive. I also hope the month of practice time gives Beamer time to focus on fundamentals for the O line. They are simply awful when it comes to run blocking and it was painful to watch them yesterday. We struggled to beat a bad UVA team at home. Even the announcers commented on how the O line simply can’t blow anyone of the line to give daylight for RB’s to run north/south. While they had a few nice runs, it was certainly the exception versus the norm. Hopefully Stiney, O’Cain, and Newsome are gone in the offseason and Beamer finally gives real consideration to major O philosophy changes and new coaches. Odds are likely against that happening, but at least we can still hope for Santa to bring us new O line for next year! Go Hokies and win the bowl game!
Agree 100%. This team needs an entire new O, top down, from OC, line coach QB coach to a sound offensive approach. Anything short of that would just be a band aid and have no lasting impact.
A good ugly win, but best of all a win over the ‘hoos. This season has seen my heart stop at times and get me down on the team. In the end they managed to salvage a bad season. Off to a bowl game, get the young studs some more reps and a bowl win.
Was I disappointed in the season, yes. Do I love this team, yes. Do I expect them to turn it around for an ACC Championship season next year, YES.
GO HOKIES BEAT well whoever your next appointment is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m glad we beat Virginia, but there are more important things, believe it or not. I’m thankful the bowl streak is still alive. But I would like for Tech to get on a bowl WINNING streak. 19 bowl games is awesome–only 2 teams better than that. But Beamer has a losing record in bowls. I think more important than getting into bowls is to WIN them. Frankly, with 33 bowls (I think is the current total) it is not that hard to get to a bowl. Heck, we’re going with a 6-6 record. To put it in perspective, back in the ’60s we went to the Liberty Bowl twice, but there were only 8 bowls back then so it was more meaningful. With 33 bowls now I believe it is more meaningful to WIN your bowl game.
A little research on our bowl possibilities looks like we’ll go to the Sun Bowl (vs. USC again) or Music City Bowl (vs. Vandy). That’s openers. Anyone hear or see other possibilities?
Totally agree. The horrid uniforms bothers almost as much as the mediocre season.
Your uniform, especially your helmet, is your brand identity. We need to treat it that way.
Rumors mostly, TSL staff probably has the inside, but I think with a 500 season, we would travel better to a closer bowl game. Heard on the radio that Belk and Music City reps were at the game on sat.
I was surprised to see Bruce Taylor listed with two tackles. He seemed to be around the ball most of the day.
Thank you, HOKIES, for pulling this one out! It means alot to beat the Hoo’s. Special kudos to the Defense for playing another very solid game! Congrats to Cody Journell for coming through in the klutch.
I could go regarding my ongoing concerns about the O, but I’m soooo happy with beating UVA that I’ll savor the win and just say a Big THANKS to the team for making my day (and countless others in the Hokie Nation)!!!!
Really happy that the guys pulled this one out. The bowl game will provide some valuable extra practice time, and maybe influence a few recruits that Tech is still the dominant Virginia team.
Now to a very sore subject for me … the constantly changing unis, helmets, and multiple VT logos. Who is reponsible for this disaster? It’s gotten so that you hardly recognize the Hokies. In branding a program, it’s important to be aesthetically pleasing and consistent. Whoever has been dressing the Hokies this year has failed miserably on both counts. The cream colored (not white) helmets with the goofy turkey received scathing reviews last week, but surprisingly, they were back again, as ugly as ever. On TV, the left side looks like Daffy Duck sitting on a nest. Not even a fighting gobbler. On the right side one would think the current VT logo would have made sense. Instead, the important VT logo is missing. In its place, the player’s number Why? The number already appears on the unis FOUR times!!!
The TV announcers twice commented negatively about VT’s strange “look.” Let’s get back to the Maroon helmets with the modern VT logo, and Maroon jerseys. The ill-advised goofing around with bizarre combinations of helmets, logos, and jerseys has gone on for way too long.We have other problems with the program, but this one is easily fixed.
Personally I don’t care if they wear tutus, hairnets & makeup as long as they beat the Hoos every year. Well, that may be a bit too strong, bu you get my drift..
I think traditional uniforms may have a positive effect on the team – reminds them of the aggressive & winning Hokie-style play of the past. It reminds them, perhaps subconsciously, of the kind of play expected of them. Perhaps just a coincidence, but every since Beamer has been experimenting with silly uniforms, the team has worse results.
BESIDES, I AM PROUD OF THE TRADITIONAL UNIFORMS – and think some of the new ones suck.
I think when you are looking out through a facemask, you can’t see your own uniform and you don’t really care. Uniforms are for TV and the fans and personlly I really don’t care.
Agree on both points. Any win over uva is a great win. the second point is an embarrassment to the university. I live in atl and work with several GT alums. Two of which made sneering comments to me this week. what could i say. they are stupid and silly.
Remind GT your pals that 1. we beatthem and 2. Georgia whipped their A## 42-10
Agree – our main color is maroon and we look great and play hard in it.
The helmet cartoon is awful even though I love the Hokie Bird.
Agree 1000%. WTF is up with the stupid helmets?!?!?
Fire the person who made that decision!
Agreed!!!!!!!
The reason for all the uniforms is recruits like them!! I am in the same boat as you guys about liking the modern logo, but prefer better recruits than better uniforms! JMHO
There is nothing wrong with some variation with the unis and helmets, as long as the selections make sense and are done in good taste. For instance, the off-white helmets used Saturday included a totally superfluous player number, and omitted the all-important VT logo. A TV viewer tuning in could not identify the players on the field as representing Virginia Tech. That is unconscionable.
The cartoon turkey is just plain goofy, and should never be sen again. I watched FSU and FL go at it Saturday night. Both looked terrific in their attractive and always recognizable uniforms and helmets.
The marketing and branding of a program is serious business, and should no longer be left to amateurs.
My understanding is the seniors voted to wear the uniforms and helmets.
Another issue with the cartoon turkey is that is set on a white background, just a lot of empty space as if this was a painting and/or a photograph.
That is not a good argument. There are plenty of schools that get good recruits that don’t change uniform designs at the drop of a hat. Good recruits come to schools with good programs, period!!
However, for people external to the program, it is important to put out a recognizable brand!
I don’t care if the alternate design uniforms and helmets are free, they have got to go!!
I strongly agree. I live in Alabama and it is well known people here are very football savy. My friends keep asking me “what’s up with the halmets”? Most are familiar with the VT and like it. Some now mistake us for UVA or West Virgilnia. Somebody, I don’t know who, needs to take charge and get this issue resolved. The VT was once the symbol of a very good football school and recognized nationally. The recent symbols are embarrasing.
I really, really dislike the orange emphasis. Not too many years ago, Frank himself said Maroon was our primary color. When you look in the stands, almost all are wearing mainly maroon colored clothing. STOP with the hideous orange crap! Besides, we almost always lose when orange dominates our uniforms.
One thing is for sure, you DON’T where orange when you are playing Clemson, Miami, and UVA. That’s a no brainer!
Couldn’t agree more! Get back to the Maroon jerseys and helmet with the VT logo. Given the rise in scholarship costs, and the money we’ll lose going to a low-level bowl, we shouldn’t be throwing cash away like this. We don’t want to miss-manage our athletic budget like that former ACC team in College Park.
That said, congrats to the Seniors for continuing the streak against UVA!
Unless the net cost of going to the bowl, whatever it is, is negative, and going to El Paso could be, I don’t think it matters what bowl we go to. Unless, I’m mistaken all ACC schools get the exact same payout from bowl monies. UVa. will get the exact same amount as VT or FSU. Now, that amount would have been more if Clemson didn’t totally choke to South Carolina. They probably would have received an at-large BCS bid, which would have meant more money. I don’t know the numbers, but the BCS pays around $17 Million/game. The second team from a conference gets less, but it must still be $10 Million/game. Which is around 3 times what the next ACC bowl pays.
As poor as we played most of the year this year- it’s better we didn’t sully the VT brand by being recognizable
Totally agree on the unis, what a waste of money and lack of taste. Also agree about getting rid of Offensive staff, what a pitiful display this year.
Congrats to the Hokies for beating the daggone Hoos. The bowl streak stays alive!