Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams, left, gains yardage against Boston College's Mike McLaughlin during the first half of an NCAA college football game at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Petersen)
Blacksburg, VA -- Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer was unusually hard on his team in practice the week leading up to today's game against Boston College.
He was tired of losing to the Eagles in the regular season and wasn't about to allow Boston College to win its fourth straight against his Hokies. And they didn't.
Not only did the Hokies win the game, they dominated the Eagles from the opening drive in a 48-14 win.
“I thought we had them disrupted a little bit,” Tech head coach Frank Beamer said. “I know that kid [Shinskie, Boston College's quarterback] had made some nice throws the past couple of weeks. They were having trouble running the football on us, and any time you can make them one-dimensional, I think that really helps you and we had that going. We got them into passing situations and we had them disrupted in the passing game. That’s what really pleased me.”
This was supposed to be a tough game for the No. 5 Hokies (3-0, 5-1), who had lost three of their last four games against the Eagles (2-2, 4-2).
Everything went right for Virginia Tech in this game. The running game that stalled last week against Duke kicked into high gear and the ACC's leading rusher Ryan Williams led the Hokies with 182 total yards - 159 rushing, 23 passing - and a touchdown. Williams' fourth 100-yard rushing game in a single season ties the freshman record set by Darren Evans in 2008.
Williams has nine touchdowns on the season, just two shy of Tech's freshman record of 11 set by Darren Evans last season. Evans tore his ACL in the preseason and will miss all of 2009.
Junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor had another solid passing game completing 7 of 10 passes for 126 yards and two touchdown passes.
The first came on the Hokies' second offensive series, leading 3-0. Taylor scrambled for what seemed an eternity before finding Danny Coale wide open in the back of the endzone for his (Coale) second TD of the season. The second scoring strike went to Jarrett Boykin, who reeled in a 41-yard TD pass - his third of the season - from Taylor to give the Hokies a 24-0 lead in the second quarter.
Taylor has thrown eight TDs to one interception this season. Last year, he threw two TDs to seven interceptions.
Virginia Tech scored on its first four possessions in the first half to sprint out to a 24-0 lead. Boston College was never in the game. Tech made it 31-0 when Rashad "Rock" Carmichael returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown. The Hokies added a second quarter field goal to take a 34-0 lead into the half.
Bud Foster's defense, which has been inconsistent this season, stepped up and took out its collective frustration on Boston College. The Eagles managed just three yards in the first half. At one point in the second quarter, they had -7 yards.
Boston College's two touchdowns came in the fourth quarter against Tech's second and third team defenders.
Redshirt freshman backup quarterback Ju-Ju Clayton threw his first career touchdown pass, an 80-yard bomb to Marcus Davis who picked up his first college touchdown.
Comments
Impressive win, Lane Stadium is never a fun place to play for a young and inexperienced QB, when Va. Tech plays like that there's few teams that can stick with them...Georgia Tech could be in trouble next week if they bring the defense their showcasing at FSU.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!