Passing of Thomas, running of Wilson, defense are Hokie catalysts in 38-0 romp
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia Tech is still the pre-eminent college football power in the state. That was made abundantly clear Saturday at Virginia, where the Hokies dominated the Cavaliers, 38-0, before a sellout crowd of 61,124 at Scott Stadium.
With Logan Thomas (13 of 21, 187 yards) accounting for three touchdowns, David Wilson (24 carries, 153 yards) running for two, and the Hokies defense stuffing Virginia’s vaunted ground attack and swarming quarterback Michael Rocco, Tech reiterated its dominance of its longtime rival.
“We shut out a really good football team,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “I’m really proud of what we’re all about.”
It was the Hokies’ 12th win in the last 13 meetings and 11th by double-digit margins as they captured the ACC Coastal Division title and retained the Commonwealth Cup. It was even more satisfying considering the pregame focus on resurgent Virginia.
“The guys definitely took it as a slap in the face,” Thomas said. “Nobody was really talking about us. They were all talking about Virginia.”
Tech (11-1, 7-1) advances to the ACC championship game for the fifth time in seven years. The Hokies face Clemson with a chance to avenge their lone defeat, 23-3, on Oct. 1 when Thomas was undone by the Tigers rush and Tech failed to score a touchdown at home for only the second time in Beamer’s 25 seasons.
This will be a different Tech team and a different quarterback than what Clemson faced two months ago.
Against Virginia (8-4), Tech made its intentions known on its first snap as Thomas faded back and heaved a rainbow in the direction of Hokies’ king-sized wideout Marcus Davis (5 receptions, 119 yards), who caught the ball over Virginia’s best defender, cornerback Chase Minnifield, for a 36-yard reception.
Three plays later, Minnifield was called for roughing the passer on a corner blitz, setting up a 15-yard option run by Thomas for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Thomas reared back again, throwing a 42-yard bomb to the 6-foot-4, 228-pound Davis. Three plays later, Thomas fired a strike over the middle to senior Jarrett Boykin (four receptions, 44 yards) for a 14-0 lead.
Tech also owed its success to its signature defense. The Hokies stuffed the potent rushing attack of Virginia, which was averaging 178 yards per game, third best in the ACC, but produced just 31 yards on 26 attempts.
“They brought a lot of people down into the box to try and stop the run,” said Rocco (16 of 27, 211 yards). “We were able to connect through the air a lot today. As an offense though we didn’t finish like we needed to.”
Perry Jones entered with 870 yards rushing and a 5.1 average per attempt, but gained just 13 yards on six carries. Parks, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, had 17 yards on seven attempts. Free safety Antone Exum (10 tackles) and cornerback Jayron Hosley (10 tackles) led a young, injury-riddled defense.
“We were a little concerned with their big guys up front and our rookies in there,” Beamer said.
Virginia (8-4, 5-3) reached the red zone once in each of the first three quarters, but failed to score. In the first quarter, on fourth down and two, Hokies linebacker Jack Tyler tripped up Parks a yard short.
In the second period, sophomore Kyle Fuller came on a cornerback blitz, knocking the ball from the grasp of Rocco and Tyler recovered.
“Honestly I didn’t even know I had it,” Tyler said. “I was just laying there. I didn’t know the guy even fumbled. I looked at the sideline and everyone’s screaming at me, I got the ball. I looked down and it was right in my lap.”
In the third period, defensive end James Gayle (two sacks), with help from tackle Derrick Hopkins, dropped Rocco for an 11-yard loss and Robert Randolph missed a 38-yard field goal attempt. Freshman linebacker Derrick Bonner and sophomore defensive end J.R. Collins added second-half interceptions for Tech.
On offense in the second half, the Hokies turned to their ground game and Wilson delivered touchdown runs of 27 and 38 yards.
“Everybody was favoring UVA,” Wilson said. “That irks you when you work hard for what you do and people don’t pay attention to it and say, ‘Oh, no. That doesn’t count.’”
As the game turned into a rout, Virginia Tech thoroughly enjoyed its fourth straight victory in Charlottesville.
“We were aware of the hype they were getting – the upset alerts, the picks,” senior wideout Danny Coale said. “It was important to remind each other how good of a team we are and that we have something to prove today too.”
