Hokies Humble WVU
October 02, 2004 04:50 PM | General
October 2, 2004
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech turned the tables on No. 6 West Virginia Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg. Last year No. 3-ranked Tech had its dream season derailed in Morgantown, losing 28-7 to unranked West Virginia.
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| Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randll is hauled down by West Virginia's Scott Gyorko.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Virginia Tech returned the favor Saturday afternoon by defeating the previously undefeated Mountaineers 19-13. The game was won at the line of scrimmage where the Hokie defense limited the Mountaineers to just 247 yards of offense and 10 first downs.
"I've got to watch the film and see why we didn't get any movement up front," said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez.
West Virginia (4-1) didn’t get a first down until its final play of the first quarter and actually had more penalty yards than offensive yards for most of the first half.
"The first play of the game we get a 10-yard gain and get it called back for a holding penalty," lamented Rodriguez. "We had another drive where we thought we had a pass interference and they didn't call it. They never allowed us to get into a rhythm and it's something that we've got to try and get corrected."
The running game was virtually non existent for West Virginia. Quarterback Rasheed Marshall was the team’s top ground-gainer with 74 yards on 16 carries. WVU’s top rusher, Kay-Jay Harris, was limited to 22 yards on seven carries before going to the sidelines with an injury. Jason Colson was credited with 47 yards on 12 tries.
Virginia Tech (3-2) wasn’t an offensive juggernaut, either, but it did enough to get 19 points -- 12 of which came on field goals. Hokie quarterback Bryan Randall was unsuccessful on several long pass attempts but was able to move Tech into position for two Brandon Pace first-half field goals.
The first Pace field goal was from 30 yards at the end of the first quarter and he nailed his second from 46 yards with four minutes remaining in the half.
West Virginia mounted its best drive of the half by going to the air with Marshall connecting with Eddie Jackson in the right flat for 19 yards and hitting Chris Henry for seven more. West Virginia was able to convert a fourth and one at the Tech 31 when Jason Colson got four cutting back against the grain.
On third and seven from the Hokie 23, Marshall fired a perfect strike to John Pennington at the Tech two that he was unable to secure. That forced West Virginia to go for a Brad Cooper 40-yard field goal attempt to try and close Tech’s lead to 6-3 before the end of the half.
Cooper’s kick never made it past the line of scrimmage. Hokie defensive tackle Jim Davis blocked the kick and Vincent Fuller scooped the ball up at the West Virginia 26 and raced 74 yards untouched for a touchdown. It was Virginia Tech’s 10th blocked punt or field goal against West Virginia since Frank Beamer took over in 1987.
"That was a 14-point swing," said Rodriguez. "We get inside the five and get a chance to get the lead at halftime even though we played poorly. We kick a low kick or something and they return it. That really blunted our momentum."
Virginia Tech tacked on three more points to its lead on its opening possession of the second half, driving from its own 29 to the WVU 11. A pair of Randall passes and an Imoh run gave the Hokies back-to-back first downs. The Hokie quarterback added a 21-yard scramble to the WVU 25. The Hokies got to the WVU 11 and had a shot to get a touchdown but Randall’s pass to tight end Jared Mazzetta was knocked down in the end zone. Tech eventually settled for a Pace 29-yard field goal.
Tech had a chance to boost its lead to 19 points on its next possession, but Pace hooked a 34-yard field goal just outside the goal post.
The Mountaineers finally got on the scoreboard with 2:55 left in the third quarter when a scrambling Randall made an ill-advised pass across his body that Eric Wicks picked off at the Hokie 34 and ran untouched into the end zone. The Mountaineers went for two but Marshall’s pass sailed out of the end zone.
Mike Imoh gave Virginia Tech great field position on the ensuing kickoff by taking the ball 41 yards to midfield. Despite the great start the Hokies weren’t able to punch the ball into the end zone and had to settle for a Pace 35-yard field goal, his fourth of the game.
Rasheed Marshall took matters into his own hands on West Virginia’s next possession, running for five yards, passing for nine to Jason Colson and calling his own number once again for a 46-yard touchdown run to make a game of it.
The play of the game for Tech came on third and five at its 37 with 3:22 remaining when Randall hit tight end Jeff King for eight yards and a first down. By this time West Virginia’s defense had been on the field too long: Virginia Tech held a staggering 82-57 advantage in total plays.
"They played really hard and I'm proud of them," said Rodriguez of his defense. "We gave up too many third downs and we didn't tackle well but I thought they really played with great effort. They gave us a chance to win the game by holding them to field goals."
West Virginia had one last crack at Tech with the ball at its own 15 with 41 seconds left. Marshall’s first pass to Henry fell incomplete at midfield. The Mountaineers used a trick play to get into position to try a desperation pass play. Charles Hales took a double reverse and hit Eddie Jackson for 32 yards. Fifteen yards were tacked on when Darryl Tapp was called for roughing the passer to move the ball to the Hokie 41. But West Virginia’s hopes of a miraculous comeback were dashed when Marshall’s pass down the seam was picked off by Vincent Fuller. It was Marshall’s first interception in 81 pass attempts.
Mike Imoh, sitting out the first three games on a team-imposed suspension, made his first start of the year a memorable one running 30 times for 115. Randall finished completing 16 of 34 passes for 142 yards with two interceptions.
When the game was over Virginia Tech fans rushed the field and celebrated its second win over a Top 10-ranked team in back-to-back seasons.
The loss snaps West Virginia’s 11-game regular-season winning streak.
"It was very frustrating," said Rodriguez. "We were searching for calls, trying to find runs, change formations and we'd get something going and the next thing you know we'd get a penalty called. We had an opportunity and we'd miss and open guy so it was a frustrating day."
West Virginia returns to action at Connecticut on Wednesday, Oct. 13. Virginia Tech plays at Wake Forest next Saturday.
"We're disappointed and it hurts to lose but this is a good ballclub at their place and we didn't play very well and we lost," Rodriguez said. "The most important goal is to always win the Big East and we haven't even started Big East play yet so everything is still out in front of us."
Scoring Summary
VT – Pace 30 FG
VT – Pace 46 FG
VT – Fuller 74 blocked FG return (Pace kick)
VT – Pace 29 FG
WV – Wicks 34 interception return (Conversion failed)
VT – Pace 35 FG
WV – Marshall 46 run (Cooper kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing: WV -- Marshall 16-74, Colson 12-47, Harris 7-22, Jackson 1-minus 9, Total 36-134; VT -- Imoh 30-115, Randall 12-70, Humes 2-6, Hamilton 2-3, Total 47-192.
Passing: WV -- Marshall 9-19-1-81-0, Hales 1-1-0-32-0, Total 10-20-1-113-0; VT -- Randall 16-34-2-142-0.
Receiving: WV -- Henry 5-42, Jackson 2-51, Henderson 2-11, Colson 1-9, Total 10-113; VT -- Royal 6-45, King 2-19, Imoh 2-13, Hyman 1-32, Morgan 1-15, Mazetta 1-9, Clowney 1-4, Johnson 1-3, Hamilton 1-2, Total 16-142.
