No. 16 Virginia Tech Tops BC 30-14
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Chase Rettig said he and his Boston College teammates pretty much knew what No. 16 Virginia Tech was going to do on defense.
That still didn't mean the Eagles could come up with anything to solve it.
Boston College mounted only one sustained scoring drive all game and the Hokies rebounded from a 7-6 halftime deficit Saturday with three unanswered touchdowns for a 30-14 victory.
"They play their own defense," Rettig said after finishing 13 for 30 for 181 yards with one touchdown, one interception, four sacks and plenty of grass stains. "They play that `robber' defense. They've been running it forever and teach the hell out of it. They do it every time."
The Hokies put plenty of pressure on the sophomore quarterback, even after defensive end Jaymes Gayle reinjured his injured ankle and left the game, and linebacker Bruce Taylor left with a foot injury. Taylor had two of the sacks, linemen Corey Marshall and Derrick Hopkins the others.
"People were in his face all night," Eagles coach Frank Spaziani said.
The Eagles (1-6, 0-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) now face a daunting task -- win the rest of their games, or see their 12-year streak of finishing in a bowl game come to an end.
"We just need to win games," Spaziani said. "There are a couple things that we need to do to get across the line, and we are just not doing them right now. It's encouraging that we are getting better, but we need to get better faster. We will keep working and we will get there."
The Hokies are already there, but they took some time to show it.
In the second half, David Wilson got the Hokies going with a 42-yard touchdown run, and Logan Thomas threw for a touchdown and ran for another in their third straight victory.
The Hokies (7-1, 3-1) trailed at halftime, but Wilson broke off a 42-yard touchdown run on their first possession of the third quarter, and Thomas led consecutive scoring drives, waking up a Lane Stadium crowd that had had little to cheer about.
Rettig led a 35-yard scoring drive set up by a shanked punt that gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead after just 3 minutes, and hit Chris Pantale with a 7-yard TD throw in the fourth quarter. He had trouble getting inside the Hokies' 40 otherwise, and threw a drive-killing interception.
After Wilson's run made it 13-7, the Eagles mounted their first real drive in response, but on first-and-10 from the Hokies 22, Tariq Edwards intercepted Rettig's pass at the Hokies 11.
Two runs by Wilson covered the first 20 yards, and Thomas had a 29-yard completion to Danny Coale before throwing one up for Marcus Davis to go get in the end zone. The 6-foot-4 Davis easily came down with the ball despite close coverage by 6-1 cornerback Donnie Fletcher.
After another three-and-out for the Eagles, a 31-yard pass from Thomas to Coale highlighted a 56-yard march, with the 6-6 Thomas converting a fourth-and-1, then diving in for the score.
That made it 27-7 with 13:42 to play, and Rettig's late TD pass was not a threat.
Wilson finished with 134 yards on 17 carries, and Thomas added 60 on 16 attempts. He also completed 22 of 36 passes for 268 yards, and was 10 for 11 for 126 yards in the second half.
Rettig finished 13 for 30 for 181 yards. He was sacked four times.
The Eagles struck quickly after holding the Hokies to a three-and-out on their opening series, with the help of a 9-yard punt by Michael Branthover that set them up at the Tech 35.
On second-and-12, Rettig hit Colin Larmond for 35 yards, then ran it in on the next play.
The Hokies struggled throughout the first half, only getting field goals by Cody Journell of 26 and 36 yards. The latter ended a 61-yard drive that consumed the final minute of the first half.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
