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1 7 F O O T B A L L ME D I A G U I D E
LANE STADIUM • BLACKSBURG, VA. • SEPTEMBER 3, 2016 • ATTENDANCE: 62,234
Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans threw for 221 yards and four
touchdowns to lead the Hokies to a 36-13 season-opening victory over Liberty
on Saturday, handing head coach Justin Fuente his first victory.
Fuente, who spent the previous four seasons at Memphis, took over in
January for Frank Beamer, who retired after 29 years as Tech’s head coach.
Evans, a junior-college transfer from Texas who enrolled this past January,
completed 20 of 32 passes. The Hokies trailed 13-10 in the second quarter
before Evans threw touchdown passes to Isaiah Ford and Bucky Hodges on
the Hokies’ last two possessions of the first half.
Ford caught 11 passes for 117 yards and Hodges caught two touchdown
passes. Joey Slye hit two field goals of 34 yards.
Liberty amassed just 160 yards of offense, scoring all of its points off of
Tech turnovers. The Hokies lost four fumbles – their only blemishes on the day.
GAME NOTES
• Fuente became the first Tech coach to win his debut since Jerry Claiborne
opened his tenure with a victory over William & Mary in 1961.
• Ford’s 117 yards receiving marked the fourth straight game in which he
has recorded more than 100 yards receiving – a school record.
• Ford has caught at least two passes in 27 straight games, tying a school
record for consecutive games with at least one reception (Ernest Wilford,
2002-03).
• Ford’s touchdown reception marked the 18th of his career, tying him for
second place on Tech’s career touchdown receptions list with Jarrett
Boykin (2008-11), Ricky Scales (1972-74) and André Davis (1998-
2001).
• Greg Stroman’s two interceptions gave him four for his career
LIBERTY
6 7 0 0 - 13
VIRGINIA TECH
7 17 9 3 - 36
VT (10:50 - 1st) - Phillips 23 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
LU (2:47 - 1st) - Macon 2 run (Robert kick failed)
VT (14:15 - 2nd) - Slye 34 FG
LU (12:40 - 2nd) - Jalloh 71 fumble return (Robert kick)
VT (3:31 - 2nd) - Ford 5 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (:24 - 2nd) - Hodges 18 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (12:50 - 3rd) - Team safety
VT (10:10 - 3rd) - Hodges 20 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (8:46 - 4th) - Slye 34 FG
TEAM STATS VT
LU
First downs
24
11
Rushing yds.
48-206
35-90
Passing yds.
252
70
Return yds.
83
0
Passes
25-41-0 9-27-3
Punts-avg.
5-39.0 8-40.0
Fumbles-lost
5-4
1-1
Penalties-yds.
4-33
13-75
Time of poss.
33:42
26:18
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing —
VT: Evans 5-46, McMillian 13-39, McClease 8-27, Carroll 2-24, Rogers
7-23, McKenzie 4-22, Phillips 5-14, Motley 1-5, Hodges 1-4, Murphy 1-3, Team 1
(-11); LU: Mosley 9-47, Macon 12-34, Masha 9-13, Hickson 3-9, Calvert 1-1, Team
1 (-14).
Passing —
VT: Evans 20-32-0 221, Motley 5-9-0 31; LU: Masha 9-25-2 70,
Calvert 0-2-1 0.
Receiving —
VT: Ford 11-117, Phillips 5-53, Hodges 3-42, McKenzie 2-11, Carroll
2-9, Murphy 1-12, Wilson 1-8; LU: Farrow 2-24, Parker 2-15, King 2-7, Shells 1-15,
Couamin 1-6, Smith 1-3.
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY • BRISTOL, TENN. • SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 • ATTENDANCE: 156,990
Virginia Tech got off to a great start in its game against the No. 17 Tennessee
Volunteers, but turnovers and penalties turned out to be its undoing, as the
Hokies fell to the Volunteers 45-24 on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The long-anticipated event drew a crowd of 156,990 fans and broke college
football’s single-game attendance record, surpassing the 115,109 fans who
witnessed Michigan and Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium in 2013.
Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and
rushed for two more, as the Volunteers rallied from a 14-0 deficit to knock off the
Hokies in the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since 1937.
Virginia Tech (1-1) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 7-yard
touchdown pass from quarterback Jerod Evans to Sam Rogers and a 69-yard
touchdown run by tailback Travon McMillian. But an Evans fumble led to a 5-yard
touchdown pass from Dobbs to Jauan Jennings early in the second quarter and
that started a Volunteers’ string of 31 unanswered points.
Dobbs completed 10 of 19 for 91 yards, with three touchdowns and an
interception. He also ran for 106 yards.
McMillian paced the Hokies with 127 yards rushing and the score. Evans
completed 20 of 28 for 208 yards and a touchdown.
GAME NOTES
• Virginia Tech out-gained Tennessee (400-330), ran more plays (73-65) and had
the time of possession advantage (31:44-28:16).
• Tech turned the ball over five times in the game and Tennessee scored 21 points
off those turnovers. All five were fumbles.
• The momentum of the game changed when a poor snap from center Kyle Chung
threw off the timing of a handoff between Evans and C.J. Carroll early in the
second quarter. Tennessee recovered at the Tech 5 and scored on the next play.
• The Hokies cut the Tennessee lead to 31-17 on a field goal by Joey Slye late
in the third quarter, but three of their next four possessions ended in fumbles.
VIRGINIA TECH
14 0 3 7 - 24
TENNESSEE
0 24 7 14 - 45
VT (4:32 - 1st) - Rogers 7 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (2:48 - 1st) - McMillian 69 run (Slye kick)
UT (14:43 - 2nd) - Jennings 5 pass from Dobbs (Medley kick)
UT (9:42 - 2nd) - Malone 38 pass from Dobbs (Medley kick)
UT (5:30 - 2nd) - Medley 34 FG
UT (:39 - 2nd) - Dobbs 5 run (Medley kick)
UT (7:04 - 3rd) - Kamara 23 pass from Dobbs (Medley kick)
VT (3:41 - 3rd) - Slye 34 FG
UT (6:45 - 4th) - Dobbs 27 run (Medley kick)
UT (6:32 - 4th) - Kelly 4 run (Medley kick)
VT (3:28 - 4th) - McKenzie 2 run (Slye kick)
TEAM STATS VT
UT
First downs
21
16
Rushing yds.
45-186
46-239
Passing yds.
208
91
Return yds.
104
16
Passes
20-28-0 10-19-1
Punts-avg.
5-34.4
6-42.5
Fumbles-lost
5-5
2-0
Penalties-yds.
8-95
6-60
Time of poss.
31:44
28:16
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing —
VT: McMillian 13-127, Hodges 4-22, McKenzie 5-21, Rogers 4-20, Evans
16-18, Carroll 1 (-1), Team 1 (-21); UT: Dobbs 14-106, Hurd 22-99, Fils-Aime 4-19,
Kamara 3-9, Byrd 1-5, Kelly 1-4, Dowdy 1 (-3).
Passing —
VT: Evans 20-28-0 208; UT: Dobbs 10-19-1 91.
Receiving —
VT: Phillips 7-77, Ford 5-51, Rogers 3-47, Hodges 3-13, McKenzie 1-17,
McMillian 1-3; UT: Kamara 3-25, Malone 2-46, Jennings 2-7, Croom 1-9, Smith 1-3, Hurd 1-1.
L I BERT Y
1 3
V I RG I N I A TECH 3 6
V I RG I N I A TECH 2 4
1 7
TENNESSEE
4 5
GAME ONE
GAME TWO
2016 GAME-BY-GAME