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1 7 F O O T B A L L ME D I A G U I D E
KENAN MEMORIAL STADIUM • CHAPEL HILL, N.C. • OCTOBER 8, 2016 • ATTENDANCE: 33,000
Playing in a downpour courtesy of Hurricane Matthew, Jerod Evans threw
two touchdown passes and rushed for a score, and Virginia Tech’s defense
forced four turnovers, as the No. 25 Hokies rolled to a 34-3 victory over No. 17
North Carolina on Saturday in an ACC game played at Kenan Stadium.
The win marked Tech’s first as a ranked team since 2014 when the Hokies
beat Duke in Durham, North Carolina. Tech moved to 4-1 overall on the season,
2-0 in the ACC, and the Hokies also moved to 6-1 against the Tar Heels in
games in Chapel Hill since they joined the ACC for the 2004-05 season.
North Carolina had its nine-game home winning streak snapped and fell to
4-2, 2-1 ACC. The Tar Heels failed to score a touchdown in a game for the first
time since a 13-0 loss to NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2011.
The four North Carolina turnovers led to 20 Virginia Tech points, and
a dropped snap by North Carolina punter Tom Sheldon also led to a Tech
touchdown.
North Carolina’s first two turnovers led to field goals by Hokies’ kicker
Joey Slye. Arguably the biggest play in the game came on the Tar Heels’ first
possession of the second half when quarterback Mitch Trubisky fumbled, and
Tech’s Woody Baron recovered. That turnover led to a 22-yard touchdown
pass from Evans to Sam Rogers that gave the Hokies a 20-3 lead.
Trubisky, who came into the game leading the nation in completion
percentage (76.0) and ninth in passing yards per game (342.2), completed
just 13 of 33 for 58 yards, with two interceptions.
Evans completed 7 of 17 for 75 yards. He also rushed for 49 yards on a
careerhigh 21 carries. Tailback Travon McMillian rushed for 76 yards, as the
Hokies amassed 189 of their 264 total yards on the ground.
GAME NOTES
• Andrew Motuapuaka’s second career INT led to the Hokies’ final TD,
which came on a 4-yard run by McMillian, his third of the season and the
10th of his career.
• Sheldon dropped a snap early in the third quarter, and Tech’s Cam Phillips
tackled him at the UNC 4. Tech later went for it on fourth down, and Evans
scored on a 1-yard run – his second rushing touchdown of the season.
• Greg Stroman’s third interception of the season came in the first quarter at
the North Carolina 20 and led to a 35-yard field goal by Joey Slye for the
Hokies’ first score. The interception marked the fifth of Stroman’s career.
VIRGINIA TECH
6 7 14 7 - 34
NORTH CAROLINA
0 3 0 0 - 3
VT (9:33 - 1st) - Slye 35 FG
VT (5:23 - 1st) - Slye 28 FG
NC (10:59 - 2nd) - Weiler 28 FG
VT (1:50 - 2nd) - Cunningham 1 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (12:43 - 3rd) - Rogers 22 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (10:13 - 3rd) - Evans 1 run (Slye kick)
VT (6:13 - 4th) - McMillian 7 run (Slye kick)
TEAM STATS VT
NC
First downs
18
8
Rushing yds.
66-189
29-73
Passing yds.
75
58
Return yds.
25
39
Passes
7-17-0 13-33-2
Punts-avg.
5-37.6
6-45.7
Fumbles-lost
7-2
3-2
Penalties-yds.
5-29
8-49
Time of poss.
39:59
20:01
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing —
VT: McMillian 17-76, Evans 21-49, Williams 10-30, McKenzie 5-25, Phillips
4-22, Carroll 1-10, Rogers 1-1, Ludwig 1-(-11), Team 6 (-13); NC: Logan 14-67, Francis
3-26, Brown 3-0, Trubisky 8-(-2), Sheldon 1-(18).
Passing —
VT: Evans 7-17-0 75; NC: Trubisky 13-33-2 58.
Receiving —
VT: Phillips 2-20, McMillian 2-4, Hodges 1-28, Rogers 1-22, Cunningham
1-1; NC: Logan 6-30, Hollins 2-8, Switzer 2-2, Howard 1-12, Proehl 1-7, Bargas 1-(-1).
CARRIER DOME • SYRACUSE, N.Y. • OCTOBER 15, 2016 • ATTENDANCE: 33,838
Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans threw for a career-best 307 yards, but
it wasn’t enough as the No. 17 Hokies fell 31-17 to Syracuse in an ACC game.
With the loss, the Hokies fell to 4-2 overall, 2-1 in the ACC. Tech is now 2-7
at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse moved to 3-4 overall, 1-2 in the ACC.
“First of all, congratulations to Coach [Dino] Babers and his kids,” Virginia
Tech coach Justin Fuente said. “They played really, really well today. They beat us
in all three phases of the game. That falls on me, and we obviously didn’t play as
well as we should have. That’s obviously my responsibility.”
The Hokies trailed for much of the game, but tied it early in the fourth
quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Evans to receiver Bucky Hodges.
The touchdown cut the lead to 17-15, but the Hokies went for two points and
converted when Evans found Chris Cunningham for the two, tying the game at
17 with 13:53 remaining.
But Syracuse scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to seal
the win. Quarterback Eric Dungey’s 1-yard run with 7:56 remaining gave the
Orangemen a 24-17 lead, and less than three minutes later, Deontae Strickland’s
16-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 31-17.
The game featured more than 1,000 yards of total offense. Unfortunately for
the Hokies, Syracuse racked up 561 yards, with Dungey throwing for 311 yards
and running for 106. He also threw for a touchdown and ran for one.
Evans completed 20 of 33, with two touchdown passes and one interception,
as the Hokies finished with 468 total yards.
GAME NOTES
• Evans tied his career high for completions and set a career high for
attempts.
• Ford recorded his 22nd career touchdown reception when he hauled in
the 12-yard score from Evans. With that reception, he tied former Tech
receiver Antonio Freeman for the school record in career touchdown
receptions.
• Hodges’ touchdown reception marked the 16th of his career. He is now tied
for sixth on the all-time list with former receiver Josh Morgan (2004-07).
• Defensive end Ken Ekanem started his 32nd consecutive game – the
longest such streak on the squad.
VIRGINIA TECH
3 0 6 8 - 17
SYRACUSE
7 10 0 14 - 31
SYR (13:11 - 1st) - Philips 58 pass from Dungey (Murphy kick)
VT (6:13 - 1st) - Slye 36 FG
SYR (14:49 - 2nd) - Estime 84 pass from Strickland (Murphy kick)
SYR (:04 - 2nd) - Murphy 51 FG
VT (11:19 - 3rd) - Ford 12 pass from Evans (Slye kick blocked)
VT (13:53 - 4th) - Hodges 10 pass from Evans (Cunningham from Evans)
SYR (7:56 - 4th) - Dungey 1 run (Murphy kick)
SYR (5:23 - 4th) - Strickland 16 run (Murphy kick)
TEAM STATS VT
SYR
First downs
21
32
Rushing yds.
39-161
45-156
Passing yds.
307
405
Return yds.
118
41
Passes
20-33-1 30-55-1
Punts-avg.
5-41.6
3-48.7
Fumbles-lost
1-1
1-0
Penalties-yds.
7-53
8-55
Time of poss.
26:35
33:25
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing —
VT: Evans 11-61, McMillian 9-39, Williams 5-23, Rogers 8-21, Phillips
2-9, Hodges 1-6, Carroll 3-2; SYR: Dungey 24-106, Strickland 16-69, Neal 2-0,
Team 2-(-9), Philips 1-(-10).
Passing —
VT: Evans 20-33-1 307; SYR: Dungey 28-53-1 311, Strickland 1-1-0
84, Philips 1-1-0 10.
Receiving —
VT: Ford 8-83, Hodges 5-79, Phillips 3-83, Carroll 2-33, Peoples 1-27,
Williams 1-2; SYR: Philips 11-139, Estime 8-131, Ishmael 6-81, Etta-Towa 5-54.
2 5
V I RG I N I A TECH 3 4
1 7
NORTH CAROL I NA 3
1 7
V I RG I N I A TECH 1 7
SYRACUSE
3 1
GAME F I VE
GAME S I X
2016 GAME-BY-GAME