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NOTRE DAME STADIUM • NOTRE DAME, IND. • NOVEMBER 19, 2016 • ATTENDANCE: 80,795
Virginia Tech kicker Joey Slye hit a 20-yard field goal with 4:21 left and that
was the game winner, as the Hokies twice rallied from 17-point deficits to
knock off Notre Dame 34-31 on a blustery Saturday evening at historic Notre
Dame Stadium.
The Hokies trailed 17-0 and 24-7 in the first half, but rallied in the second
half. They cut the lead to 24-21 on their first possession of the second half
when Steven Peoples scored on a 2-yard run.
Notre Dame pushed the lead back to 10 when Josh Adams scored on a
67-yard run with 3:49 left in the third. But the Hokies scored the final 13 points
of the game.
Tech tied the game at 31 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Jerod Evans to Bucky Hodges with 9:13 remaining. After a stop, the Hokies
got the ball back and embarked on a 10-play, 51-yard drive that led to Slye’s
game-winning field goal.
Notre Dame tried to mount one last drive in the final minute, but Tech’s
defense stopped the Irish on fourth down at the Tech 47 on the game’s final play.
Evans paced the Hokies, accounting for 334 yards of offense. He was 22 of
29 for 267 yards, with two TDs and an interception, and rushed for 67 yards
and a TD.
Notre Dame amassed 435 yards of offense, but Tech’s defense held the
Irish to ust six first downs in the second half.
GAME NOTES
• With 10 points, Slye became the fifth player in Tech history to score
300 points in a career. He needs just seven more FGs to break Shayne
Graham’s school record.
• With two TD passes and a TD run, Evans increased his total TDs to 31,
breaking the single-season record of 30 held by former quarterback
Logan Thomas (2014).
• Evans’ two TD passes now give him 24 on the season, tying the school
record held by Tyrod Taylor (2010).
• Peoples set a career high with 11 carries in the game. His previous career
high was two carries. He finished with 32 yards rushing.
VIRGINIA TECH
0 14 7 13 - 34
NOTRE DAME
10 14 7 0 - 31
ND (11:51 - 1st) - Adams 1 run (Toon kick)
ND (4:26 - 1st) - Toon 25 FG
ND (14:53 - 2nd) - Finke 31 pass from Kizer (Toon kick)
VT (11:28 - 2nd) - Evans 23 run (Slye kick)
ND (6:00 - 2nd) - Boykin 18 pass from Kizer (Toon kick)
VT (1:18 - 2nd) - Phillips 16 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (12:39 - 3rd) - Peoples 2 run (Slye kick)
ND (3:49 - 3rd) - Adams 67 run (Toon kick)
VT (13:35 - 4th) - Slye 23 FG
VT (9:13 - 4th) - Hodges 16 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (4:16 - 4th) - Slye 20 FG
TEAM STATS VT
ND
First downs
25
22
Rushing yds.
47-152
36-200
Passing yds.
267
249
Return yds.
122
80
Passes
22-29-1 17-34-0
Punts-avg.
4-30.5
7-38.0
Fumbles-lost
4-1
1-0
Penalties-yds.
5-35
10-78
Time of poss.
32:45
27:15
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing —
VT: Evans 18-67, Peoples 11-32, Williams 8-28, Rogers 4-26, Phillips
1-4, Ford 1-3, McMillian 1-2, Team 3-(-10); ND: Adams 13-100, Kizer, 16-69,
Folston 5-23, Sanders 2-8.
Passing —
VT: Evans 22-29-1 267; ND: Kizer 16-33-0 235, Zaire 1-1-0 14.
Receiving —
VT: Ford 7-86, Phillips 6-56, Rogers 4-30, Carroll 3-80, Hodges
2-15; ND: St. Brown 6-90, Sanders 3-24, Holmes 2-26, Stepherson 2-18, Finke
1-31, Adams 1-22, Claypool 1-20, Boykin 1-18.
LANE STADIUM • BLACKSBURG, VA. • NOVEMBER 26, 2016 • ATTENDANCE: 63,120
Playing in his final game at Lane Stadium, Tech RB Sam Rogers rushed for a
career-high 105 yards and scored two TDs, as the Hokies rolled to a 52-10 victory
over rival Virginia on Saturday afternoon to claim the Commonwealth Cup yet again.
The Hokies closed the regular season with wins in five of their final six games,
moving to 9-3 overall, 6-2 in the ACC. Tech beat Virginia (2-10, 1-7) for the 13th
straight time and for the 17th time in the past 18 meetings. The Cavaliers closed the
season with seven straight losses.
The Hokies already had clinched the ACC’s Coastal Division crown for the sixth
time by virtue of North Carolina’s loss to NC State on Friday and thus had earned
a spot in the ACC title game next Saturday. With their nine wins, the Hokies have
registered their most wins in a season since recording 11 victories in 2011.
Rogers got the Hokies started with an 8-yard touchdown run late in the first
quarter, and following another Tech score, he added a 32-yard touchdown run
midway through the second quarter to push the lead to 21-0. Jerod Evans’ 1-yard
touchdown run right before halftime gave the Hokies a 28-point lead – their largest
halftime lead in the series since 2001.
Things only got worse. UVA went three-and-out on its first drive to start the
second half, and the Hokies scored on their first offensive play when Jerod Evans hit
Bucky Hodges for a 42-yard touchdown that sparked a 24-point quarter that put the
game away. Virginia turned the ball over three times in the game, one of which was
returned for a touchdown, and amassed just 247 yards against the Hokies’ defense
UVA played three quarterbacks who combined to complete just 13 of 36 for 139
yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. Taquan Mizzell led the Cavaliers
with 113 yards rushing.
Rogers’ 100-yard performance was the first of his career, as the Hokies racked
up a season-high 289 yards rushing and finished with a season-high 579 total yards.
GAME NOTES
• Evans set the school single-season total offense record finishing with
3,752 yards of total offense, breaking the mark of 3,500 yards set by
Logan Thomas in 2012.
• Ford’s 29-yard reception marked the 200th reception of his career. The
junior from Jacksonville, Florida, who has caught at least one reception
in 38 of his 39 career games, became the 17th player in ACC history to
record 200 receptions.
VIRGINIA
0 0 3 7 - 10
VIRGINIA TECH
7 21 24 0 - 52
VT (2:54 - 1st) - Rogers 8 run (Slye kick)
VT (10:40 - 2nd) - Phillips 39 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (7:06 - 2nd) - Rogers 32 run (Slye kick)
VT (2:45 - 2nd) - Evans 1 run (Slye kick)
VT (13:22 - 3rd) - Hodges 42 pass from Evans (Slye kick)
VT (11:27 - 3rd) - Slye 24 FG
VA (7:19 - 3rd) - Hayward 29 FG
VT (6:49 - 3rd) - Motuapuaka 70 fumble return (Slye kick)
VT (2:37 - 3rd) - McMillian 31 pass from Motley (Slye kick)
VA (9:29 - 4th) - Zaccheaus 39 pass from Benkert (Hayward kick)
TEAM STATS VA
VT
First downs
14
29
Rushing yds.
31-108
51-289
Passing yds.
139
290
Return yds.
28
118
Passes
13-36-2 18-30-0
Punts-avg.
10-42.3
4-33.5
Fumbles-los
2-1
3-2
Penalties-yds.
4-31
3-35
Time of poss.
27:18
32:42
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing —
VT: Rogers 15-105, Reid 9-54, Evans 11-38, McMillian 5-32, Motley
5-32, Peoples 3-15, Daniel 1-10, Phillips 1-4, Team 1-(-1); VA: Mizzell 22-113,
Hamm 1-2, Johns 1-1, Benkert 2-0, Ellis 2-0, Reed 1-0, Brewer 1-(-2), Team 1-(-6).
Passing —
VT: Evans 16-27-0 253, Motley 2-3-0 37; VA: Benkert 9-26-0 122,
Johns 4-10-2 17.
Receiving —
VT: Phillips 6-87, Hodges 4-69, Ford 4-68, Rogers 2-29, McMillian
1-31, Daniel 1-6; VA: Dowling 3-26, Johnson 3-17, Zaccheaus 2-49, Eldridge 2-15,
Reed 1-28, Dubois 1-6, Mizzell 1-(-2).
V I RG I N I A TECH 3 4
NOTRE DAME 3 1
V I RG I N I A
1 0
V I RG I N I A TECH 5 2
GAME E L EVEN
GAME TWE LVE