November 28, 2014
The Virginia game - updated 11/29 at 9:15 a.m.
Football: #HokieHuddle

Photo gallery from Senior Day festivities

Photo gallery from Tech's win over UVa

Virginia Tech-UVa postgame notes

• Virginia Tech wore maroon helmets, with maroon jerseys and white pants today. Tech is now 107-33 under head coach Frank Beamer in this combination.

• The weather at kickoff was 27 degrees, making Friday's game just the sixth game under Beamer to kick off with sub-freezing temperatures. Tech is now 5-1 all time in these games under Beamer (5-0 at home), with the last one coming in 2012 against Virginia, a 17-14 win. The 27 degrees makes tonight the second-coldest game under Beamer. The only game colder at kickoff was the 1987 game against Cincinnati, which was 25 degrees at kickoff, and the Hokies won 21-20.

• Tech is now 20-14-1 all time on Fridays, but hadn’t played a regular-season Friday game since beating Boston College at home in 1999 to clinch a spot in the national championship game. The only other time Tech and Virginia played on a Friday was in 1996, a 26-9 win for the Hokies in Blacksburg, which also came on Black Friday.

• Tech honored 15 seniors before tonight’s game: Detrick Bonner, Michael Branthover, Willie Byrn, Derek Di Nardo, Daniel Dyer, Caleb Farris, Greg Gadell, Laurence Gibson, Griffin Hite, Kyshoen Jarrett, Darius Redman, Mark Shuman, David Wang, Ross Ward and Chase Williams.

• Detrick Bonner started his 39th consecutive game tonight, the 12th-longest streak under Beamer for a position player.

• Joey Slye’s field goal in the first quarter extended Virginia Tech’s scoring streak to 255 games. The streak is the fifth-longest active streak in the FBS and the 11th-longest of all time in the Division I-A/FBS history.

• With his 58 yards in the game, Isaiah Ford broke the Virginia Tech freshman record for receiving yards in a season, moving past Joshua Stanford (614, 2013) with 665 yards. He already had set the Tech freshman records for catches in a season (53). His 53 catches are the tied for the fourth-most in a season by any Tech player (Jarrett Boykin, 2010). The school record for catches in a season is 61, held by Boykin, which he set in 2011 as a senior. The other seven Tech players to catch 50 or more passes in a season were all juniors or seniors when they accomplished the mark.

• Freshman C.J. Reavis recorded the first blocked punt of his career. It was recovered by Bucky Hodges in the end zone for a touchdown. It was the 134th blocked kick in 347 games (66th punt) under Beamer. The last punt block returned or recovered for a touchdown came in 2013 by Derek Di Nardo. It’s the third block of the season for the Hokies, but the first punt. It was the 19th blocked punt recovered or returned for a touchdown and the 85th touchdown scored by special teams under Beamer.

• All three touchdowns tonight - and all 24 points - were scored by freshmen. Twenty-five of the Tech’s 33 touchdowns on the season have been scored by freshmen (27 of 33 by underclassmen). Freshmen have scored 230 of 280 points this year for Tech - 82.1 percent.

• Bucky Hodges had 61 yards receiving to give him 517 yards for the season, breaking the record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end under Beamer (475, Johnson, 1987). He also has seven receiving touchdowns, setting a new school record for touchdown catches in a season by a tight end. He had been tied with Jeff King, who had six in 2005.

• Four players now have 40 receptions or more on the season (Ford, 53; Byrn, 44; Hodges, 42; and Phillips, 40). This is the first time in program history Tech has had four players with 40 or more receptions in a season. Last year, the Hokies had three players with 40 or more catches.

• Tech is now bowl eligible for the 22nd straight year, the second-longest active streak in the country.

• With its bowl trip this year, Tech will now be one of only six programs in college football history to go to a bowl in at least 22 straight years, Nebraska (35), Michigan (33), Florida State (33; active), Alabama (25), Florida (22) and Tech (22; active).

• Beamer (22) is one of only four coaches all time to lead a program to 22 or more straight bowl games, joining Bobby Bowden (Florida State, 28), Tom Osborne (Nebraska, 25) and Paul “Bear” Bryant (Alabama, 24).

A photo posted by VT Football (@vthokiefootball) on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:47pm PST

Hokies take Virginia in Commonwealth Clash

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bucky Hodges with 1:48 left to lift the Hokies to a 24-20 victory over in-state rival Virginia on Friday night.

The win extended Tech’s winning streak over the Cavaliers to 11 straight in the series. More importantly, the Hokies (6-6, 3-5 in the ACC) become bowl eligible for the 22nd straight year. Virginia finished 5-7 overall, 3-5 in the league.

Virginia had taken a 20-17 lead with less than three minutes left in the game. The Cavaliers took over at their own 11 with 6:50 left and went 89 yards in 10 plays, with quarterback Greyson Lambert completing seven of his nine pass attempts on the drive. Completions of 18, 3, 15, 14 and 10 yards got the Cavaliers to the Tech 20. On first down, he threw the touchdown pass to Zachary Swanson with 2:55 left in the game, and the extra point made it 20-17 in favor of the Cavaliers.

The Hokies, though, answered, going 75 yards in just three plays. Tech took advantage of two 15-yard penalties on Virginia – a personal foul penalty on Mike Moore on the first play of the drive and a pass interference penalty on Henry Coley later in the drive – and got a huge play when quarterback Michael Brewer hit tight end Bucky Hodges for a 50-yard gain to the UVa 10.

After Coley’s pass interference penalty and a false start on Tech, Brewer connected with Hodges again, this time on a quick slant for a 9-yard touchdown with 1:48 remaining in the game. Joey Slye’s extra point gave the Hokies a 24-20 lead.

Lambert was injured after Tech’s Dadi Nicolas and Ken Ekanem sacked him on the first play of the ensuing drive. UVa’s backup quarterback, Matt Johns, got the Cavaliers to the Tech 36 in the waning moments, but a sack by Ekanem on fourth-and-5 squelched UVa’s chances.

Tech out-gained the Cavaliers 433-314. Brewer completed 15 of 33 for 235 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. J.C. Coleman rushed for 118 yards on 18 carries.

A photo posted by VT Football (@vthokiefootball) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:03pm PST

Hokies grab 17-13 lead after three quarters

Tech’s offense has struggled against the Cavaliers, but the Hokies put together a drive toward the end of the third quarter that resulted in them taking the lead.

Taking over at their own 17, the Hokies went 83 yards in seven plays. The big play came on third-and-2 when Tech converted after quarterback Michael Brewer completed an 11-yard pass to Cam Phillips. Brewer finished the drive by hitting Phillips again, this time for a 36-yard touchdown with just 15 seonds left in the quarter. The extra point gave Tech a 17-13 lead.

Brewer went 4-for-4 on the drive for 70 yards.

Tech’s defense has been terrific the entire game. In the third quarter, UVa had just three first downs, and the Cavaliers have only six for the game. Tech is out-gaining the Cavaliers 308-196.

Virginia Tech Halftime Notes
Nov. 28, 2014 • vs. Virginia

• Virginia Tech is wearing maroon helmets, with maroon jerseys and white pants today. Tech is 106-33 under head coach Frank Beamer in this combination.

• This is the first night game between Virginia Tech and Virginia since 2000 (7:30 p.m. kick), which the Hokies won 42-21.

• The weather at kickoff was 27 degrees, making tonight just the sixth game under Beamer to kick off with sub-freezing temperatures. Tech is 4-1 all-time in these games under Beamer (4-0 at home) with the last one coming in 2012 against Virginia, a 17-14 win. The 27 degrees makes tonight the second-coldest game under Beamer. The only game colder at kickoff was the 1987 game against Cincinnati, which was 25 degrees at kick, and the Hokies won 21-20.

• Tech is 19-14-1 all-time on Fridays, but hasn’t played a regular-season Friday game since beating Boston College at home in 1999 to clinch a spot in the national championship game. The only time Tech and Virginia played on a Friday was in 1996, a 26-9 win for the Hokies in Blacksburg, which also came on Black Friday.

• Tech honored 15 seniors before tonight’s game: Detrick Bonner, Michael Branthover, Willie Byrn, Derek Di Nardo, Daniel Dyer, Caleb Farris, Greg Gadell, Laurence Gibson, Griffin Hite, Kyshoen Jarrett, Darius Redman, Mark Shuman, David Wang, Ross Ward and Chase Williams.

• Detrick Bonner started his 39th consecutive game tonight, the 12th-longest streak under head coach Frank Beamer for a position player.

• Joey Slye’s field goal in the first quarter extended Virginia Tech’s scoring streak to 255 games. The streak is the fifth-longest active streak in the FBS and the 11th-longest of all-time in the Division I-A/FBS history.

• Virginia’s return of an interception for a touchdown marked the first turnover turned into a touchdown by a Tech opponent since Pitt did it after a J.C. Coleman fumble on Oct. 16.

• With his 58 yards in the first half, Isaiah Ford broke the Virginia Tech freshman record from receiving yards in a season, moving past Joshua Stanford (614, 2013) with 665 yards. He has already set the Tech freshman records for catches in a season (53) and is tied with Bucky Hodges for touchdowns in a season (6). His 53 catches are the tied for the fourth-most in a season by any Tech player (Jarrett Boykin, 2010). The school record for catches in a season is 61, held by Jarrett Boykin, which he set in 2011 as a senior. The other seven Tech players to catch 50 or more passes in a season were all juniors or seniors when they accomplished the mark.

• Freshman C.J. Reavis recorded his first blocked punt of his career, which was recovered by Bucky Hodges in the end zone for a touchdown. It was the 134th blocked kick in 347 games (66th punt) under head coach Frank Beamer. The last punt block returned or recovered for a touchdown came in 2013 by Derek Di Nardo. It’s the third block of the season for the Hokies, the first punt. It was the 19th blocked punt recovered or returned for a touchdown and the 85th touchdown scored by special teams under Beamer.

• Deon Newsome was ejected for targeting. It was upheld after review. He is the first Tech player in two years to be DQed by the rule. Nigel Williams was the first to even have targeting called on him when it was called last week and that was overturned.

• This is the first time Virginia has led Virginia Tech at the half since 2008 (14-7) in Blacksburg. Tech rallied to win 17-14 in that one.

• Twenty-three of the Tech’s 31 touchdowns on the season have been scored by freshmen (25 of 31 by underclassmen). Freshmen have scored 216 of 266 points this year for Tech - 81.2 percent.

A photo posted by VT Football (@vthokiefootball) on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:55pm PST

Cavaliers up 13-10 at halftime

The game was tied at 3 after the first quarter, but Tech scored its first touchdown of the game by getting a big play on special teams. Backup free safety C.J. Reavis slid past UVa backup offensive lineman Sean Karl and managed to stick his right hand out. He blocked a punt by UVa’s Alec Vozenilek, and Tech’s Bucky Hodges recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Hokies a 10-3 lead with 9:30 left in the first half.

Virginia, though, answered a Tech score for the second time in the game. A 54-yard pass from Greyson Lambert to Taquan Mizzell gave the Cavaliers a first down at the Tech 6. The Cavaliers got to the Tech 2, but couldn’t punch it in, settling for a 21-yard field goal by Ian Frye that made the score 10-6 with 7:30 left in the half.

Virginia took its first lead of the game near the end of the first half. Mike Moore hit Tech quarterback Michael Brewer as he threw the football, and the ball went up in the air. David Dean intercepted the ball and returned it 3 yards for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Cavaliers a 13-10 lead with 4:41 left in the first half.

Tech’s defense played very well in the first half, limiting the Cavaliers to 124 yards. But 94 of those yards came on two plays. UVa amassed just 30 yards on its remaining 27 plays of the first half.

Brewer completed 7-of-15 for 81 yards, with one interception for the Hokies. J.C. Coleman rushed for 47 yards on six carries. Tech had 190 total yards, but turned the ball over twice.

A photo posted by VT Football (@vthokiefootball) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:48pm PST

Tech and UVa tied at 3 after first quarter

Both Tech and UVa featured struggling offenses coming into the game, but both managed to get on the board in the first quarter.

The Hokies got on the board first, scoring on their second possession of the game. Converting on third down on three occasions, Tech got inside the UVa 5. But on third-and-goal from the UVa 4, Michael Brewer couldn’t connect with Cam Phillips, and Tech settled for a 22-yard field goal by Joey Slye with 3:09 left in the first quarter. The field goal gave the Hokies a 3-0 lead and capped a 15-play, 69-yard drive that chewed 6:36 off the clock.

UVa, though, answered. Using a 40-yard run by Kevin Parks, the Cavaliers got to the Tech 17, but Tech’s defense held the Cavaliers after that point, forcing them to settle for a 40-yard field-goal attempt by kicker Ian Frye. Frye nailed it to tie the game at 3 with 9 seconds left in the first quarter.

Tech finished with 64 yards of offense in the first quarter, paced by Brenden Motley’s 19 yards rushing on four carries out of the “Wildcat” formation. Michael Brewer completed 4-of-8 for 29 yards.

Tech dress squad notes

The Virginia Tech coaching staff listed 69 players on the dress squad for the Hokies’ game against in-state rival later this evening. Fourteen of those will be seniors who will be recognized before the game.

One noticeable omission from the dress squad was tailback Trey Edmunds, who practiced this week, but still felt some pain from a fractured clavicle suffered in the North Carolina game. So Tech’s sports medicine staff decided to hold him out for the game.

Outside of Edmunds, there was little change to the dress squad from the Wake Forest game last Saturday. Receiver Carlis Parker was taken off the dress squad, while offensive lineman Jack Willenbrock and fullback Griffin Hite were added to the dress squad.

Hite, the son of former running backs coach Billy Hite, will be recognized with the seniors before the game, though the redshirt junior has a year of eligibility left. Hite has played one game in his career and has not made the dress squad this season.

Also, freshman quarterback Chris Durkin, who is taking a redshirt season, returns to the dress squad for the first time since the Miami game. He made the dress squad for the first eight games this season.

Hokies, especially seniors, know importance of UVa game

On Thursday, the Virginia Tech football team will celebrate Thanksgiving with an afternoon meal in the Bowman Room of the Jamerson Athletics Center and then hold its final practice in preparation for its rivalry game against the University of Virginia on Friday night.

The Hokies will take the field in a little more than 30 hours (as of this writing) in pursuit of their 11th straight win over the Cavaliers, but more importantly, in pursuit of becoming bowl eligible for the 22nd straight season – the second-active longest streak in the nation.

For just the second time in the streak, the Hokies find themselves needing to win their final game just to keep that streak going.

“In my entire life, I’ve never been a part of a losing season, even back in high school,” offensive lineman Wyatt Teller said. “Right now, it’s a weird feeling. Hopefully, we can win this game, get to .500 and go to a bowl game, and then win that and have a winning season.”

“I’ve always been part of a program that finishes very strong,” another offensive lineman, David Wang, said. “That’s what Virginia Tech has been about. It’s a pride thing right now. It’s tough this year because, each week, you believe you’re getting better and you come out on Saturday with a full head of steam – and then Sunday, you’re wondering what happened.”

The low point of the season came last Saturday against Wake Forest, which had lost six straight games and had only beaten Gardner Webb and Army this season. But Tech’s offense self-destructed, failing to score in regulation, turning the ball over three times, and failing to get in the end zone in a 6-3 double-overtime loss.

Sunday’s hangover from that game was excruciating.

“I woke up, and it wasn’t real,” Wang said. “It got to me mentally because I know what we can do and what we should be doing. But it didn’t show on Saturday. We had to come over here for meetings on Sunday, and I was thinking, ‘We should have done this, and we should have done that.’ In hindsight, you can’t think like that. You’ve got to do it when the time is for you to do it. It was crazy. I’ve had too many of those Sundays this year.”

Tech now finds itself in more of a predicament than in 2012 when it needed to beat Virginia to become bowl eligible. For starters, Tech has lost four of its past five games. But of more concern, the Cavaliers have a lot of motivation. They, too, need a win to become bowl eligible. In 2012, they entered the game with a 4-7 record, and the Hokies got a field goal on the final play of the game to win 17-14.

More importantly, UVa is much better. The Cavaliers are coming off a throttling of Miami – a team Tech lost to 30-6 – last Saturday.

“This is the best defense we’ve played since Ohio State,” running backs coach Shane Beamer said. “It’s not even close in my opinion. They’ve got NFL players on defense. They can rush the passer. They defend the run. They can cover. They were good last year on defense, and now they’re a year older and you add [freshman safety] Quin Blanding to the mix. All those guys have improved.

“They’re a really good team. I can understand why they have confidence. They beat a team by four touchdowns that beat us at home.”

The Hokies’ seniors know the importance of Friday night’s game. For them, this will be the last chance.

Wang has already been a part of five wins against the Cavaliers, as a result of his redshirt season. He gets the rare sixth opportunity, courtesy of an injury-related NCAA ruling after last season. He knows a win over UVa won’t replace the disappointment of this season.

But it would help.

“It would definitely go a long way,” he said. “In no way, shape or form would it erase this season. Those losses are ours, and we have to own them. But a win against our rival would mean a lot. It would go a long way.”

The pressure on the Hokies will be intense on Friday night, a pressure unlike any Tech team has faced in the past 21 seasons. They know what’s at stake – and they know most people around the nation are betting against them.

“With all that’s riding on this and you don’t want to be at your very best, you don’t deserve to be on the field,” receiver Willie Byrn (photo above) said. “If we want to embrace this challenge, then we’ll step up to the plate and give it our best.

“This week is about proving people wrong. That’s all this week is about.”

Wang agreed

It’s the battle for everything,” he said. “I want to win this so badly. I’d lose an arm and a leg to win this one. I’m sure everyone on this team and on their team would do the same.”

Commonwealth Cup gets a new look

Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia have been competing for the Commonwealth Cup since 1996. The Cup was a collaboration of the universities, and the winner of the annual football game gets to keep it for the upcoming year.

But this year, the Cup will have a new look. The previous trophy was more than just a Cup. It was a Cup placed on a four-foot tall, 100-pound wooden base, with the scores from the games engraved on metal plates screwed to the base.

The schools agreed to replace the base with two smaller bases. Each school now will have a permanent base in its possession, with the school logo on the front and the winning scores on the side. The winner of the game keeps the silver-plated Cup, which fits on top of the base that each school keeps in its possession.

Virginia Tech gained possession of the Cup first by defeating Virginia 27-9 at Lane Stadium in 1996. The Hokies have enjoyed possession of the Cup for the past decade, having defeated the Cavaliers each of the past 10 seasons.

For updates on Virginia Tech football, follow the Hokies on Twitter