Hokies score 35 straight to post first road victory
Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry came into the game against Boston College hoping to steal possessions from the Eagles.
The Hokies did that on the very first play of the game.
Virginia Tech cornerback Dorian Strong intercepted a long pass attempt on the first play from scrimmage, then picked off Thomas Castellanos again later in the first quarter, and the Hokies also pulled off a surprise onside kick on Saturday to beat BC 48-22 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
“That sets the tone,” Tech linebacker Jayden McDonald said. “Everybody is fired up and everything because of the momentum change. To come out in the first play and do that, that really set the tone for us.”
Kyron Drones ran for 135 yards and threw for two touchdowns, and Bhayshul Tuten ran for three TDs for Virginia Tech, which bounced back from a 31-point loss at Louisville by scoring 35 unanswered points for its first road win of the season.
The Hokies (5-5, 4-2 ACC) amassed 600 total yards to preserve their chances of making a bowl and snap a five-game BC (6-4, 3-3) winning streak.
Castellanos threw for 110 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown. With top rushers Kye Robichaux and Pat Garwo out, Alex Broome ran for 56 yards and a 4-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter.
But Virginia Tech scored touchdowns
on its next four possessions, taking the lead on Drones’ 7-yard run late in the first quarter and then getting the ball back on a perfectly executed onside kick. Drones then hit Stephen Gosnell for a 22-yard score to make it 17-7 and then set up another scoring pass with a 59-yard run.
Drones connected with Da’Quan Felton on a 70-yard pass to set up Tuten’s second touchdown run of the game and make it 31-7 at the half. Tuten ran it in again on the first drive of the second half to make it 38-7 before BC got back into the end zone on Castellanos’ 8-yard pass to Jaedn Skeete.
No. 4 Florida State 27, Miami 20:
Trey Benson ran for two touchdowns, Keon Coleman hauled in a score and Florida State (10-0, 8-0) held off rival Miami (6-4, 2-4) at home to maintain its hold on a College Football Playoff berth.
Cade Klubnik was 23 of 34 for 205 yards and four touchdowns and Clemson’s defense held one of the best offenses in the country to 250 yards and picked off four passes as the Tigers (5-4, 3-4) beat Georgia
Clemson 42, Georgia Tech 21:
Tech (5-5, 4-3) at home.
Will Shipley returned from a missed game in the concussion protocol to run for 77 yards on 11 carries and catch three passes for 30 yards for Clemson. His understudy, Phil Mafah, led the team with 96 yards, just missing his second 100-yard game in a row.
The offense for Georgia Tech came into this one second in the ACC, averaging 465 yards a game. But Clemson’s aggressive defense was everywhere.
N.C. State 26, Wake Forest 6:
Brennan Armstrong, who transferred from UVA, threw for one touchdown and ran for another as North Carolina State (7-3, 4-2) beat Wake Forest (4-6, 1-6) in Winston-Salem.
Dan Villari rushed for a career-high 154 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown on a direct snap early in the fourth quarter and Jayden Bellamy had a 23-yard interception return for a score as Syracuse (5-5, 1-5) pulled away in the second half and broke a five-game losing streak with a victory over Pittsburgh (2-8, 1-5) at Yankee Stadium.