September 05, 2005
Hokies hold off Wolfpack 20-16
The Virginia Tech Hokies opened their ACC championship defense with a nailbiter of a road win, defeating the N.C. State Wolfpack 20-16 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Sunday night.
In the first half, N.C. State's newly-installed West Coast offense under offensive coordinator Marc Trestman was able to drive well on a Hokie defense that replaced six starters from last year, including 3/4 of the secondary. Wolfpack QB Jay Davis burned the Hokies for 311 yards passing on 27-43, though he also threw no touchdowns and two interceptions. Bud Foster's crew made the necessary adjustments in the second half, though, limiting the Wolfpack to a field goal.
On the other side of the football, Hokies QB Marcus Vick and the rest of the Tech offense did just enough to win against an N.C. State defense that was the best in the nation last year. Despite ESPN's insistence on selling the game as the Marcus and Michael show, Vick's line showed a pedestrian 10-21 for 108 yards with one touchdown (to David Clowney for the go-ahead score) and no interceptions; he rushed 13 times for 31 yards, though that included 29 yards lost on sacks and botched designed runs. Mike Imoh and Cedric Humes split tailback duties for the Hokies, totaling 93 yards between them.
A few things worth noting from this matchup:
- Tackling was a problem for the Hokies early last season, and it appears to have reared its ugly head again at this year's start. Yards after contact was an absolute killer.
- The right side of Tech's offensive line is going to be watched closely through the early part of this year, as starting right tackle Duane Brown was only moved to that position two weeks ago from backup tight end. Brown was beaten several times in the first half, but held his own for most of the second half.
- Penalties absolutely murdered N.C. State, to the tune of 12 for 105 yards. Tech wasn't nearly as prolific on that score, losing 40 yards on 6 flags, but a late hit personal foul on preseason All-American CB Jimmy Williams led directly to State's only touchdown of the game.
The Hokies stay in the Triangle to take on Duke Saturday; the Pack gets a bye before hosting I-AA Eastern Kentucky in two weeks.
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