October 29, 2004
Death From The Sky: VT 34, GT 20
In a shocking display of late-game aerial firepower, #22 Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-1 ACC) fought back from a 17-7 halftime deficit, scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Georgia Tech (4-3, 3-2 ACC) 34-20 in Atlanta on Thursday night.
The game turned on a play by VT's freshman backup defensive end Chris Ellis. With the Jackets pinned on their goal line, Ellis chased GT QB Reggie Ball to the back of his end zone, then laterally along the end line where Ball inadvertently stepped out of bounds at 4:09 of the 3rd. The resulting safety put the game at 17-9, but more importantly sent Ball into a funk for the rest of the game -- he didn't complete another pass until 2:02 of the 4th. The Jackets were forced to rely on the legs of Ball and backup RB Chris Woods during those 17 minutes.
Meanwhile, after exchanging 3-and-outs, the Hokies drove downfield to 1st-and-goal at the GT 1 before being forced back into a 30-yd Brandon Pace FG at 11:11/4th. Not to be outdone, the Jackets pushed to the VT 5, lost 12 and settled for a Travis Bell FG to push the margin back to 8. Then the craziness began.
After a touchback on the kickoff, Bryan Randall passed to a wide-open Eddie Royal at the right-side 50-yard-line marker; Royal got one block and split two other defenders on a diagonal run to the end zone. On the 2-point conversion, the Jackets' blitz drove Randall back past the 15 before he heaved it across the field as he fell... and the dying quail fell into the arms of a kneeling Richard Johnson, all alone in the left side of the end zone. Tie game, 5:28 to go.
GT went 3-and-out, returning the ball to the Hokies at their 17 after a personal foul on VT CB Jimmy Williams. Imoh was stuffed for no gain, then Randall broke off one of his trademark rambles for 32. On the next play, freshman WR Josh Morgan ran upfield alone as his coverage corner blitzed Randall, caught the ball with first-down yardage and took it 51 yards to the house.
Freshman CB Roland Minor took care of the rest, intercepting Reggie Ball twice; the second time, he brought it back 64 yards for a very questionable score, as replays showed him losing control of the ball just past the GT 5. Hokie fans will call that payback for GT's second touchdown, which happened two plays after VT freshman WR/KR Eddie Royal "fumbled" the ball on a kickoff return with the entire left side of his body flat on the ground.
Like the Wake Forest game, this one really shouldn't have been so close for the Hokies. They managed to run up 446 total yards on GT's #2 defense, but in the first half turned the ball over twice for real and once by referee on the Royal KO return. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, did what it had to do for three quarters before Ball blew a fuse and Randall started lighting up the night.
Next week, the Hokies visit Carolina in Chapel Hill, while the Jackets have to try to recover against another tough defensive challenge at N.C. State.
Comments:
posted on October 29, 2004 1:24 PM — 63.72.70.149 — link — abuse?Derek Willis said:
Josh, I totally agree with your assessment of Royal's "fumble", and the game in general. I was surprised to see VT beaten around the end on running plays (less so when Ball tucked and ran). Bud Foster must have contorted into a thousand grimaces last night, judging from the frequent ESPN cutaways to him on the sidelines.
posted on October 29, 2004 2:34 PM — 12.26.69.6 — link — abuse?
Little does Rob know that had we lost, I'd have blamed it all on Michael Vick wearing Yankees gear. Fortunately, someone else on the VT sideline was wearing a Sox hat to balance out MV's Dark Side karma.
One person I missed in this recap was Xavier Adibi, our freshman linebacker who returned this week from a torn bicep tendon suffered in the USC game. He led the team in tackles with 8, and his speed probably kept the end-runs from being worse than they were. GT is very fast and very well-coached; they had a good plan to attack the Hokie D, and their penetration really only slowed down in the final 20 as P.J. Daniels left with an injury and Ball imploded.
Another shout-out: VT OC Bryan Stinespring called a very good game, with the exception of one major boner at the end (3rd and 11 at the VT 19, 2:01/4th, GT with no timeouts, and we try a pass?). The Morgan TD off the corner blitz, I'd bet he's been sitting on that one since NC State.
posted on November 1, 2004 8:46 AM — 24.131.9.205 — link — abuse?
Good point, Luis -- I think I had blocked the two sweeps for -10/each out (there was also the 4th-and-1 call earlier), they were so bad. I'd like to see us pound Humes or Hamilton on those short-yardage situations, but that would also mean we'd need to get them more carries in other situations in order to avoid telegraphing the play call.
Overall, I still think it was one of Stinespring's better performances for a tough game. We didn't go uber-conservative after GT took the lead, and that's cause enough for celebration here.
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rob mcgeary said:
posted on October 29, 2004 12:50 PM — 24.149.154.110 — link — abuse?I am a wounded Yankee fan, who appreciated seeing both Mike Vick wear the Yankee logo on the sidelines during the game and witnessing VT show some plays. Seeing VT come back like that in the 4th quarter, if only the Yankee's could have had such inspiration a few days ago. This football game may well be the start for VT to make a little history this year in the ACC. Thank you all.