Hokies De-shell Terps, 36-9

by Brian Bartley
November 14, 2009

COLLEGE PARK-- Just two weeks ago a somber Virginia Tech football team plodded off Worsham Field after a crushing last-second defeat at the hands of the North Carolina Tarheels.

On Saturday, the mood was anything but somber for the Hokies as they ran, passed, and tackled their way through the Maryland Terrapins in a 36-9 blowout at Byrd Stadium.

"It was good to come in here and get a win," Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said after the game.  "We had a couple tough losses [against Georgia Tech and UNC], but we've hung in there and stayed together and hopefully we'll play our best football at the end of the year...we'll keep on moving in the right direction."

After the first quarter, the Hokies had already jumped out to a 14-0 lead and extended that cushion to 27-3 going into halftime.

Tyrod Taylor threw for 200 yards in the first half alone, beating his final game total from every other contest except Duke (327).  Taylor finished the game 13-for-23 for 268 yards and three TD's.

Beamer praised his quarterback's play, crediting his ability to improvise when plays break down.

"He gives us a chance to be successful every offensive play," Beamer said.  "I'm glad he's on our side."

One reason for Taylor's success has been the steady hands of Jarrett Boykin.  Boykin led all receivers with three catches for 118 yards and a TD.

Aside from Boykin, the Hokies had two other receivers catch at least two balls for 20+ yards.

"My eyes light up when there's one-on-one coverage because I know they can go up there and make a great catch; they are hungry for catches," Taylor said of his receiving corps.

With the sizeable lead, the Hokies never had to rely on their star freshman running back, Ryan Williams.  Instead, offensive coordinator, Bryan Stinespring, elected to use him sparingly in the second half, primarily in game-managing situations.

Williams had 11 of his team-high 23 carries in the third quarter, as the Hokies effectively drained nearly 11 minutes in the third quarter to protect their 24-point halftime lead.  

After two weeks of critical defensive letdowns against Georgia Tech and North Carolina, the Hokie defense has now put together two straight weeks of solid play. 

Just as they did against East Carolina over a week ago, Tech's defense gave up only a field goal against Maryland (TD was recovered in end zone by UMD defense).

Leading the way for the Hokies was sophomore linebacker, Jake Johnson.  Johnson lost his starting spot two weeks ago, but didn't disappoint in his first game back.

Johnson finished the game with seven tackles and two sacks.

"It felt real good." Johnson said after the game.  " I had some stuff built up [after being benched] and I went out today and used it." 

Though Tech's ACC Championship hopes may be dashed, Beamer says his team is prepared to finish out the season strong.

"We still have a chance at 10 wins.  We've got work to do now and its not going to be easy," Beamer said.  "I can tell you this...I'm disappointed in the two losses right there in the middle, but I'm not disappointed in how much effort and how much caring and how much this football team has tried to be a good football team."

If the Hokies win out, they will remain among only three teams in the nation with current 10-  win season streaks for at least five consecutive seasons (USC and Texas being the other two). 

That task will begin next Saturday when NC State travels to Blacksburg for another interdivisional ACC contest.  Kickoff time will be announced Monday.

Game Notes:

-Virginia Tech lost another coin toss today.  Tech has lost every coin flip this season (10 games).  By doing so, the Hokies broke 1 in 1,024 odds.  The Hokies have two remaining regular season games to win a coin toss.

-Until today, Tyrod Taylor had never thrown for 3 TD's in one game.

-UMD quarterback, Jamarr Robinson gained 233 of his teams 236 total offensive yards 

-Andre Smith caught his first touchdown of the season against UMD.  Smith's touchdown marks the first by a Tech tight end all season.

-Maryland's current 5-game losing streak is the longest of Ralph Friedgen's tenure as Terps head coach.

-Frank Beamer's combined score against UMD since entering the ACC is 142-37.

-With his lone TD on Saturday, Ryan Williams has now taken sole ownership of Virginia Tech's freshman TD record with 12.

-After 21 consecutive starts, UMD quarterback Chris Turner was forced to miss Saturday's game with a knee injury he suffered last week against NC State.