Coverage of Virginia Tech 38, North Carolina State 10
Darryl Slater
Nov 21, 2009
Hard to believe I and my fellow media mongrels won’t be back to Lane Stadium for a while—at least not in the press box. There will be the regular Tuesday media gathering here next week, then bowl media day before whatever glorified exhibition game Virginia Tech plays in.
But no more games here in 2009. Seems not that long ago that we descended on Lane for media day, when the Hokies had aspirations of playing for the national championship, or at least their third consecutive ACC title. Neither will happen, of course, but they dominated North Carolina State like they should today—a 38-10 victory in a game that was never really in doubt.
Will Virginia pose more of a challenge next week? Or will the Hokies get their third straight conference win of at least 27 points? (They beat Maryland 36-9 last week.) There’s no telling. The only thing that seems certain is that this will be their final game against coach Al Groh, because Virginia almost certainly will pay him $4 million to go away after the season.
Anyway, there will be plenty of time to chew on those and other nuggets next week. For now, here are the game story, notebook and graphics from this afternoon ...
BY DARRYL SLATER
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech and its fans celebrated the past yesterday at a full Lane Stadium, cheering the contributions of the Hokies’ seniors before and during a 38-10 win over North Carolina State.
One by one, they jogged out of the tunnel in the North end zone, listened to the applause and gave performances worthy of it: the undersized linebacker, a former walk-on, who became one of their best players; the free safety who struggled earlier this fall but is finishing well; the cornerback who battled a knee injury all season.
Tech’s offense, meanwhile, offered reasons to anticipate the future: the sophomore wide receiver who catches almost every ball thrown his way, the redshirt freshman tailback who keeps one-upping himself, the junior quarterback who orchestrates it all.
The No. 16 Hokies (5-2 ACC, 8-3) still have two games to play – Saturday at Virginia and their to-be-determined bowl. But there was a degree of finality yesterday, as their past and future combined for their third consecutive win, following two straight losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina that could have derailed their season. “That was the mindset, not to go in the tank after we lost two games,” said junior quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
He did his part against the overmatched Wolfpack (1-6, 4-7), depleted by season-ending injuries to three defensive starters. Taylor completed 9 of 17 passes for 197 yards, including throws of 26, 35, 38 and 42 yards to sophomore receiver Jarrett Boykin.
Whether he was adjusting his route and snagging the ball as he fell (the 42-yarder) or making a diving catch in the end zone to finish a 97-yard drive (the 38-yarder), Boykin proved again, with six catches for 164 yards, that he is Tech’s best receiver. Since Ernest Wilford set the single-game school record in 2002, with 279 yards, just one receiver has gained more yards in a game than Boykin did yesterday – Justin Harper, with 167 in 2007.
The day’s most impressive play, though, came from redshirt freshman tailback Ryan Williams. His 19-yard touchdown run put Tech up 31-10 in the third quarter, and he earned those points. Safety Earl Wolff grabbed the back of his jersey near the 10-yard line. Williams kept running and dragged Wolff to the end zone, Wolff sliding along the sideline like a fallen water skier hanging on for dear life. As Williams chugged toward his 15th touchdown of the season, he thought, “Why is this boy still on my jersey?”
“He was making me mad, because he was on my jersey,” Williams said. “His grip was just like real tight. I thought he was just gonna let go, but he held on the whole time. I wanted him off of me.”
Appropriately, the game began, shortly after the Senior Day ceremony, with a stunning run of defensive plays by senior whip linebacker Cody Grimm, a 5-11, 205-pound overachiever whose journey from walk-on to leading tackler surprised even him. Grimm forced three fumbles in the game’s first four plays. Tech recovered the first two inside N.C. State’s 35 and converted them into a field goal and touchdown.
The first one, on the game’s first play, served defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s mission of keeping N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson, a skilled scrambler from the Collegiate School, in the pocket by rushing from the edges of the line. Wilson dropped back about 2 yards for a quick pass, rather than a regular 6-yard drop. “He was right in my path,” Grimm said.
And off the Hokies went, with another stingy defensive effort. They have now allowed one touchdown in the past three games. In the fourth quarter, senior free safety Kam Chancellor intercepted Wilson, distancing himself from his rocky start this season. Senior cornerback Stephan Virgil, who hurt his left knee in the first game but is near 100 percent, scooped up Grimm’s second forced fumble. Virgil caused one himself that Tech recovered in the third quarter.
On Friday, the day before everyone cheered what has now past, Virgil glimpsed his own future, when his second child was born – a boy named Zyon Raheim. “I wanted to make it the best game to remember of my college career here,” he said. “That was good motivation for me to come out and play my best game.”
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WILLIAMS SETS RUSHING RECORD: On his ninth carry in Virginia Tech’s 38-10 win yesterday after North Carolina State, Hokies tailback Ryan Williams became the most productive freshman rusher in ACC and Tech history.
With a 10-yard gain, Williams, a redshirt freshman, eclipsed both records, set last season by Tech redshirt freshman Darren Evans, who ran for 1,265 yards. Evans suffered a season-ending knee injury in August.
Williams, who finished with 32 carries (26 in the first half) for 120 yards, cracked 100 yards for the eighth time in 11 games this season. He also ran for four touchdowns, tying Tech’s freshman record for most touchdowns in a game, set by running back Tommy Edwards in 1993 against Pittsburgh. Williams now has 15 rushing touchdowns this season.
His 1,355 yards this season rank third on Tech’s single-season list, behind Cyrus Lawrence’s 1,403 in 1981 and Kevin Jones’ 1,647 in 2003.
GRIMM TIES FUMBLE MARK: Tech’s defense started quickly yesterday, as senior whip linebacker Cody Grimm forced three fumbles on the first four plays. Grimm’s three forced fumbles in a game tied an NCAA record, shared by seven other players. The most recent, before Grimm: Rutgers’ Ramel Meekins against Navy in 2006.
On the game’s first play, Grimm hit N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson, a Collegiate School graduate, from behind. Grimm recovered the loose ball, giving Tech possession at the Wolfpack’s 34. The Hokies got a field goal on their ensuing drive.
On the second play of N.C. State’s next drive, Grimm stripped the ball from wide receiver Darrell Davis. Corner Stephan Virgil recovered. Tech took over at State’s 25 – field position the Hokies turned into a touchdown.
Grimm also jarred the ball loose from running back Toney Baker on the first play of the next drive, but receiver Owen Spencer jumped on it.
WILD TURKEY RETURNS: Hokies tight end Greg Boone, a quarterback in high school, lined up there for 20 plays last season – a formation that became known as the Wild Turkey. Those plays accounted for 85 yards. But this season, the Hokies ran the Wild Turkey just once, with Ryan Williams against Nebraska.
On Senior Day yesterday, Boone, a senior, returned to the Wild Turkey on the second half’s second play. After the crowd shouted “Booooone!” he handed off to receiver Dyrell Roberts for a 6-yard end-around.
Two plays later, Boone kept the ball for 4 yards. On the first play of the next drive, from N.C. State’s 31, he threw his first career pass. But safety Brandan Bishop deflected it away from receiver Jarrett Boykin the end zone. On the next drive, Boone ran his fourth and final Wild Turkey play – a 5-yard run.
Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, who also coaches the tight ends, told Boone before the game that he was going to use him in the Wild Turkey. “I had been looking forward to it all season,” Boone said.
—Darryl Slater
***
QUICK KICKS
No. 16 Virginia Tech 38, North Carolina State 10
For starters: Tech jumped out to a 10-0 lead thanks to whip linebacker Cody Grimm forcing a fumble on each of N.C. State’s first two drives. After the first, Tech took over at State’s 34 and converted the short field into a field goal. After the second, Tech took over at the 25 and got a touchdown.
Turning point: The Hokies’ redshirt freshman tailback, Ryan Williams, made one of his most memorable plays of the season on Tech’s first second-half drive. On second-and-6 from State’s 19, Williams ran left and kept running, even after safety Earl Wolff grabbed his jersey. Williams dragged Wolff about 10 yards and scored his fourth touchdown of the day, giving Tech a 31-10 lead.
Star of the game: Grimm – The guy continues to impress. He had eight tackles, two sacks, forced three fumbles (tying an NCAA record) and recovered one of the fumbles. He also rescued a small child from a well. OK, maybe not.
Big picture: Tech is still on track to win 10 games for the sixth consecutive season, provided it beats Virginia next week and wins its bowl game.
Go figure: 26 – Williams’ carries in the first half. That’s more than he had in all but two games this season. He had 34 against Miami in a downpour and 26 two games ago at East Carolina.
Next: The Hokies finish the regular season Saturday at Virginia. The game will begin at 3:30 p.m. and air on ESPN. Tech has defeated its in-state rival in five straight meetings and eight of the past nine. Last season, the Hokies won 17-14 in Blacksburg.
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GRADING THE THREE KEYS
CONTAIN RUSSELL WILSON: North Carolina State’s sophomore quarterback didn’t have terrible numbers. He completed 15 of 26 passes for 234 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He tossed a 48-yarder to wide receiver Owen Spencer and a 20-yard touchdown to Spencer. Wilson, a Collegiate School graduate, now has 27 touchdown passes this season. But Tech sacked him five times and kept him from scrambling for long gains. His longest run: 5 yards. He had 62 runs this season, not counting sacks, including 19 for at least 10 yards.
GRADE: A-
PLAY WITH A PURPOSE: For the second consecutive week, the Hokies dominated an overmatched conference opponent. Last week, they hammered Maryland 36-9, dropping the Terrapins to 2-8, 1-5 in conference play. Yesterday’s 28-point victory made N.C. State 4-7, 1-6. The Hokies might be out of the ACC championship game – in which Clemson will play Georgia Tech – but they are still playing well.
GRADE: A
CONTINUE STRONG O-LINE PLAY: Redshirt freshman tailback Ryan Williams ran 32 times for 3.8 yards per carry, while sophomore Josh Oglesby ran five times for 5.6 a carry and true freshman David Wilson got eight carries for 2.5 a carry. That total – 3.7 per carry – wasn’t as impressive as the past two games, against East Carolina and Maryland, in which Williams ran for 6.9 and 5.5 a carry.
GRADE: B
The game story, notebook and graphics from this season’s final game at Lane Stadium.
