2010 Virginia Tech Hokies: Va. Tech vs Boise State

It was sloppy the way season openers almost always are, but Monday night’s showdown between No. 3 Boise State and No. 10 Virginia Tech certainly lived up to the advance billing, and it just might have exceeded it.

There were plenty of turnovers and special-teams mistakes in this ballyhooed battle at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, and both teams had their prolonged stretches of pronounced futility. However, the Broncos and Hokies slugged in the trenches with levels of physicality and toughness that few other college football teams will match this season. A handful of particularly credentialed clubs would have been able to rise to the moment the way these two teams did. Yet, only Boise and Virginia Tech had the guts to create a week-one matchup with such over-the-top stakes. While a lot of other top teams stayed sheltered in the cozy confines of Cupcakeville, Boise and Tech put their necks on the line.

And oh, what exquisite drama they created as a result.

After Boise State bolted to a 17-0 first-quarter lead thanks to a fumble recovery and then a blocked punt deep in Virginia Tech territory, a number of observers felt this game was over. They conveniently forgot that there were still three more quarters left to play. They also forgot that Virginia Tech is an accomplished program with a knack for winning lots of significant games. You don’t become the bellwether program in your conference (the ACC) for nothing, and Tech deserved to remain in the conversation longer than a quarter.

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Sure enough, the Hokies did quickly display their best selves in a redemptive second quarter. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor settled down and began to make good reads against Boise’s defense. Taylor – who finished 15-of-22 for 186 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions – found rhythm behind an offensive line which began to fend off Boise’s pass rushers by pushing them wide. Add in a Boise fumble near the Broncos’ own 30, and Tech was able to climb within six points (20-14) at halftime. After a devastating running-into-the-kicker penalty kept alive a second-half Tech drive (the same happened to a Boise drive in the first half; these teams both made lots of errors that ultimately evened out), the Hokies went for a first down on fourth-and-five near the BSU 28. Taylor beat an ill-advised blitz from Boise defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and found Jarrett Boykin near the sideline. Boykin shrugged off a tackle from the Boise corner on the island and strolled in for a 28-yard touchdown play which gave Tech a 27-26 lead. This all set the stage for the final act of both agony and ecstasy.

Boise State had to stop Tech with just under two minutes left, and on a third-and-eight, the Broncos did just that, forcing an incomplete pass by Taylor after the Virginia Tech quarterback had done so much to put the Hokies in position to win. Boise received the benefit of the doubt on a rescinded illegal blocking call, and moments after that, BSU luckily received about 12 extra yards thanks to a dubious late-hit penalty on the Hokies.

However, for all BSU had gotten cheap calls in its favor, the boys from the Western Athletic Conference still had to stick the pigskin into the end zone, and when quarterback Kellen Moore lofted a 13-yard touchdown pass to favorite target Austin Pettis with 1:09 left in regulation, Boise delivered the ice-veins fourth-quarter scoring march which should do much to validate the program on a national level. When it really mattered – say what you want about the refs – Boise’s offensive line dominated Tech’s defensive front. Pettis easily destroyed Virginia Tech’s corners in one-on-one matchups. This was a big-boy brawl, and Boise State stayed in the ring, swinging to deliver knockout punches until the outcome had been decided.

When Tech desperately chucked the ball downfield – and did not meet with success – in the final seconds of play, the fullness of the moment had begun to sink in: Boise State – little ol’ Boise State – had put itself in position to contend for the 2010 BCS national title.

Oh, it’s going to be fun season, and that’s after the wildly entertaining way in which it began for two teams on Labor Day evening.

Virginia Tech Hokies vs Boise State Broncos Recap