2010 Virginia Tech Hokies Football: Va. Tech vs Virginia

The deed is now done. A piece of history has been attained. For the Virginia Tech Hokies, a regular season that started so horribly and painfully has been transformed into a richly redemptive journey.

Yes, there’s still one more very important game left for coach Frank Beamer’s ballclub. Virginia Tech must confront Florida State this upcoming weekend in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, but after dismissing the Virginia Cavaliers by 30 points in a rivalry-game smackdown at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, the Gobblers should feel very proud of what they’ve done in their regularly-scheduled 12-game slate this year. What started oh-so-wrong has been made oh-so-right, once again reaffirming both the resilience and consistency of the ACC’s best brand-name band of ballplaying brothers.

Just what was it that Virginia Tech achieved by routing coach Mike London’s lads from Charlottesville in this in-state showdown on Saturday? For the first time since the 2000 Florida State team did the deed, an ACC team has run the table in regular-season conference play. The Hokies put the finishing touches on an 8-0 mark, a fitting way to transition from one decade to another. Much as Florida State, the ACC’s team of the 1990s, put its stamp on the league by then running wild in the first year of the following decade, the Hokies – the team of the just-ended decade – began the second decade of the 21st century with a similar show of force on the gridiron. Rugged on defense, bare-knuckled on offense, and graced with a quarterback who has definitely matured over time, Tech offers the right mixture of iron fist and velvet glove whenever it takes the field. A gritty, lunch-pail-type team with just enough speed and finesse has always summoned up the resources needed to exceed its ACC competition this season. Saturday’s win over Virginia was just the latest reason why.

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Virginia Tech waited out Virginia on Thanksgiving weekend. The Cavs, staggering toward the finish line in what will be yet another bowl-less season in the shadows of Monticello, came out of the gate with the high level of intensity you’d expect in a rivalry game. UVA held Tech scoreless in the first quarter, making the Lane Stadium crowd distinctly uneasy. However, Virginia’s energy proved to be a quick burst, a bright flash of flame that quickly flickered and faded. Tech just kept hammering away at UVA’s defensive front, and results soon emerged as a consequence of the home team’s patience. Star running back Ryan Williams pounded the pigskin into the end zone to give Tech a 7-0 lead in the first minute of the second quarter, and just over four minutes later, Hokie quarterback Tyrod Taylor found receiver David Wilson on a 20-yard scoring strike to make the lead 14-0. With Tech’s imposing defense shutting out Virginia until the 2:59 mark of regulation, the game turned into a rout. Two more Hokie touchdowns gave the ACC Coastal Division champions a 31-0 lead before the end of the third quarter, and Virginia’s bold first quarter became a very distant memory in a short period of time.

Yes, Virginia Tech has run the table in regular-season ACC play. With one more win this Saturday, Tech will author the most dominant ACC season in the past 10 years.

Virginia Tech Hokies vs Virginia Cavaliers Football Recap