2011 Virginia Tech Hokies Football: Va. Tech @ East Carolina

Last season, the Virginia Tech Hokies played terribly in week two of the college football season. This year, they played almost as poorly on the second weekend of their 12-game journey through late summer and the whole of autumn. However, this time, there was one not-so-minor difference for the boys from Blacksburg, Virginia: They won. They won in spite of themselves. This was not an artful or elegant game Virginia Tech played against the gallant and resilient East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina. However, it was an encouraging win for a team that’s learning how to compete.

This afternoon on the East Carolina campus was an ugly one for Virginia Tech. The Hokies committed 12 penalties for 92 yards and coughed up two turnovers, one of them in the ECU end zone when quarterback Logan Thomas threw an interception. Those mistakes enabled the Pirates to stay very much in the thick of the fight despite being outgained by a 332 to 112 margin.

What saved Virginia Tech was its running game. Thomas, the new starting quarterback who still has his training wheels on, hit just 8 of 20 passes for 91 yards and his drive-halting interception. Therefore, the tailbacks needed to carry the load, and that’s exactly what they did. David Wilson rushed for more than 100 yards, finishing with 138 yards of the Hokies’ 241 yards on the ground. Josh Oglesby complemented Wilson by busting a 10-yard touchdown run with 7:30 remaining in regulation to snap a 10-all tie and gave the Hokies the win. Oglesby’s burst capped a 13-play drive – with 12 running plays – that ate up 89 yards, allowing the Hokies to breathe more easily after being extended by a persistent and plucky foe from Conference USA.

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East Carolina drew first blood in the first quarter, scoring after taking possession at the Hokie 38 following a weak 30-yard punt by Virginia Tech’s Scott Demler. ECU tailback Michael Dobson went in from the 2 to put the Pirates up by seven with 8:51 left in the first quarter. Virginia Tech’s offense remained lost in the first half, with Thomas looking like a lost sheep in only his second collegiate start. ECU took a 7-3 lead to the locker room at halftime. It was only after the intermission and Tech asserted itself on the ground.

The Hokies grabbed the lead with a physical and imposing drive in the third quarter. An eight-play, 78-yard drive ended with Oglesby hammering out a one-yard touchdown run from a yard out. Tech carved out a 10-7 edge with 10:48 left in the third.

ECU tied the score at 10 on kicker Michael Barbour’s 48-yard field goal with 5:40 left in the third quarter. However, the Hokies – for all their miscues – found refuge in the ground game, and that’s why this year’s week-two game did not result in a loss for Virginia Tech. Last year, James Madison stunned the sluggish Hokies by a 21-16 score in week two. Clearly, the lessons of 2010 made enough of a difference for Virginia Tech this time around.

Virginia Tech Hokies vs East Carolina Pirates Recap