Tyrod Taylor lays on the ground after being injured on the first play from scrimmage. The Hokies lost at Florida State, 30-20, on Saturday.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It wasn't a good day to be a Virginia Tech quarterback.
Click here for a photo gallery from the game.
On Saturday afternoon, both Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon went down with left ankle injuries as the Hokies (5-3, 2-2 ACC) suffered their second consecutive conference road loss, this one a 30-20 setback against the No. 25 Florida State Seminoles (6-1, 3-1) at Doak Campbell Stadium.
A 10 point first quarter by Tech was later matched by 27 unanswered from the 'Noles.
The key turning point in that run came on a punting situation. With Tech up 13-10 and with FSU ready to kick the ball away on fourth down, freshman Eddie Whitley ran into punter Graham Gano.
"Disappointing that we roughed that kicker," said head coach Frank Beamer. "I wanted to go after him one more time. We tried early and felt like we kind of had him."
The 15 yard roughing the kicker penalty gave the Seminoles a first down.
Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder and wide receiver Greg Carr took full advantage of that new life on the very next play.
Ponder hit Carr in stride and was tackled by cornerback Victor "Macho" Harris at the 6-yard line.
Two plays later, Ponder found wide out Taiwan Easterling in between a pair of Hokies -- Cam Martin and Kam Chancellor -- to take a 17-13 lead.
Soon after, with just under six minutes left in the third quarter, Glennon -- who had played all but one offensive snap -- was sacked by linebacker Dekota Watson. Glennon was on the ground writhing in pain as his left ankle was turned when he was brought down. He was eventually helped off the field, giving way to third-string QB Cory Holt.
"When Sean went down, I just took off my headset and went out there," said Holt, who did not warm up before entering the game.
The Hokies punted soon after. When the Seminoles got the ball back, they used another big play to get into scoring position.
Once again, it was Carr making the big grab. A 39-yard jump ball pass then gave way to a 1-yard plunge from fullback Marcus Sims. Tech linebacker Purnell Sturdivant and the defense was frustrated by the big plays doing in his team.
"We talked about it all week; not giving up the big plays," Sturdivant said. "For the most part, we played great defense."
Any chance for the Hokies to regroup was eliminated once Dyrell Roberts fumbled away the ensuing kick off.
That led to a field goal by Gano, normally the Seminole kicker, in the early part of the fourth quarter.
Holt, who last played at quarterback against Duke in 2007, led the Hokies on a scoring drive to bring the game closer.
A key scramble on fourth down and a touchdown pass to a wide open Andre Smith closed the gap.
The senior signal caller, who is mainly used as a back-up wide receiver, had seen no action at quarterback this past week in practice.
"It's a credit to him that he came in and made a couple of plays, battled, picked up a nice first down, made a nice throw, did a nice job," Beamer said.
However, the Seminole offense penetrated deep enough into Tech territory to line up for a Gano field goal. His third three-pointer, this one with nearly two minutes left, all but put the game out of reach.
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We should have won the game if it wasn't for that roughing the kicker penalty even with the loss of Taylor and Glennon. Holt played fantastic for not taking a snap at all in practice. Hopefully the injuries heal quick. Stop talking trash about the OL, do you know how many of them we've lost to injury?
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Do you know how long we have been hearing they're improved? Seriously, the multiple sacks Glennon had to take were ridiculous. Then he was completely taken out of the game b/c they cannot protect him. Ed Wang missed more blocks than I could count and made countless mistakes. He has been in the position long enough now and is old enough that he should be on point.
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I will now only comment with my $$$. No further donations until Stinespring is fired or reduced to a positions coach. Defend that offensive line? You must be kidding me...If they could manage an meaningful control of line the offense could overcome the pathetic play calling from the coaches. Beamer is in denial.
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oh pish posh. the hokies played great to start the game, however like always, they give it away. i have to agree the roughing the kicker was the changing point in the game but FSU's Greg Carr was an absolute animal and not even your best player on either side of the ball could stop him. (Macho Harris)Also, its not that the hokies offensive line played terrible, have you ever once thought the seminoles D-line is good with guys like Budd Thacker and Everette Brown? I still couldnt see VT winning the game if they had Tyrod and/or Glennon.
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Have you ever thought of reading your own school's newspaper and commenting there??! We don't need your two cents.
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another bad football yr...
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FSU played an amazing game...I don't think VT could have held on regardless of what qb they had in the game. For starters, FSU completely dominated in the second and third quarter on off. and def. This is their year to finally show the world that they aren't some knock off team that can be thrown to the side...and this article is on SI as well as your school newspaper, that's why everyone is commenting on it. I'm just saying that regardless of which quarterback you had in the game, I don't particularly think it would have changed the outcome. None of your qb's are bad at all and there really isn't much talent difference between Taylor and Glennon...the third string isn't bad either...
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You know what sucked. The team just gave up after Glennon was hurt. What the heck don't you have any faith in Cory? I hope Glennon and Tyrod are out for the Maryland game, make BS work for the money that we pay him.
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What was that my VT homies said last year..we OWN FSU....and when it comes to basketball we say when we win "Just like football".....Its sucks that we are now 1-16 against Bobby Bowden...just like the Hokies....loosing to a bad East Carolina team...WAR NOLES.
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Rational VT fans knew from the start this might be a rocky season, with all the losses of key players from last year. Yet the team has hung in there and has three losses that pretty much hinge on one or two key plays in each game. Cover a few misqueues (blocked punt, punt return for TD, roughing the kicker, etc.) and the rest of the season should be OK with some bowl game at the end. What is funny is the FSU fans who think Saturday's win means something. Look at the game stats (other than the score) and VT was either pretty close or better than FSU in most categories (first downs, etc.). If that was all FSU could manage against a VT team already down from injuries and taken further down when two QBs were taken out, then FSU still is "some knock off team that can be thrown to the side."
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Joe Hokie....unfortunately for us the score is what matters at the end of the day. A W is W a L is and L.
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Come on nole fans, there is no need to stoop to the level of the Hurricanes and Gators and post smart a@@ comments on this site. Va. Tech played a good game, had a lot of bad luck and lost the game. Who knows what would have happened if their #1 and #2 qbs had not gone down? Good luck in the future Va. Tech and I hope the qbs are back for your next game. I hate to see any player get hurt, even UM and UF players.
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Well, here we go again. I think this bonehead move happened in the BC game last year or maybe the FSU game last year. The opposing team is set up to punt at 4th and forever. And what does Tech do? Try to block the punt and rough the kicker. What a game changer!!!! Beamer, someone needs to beam you upside your head. When will you ever learn? I hate to say it but "Never". Way to go. Congratulations! You've made it into the "biggest bonehead plays that lost you the game" hall of fame.
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