Collegiate Times

Jarrett Boykin (81) stretches for a few extra yards in the first quarter.

If you were in Lane Stadium for the last four minutes of Saturday’s game, it’s something you’ll never forget.

Sure, it wasn’t the biggest win in program history. Heck, it wasn’t even the biggest win in the last three years.

Nonetheless, there was something big going on in Lane Stadium around 7 p.m. Saturday night, and all 66,000 plus in attendance will have a story to tell their friends.

It wasn’t your classic Virginia Tech home victory. The Hokies allowed a whopping 236 yards rushing, 166 from Miami tailback Lamar Miller. Jacory Harris passed for over 250 yards without throwing an interception, breaking a streak of 12 straight games in which the Hokies had gotten at least one interception.

It was almost as if someone had turned off the noise following Miller’s 30-yard touchdown scamper with 2:51 remaining. The Hokies, who had led the entire game up to that point, now trailed by four points.

After his performance against Clemson the week before, quarterback Logan Thomas should have been unsure of himself against the Hurricanes’ defense.

But he was anything but hesitant Saturday.

Thomas was on in every facet of the game, finishing with 310 yards on 23 of 25 passing and three touchdowns — all career highs.

“When we picked up that first third down, my feet were comfortable,” Thomas said after the game. “I was comfortable from there on out, and once a quarterback gets comfortable, it makes the game a whole lot easier and slows things down.”

That comfort level was evident throughout the entire game. Thomas finished five-of-six passing on third down, which bumps his season average to almost 50 percent.

When it came time for the potential game-winning drive, it was Thomas who led the Hokies right down the field.

Two-straight first down completions to start the drive got the ball rolling, and a few David Wilson running plays mixed in moved the ball down to the Miami 19-yard line.

Facing a fourth-and-one situation, the Hokies went with a similar play that scored a touchdown earlier in the game.

Thomas took the shotgun snap, faked the handoff to Wilson well enough to draw the defense away, and broke through a wide open hole and into the secondary.

“When I stepped through the hole, there was nothing there, and I guess the rest is history,” Thomas said.

Something like that, Logan.

After his much-maligned play against Clemson where he passed for just 125 yards, Saturday’s performance was pretty much perfect. Lane was ready to start a new chapter in its relationship with Thomas.

He would never admit it, but Al Golden’s team never really stood a chance on the ensuing drive.

“Zombie Nation” blasted from the PA system as the entire stadium jumped up and down.

The Hurricanes picked up a first down, and then the Hokies called a timeout with 25 seconds remaining. While the ball rested at the Miami 37-yard-line, and the Hurricanes had all three timeouts remaining, the following seconds won’t be remembered for anything Miami did. Three incomplete passes later, the day’s second “Enter Sandman” blared during a Miami timeout.

Miami’s last attempt to score came on fourth and 10, and when Miller hit the turf as the clock struck all zeros, Lane erupted.

Will the Hokies carry over the momentum throughout the rest of the season? That’s tough to tell.

One thing is for sure — for at least one day, Blacksburg rallied behind its team, and the Hokies repaid them.

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 11 issue of the Collegiate Times.