Collegiate Times

Make no mistake about it folks, the Hokies remain the kings of football in the state of Virginia.

After Virginia put up a solid fight in the first half, and went into halftime trailing just 14-0, Virginia Tech came out in the second half and laid a beating on their in-state rivals, winning by a score of 38-0.

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"I'm proud of our football team," said Frank Beamer, head coach. "To come in here against a very hot team and very good football team, and just play as well as we did and take it to them the way we did - I'm really proud of them."

After the Cavaliers (8-4, 5-3 ACC) took down Florida State 14-13 last Saturday night, this contest decided who was going to play in the ACC Championship Game next weekend against Clemson.

And, even though many predicted an upset, as the Hoos were coming in on a four-game winning streak, Tech simply refused to let that happen, while holding UVa to half as many rushing yards (30) as they had penalty yards (54).

Logan Thomas had another big day for the Hokies (11-1, 7-1), as he finished 13 of 21 passing for 187 yards and two touchdowns, to go along with 27 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. His team outplayed Virginia quarterback and his fellow Lynchburg native Michael Rocco.

"I just wanted to go out there and play as hard and best as I could," Thomas said. "They've been talking all week about me and Michael. Michael's a great player, and I think we will both progress as our careers go on. Best of luck to him as well."

His coach offered high praise for his signal-caller.

"He's in control," Beamer said of Thomas. "I love that about him. He takes the blame, he's just a great leader for us, he gets the job done, and the players really respect him. I don't think you could ask for anything better."

This marks the 12th win for the Hokies in the two team’s past 13 contests, including their eighth win in a row.

"The rivalry's gone our way the past couple years, and nobody was really talking about us," Thomas said. "They were all talking about Virginia, and how well they were gonna do. We kind of took it as a slap in the face."

David Wilson responded in a big way after last week’s disappointing performance against North Carolina with a 24-carry, 153-yard output to go along with two rushing touchdowns.

"We had very few errors today," Wilson said of his team's performance. "I think that was part of the reason the score played out the way it did."

Wilson also helped his team outrush UVa 183-30, a completely dominating output.

"Regardless of who the ball goes to on this offense, we're going to make plays," Wilson said.

The Hokies “lunch pail” defense didn’t exactly dominate the game the way the score would indicate, as Virginia had the ball in Tech territory six different times during the game.

They came away with nothing to show for it, as they missed a field goal, had several drives stall, and failed to convert on a 4th and 2 from the seven-yard line early in the game.

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A version of this article appeared in the Nov 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.