Virginia Tech Stumbles Early, Stumbles Late in Disappointing Defeat

LANDOVER, Md. -- This was not Virginia Tech football.

That was the overriding theme from the deer-in-the headlight-looking Hokies here at FedEx Field Monday night following their 33-30 defeat to third-ranked Boise State. They searched for answers and clues, wondering what happened to the Beamerball that they are noted for inside and outside of Blacksburg, Va.

Sure, the 10th-ranked Hokies absorbed a deflating early-season loss for the third straight season. Yet, this one felt different, looked different, smelled different. There were costly penalties. Poor execution on special teams. Inconsistency and mistakes across the board.

If there was ever a missed opportunity, this was it.

Virginia Tech dramatically rallied from a 17-0 deficit in the first quarter and led 30-26 heading into the final 69 seconds. It surely had to feel like an eternity to the sold-out crowd of 86,587 -- most of which was dressed in maroon and orange.

Even Hokies head coach Frank Beamer, a nice guy who is, well, to pardon an over-used pun, accustomed to finishing second on the national stage, tried to figure out how it got away.

"We did some things that weren't very good to get in the hole, and then at the end we did some things that weren't very good to hold the lead," he explained.

"I think we'll learn a lot. I know we have work to do. Learn from it and get better. It's a tough deal because the kids fought awfully hard to come back. And they just didn't finish it off."

Senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor passed for 186 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 73 yards for the Hokies. He wiped his brow, took a deep breath and also wondered how they stumbled early and stumbled late.

The Hokies were wonderful in between, registering five scoring drives over a 27-minute span.

"I think we'll learn a lot. I know we have work to do. Learn from it and get better. It's a tough deal because the kids fought awfully hard to come back. And they just didn't finish it off."
-- Virgnia Tech coach Frank Beamer Virginia Tech also had a chance to run out the clock at game's end, but couldn't do it. Taylor threw an incomplete pass on third down that stopped the clock and gave Boise State extra time.

Too much time as it turned out.

"It's a frustrating loss, knowing that we haven't been successful in the first game all these seasons," said Taylor.

"I feel like we have a good team to bounce back from this. I really believe that. It's up to the seniors to keep the team together. We have to keep fighting the rest of the season."

Boise State took the 17-0 lead by taking advantage of a handful of critical Virginia Tech mistakes that set up two touchdown passes by Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore. Although the Hokies regrouped, they believed they had spotted the Broncos an unfair advantage.

Virginia Tech last trailed 17-0 after the first quarter in 1992 against the Miami Hurricanes. It never recovered in that game and lost by double digits. The Hokies rallied twice against Boise State.

A third time wasn't the charm.

"It really doesn't tell you anything about the program; you really can't come out and start a game (down) 17-0 and expect to win the game," said Hokies running back Ryan Williams, who had three touchdowns -- two rushing, one receiving -- but was held to 44 rushing yards as the Broncos crowded the line of scrimmage.

"Boise did their job capitalizing on the errors that we made and they played better than us and were the better team tonight. We got to take this one under the chin. We have 11 more games to go and we have to ride it out."

Virginia Tech cornerback Rashad Carmichael, one of just four returning starters from last year's nationally ranked defense, tried to gather his thoughts when asked about the Broncos' game-winning drive.

With possession at the Boise State 44 with 1:47 left, Moore hit three straight passes. On the third, a 14-yarder to Austin Pettis, Tech's Bruce Taylor hit the receiver just a tad late out of bounds to tack on more yards.

After an incomplete throw, Moore and fired a 13-yard touchdown completion to Pettis. It represented the fourth lead change of the second half.

Virginia Tech is 0-22 away from home against teams ranked in the top five.

"It happened too quick. Too quick for me," Carmichael said, shaking his head.

"From the beginning I felt we had them. They had everything going their way in the first quarter. We knew we had to come out and fight and finish the game on. They just were the better man. We didn't lose; time just ran out. That's how I look at it. It was a good game. I had a lot of fun."

But it didn't leave the Hokies with a smile on their face.

As become their custom, look for them to improve as the season progresses. The young defense will get better. The offense behind Taylor has big-play ability. They remain a favorite to win Atlantic Coast Conference title and need some luck to remain in the national picture.

Beamer repeated that he's encouraged by his team's potential, and believes it can be a great team. Yet, that wasn't the case against Boise State.

This was not Virginia Tech football.

"We just have to keep playing," free safety Eddie Whitley said. "Football is football. Anything can happen.

"All we have to do is keep playing and keep winning and at the end of the season, we will see what's the outcome."