Hokie ClubCHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Virginia Tech’s young defense kept Boston College out of the end zone, and the Hokies’ Chris Hazley booted four field goals to lead the Hokies past the Eagles 19-0 the ACC opener for both teams played Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
With the win, the Hokies moved to 2-2 overall, 1-0 in the ACC, and beat the Eagles at Alumni Stadium for the first time since 2002. BC fell to 2-1, 0-1.
The shutout marked Tech’s first since the 2006 season when the Hokies shut out UVa 17-0. It also marked the first time in 148 games that BC had been shut out.
The last team to shut out the Eagles? Virginia Tech, by a score of 17-0 in 1998.
“Bud [Foster] and those guys are good at knowing what’s going on,” Tech head coach Frank Beamer said. “They were good in the second half, but I thought they were good all day. We had a couple of calls go against us there at the end of the first half. We had them stopped and then we roughed the punter. But overall, I thought they [Tech’s defense] were good all day.”
Tech’s defense, which featured seven new starters coming into this season, held BC to 250 total yards, including just 70 yards rushing. Like last week against East Carolina, that unit played much better in the second half. The Hokies held BC to just 39 total yards in the final 30 minutes.
“I honestly think we’re starting to come around as a defense,” said end Steven Friday, who enjoyed a huge day with a sack, two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. “If we play our game from this point out, I think we’ll be fine. At the beginning of the season, we were young, but we’re not using that as an excuse anymore. We’re four games in now. We’ve got to play our game, practice hard and come together as a team.”
Tech’s lone touchdown in the game came toward the end of the first quarter. Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive by scrambling to his right and dumping the ball off to an open Darren Evans, who went 30 yards to the BC 3. On the next play – the first play of the second quarter – Evans scored on a 3-yard run to give the Hokies a 7-0 lead.
The second half was all Tech’s defense and Hazley. The redshirt senior gave Tech a 10-0 lead with a 29-yard field goal on the Hokies’ opening possession of the second half.
Tech’s Chris Drager then recorded a sack and forced a fumble of BC quarterback Dave Shinskie. Drager recovered the loose ball, and that turnover set up a 45-yard field goal by Hazley that gave the Hokies a 13-0 lead.
Another turnover led to another Hazley field goal. On BC’s ensuing possession, Shinskie threw a pass that was picked off by Tech whip linebacker Jeron Gouveia-Winslow at the BC 31. That led to another 29-yard field goal by Hazley that gave the Hokies a 16-0 lead with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
“In the first half, I didn’t play that well,” Gouveia-Winslow said. “I made some mental mistakes. But in the second half, I didn’t get down on myself. That one big play came to me, and I was glad to make it. I thought that helped change the momentum of the game.”
An ineffective Shinskie was pulled after that possession. He completed just 11-of-25 for 130 yards and two interceptions.
BC squandered its best opportunity to put points up at the end of the first half. Thanks to a questionable personal foul penalty on Tech’s Steven Friday, the Eagles had first-and-goal at the Tech 6 with 15 seconds left. But BC quarterback Dave Shinskie scrambled on the next play and then took off running before being tackled at the Tech 1. But the Eagles had no timeouts remaining and the clock expired before they could attempt a kick.
Taylor played his usual efficient game to pace Tech’s offensive attack, completing 16-of-21 for 237 yards and one interception. David Wilson rushed for 67 yards on 16 carries for the Hokies, who went 4-for-4 in the red zone, but settled for three field goals.
“We didn’t put up as many touchdowns as I would have liked,” Taylor said. “We didn’t capitalize in the red zone. We’ve got some things we can correct. We had a missed assignment here or a missed assignment there. But overall, I’m pretty pleased with the way the offense played. We can build on this and come back. There are plenty of better games out there for us.”
Tech continues ACC play next weekend when it travels to Raleigh, N.C., for a game against N.C. State. The kickoff time is slated to be announced no later than Sunday at noon.