BLACKSBURG – Just when it seemed like the decade-long, mind-numbing streak was over, the Virginia football team watched another chance to beat Virginia Tech evaporate into the cold Blacksburg night on Friday. The Hokies rallied from a three-point deficit in the final three minutes to win 24-20.
In the process, they salvaged their 22-year bowl streak and sent the Hoos packing for another offseason with a losing record, the fourth in Mike London’s five years at Virginia. A shell-shocked group of Cavaliers tried to wrap their minds around a 1-5 finish that included another loss to their in-state rivals.
“Very disappointing. This one we thought we had them, but we didn’t so that’s the hard part,” senior running back Kevin Parks said. “It’s very disappointing. That’s my last game as a Wahoo, a Cavalier, my last college game – it’s very tough. I’m just going through a lot of emotions right now, a lot of thoughts going through my head of what I could have did better to help us win today. It’s tough, but it’s something I’ll have to get over.”
While other losses in the 11-game streak stung, the most recent installment packed an extra gut punch. The Hoos marched 89 yards, nearly one third of their 314 total yards on the night, over 10 plays to take the lead with 2:55 to go. On that drive, quarterback Greyson Lambert connected on seven straight passes to march the team into the end zone. He ended up with 211 passing yards on 15-of-32 passing with one touchdown and one interception.
It started with an 18-yard pass on third-and-10 to Canaan Severin, who finished with . The drive ended with a fake jet sweep to Darius Jennings and a pass over the top to tight end Zach Swanson for the touchdown. On the play, Swanson faked a block and released behind the VT defense where Lambert found him for the go-ahead score. Swanson said that moment is the thing dreams of made of on the football field, but then it was snatched away.
“It was a fake bootleg, faking the sweep to the side and they just completely dropped me. Before I lined up, I sort of saw it in my head or whatever,” Swanson said. “That’s what you live for and it’s not just that play. It’s the whole drive. We started back on our 20 or whatever with seven minutes to go and we’re down. That’s what football is all about. That’s the dream come true. You drive all the way down there and end up scoring to go ahead.”
If that scoring drive was a dream come true, the next three minutes were nightmares come back to life.
Virginia Tech answered after all with a three-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. It featured Cavalier blunders – a roughing the passer call on Mike Moore on the first snap and a pass interference call on Henry Coley on the fourth snap – and a giant pair of plays by Hokie tight end Bucky Hodges. Quarterback Michael Brewer found Hodges behind UVa’s Wil Wahee for a 50-yard completion to the 10-yard line and then threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Hodges moments later. Prior to that play, Virginia Tech’s offense had not produced a 50+-yard play all season long.
Up until that point, the Cavaliers had held Hodges to just one catch for two yards.
“He’s a guy that’s got that height and always uses it to his advantage. We did not execute the defense that was called in that situation that led to the catch,” London said. “We’re always trying to be conscious of guys like Bucky. He’s done a great job for them with those catches and the coverage wasn’t executed well enough for him to not catch the ball.”
That drive featured one of three big moments that lifted the Hokies to the win again. Tech’s other two touchdowns came from similar swing plays. The first touchdown of the game came with 9:30 left in the second quarter when Virginia Tech blocked a punt in the end zone and Hodges recovered for the score. The third touchdown hit the scoreboard in the final minute of the third quarter when Brewer spotted Cam Phillips behind UVa’s secondary uncovered for a 36-yard touchdown.
Those three big-play touchdowns were all Tech needed against a Virginia team that mustered just 20 points despite four drives that started in Hokie territory. Those four drives all finished without points as UVa punted twice, threw an interception, and missed a field goal. Another drive to VT’s side of the field ended with a turnover on downs when the Hoos couldn’t gain a yard on back-to-back running plays (a QB sneak and an I formation handoff). In the end, Virginia scored just one touchdown in four trips to the red zone.
The only other visit to the end zone came on a defensive touchdown in the second quarter. Mike Moore got through and hit Brewer’s arm as he wound up. The ball popped into the air and UVa tackle David Dean snared it at the three. He jumped over a body and got into the end zone to give the Wahoos a 13-10 lead.
Still, Virginia came up with just one more score the rest of the way and couldn’t make it stand for the victory. As a result, the Wahoos couldn’t snap the streak against the rival Hokies and will watch bowl season from afar for the seventh time in the last nine years. Five times – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2014 – during this losing string in the rivalry, Virginia Tech has prevented Virginia from reaching either bowl eligibility or the ACC Championship Game.
“It’s definitely devastating. I’ve only been here two years, but 11 straight years is a long time. The last time we beat Tech, I was nine years old,” Virginia defensive end Max Valles said. “We’ve got to get stuff going..”
May it be 11 more.
You probably will! Congratulations to your team!
Please UVa! Whatever happens, please keep Mike London as your HC well into the future.
Don’t worry! Your teams streak against the Hoos will never end!
With Johns we at least would have had a qb who could actually be an option.
Hey Mike remember you said Bucky is vastly overrated.
The streak will end next year the gap of talent has closed and we get them at home