Virginia Tech’s Eric Kumah celebrates with teammates after returning a blocked punt for a touchdown in the second quarter. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE — Following a turbulent offseason in which its defense was severely depleted, No. 20 Virginia Tech unveiled its remade product when the Hokies visited No. 19 Florida State on Monday night. Their 24-3 win confirmed that there won’t be any panic since coordinator Bud Foster is still in charge.
After all, the message that had been circulating throughout the Hokies’ locker room was “In Bud We Trust.”
Foster’s group pitched a shutout in the second half, collected three interceptions, recovered a pair of fumbles and recorded 14 tackles for loss in its dismantling of the Seminoles at soggy Doak Campbell Stadium.
“This was always the team, the program you’re chasing,” Foster said after his first win in Tallahassee in his career. “I’m not saying we haven’t caught them, but it’s gratifying tonight to come down here with a group of no-names so to speak, and we stepped up.”
The decisive turnover came when the Seminoles botched a handoff from running back Cam Akers to running back Amir Rasul late in the fourth quarter on third and goal from the 10. The Hokies’ Houshun Gaines recovered, and they took over at their 15-yard line. The Hokies all but sealed the outcome on that possession, with quarterback Josh Jackson completing a 49-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Kumah for the final margin with 5:11 left.
It wasn’t until cornerback Caleb Farley missed a tackle in the fourth quarter that Florida State even remotely threatened to score in the second half, with Akers breaking free for an 85-yard gain to the 6 shortly before the muffed handoff.
Virginia Tech defenders corral Florida State’s Keith Gavin. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
[Braylon Edwards takes aim at Michigan on Twitter, gets Big Ten Network suspension]
The Hokies’ lead had grown to 17-3 in the first half when Chris Cunningham burst through the line of scrimmage for a block on a Florida State punt attempt deep in its territory. Kumah caught the ball off the deflection in the end zone with 3:57 remaining until halftime, a fitting sequence considering former coach Frank Beamer was among the announced crowd of 75,237. Beamer’s Virginia Tech teams, after all, were known for opportunistic special teams, leading to the term “BeamerBall” in Blacksburg.
Foster worked under Beamer for decades, consistently producing some of the most decorated defenses in college football. Last season, the Hokies ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense, yielding just 14.8 points per game.
The overhaul of the unit this year required Foster to fill seven vacated starting spots, most notably at linebacker after Tremaine Edmunds declared for the NFL draft as a junior, and Andrew Motuapuaka completed his senior season.
Also absent is Mook Reynolds, a former projected starter at WHIP/nickelback. Coach Justin Fuente dismissed the junior in early July on the same day Reynolds was arrested by police in Blacksburg on a felony marijuana charge.
The defensive backfield took additional hits when Adonis Alexander became ineligible for what would have been his senior year because of academic issues, and junior college transfer Jeremy Webb tore his Achilles’ during the second day of workouts. Alexander declared for the NFL supplemental draft, and the Washington Redskins selected him.
Then there was the resignation of assistant coach Galen Scott in April when details of an extramarital affair became public. In January, Fuente had promoted Scott, a former roommate when the two were on staff at Illinois State, to co-defensive coordinator.
[College football’s opening weekend delivered an eclectic mix of the familiar and the sublime]
The Seminoles underwent significant change as well with the appointment of Willie Taggart as coach. Taggart replaced Jimbo Fisher, who resigned before the final regular season game last year to take over at Texas A&M. Among the Seminoles’ modifications under Taggart is a spread attack featuring elements from his high-scoring tenure at South Florida.
Instead Florida State was held without a touchdown at home for the first time since 2008.
“That’s an ACC win. . . . We definitely made a statement,” Hokies defensive tackle Ricky Walker said. “Everyone outside the locker room doubted us. We just found a way to fight and win. We deserve to be happy.”
It was the Hokies’ offense that applied pressure in the early going, marching 75 yards on 10 plays on an opening drive that ended with Jackson’s 10-yard fade pass to wide receiver Damon Hazelton with 10:34 left in the first quarter.
Virginia Tech got the ball back less than two minutes later thanks to linebacker Rayshard Ashby stripping the ball from wide receiver Nyqwan Murray, allowing Khalil Ladler to recover at the Seminoles 35-yard line. The ensuing drive for the Hokies reached the 12, but they settled for kicker Brian Johnson’s 29-yard field goal to complete the scoring in the first quarter.
Florida State’s only points came on Ricky Aguayo’s 22-yard field goal when the Hokies defense held after facing first and goal from the 1 midway through the second quarter.
“I’m proud of our players to take on this challenge on the road in the first game of year in an atmosphere like that,” Fuente said. “It wasn’t perfect by any means, but to play as hard as we, by and large, I was awfully proud of our staff.”
The author
No comments: