GAME THREAD: NCAAF: BOSTON COLLEGE (7-0) at VIRGINIA TECH (6-1)

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (Ticker) -- Matt Ryan has been talkedabout as a Heisman Trophy Candidate for much of the season. Heplayed like one just in time for Boston College on Thursday.

After struggling miserably with the rain and Virginia Tech'sdefense all night, Ryan threw a pair of touchdown passes in thefinal two minutes as the second-ranked Eagles rallied for a14-10 victory over the No. 8 Hokies in an Atlantic CoastConference matchup.


Virginia Tech's second shot at the No. 2 team in the countrythis season was going a lot better than the first for the first58 minutes in this one. Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-1 ACC Coastal)had won five straight games since getting crushed at thensecond-ranked Louisiana State, 48-7, on September 8.

But Ryan made the plays down the stretch and kept the Eagles'national title hopes alive for at least another week.

Virginia Tech had a 7-0 lead at the half and Jud Dunlevy kickeda 44-yard field goal to extend it to 10-0 with 5:33 left in thethird.


The Hokies were unable to do much themselves in the rain, as theEagles' defense kept things close until Ryan and the offensefinally did their part.


The first 12 times Boston College (8-0, 4-0 Atlantic) had theball, Ryan threw for only 128 yards and was intercepted twice.He came alive the last two times the Eagles had possession,throwing for 157 yards and two TDs.


Ryan, who completed 25-of-52 passes for 285 yards, hit RichGunnell for a 16-yard TD with 2:11 to go. Gunnell just got hisright foot down before going out of bounds, and a replayconfirmed the score.


With two timeouts left, Boston College had the option of kickingdeep and trying to force a quick punt. Instead, coach JeffJagodzinski decided on an onside kick, and the Eagles recoveredat their 34 with 2:07 remaining.


Ryan made plays with his arm and legs, scrambling for a firstdown on the drive and capping the march with a 24-yard scoringstrike to Andre Callender that gave the Eagles a 14-10 lead with11 seconds to play.


"It was tough sledding the whole game, but at the end of thegame, we just started clicking," Jagodzinski said. "We juststarted completing some balls down field, and we hadn't donethat the whole game."

 

NCAAF: BOSTON COLLEGE at VIRGINIA TECH

<div class="pre">NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
BOSTON COLLEGE (2) 0 0 0 14 14
VIRGINIA TECH (8) 0 7 3 0 10 FINAL

VIRGINIA TECH-TD, E Royal 8 YD PASS FROM S Glennon (J Dunlevy
KICK) 4:29 2nd Qtr
VIRGINIA TECH-FG, J Dunlevy 44 YD 9:27 3rd Qtr
BOSTON COLLEGE-TD, R Gunnell 16 YD PASS FROM M Ryan (S
Aponavicius KICK) 12:49 4th Qtr
BOSTON COLLEGE-TD, A Callender 24 YD PASS FROM M Ryan (S
Aponavicius KICK) 14:49 4th Qtr


BOSTON COLLEGE VIRGINIA TECH
First downs 19 15
Rushed-yards 18-32 41-116
Passing yards 285 149
Sacked-yards lost 3-33 3-8
Return yards 7 27
Passes 25-53-2 15-25-0
Punts 9-45.6 9-37.3
Fumbles-lost 3-0 5-2
Penalties-yards 9-83 5-44
Time of possession 28:11 31:49


Individual Statistics

RUSHING: BOSTON COLLEGE-Andre Callender 7-29, L.V. Whitworth 7-25,
Matt Ryan 4-MINUS 22. VIRGINIA TECH-Branden Ore 20-97, Sean Glennon
14-23, Carlton Weatherford 1-3, Kenny Lewis Jr. 2-2, Josh Morgan 2-1,
Eddie Royal 1-0, - Team 1-MINUS 10.

PASSING: BOSTON COLLEGE-Matt Ryan 25-52-285- 2, Billy Flutie 0-1-0- 0.
VIRGINIA TECH-Sean Glennon 15-25-149- 0.

RECEIVING: BOSTON COLLEGE-Brandon Robinson 5-86, Kevin Challenger
4-60, Ryan Purvis 4-40, Andre Callender 5-38, Rich Gunnell 3-34,
Justin Jarvis 1-14, Jonathan Loyte 2-8, Clarence Megwa 1-5. VIRGINIA
TECH-Eddie Royal 4-77, Greg Boone 3-30, Josh Hyman 2-17, Justin Harper
3-17, Sam Wheeler 1-5, Carlton Weatherford 1-3, Josh Morgan 1-0.


Att: 66,233</div>

 

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (Ticker) -- Matt Ryan has been talkedabout as a Heisman Trophy Candidate for much of the season. Heplayed like one just in time for Boston College on Thursday.

After struggling miserably with the rain and Virginia Tech'sdefense all night, Ryan threw a pair of touchdown passes in thefinal two minutes as the second-ranked Eagles rallied for a14-10 victory over the No. 8 Hokies in an Atlantic CoastConference matchup.


Virginia Tech's second shot at the No. 2 team in the countrythis season was going a lot better than the first for the first58 minutes in this one. Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-1 ACC Coastal)had won five straight games since getting crushed at thensecond-ranked Louisiana State, 48-7, on September 8.

But Ryan made the plays down the stretch and kept the Eagles'national title hopes alive for at least another week.

"I mentioned earlier on in the week that the mark of a goodquarterback is winning," Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinskisaid. "Matt Ryan, what he did tonight, along with the receiversand the whole crew there in the last three minutes of the game,that was special."


Virginia Tech had a 7-0 lead at the half and Jud Dunlevy kickeda 44-yard field goal to extend it to 10-0 with 5:33 left in thethird.


The Hokies were unable to do much themselves in the rain, as theEagles' defense kept things close until Ryan and the offensefinally did their part.


"This is a tough one to handle," Virginia Tech coach FrankBeamer said. "They made the plays at the end. We just didn'tquite get it done."


The first 12 times Boston College (8-0, 4-0 Atlantic) had theball, Ryan threw for only 128 yards and was intercepted twice.He came alive the last two times the Eagles had possession,throwing for 157 yards and two TDs.


Ryan, who completed 25-of-52 passes for 285 yards, hit RichGunnell for a 16-yard TD with 2:11 to go. Gunnell just got hisright foot down before going out of bounds, and a replayconfirmed the score.


"Guys just stepped up and made plays," Ryan said. "We stayedconfident and made plays, it's just a (heck) of a win. Whenthere is still time left on the clock, you still have a chanceto win, and we were prepared."


With two timeouts left, Boston College had the option of kickingdeep and trying to force a quick punt. Instead, Jagodzinskidecided on an onside kick, and the Eagles recovered at their 34with 2:07 remaining.


Ryan made plays with his arm and legs, scrambling for a firstdown on the drive and capping the march with a 24-yard scoringstrike to Andre Callender that gave the Eagles a 14-10 lead with11 seconds to play.


"It was tough sledding the whole game, but at the end of thegame, we just started clicking," Jagodzinski said. "We juststarted completing some balls down field, and we hadn't donethat the whole game."


Ryan started clicking down the stretch and was 5-of-7 for 76yards on the game-winning drive. He was sacked three times butfaced pressure all night from Virginia Tech's front four but wasable to buy himself the time he needed to pull out the win.

"He made some great throws and people sometimes just get on arun," Beamer said. "They got on a good run in the last sixminutes. Sometimes it happens."

 

NCAAF: BOSTON COLLEGE (7-0) at VIRGINIA TECH (6-1)

<h3>Virginia Tech looks for revenge against Boston College</h3>

No. 12 Boston College (10-2) vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-2) 1:00 pm EST

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Virginia Tech has not forgottenits collapse against Boston College on October 25, when itsquandered a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter andsuffered a 14-10 loss.


The defeat likely knocked the Hokies out of the nationalchampionship game, but they will have a chance for revenge onSaturday when they meet the Eagles again in the Atlantic CoastConference championship game.


Virginia Tech (10-2) has taken to wearing tee-shirts with "6:01"on the front. That represents the time remaining in the firstgame when Virginia Tech got back the ball with a 10-0 lead.

But Boston College (10-2) forced a punt, and quarterback MattRyan engineered two scoring drives in the final 4:11 to rallythe Eagles to an improbable victory.


"A minor setback for a major comeback," Virginia Tech freshmanquarterback Tyrod Taylor said.


While Virginia Tech, which is sixth in the latest BowlChampionship Series standings, has a remote chance to play forthe national championship, the winner of Saturday's game islikely headed to the Orange Bowl.


Since the loss to Boston College, the Hokies have been on amission, reeling off four straight victories in impressivefashion.


Last week, Virginia Tech clinched the ACC's Coastal Divisiontitle with a 33-21 victory over Virginia.


The Hokies rode their two-headed quarterback platoon of SeanGlennon and Taylor. Glennon completed 13-of-19 passes for 260yards and a touchdown, while Taylor rushed for a pair of scores.

Boston College wrapped up the ACC's Atlantic Division title twoweeks, when Ryan engineered his second dramatic comeback of theseason.


The senior quarterback tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to RichGunnell with 1:46 remaining, rallying the Eagles to a 20-17victory over Clemson.


Last week, Boston College tuned up for the ACC title game with a28-14 victory over Miami.


"It's going to be a different go this time," Ryan said of therematch with the Hokies. "They know what we're going to do, weknow what they're going to do. We're going to be in for a verytough game. I expect it to be very physical and a lot of fun."

On Tuesday, Ryan was named one of five finalists for the WalterCamp Football Foundation Player of the Year Award. He haspassed for 3,953 yards and a school-record 28 touchdowns thisseason.

 

NCAAF: BOSTON COLLEGE (7-0) at VIRGINIA TECH (6-1)

<h3>Virginia Tech looks for revenge against Boston College</h3>

No. 12 Boston College (10-2) vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-2) 1:00 pm EST

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Virginia Tech has not forgottenits collapse against Boston College on October 25, when itsquandered a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter andsuffered a 14-10 loss.


The defeat likely knocked the Hokies out of the nationalchampionship game, but they will have a chance for revenge onSaturday when they meet the Eagles again in the Atlantic CoastConference championship game.


Virginia Tech (10-2) has taken to wearing tee-shirts with "6:01"on the front. That represents the time remaining in the firstgame when Virginia Tech got back the ball with a 10-0 lead.

But Boston College (10-2) forced a punt, and quarterback MattRyan engineered two scoring drives in the final 4:11 to rallythe Eagles to an improbable victory.


"A minor setback for a major comeback," Virginia Tech freshmanquarterback Tyrod Taylor said.


While Virginia Tech, which is sixth in the latest BowlChampionship Series standings, has a remote chance to play forthe national championship, the winner of Saturday's game islikely headed to the Orange Bowl.


Since the loss to Boston College, the Hokies have been on amission, reeling off four straight victories in impressivefashion.


Last week, Virginia Tech clinched the ACC's Coastal Divisiontitle with a 33-21 victory over Virginia.


The Hokies rode their two-headed quarterback platoon of SeanGlennon and Taylor. Glennon completed 13-of-19 passes for 260yards and a touchdown, while Taylor rushed for a pair of scores.

Boston College wrapped up the ACC's Atlantic Division title twoweeks, when Ryan engineered his second dramatic comeback of theseason.


The senior quarterback tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to RichGunnell with 1:46 remaining, rallying the Eagles to a 20-17victory over Clemson.


Last week, Boston College tuned up for the ACC title game with a28-14 victory over Miami.


"It's going to be a different go this time," Ryan said of therematch with the Hokies. "They know what we're going to do, weknow what they're going to do. We're going to be in for a verytough game. I expect it to be very physical and a lot of fun."

On Tuesday, Ryan was named one of five finalists for the WalterCamp Football Foundation Player of the Year Award. He haspassed for 3,953 yards and a school-record 28 touchdowns thisseason.