Virginia Tech 38, NC State 10: Hokies' Three Stars

Unlike last week's game against Maryland, there were plenty of individual performances to choose from in Tech's win over NC State. Here are the three guys who contributed most to Saturday's win.

First Star: LB Cody Grimm

Grimm forced three fumbles on NC State's first four plays. I doubt anyone matches that feat in major college football for a long, long time.

He set the tone for the defense, which chased Russell Wilson around for most of the game and held the Wolfpack scoreless in the second half. There can be no hyperbole to describe Grimm's play in the last three games. After struggling in losses to GT and UNC, he has reached a level I didn't know he could. He's always around the ball, always disrupting plays and has his draft stock as high as it could be. That's saying something for a guy who probably didn't have a draft stock earlier this year.

Second Star: RB Ryan Williams

NC State made Williams work hard for his 120 yards and four touchdowns as the freshman only averaged 3.8 yards per carry. But he was able to pound, juke and in some cases drag defenders across the field to wear down the Wolfpack defense and keep Tech's methodical offense moving.

Williams now owns the Virginia Tech and ACC record for rushing yards by a freshman and still has two games to go.

Third Star: WR Jarrett Boykin

Boykin accounted for 164 of of the Hokies' 197 receiving yards against NC State. After a few early drops by Dyrell Roberts, Tyrod Taylor started going to Boykin every time Tech needed a big play. Boykin responded with several key third down grabs to keep drives alive.

His touchdown catch in the third quarter to put the game on ice was a thing of beauty. The Wolfpack had no answer for Boykin no matter who was lined up against him.