What the mainstream media and blogosphere is saying after a very satisfying win over our rivals in Charlottesville.
National Media and Bloggers
Virginia Tech controls rivalry (Annette)
"The game went according to script, with Virginia hanging around early on Senior Day in Scott Stadium before the disparity between the two programs showed up in the second half. Virginia's defense couldn't stop Ryan Williams, who has played an outstanding rookie season and scored four rushing touchdowns for the second straight game. He should be a 2010 Heisman contender."
Hokie and Hoo Beat Writers
Tech takes UVa's best shot, then crushes rivals (Aaron McFarling)
"Every year, it seems, Tech-UVa week plays out the same. The days leading up to the game, the Cavaliers dominate the storylines. They're the ones with something to prove. Can they keep it close? Can they put it together for one day? Can they perhaps pull the upset? Then they play the game, and the answers spill forth in capital letters: NO. NO. NO."
Hokies sprint to finish against UVa (Randy King)
"Tech, which knocked itself out of the national picture with back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina in October, finished 4-0 in November with an average scoring differential of 24.25 points per game. Continuing to get better offensively, the Hokies rolled up 482 total yards against a fired-up UVa squad that was hoping to hand Al Groh a victory in what was likely his final game as Cavaliers' coach."
In perhaps Groh's final game, Va. Tech wins (Mark Viera)
"With losses by Clemson and North Carolina on Saturday, Virginia Tech is aligned for a trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31. An at-large Bowl Championship Series invitation seems unlikely."
U.Va.'s Dowling burned by Taylor-Coale connection (Kyle Tucker)
"But rival Virginia Tech picked on Dowling early and often Saturday. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor's first pass of the game went deep down the right sideline to Danny Coale, who had blown by Dowling. Even when the pass was short, Coale came back to it for a 41-yard, shoe-top catch. Taylor's next pass also went deep to Coale, who out-jumped Dowling for a 36-yard grab to set up the Hokies' first touchdown. By halftime, Dowling had been beaten on four passes that covered 131 yards. That wasn't necessarily an accident on Tech's part."
Six it is: Tech trounces rival Virginia (Gordon Block)
"For the second week in a row, Williams reached the end zone four times and became the second Tech player to score four touchdowns in back-to-back games. Lee Suggs accomplished the same feat by scoring five times against the University of Central Florida and then four times against UVa in 2000."
Ryan Williams...what more can you say? (Norm Wood)
"Though Williams won’t catch former Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson for the Football Bowl Subdivision single-season rushing record by a freshman, there’s a chance Williams could at least finish within shouting distance. Oh, by the way...just noticed this note in U.Va.'s postgame package. His four rushing touchdowns were the most by an opposing player against U.Va. since 1982, when Georgia Tech's Robert Lavette also scored four."
Coverage of Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13 (Darryl Slater)
"And the Hokies’ defense was stingy again. Tech, which led 14-13 at halftime, held Virginia to 96 yards in the second half. The Hokies did it by shutting down Sewell, who ran 10 times for 99 yards in the first half, including seven for 91 in the first quarter, then seven times for 24 yards in the second half, not counting sacks. Tech allowed two offensive touchdowns in the regular season’s final four games, all wins."
Groh's final words with player comment (Michael Phillips)
"Make what you will of that, but it seems like Al Groh’s final words as U.Va. head coach. The poem refers to you being the only person who can effectively judge yourself at the end of the day, a message Groh sends out, I’m sure, to his many critics. At the end, he listed some of the attributes he wanted to be remembered by."
Cavaliers stung by boyhood UVa fan (Doug Doughy)
"Coale, whose older brother played lacrosse for the Cavaliers, continued to show UVa the error of its ways Saturday in a 42-13 Virginia Tech victory at Scott Stadium. Coale, who had a season-high five receptions in a 2008 meeting with the Cavaliers, finished with six catches for 135 yards Saturday."
There's only one word to describe Williams - great (Bill Roth)
"With no offense to the ageless Tony the Tiger, who’s been pitching the quality of Frosted Flakes for a half century ("They’re Grrrrreat," as you know), true greatness, in reality, should be hard to find. It should be uncommon and rare. So when you read that Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams is having the greatest freshman season in the history of Virginia Tech football and the greatest freshman year in the history of the ACC, understand that in this instance, the word is used in its intended form."
Hokies control second half in pulling away from Virginia (Jimmy Robertson)
"The momentum totally went the Hokies’ way following a UVa turnover. Sewell tried to pitch the ball to tailback Mikell Simpson on the option, but the pitch hit Simpson in the facemask and fell to the ground at the UVa 25, where Tech safety Kam Chancellor picked it up and ran to the UVa 10."
Hokie and Hoo Bloggers
The Guy in the Glass and the Best of #BeatUVa (College Game Balls)
"And now for something more fun, the best of #BeatUVa (in no particular order)."
Hokies Whip UVA, Await Bowl Fate (Tech Sideline)
"Virginia got off to a hot start offensively, running the read option with quarterback Jameel Sewell. Sewell finished with 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground, but Hokie defensive coordinator Bud Foster made adjustments at halftime and the Hokies shutout the Hoos in the second half. UVA finished with 295 yards of total offense."
CHECKMATE (Beer Control Offense)
"Sometimes, you just gotta stick your face in the fan."
I Smell Pretention: Hokies WIN 42-13 (Fight for Old DC)
"As for the game, there's not a ton to say. It was an awesome second half effort by both lines, and you have to give credit to Bryan Stinespring. He called a VERY good game. Tyrod wasn't super accurate, but his receivers came up with some amazing catches and made him look great at points."
Requiem for an era: Let It Go In Peace (From Old Virginia)
"Yes, it's still happening, the criticism and the name-calling and the good-riddance-ing, and yes, it's pissing the rest of us off and that's all it's accomplishing. So help me, if I see another good-riddance style post on any UVA message board the rest of the year, I'm gonna go off on someone. You got what you wanted - Groh is fired. You also got a 3-9 season to go with it, which has been just all sorts of fun, but hey, you got what you wanted."