Doran Porch set the tone for Virginia Tech as the Hokies shut out Marshall 27-0 in sunny Lane Stadium. Porch forced a fumble from Darius Marshall on the Tech 15 yard line to stall a long opening drive for the Thundering Herd.
On the very next play, Hokie tailback Ryan Williams busted free for an 85-yard touchdown scamper and Tech never looked back. Williams also added another long score in the second quarter from a Tyrod Taylor screen pass for 70 yards. The Stonewall Jackson High School product from Manassas finished the day with 111 yards rushing and 74 yards in the air.
Taylor added a second touchdown in the third quarter hitting Xavier Boyce on a 21-yard slant route to the corner of the endzone.
Even with the scoring from the offense, the Hokie defense lived up to their potential. Marshall only converted 5 of their 16 third down attempts. Most of all, the Herd had three attempts in the red zone without any points allowed. Cordarrow Thompson and Nekos Brown both recorded two sacks.
Box Score
MAR 0 0 0 0 -0
VPI 7 10 7 3 -27
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
VPI:TD 2:29 R. Williams, 85 Yd run (M. Waldron Kick)
2nd Quarter
VPI:FG 3:29 M. Waldron, 3 Yd FG
VPI:TD 2:29 R. Williams, 70 Yd pass from T. Taylor (M. Waldron Kick)
3rd Quarter
VPI:TD 0:39 X. Boyce, 21 Yd pass from T. Taylor (M. Waldron Kick)
4th Quarter
VPI:FG 4:01 M. Waldron, 37 Yd FG
Significant Stats
First downs MAR: 17 VPI: 10
Total Offense MAR: 273 VPI:370
Turnovers MAR: 2(2 FUM) VPI: 1 (1 INT)
Marshall Top Player Stats
Passing: B. Anderson 18-44 for 205 yds, 0 TD
Rushing: D. Marshall 21-for-53 yds, 0 TD
Receiving: D. Marshall 7-for-92 yds, 0 TD
Defense: D. Bembry 3 TAK, 1 INT
VPI Top Player Stats
Passing: T. Taylor 13-30 for 200 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: R. Williams 7-for-111 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: R. Williams 3-for-74 yds, 1 TD
Defense: C. Thompson 5 TAK, 3 TFL, 2 SACK