No. 25 Virginia Tech holds off Pitt in 39-36 win

One of the nation's worst secondaries kept daring Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans to throw. So he did. Over. And over. And over.

The junior shook off a right ankle injury to throw for a career-high 406 yards and two touchdowns to lead the 25th-ranked Hokies to a 39-36 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Joey Slye tied the school and Atlantic Coach Conference records by making six field goals to help the Hokies (6-2, 4-1) beat the Panthers (5-3, 2-2) on the road for the first time in 17 years.

Pitt came in with the nation's 120th-ranked pass defense yet played bump-and-run for most of the game, hoping its defensive backs could win more than they lost.

Didn't happen. Instead, three Tech wide receivers topped 100 yards in the same game for the first time in school history.Isaiah Ford's 10 receptions included his school-record 23rd receiving touchdown. Bucky Hodges caught six passes for 145 yards and a score and Cam Phillips added 109 yards on a night the Hokies piled up 556 total yards.

"It's a great feeling when you can do what you love doing and that's throw the ball up and down the field against a pretty good defense," Evans said. "One-on-one coverage. You can't ask for anything better than one-on-one coverage."

Pitt coach Narduzzi built his reputation as defensive coordinator at Michigan State by requiring his secondary to play physical. He's intent on doing the same at Pitt, even as the weeks pass and improvement only comes in sporadic bursts. Facing the Hokies, it was no different.

"We had guys in position to make plays," Narduzzi said. "We didn't make them. . There's not a whole lot of different ways to do it."

Evans left briefly in the third quarter after getting his right leg rolled up on but returned to lead a fourth-quarter surge that included Slye's sixth field goal. Slye joked it got a little bit boring knocking in chip shot after chip shot, though he's hardly complaining after the Hokies won at Heinz Field for the first time in five tries and assured themselves of a bowl berth for a 24th straight year, the longest active streak in the nation.

It's a notable streak, but bigger goals lie ahead. The Hokies will end the weekend no worse than tied in the loss column with North Carolina atop the Coastal. Virginia Tech owns the tiebreaker, having beaten the Tar Heels decisively this month.

TRICKERATION

James Conner ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns for the Panthers but offensive coordinator Matt Canada continued to masterfully tinker with the Pitt playbook.

Nate Peterman completed 13 of 22 passes for 267 yards with a touchdown and an interception while also catching the first pass of his. Pitt offensive tackle Brian O'Neill scored his second touchdown of the season, this time on a pitch from Peterman that resulted in the 6-foot-6, 300-pound O'Neill barreling over the goal line from 5 yards out. O'Neill, a tight end in high school, scored on a throwback screen against Georgia Tech earlier this month.

PINBALL WIZARD

One of the connections between Evans and Ford includes a wild 36-yard gain in which Ford and Pitt cornerback Phillipie Motley batted it back and forth to each other as they went to the ground. Officials ruled it a catch on the field after Ford ripped it away from Motley before it hit the ground. The call stood upon review.

WILD MAN

Narduzzi became increasingly animated on the sideline as the game wore on, convinced Virginia Tech's wide receivers were illegally giving themselves and advantage on all those alley-oop passes from Evans.

"They did a great job pushing off all night," Narduzzi said. "Give them credit for that."

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia Tech: The Hokies have the weapons to run the table. If Evans can avoid turning it over, the Hokies will be in the ACC title game.

"When you have three elite wide receivers, you can't ask for more," Evans said.

Pitt: Midway through Narduzzi's second season, the defense remains a chaotic work in progress. Even the debut of ballyhooed freshman safety Damar Hamlin's long anticipated debut did little to help. If Pitt's pass defense was even average, the Panthers would be a threat to reach the ACC title game. It's not, and the Panthers almost certainly won't be in Orlando in December.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: Travel to Duke on Nov. 5. The Hokies fell to the Blue Devils 45-43 in four overtimes last season.

Pitt: Begin a tough two-game stretch at Miami on Nov. 5. Hurricanes have won two of three meetings since Pitt joined the ACC in 2013.

Evans sharp again as Hokies beat Miami, 37-16

Virginia Tech didn't let a surprising loss five days ago linger, and they are once again atop the ACC's Coastal Division race.

Jerod Evans threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third and the Hokies (5-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Miami 37-16 on Thursday night, pulling into a tie with No. 22 North Carolina atop the division as they start the second half of the regular season.

Evans hit Bucky Hodges with scoring throws of 7 and 12 yards, and Travon McMillian ran for 131 yards for the Hokies.

"There were certain plays we put in this week that I had a feeling I was going to get the ball on, and the coaches just dialed it up," Hodges said after leading the team with seven receptions for 66 yards.

Brad Kaaya threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns for the Hurricanes (4-3, 1-3), but he also was sacked eight times as they lost their third in a row. The Hokies limited Miami to 42 rushing yards on 29 carries thanks to the sacks, which cost Kaaya 55 yards.

"Obviously the key for us was we needed to stop the run and make Miami one-dimensional, and we were able to do that," Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. "We really did a great job attacking the line of scrimmage, keeping the lanes and the gaps tight, keeping those backs in a phone booth, so to speak."

Joe Yearby had a 41-yard run for the Hurricanes, but otherwise managed just 18 yards on his eight other carries.

"The defense was playing tough, stacking the box," he said. "They did everything we expected them to do."

Woody Baron had 2 1/2 sacks for Virginia Tech, and Vinny Mihota had two despite having his shoulder pop out late in the first half. Redshirt freshman defensive end Trevon Hill, who left the team Tuesday after his grandmother died and returned Wednesday night, had 1 1/2 sacks.

"I'm not going to throw anyone under the bus," first-year Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said. "Sacks have to do with a lot of things."

Fullback Sam Rogers threw his first career touchdown pass in the third quarter.

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: The Hurricanes have never won the Coastal Division since joining the ACC in 2004 and won't win it again this year. Their defense was supposed to be a question entering the game, and they were without three starters and had four freshmen in the starting lineup, but their inability to generate a running game put all the pressure on Kaaya, and while he put up some good numbers, an offensive line that allowed eight sacks isn't good enough to win most games against top level teams.

Virginia Tech: Evans was virtually mistake-free again, and their plethora of weapons in the pass game seems to be opening up the running game as well. Evans added 98 rushing yards, including a 34-yard score, as the Hokies piled up 253 yards on the ground.

"The quarterback misled me sometimes," Miami defense end Joe Jackson said. "I didn't do a good enough job of staying with him."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Apart from their 31-17 loss at Syracuse last week, the Hokies have been playing Top 25 -level football. In their other four most recent games, they have outscored Boston College, East Carolina, No. 22 North Carolina and now Miami 174-36.

UP NEXT

Miami visits Notre Dame next Saturday. The Fighting Irish are off this weekend, and have lost four of their last five.

Virginia Tech plays its second consecutive Thursday night game when it visits Pittsburgh, which is off this weekend.

Eric Dungey leads Syracuse past No. 17 Virginia Tech, 31-17

Eric Dungey rode off the field on celebrating fans' shoulders after Syracuse knocked off No. 17 Virginia Tech 31-17 on Saturday for its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2012.

Dungey accounted for 417 yards and two touchdowns to help the Orange beat the Hokies 31-17 on Saturday. Syracuse had lost 12 straight games against ranked opponents by an average of more than 20 points since a topping then-No. 9 Louisville in 2012.

"You can't explain it. It's unbelievable," Syracuse coach Dino Babers said. "Anytime you're trying to rebuild a program, you need that one signature win. ... To get this game right now, at this time, at this moment - this is big."

Dungey passed for 311 yards and ran for a career-high 106. He scored on a 1-yard sneak to give the Orange (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 24-17 lead with 7:56 to go, and hit Erv Phillips on a 58-yard scoring play in the first quarter. Syracuse shredded Virginia Tech's third-ranked defense for 561 yards.

"Coach Lewis (co-offensive coordinator Sean) and Coach Babers did a great job all week breaking them (Virginia Tech) down," Dungey said. "They helped us prepare to put us in the situation we were in today."

The Hokies were coming off a 34-3 victory at North Carolina.

"We played hard. We weren't as sharp at a couple of positions, but we'll look at that," coach Justin Fuente said. I think you have to give Syracuse credit. They played really well. They played very hard and played inspired football. That's what these guys do. They've been putting points up on everybody."

Held to their lowest offensive output of the season, the Hokies (4-2, 2-1) tied it at 17 with 13:53 to go on Jerod Evans' 10-yard pass to Bucky Hodges and a 2-point conversion catch by Chris Cunningham.

"We've had some trouble before (in the fourth quarter) but the crowd was really behind us," Strickland said.

The Orange had 347 yards of offense in the first half, 221 in the second quarter. The Hokies, ranked second nationally and first in the ACC in pass defense at 132.2 yards a game, yielded 310 yards passing in the first 30 minutes and 405 overall.

"Before the game we felt like we needed to come out with a chip on our shoulder," said running back Dontae Strickland, who connected with Brisly Estime for an 84-yard touchdown. "Even though we were the underdogs, we did that from the jump and you saw what happened. A lot of people doubted us about this game."

The Orange defense had its best half of the season, limiting the Hokies to Joey Slye's 36-yard field goal.

The Orange scored on their sixth play of the game, the 58-yard pass play from Dungey to Philips. On the second play of the second quarter, the Orange used a bit of trickery for their second score. Dungey flipped to Strickland, who threw a perfect strike to Estime for the 84-yard touchdown play and a 14-3 lead. Cole Murphy's 51-yard field gave the Orange a 17-3 halftime lead.

"I think we needed a win like this just to give us some momentum," Phillips said. "A win like this against a ranked opponent gives us a lot of confidence."

The Hokies had Evans' 17-yard touchdown run in the first half nullified by a holding penalty, and Slye then missed a 45-yard field goal. Syracuse defensive back Rodney Williams intercepted Evans' pass from the Syracuse 7 in the end zone, killing a drive, and Evans fumbled with 4:08 to go.

"Those were big momentum plays that changed the momentum," Fuente said. "The interception in the end zone was a big game-changer. We had everything going our way but they stepped up and made a great play."

SITTING OUT:

Syracuse starting defensive end Kendall Coleman sat out the first half as the result of a targeting penalty against Wake Forest a week ago. Coleman, a true freshman who had started every game, was penalized for targeting quarterback John Wolford in the fourth quarter of a 28-9 loss.

POLL IMPLICATIONS:

Virginia Tech will plummet after the upset loss, possibly out of the Top 25 poll.

THE TAKEAWAY:

Virginia Tech: The Hokies had only allowed 661 yards through the air in their first five games. Syracuse had 405. Virginia Tech had only allowed 20 points combined in its previous three games. The Hokies averaged 39.4 points entering the game.

Syracuse: Three Syracuse players completed passes in the first half: Dungey, Strickland and Estime. Dungey was not sacked in the first half but was knocked out of the game for one play on a hit by free safety Mook Reynolds. Zack Mahoney replaced him. Philips had 11 receptions, Estime eight, Steven Ishmael six and Etta-Tawo five.

UP NEXT:

Virginia Tech: The Hokies host Miami on Thursday night.

Syracuse: The Orange travel to Boston College next Saturday.

No. 25 Virginia Tech beats No. 17 North Carolina 34-3

 Jerod Evans threw for two scores and ran for another to help No. 25 Virginia Tech beat No. 17 North Carolina 34-3 on Saturday in heavy rain and wind from Hurricane Matthew.

Sam Rogers and Chris Cunningham had scoring catches and the Hokies (4-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated the reigning Coastal Division champion Tar Heels (4-2, 2-1) in a surprising romp.

"We're tired of hearing about everybody else," Evans said. "We're tired of hearing about UNC, Miami, Clemson, Louisville, etc. Those are great teams, don't get me wrong. ... But at the same time, we feel like we should be mentioned in those categories with those guys. So every week we have a statement we want to make."

The Hokies had their share of weather-related troubles, including seven fumbles, multiple bobbled snaps and a season-low 264 yards.

But Bud Foster's defense locked down on the Tar Heels andMitch Trubisky, who entered as one of the nation's top passers. UNC finished with 131 yards, with Trubisky throwing his first two interceptions of the year, while the Hokies scored 20 points off four turnovers.

UNC, playing without injured top tailback Elijah Hood, failed to score a touchdown for the first time under fifth-year coach Larry Fedora.

"I'm not going to blame it on the weather," Fedora said. "They played in it, too. They seemed to handle the weather. We did a poor job all the way around."

THE TAKEAWAY

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies have a new head coach in Justin Fuente, but there's a familiar edge to this group. Virginia Tech's nationally ranked defense won battles up front, while its offense did a much better job fighting through difficult weather conditions.

NORTH CAROLINA: The heavy rain and wind gusts don't fully explain why the Tar Heels' high-flying offense looked so, well, waterlogged. After two straight comeback wins against Pittsburgh and Florida State, they never got in rhythm, never regrouped and never responded as the Hokies pushed through them - a curious all-around clunker for a team that entered with a lot of momentum.

UP NEXT

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies play a cross-division game at Syracuse in their first meeting since 2003.

NORTH CAROLINA: The Tar Heels travel to No. 10 Miami in another critical Coastal matchup, with the home teams winning the past two seasons by a combined 55 points.

Evans' 4 touchdowns carries Virginia Tech past East Carolina

Jerod Evans threw three touchdown passes and rushed for one to lift Virginia Tech over East Carolina 54-17 on Saturday.

The Hokies (3-1) scored on their final five possessions of the first half, including all four of their second-quarter possessions, to overwhelm East Carolina (2-2) and snap a two-game losing streak to the Pirates.

Evans completed 13 of 20 passes for a career-best 282 yards and rushed for a career-best 97 more. He entered the game having thrown an ACC-best 10 touchdown passes and has thrown just one interception on the season.

"I think he's pretty good," Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said of Evans. "He's been judicious with the ball and he's going to the right place most of the time. He's been pretty efficient."

ECU quarterback Philip Nelson had 362 yards passing and two touchdown tosses to Jimmy Williams to pace the Pirates.

"We studied the film well and they had a lot of keys when they were sliding the protection," said Ken Ekanem, who had two of the Hokies' six sacks. "We had a lot of indicators and we knew when someone was going to be left one-on-one. We look forward to one-on-one matchups and pride ourselves on winning those. We did a good job of that today."

THE TAKEAWAY

EAST CAROLINA: Coming off a 20-15 loss at South Carolina and playing its third consecutive game against a Power 5 opponent, the Pirates looked a step slow and out of sorts from the opening kick. They went three-and-out on five first-half possessions. The Pirates hope to regroup now that they have finished the non-conference portion of their schedule.

"That was clearly the most talented football team that we have played," ECU coach Scottie Montgomery said. "And the most physical."

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies dominated on special teams, scoring three touchdowns as a result of those units. Greg Stroman scored on an 87-yard punt return, and Cam Phillips blocked a punt that led to an Evans touchdown pass to Travon McMillian. A sack of ECU punter Worth Gregory in the fourth quarter led to a 1-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Brenden Motley.

UP NEXT

EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates open AAC play next Saturday with a home game against UCF. ECU blasted the Golden Knights 44-7 last season for their first win in Orlando since 2008.

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies are off next week before taking on North Carolina on Oct. 8 and will be looking to avenge last year's 30-27 overtime loss. The Hokies have won nine of the 12 meetings with the Tar Heels since joining the ACC.

Evans throws for 5 TDs, Va Tech crushes Boston College 49-0

Jerod Evans thinks Virginia Tech is still learning how effective and explosive it can be on offense.

Evans tied a school record with five touchdown passes Saturday and the Hokies limited Boston College to 124 yards and six first downs in a 49-0 victory. Evans played just the first three quarters, leaving with the Hokies (2-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) leading 42-0. He hit Isaiah Ford twice for touchdowns and also found Travon McMillian, Chris Cunningham andSam Rogers. McMillian also scored on a 7-yard run.

The offensive performance came after the Hokies fumbled the ball away nine times in splitting their first two games.

"We have a group on offense that was getting tired of fumbling, tired of seeing the same mistakes over and over and we knew if we could just hold onto the ball, regardless of how much yardage we get, we can do something great," Evans, a transfer from Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, said. "I think that's a glimpse of what we can do if we keep this up."

The margin was the Hokies' largest in an ACC game since they beat Maryland 55-6 in 2004.

It helps, Evans is learning, to have talented skill players like Ford who are intent on making plays. Ford's second touchdown came when he was double covered and still came down with the ball at the back of the end zone.

"After I threw it, I said, `Oh, that ball should not have been thrown,'" Evans said. "I'm probably going to hear about that tomorrow."

First-year coach Justin Fuente said he's more interested in how Evans is graded rather than his statistics, but he likes what he sees.

"Every week - at least the last three weeks - he's approached it with a great mindset," Fuente said after Evans finished 16 of 23 for 253 yards. "He's a good listener and tries to do what we're asking him to do and at times he does it on a pretty consistent basis."

The shutout was Virginia Tech's first since it beat Bowling Green 37-0 in 2012.

"It's really exciting," cornerback Brandon Facyson said. "I don't think we've had a goose egg since we've been here."

The Eagles (1-2, 0-2) didn't reach triple figures in total yards until late in the third quarter and finished the game with fewer first downs, six, than Virginia Tech had touchdowns. It was the 10th consecutive loss for Boston College in conference play, and free safety John Johnson said if the Eagles had any hard feelings about the Hokies running up the score, BC should have played better defense.

"It got a little redundant, running the same plays and gashing us on the same plays," he said.

WILLIAMS RETURNS

Marshawn Williams returned to the backfield for the Hokies for the first time since tearing his ACL late in the 2014 season and showed no ill effects from the injury. He carried 15 times for 81 yards and was Virginia Tech's leading rusher.

THE TAKEAWAY

BOSTON COLLEGE: Even the best defense has no chance when its offense can't get anything going. The Eagles arrived ranked third nationally in total defense, allowing just 180 yards per game, but the unit was on the field for 35:15 compared to 24:45 for the Hokies' D.

The Hokies finished with 476 yards (253 passing, 223 rushing) and scored touchdowns all five times it reached the red zone.

VIRGINIA TECH: Evans is easing the Hokies' transition into first-year coach Justin Fuente's faster-paced offense with solid decision-making. He had gaudy numbers last season (38 TDs, just three interceptions) and is on a similar pace with 10 TDs and one interception.

The pick was not Evans' fault as he hit Ford on a slant and Ford juggled the ball and tipped it to the Eagles' John Johnson.

UP NEXT

BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles return home to Chestnut Hill for a game against Wagner. It will be the first of four consecutive home games for BC.

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies wrap up their non-conference schedule as they entertain recent nemesis East Carolina on Homecoming. The Pirates have won the last two meetings, each time by a touchdown.

Record crowd watches No. 17 Vols beat Virginia Tech 45-24

Tennessee erased an early 14-point deficit at Bristol Motor Speedway almost as fast as drivers typically race around the half-mile track that circled the makeshift football field.

Joshua Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores Saturday night as the 17th-ranked Volunteers beat Virginia Tech 45-24 in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The crowd total shattered the previous NCAA record of 115,109 who attended a Michigan victory over Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium in 2013.

"Just an unbelievable spectacle," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. "I think the reality hit our players when we came here yesterday for the walk through with all the campers and trailers again this is truly a special evening that we'll remember for a lifetime."

Virginia Tech (1-1) outscored Tennessee 14-0 and outgained the Vols 204-28 in the first quarter. Tennessee (2-0) responded by scoring 31 straight points, including 24 in the second period.

Dobbs ran for 106 yards on 14 carries, one week after being held to negative rushing yards in a 20-13 overtime victory over Appalachian State. He was 10 of 19 for 91 yards through the air and threw touchdown passes to Jauan Jennings, Josh Malone and Alvin Kamara.

"We just executed," Dobbs said. "In the first quarter, there was really no reason to panic. We knew that we were going to have to score more than 14 points if we wanted to win this ballgame. There's just that expectation and confidence throughout the unit that we'll be fine, we'll go out, make our plays and our time will come."

Tennessee's Micah Abernathy set a school single-game record with three fumble recoveries. Virginia Tech ended up losing five fumbles, and three of those turnovers resulted in Tennessee touchdowns. The Hokies have lost nine fumbles through their first two games.

"We've obviously got to do a better job either teaching or understanding or emphasizing ball security," Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. "We're inadequate, to say the least, right now."

Jalen Hurd ran for 99 yards on 22 carries. Virginia Tech's Travon McMillian rushed 14 times for 127 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown.

The turning point of the game came when Abernathy recovered a fumble on the Virginia Tech 5 in the opening play of the second quarter. Dobbs found Jennings in the end zone on the next play.

Tennessee's next three drives resulted in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Dobbs to Malone, an Aaron Medley 34-yard field goal and a Dobbs 5-yard touchdown run.

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia Tech: The Hokies simply must do a better job of protecting the football. Virginia Tech's dominant first-quarter performance showed the Hokies' potential, but they can't keep hurting themselves with turnovers and ill-timed penalties. Virginia Tech players said the breakdowns may have resulted from a bad week of practice.

"As a leader, I will do a better job of making sure my guys are in tune," Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans said. "I put this all on me."

Tennessee: After averaging just below 3 yards per carry against Appalachian State, the Vols regrouped this week and ran the ball much more effectively. The Vols still must improve their passing attack and gain consistency along the offensive line.

SPEEDWAY TO STADIUM

This marked the first football game to take place at the Bristol Motor Speedway since the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles played a 1961 exhibition game here that drew 10,000 fans to a facility that seated 20,000 at the time.

Work began on the speedway's temporary conversion into a football stadium the morning after a Sprint Cup race three weeks ago. The facility will host a Football Championship Subdivision game between East Tennessee State and Western Carolina on Sept. 17.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Tennessee tumbled eight spots in the Top 25 after the Appalachian State game, but this decisive victory could get the Vols back into the top 15.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: The Hokies host Boston College on Saturday in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Boston College (1-1) will be coming off a 26-7 victory over Massachusetts.

Tennessee: The Vols host Ohio on Saturday. Ohio won 37-21 at Kansas this week.

Virginia Tech defeats Liberty 36-13 to start Fuente era

Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente downplayed any personal satisfaction derived from his team's season-opening performance, but needless to say, he enjoyed most of what he witnessed in his debut as the Hokies' head coach.

Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Hokies to a 36-13 season-opening victory over Liberty on Saturday, handing Fuente his first victory.

Fuente, who spent the previous four seasons at Memphis, took over in January for Frank Beamer, who retired after 29 years as Virginia Tech's head coach.

"The atmosphere here is fantastic," Fuente said. "It's what college football is all about. People at Virginia Tech take a lot of pride in the game-day atmosphere, and they should. It was incredible

"My thought process coming into the game was how would our kids handle this? How do they respond when things don't go well. There were some times when things were kind of ugly looking, but I liked the way our kids dug in there and plowed away. The atmosphere was fantastic and I'm pleased with the way the kids responded to adversity."

Fuente's decision last week to name Evans the starting quarterback certainly looked like a good move after Evans completed 20 of 32 passes. He threw touchdown passes on the Hokies' last two possessions of the first half to help Virginia Tech rally from a 13-10 deficit.

"It was a great feeling," Evans said. "It's been nine months of hard work. We finally got to showcase what we've been working on for nine long months. We had some mistakes, for sure. I know on my part I had a lot of mistakes that I am going to clean up, but it was exciting."

Evans, who won a three-man battle for the job, played less than three quarters. Fuente pulled him after he fumbled on an option pitch - his second fumble of the game.

"Some good and some bad would be my first impression," Fuente said of his quarterback. "We need to take care of the football. He made some good plays in the passing game. My gut reaction is some good and some bad."

Liberty amassed just 160 yards of offense, scoring all of its points off of Virginia Tech turnovers. The Hokies lost four fumbles.

"They made more plays than we did, but we'll bounce back," Liberty coach Turner Gill said. "We will be a better football team from this ball game."

THE TAKEAWAY

LIBERTY: Liberty quarterback Stephon Masha got off to a rough start in his attempt to replace Josh Woodrum, a four-year starter. Masha completed 9 of 25 for 70 yards and two interceptions. It was a sloppy debut overall for Liberty, which committed 13 penalties, including eight false-start penalties.

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies' defense struggled with consistency a year ago, but looked good Saturday. Virginia Tech, which intercepted just 10 passes last season, had three, marking the 41st time under defensive coordinator Bud Foster that the Hokies have intercepted at least three passes in a game. They're 38-3 in those games.

"It was a good starting point for us today," Foster said. "I was pleased with how we played. We didn't give up any explosive plays. All in all, I thought we did a nice job in some sudden-change situations and on third down. I think they had 11 turnovers last year, so that (forcing the turnovers) was big."

UP NEXT

LIBERTY: The Flames will serve as hosts to Jacksonville next Saturday in Liberty's home opener. The game will be Liberty's first against an opponent from the Pioneer Football League.

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies now get ready to take on Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday night in a game that could set college football's single-game attendance mark. The two teams haven't met in the regular season since 1937.

Virginia Tech Hokies Season Preview

Heading into the fall, prime projects include rebuilding the off ensive line around T Jonathan McLaughlin and G Wyatt Teller, improving the consistency of QB Michael Brewer, replacing both safety positions and developing overall depth on defense...Th e Hokies made progress in all areas in the spring...G Augie Conte, T Wade Hansen and C Eric Gallo emerged as the leaders to fi ll the other positions on the line... With a year of being in the system, Brewer, who completed 59% of his passes for 2,692 yards and 18 TDs, should be improved ...He will have several weapons at his disposal...One of the reasons for Tech’s late-season surge was the play of its fourth-string TB in J.C. Coleman, who ran for 468 yards and a 5.8 average in the fi nal four games of the year...Coleman will be joined by TBs Marshawn Williams (471 yds), Shai McKenzie and Trey Edmunds aft er their rehab from their 2014 injuries...WRs Isaiah Ford (56 catches) and Cam Phillips (40 catches) and TE Bucky Hodges (45 catches, 7 TDs) were revelations as freshmen...Th ey will be joined by TEs Ryan Malleck and Kalvin Cline and WRs Kevin Asante and Demetri Knowles to form a deep corps of receivers...Defensively, Tech should have as good a line as anyone in the ACC with DEs Nicolas and Ekanem, who combined for 18.5 sacks, joined by DTs Maddy, Marshall, Williams and Woody Baron...LBs Deon Clarke and Andrew Motuapuaka ended 2014 as an athletic, productive pair and will be joined by Ronny Vandyke at OLB...Fuller and Chuck Clark enter fall as the starters at CB with former starter Brandon Facyson and Greg Stroman also in the mix...Junior Desmond Fyre ended spring ahead of Donovan Riley at FS while soph C.J. Reavis heads into the fall just ahead of Terrell Edmunds at rover.