Published: November 21, 2009 10:04 pm      

VT Football: Ryan's hope

Williams runs Tech past ’Pack

BLACKSBURG, Va. ’ It was an eventful senior day at Lane Stadium with big plays being the rule rather than the exception. In the end, it would be the team that responded better to their opponent’s big plays that would prove victorious.

That team was Virginia Tech. Ryan Williams ran for 126 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries and the Hokies pulled away to beat N.C. State 38-10 on Saturday.

"I’m really proud of our football team," said Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. "Our team came out and I thought played well. When you’re playing a Tom O’Brien team, it’s going to be a tough, well-coached team and that’s what it was. But I give our players credit and our coaches credit."

For one day, Williams was Virginia Tech’s factor back, getting the tough yards time and time again and proving himself to be very reliable.

"I feel like when we have a strong running game the passing game will open up and we can put points on the board ’ a lot of points on the board ’ regardless of who we play," Williams said. "And I think with the team having trusted me being able to run the ball effectively, it opened up a lot of ways for Tyrod (Taylor) to throw the ball.

"Usually I’m in the 20-25 (carry) range. But when I heard 32, it really didn’t feel like 32."

Virginia Tech senior linebacker Cody Grimm gave his team a jump start. It took him just four plays to tie the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision record with three forced fumbles in one game. The Hokies recovered the first two and scored 10 points off of the turnovers. Grimm ended the night with eight tackles, two sacks and the three forced fumbles.

"It was more a case of getting kind-of lucky," Grimm said. "The first one, I was coming on a blitz and they ran a quick route, so they kind-of sat down right in front of me. Then the other two my hand just got on the ball. It was a little bit of luck, but I’ll take it."

"He’s amazing for me," Beamer said. "I never see him get tired. He just keeps going and same speed all the time and he’s a playmaker. He has a knack for making plays."

Grimm’s first forced fumble led to a 26-yard Matt Waldron field goal. The second turned into a six-play 25-yard drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Williams. The Hokies had taken the initiative.

"I thought that was big," Beamer said. "You need to get up on those guys and they can score in a hurry. Our defense all night ’ overall, we played pretty well."

N.C. State managed to hold onto the ball following Grimm’s third forced fumble. Then they responded to the Virginia Tech outburst. They went 81 yards in 10 plays and 5:28, with quarterback Russell Wilson throwing for two big chunks of yardage. The first was a 33-yard strike to Jay Smith on a third-and-14. The second was to a wide-open Owen Spencer over the middle of the field for a touchdown.

But freshman David Wilson spring boarded the Hokies to a retaliatory score with a 40-yard kickoff return to the Wolfpack’s 49. Taylor took over, making two key completions. The first was to Danny Coale for 14 yards and the second went to Jarrett Boykin for 17 yards. It set up Williams’ second scoring run of the game on a one-yard plunge.

Virginia Tech responded again after an N.C. State field goal cut the margin to seven. Taylor hit Boykin again for a 42-yard gain to move the ball from the Hokies’ 18 to the N.C. State 40. Then they turned back to Williams, who had seven carries for 22 yards on the drive. Williams ended the drive with a one-yard touchdown and the Wolfpack would not challenge again.

The Hokies officially put the game out of reach in the third quarter. Their first drive of the third quarter resulted in a 19-yard touchdown run by Williams during which he carried the Wolfpack’s Earl Wolff the final seven yards to the end zone.

"I was getting mad that he was holding my jersey the whole time," Williams said. "I was really like, ’Why is this boy still holding my jersey?’ And throughout the whole time I just really wanted to get the touchdown. I didn’t know how far I was going to drag him. But he was making me mad because he was on my jersey."

"He came up to me after that as we were getting ready to kick off and he said, ’Man, is that guy strong.’" Beamer said. "He’s quick, he’s powerful and I think a complete back, a really complete back."

Late in the quarter, the Hokies went 97 yards for their final score. Boykin caught a 35-yard pass from Taylor to get Virginia Tech out of the shadow of their own end zone. Then he caught a 38-yard strike from Taylor to finish the night with a career-high 164 yards on six receptions.

"I noticed that as the year went on, a lot of third-and-longs have came my way," Boykin said. "So I just played fast and just go get downfield and get ready for the ball."

"He works hard in practice and he doesn’t drop too many passes," Taylor said. "I know he came out there and just about beat any defender that took on him."

"Jarrett, I thought he made a couple great adjustments on the ball, got those big claws up there and grabbed it and came down with and made plays in the ball game," Beamer said. "He’s very, very dependable."

Lane Stadium may be closed for 2009, but the Hokies (8-3, 5-2) still have a big ACC game left on their schedule when they visit arch rival Virginia next Saturday.

"I’m proud of our whole football team for the way they responded the last three weeks," Beamer said. "We played in a tough place in East Carolina and we played in a tough place in College Park and I thought we were well prepared. It always gets back to your players and what they’re made out of and they responded to the challenges ’."

Notes: Tazewell, Va. native Mark Muncey recorded his first sack as a Hokie on Saturday, bringing down N.C. State backup quarterback Mike Glennon for an eight-yard loss late in the fourth quarter.

’Contact Jed Lockett

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