Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. ó A pair of Virginia Tech fans in the South end zone seats held a sign above their heads, summing up the Hokies’ jubilation and Boston College’s disappointment.
“History Repeats Itself,” the message began. “VT over BC when it counts.”
Tyrod Taylor scored two first-half touchdowns and Darren Evans ran for 114 yards and one TD in less than half-full Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, helping Tech become the first two-time winner of the ACC championship game with a 30-12 victory.
It was the fourth meeting in the past 14 months between the one-time Big East rivals. BC (9-4) won during the regular season this year and last, but the Hokies (9-4) prevailed for the second straight time with league’s BCS spot and a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line.
“That was real sweet,” Evans said after becoming the sixth player in league history to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman. “It would be good to get the regular-season games, but you can’t be too greedy.”
The Hokies are just that when it come to collecting ACC titles. They’ve won three in the five years they’ve been in the conference.
Boston College left the Big East for the ACC the season after Virginia Tech and is still looking for its first outright conference title in either league. The best the Eagles have done in a four-way tie for the Big East championship in 2004 ó the year the Hokies won their first ACC crown.
“We fell a little bit short, but it takes nothing away from what these guys accomplished this year,” Jeff Jagodzinski, BC’s second-year coach, said. “They kept battling. It didn’t go our way.”
Easily playing its most complete game of the season, Tech was dominant on offense and defense in avenging a 28-23 regular-season loss to BC, which won that meeting despite five turnovers.
Special teams contributed, too, with Dustin Keys kicking a 50-yard field goal ó longest in the title game’s four-year history.
Evans set a record for individual rushing in an ACC title game, but also fumbled twice. His 10-yard TD burst, set up by Stephan Virgil’s interception and 36-yard return, put the Hokies up 24-7 late in the third quarter.
“We came out with a lot of intensity, and we took advantage of our opportunities that they gave us,” Evans said.
Michael Kelly, ACC associate commissioner for football operations, said 53,927 tickets were distributed for the game, played in Tampa for the first time after a three-year run in Jacksonville, Fla.