Item by Chris Graham
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For three-plus hours, Virginia Tech kept Heisman Trophy frontrunner Matt Ryan off-balance and unsure.
And then, inexplicably, Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster called off the Hokie Dogs.
That’s the key difference between the zero points that Boston College was able to score through 57-plus minutes and the 14 that it scored in the last two-plus.
A 24-yard pass from Ryan to running back Andre Callender with 11 seconds left completed an improbable Eagles comeback as BC escaped Blacksburg with a 14-10 victory over Virginia Tech.
Ryan connected with Callendar on a third-and-20 play that came two plays after an apparent go-ahead touchdown pass had been nullified by a holding penalty.
Ryan had gotten the Eagles (8-0, 4-0 ACC) on the board with 2:11 to go on a 16-yard pass to Rich Gunnell in the right corner of the endzone on a third-and-10 play.
BC then recovered an onside kick to give the ball back to Ryan – who went 9-for-15 for 157 yards on BC’s final two drives after completing only 16 of his first 37 pass attempts for 127 yards and two interceptions to that point.
The Hokies (6-2, 3-1 ACC) had kept Ryan and the powerful Boston College offense in check by putting relentless pressure on the senior signal-caller from the first snap.
A fourth-quarter interception by D.J. Parker deep in BC territory had seemed to put the game on ice, but after the Eagles held on defense and forced a Tech punt, Ryan led Boston College on a nine-play, 91-yard drive against a Hokie defense that seemed to be employing much less in the way of pressure to get the game back to within striking distance.
The second scoring drive also went nine plays and gained 66 yards in two minutes.
All told, Boston College gained 157 yards on 18 plays in its last two drives after having gained 162 yards of total offense on 53 plays leading to that point.
Sean Glennon played the entire game at quarterback for Virginia Tech – and completed 15 of his 25 pass attempts for 149 yards and a touchdown.
Branden Ore had 98 yards on 20 carries for the Hokies.
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