Virginia Tech had an eight-point lead on #14 Notre Dame inside three minutes to go Saturday night. The chance for another signature win in a night game at Lane Stadium would soon vanish into the night.
Starting QB Jack Coan, relegated to the bench after an ineffective first quarter, returned after freshman Tyler Buchner went down to injury and led the Fighting Irish to two late scores, completing the 32-29 comeback win.
The Hokies (3-2, 1-0 ACC) had QB issues of their own. Starter Braxton Burmeister was forced out after injuring his right arm, then had to return after freshman backup Connor Blumrick went down to a leg injury.
Burmeister, like Coan, led his team on a scoring drive upon his return, scoring on a 19-yard scramble with 3:55 to go that put Tech up 29-21.
Coan responded, leading the Irish (5-1) on a seven-play, 75-yard drive, the score coming on a 4-yard pass to Avery Davis with 2:26 to go.
Coan then connected with Kevin Austin Jr. for the two-point conversion to tie the score.
Tech had a chance to bleed the clock and get in position for the winning score, but two incompletions set the Hokies to a third-and-long, and a Burmeister scramble came up just short of a first down, and coach Justin Fuente elected to punt.
Coan got Notre Dame into position, hooking up with Braden Lenzy for 20 yards on the first play of the final drive, then finding George Takacs for 15 yards to get into Hokies territory.
A 9-yard run by Kyren Williams got the ball to the Tech 30, and from there, Jonathan Doerer was good from 48 yards with 17 seconds left to put Notre Dame on top.
Virginia Tech fumbled trying to lateral the ball on its final play.
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
