More than 108,000 fans at Ohio Stadium turned eerily silent, save for a small section wearing maroon and orange, when a Donovan Riley interception return for a touchdown sealed a 35-21 upset win for Virginia Tech over eighth-ranked ohio state Saturday night.
The Hokies (2-0) harassed Buckeyes freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett into three interceptions on just 9-of-29 passing on the night. Barnett did throw for 219 yards, but was sacked seven times.
Tech got on the board first, on a Shai McKenzie 2-yard TD run with 7:05 to go in the first quarter. ohio state (1-1) tied the game at 7-7 on a 2-yard run by Barrett. The Hokies took a 21-7 lead into the break, getting a Marshawn Williams 14-yard TD run with 19 seconds left in the first quarter, and adding another score just before halftime on a 10-yard scoring pass from Michael Brewer to Sam Rogers with 52 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Buckeyes narrowed the gap on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Barrett to Michael Thomas with 3:01 left in the third quarter, then tied it at 21-21 with 11:40 left on an Ezekiel Elliot 15-yard run after a Brewer fumble.
Virginia Tech responded on its next drive, with a Brewer-to-Bucky Hodges 10-yard pass capping a six-play, 65-yard march that put the Hokies back in front, 28-21, with 8:44 to go.
ohio state had its chances late, but Barrett’s pass to the left flat was picked off by Riley at the Tech 37, and the cornerback raced down the sideline 63 yards for the game-clinching touchdown.
Brewer had a solid game in his first road start at Virginia Tech, completing 23 of his 36 pass attempts for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
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