Virginia Tech started strong but couldn’t keep the momentum and lost 45-24 against the University of Tennessee in the Battle at Bristol.
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Aside from a 90-yard drive that led to Tennessee’s tying touchdown, Dobbs’ 38-yard pass to Josh Malone, the Vols went 58 yards or less on five of their other six scoring drives. They had 400 yards against the Vols 330.
The Hokies committed five turnovers to the Vols one and Tennessee scored 21 points off those turnovers.
Dobbs completed just 10 passes for 91 yards, but three went for TDs, and he also ran 14 times for 106 yards and two TDs, as Tennessee gashed the Hokies for 239 yards on the ground.
The game had fizzled out after an exciting start – the early promise of an upset in front of a record-setting crowd of 156,990 gathered to see a famous racetrack play host to the “Battle at Bristol” giving way to a blowout.
The No. 17 Vols (1-0) will try and get back on track Saturday night, but they await a much stiffer test in Virginia Tech (1-0).
Tennessee tumbled eight spots in the Top 25 after the Appalachian State game, but this decisive victory could get the Vols back into the top 15. But those three wins came after the Vols had already lost three, five, and three games.
EVANS’ ENCORE: Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College transfer Jerod Evans threw four touchdown passes without an interception in his Virginia Tech debut.
Hokies offense continues to drive quickly with a 30 yard gain.
“We were asked about it about a year ago and to see all the preparations come together and that enormous screen that they’ve put up, it’s pretty impressive to see what they’ve been able to do”. Virginia Tech won its opener 36-13 over Liberty to usher in Justin Fuente’s coaching tenure while unveiling an up-tempo offense that bore little resemblance to predecessor Frank Beamer’s run-oriented attacks. Most of the errors occurred after it raced to a two-touchdown lead during a dominant first quarter. Abernathy set a school record recovering three of those fumbles. We left with the most patriotic feeling since Francis Scott Key took pen to paper.
Nov 29, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Josh Dobbs (11) during the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Vanderbilt Stadium.
The Hokies would be generous the rest of the night, so much so we can’t really say too much about Tennessee’s performance.
Dobbs 27-yard TD run. For Virginia Tech, the cannon Skipper made the journey from Blacksburg and was sacked off at every Hokie point scored.
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Perhaps sophomore wide receiver Jauan Jennings earned himself more red-zone targets after going up and making a tough touchdown catch over Virginia Tech cornerback Greg Stroman on a 50-50 ball after the turnover. The Vols ran 10 plays in the opening frame as Virginia Tech dominated the ball with almost 11 minutes of possession. Boston College (1-1) will be coming off a 26-7 victory over MA. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. Tennessee will host OH next Saturday beginning at noon. OH won 37-21 at Kansas this week.
