Collegiate Times

By Cody Elliott, sports reporter

The college football season is coming to a close and while there is a bit of clarity at the top two spots of the BCS standings, there are still a number of conference championships to be played this upcoming weekend. For now, let’s take a look at some of the best individual performances from around the country last week:

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama: Richardson may have clinched the Heisman trophy with his performance on Saturday in the Tide’s 42-14 blowout win over Auburn. He ran for a career high 203 yards and also caught a 23 yard touchdown reception. He is now just one touchdown short of breaking Shaun Alexander’s SEC record and has over 1,500 yards rushing on the season.

Tyrann Mathieu, DB, LSU: The “Honey Badger” has struck again. Mathieu came up big for the No. 1 Tigers as he returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown and forced two fumbles in the team’s 41-17 rout of Arkansas. Mathieu is making a case to be a rare defensive contender for the Heisman trophy.

Matt Barkley, QB, USC: Barkley continued to put his name in contention for the Heisman trophy as he completed 35 of his 42 passes for 423 yards and six touchdowns in a 50-0 route over UCLA. The Trojans junior quarterback now has 39 TD passes this season which is a new conference record.

Terrance Ganaway, RB, Baylor: With Robert Griffin III going out to an injury, Ganaway stepped up big for Baylor in a 66-42 win over Texas Tech. He ran for 246 yards on 42 carries and had two touchdowns. His 42 carries were a school record.

Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan: Robinson continued to show off his dual threat ways and helped the Wolverines end their losing streak against archrival Ohio State. He accounted for 337 total yards with 170 of those on the ground. He has five total touchdowns and his team walked away with a 40-34 victory over the Buckeyes.

By Eric Avissar, sports staff writer

After falling behind 41-14 in the third quarter to the ACC’s worst team, it appeared all hope was lost for the NC State Wolfpack to pull out a win on their senior day. However, the team showed remarkable resilience, recording the second-largest comeback in ACC history from 27 points down to beat Maryland 56-41. Head coach Tom O’Brien needed one more win for his team to become bowl eligible, and they got it by scoring 35 points in the fourth quarter, the second most in FBS history.

Quarterback Mike Glennon played a vital role in the historic comeback, passing for three and running for one of the team’s six consecutive touchdowns. Glennon finished the game with 36 completions and 306 yards passing. Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown sealed the team’s fate throwing an interception returned 59 yards for a touchdown by C.J. Wilson with less than 30 seconds left.

After the school declared the team would not play in a bowl game this year in light of widespread NCAA rules violations, the Miami Hurricanes put on an uninspiring performance in the home finale. Senior quarterback Jacory Harris suffered through a game to forget in his last college contest, throwing four picks as the Canes fell to Boston College, 24-17.

Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly further proved himself as one of the nation’s top linebackers, breaking the school’s all-time tackles record. Kuechly also made a 45-yard interception returned for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 24-14 lead in the final quarter.

The North Carolina Tar Heels ended their regular season with a win over in-state foes Duke by a score of 37-21. Running back Giovani Bernard capped off a solid freshman campaign with a career high of 165 yards on the ground. Also, wide receiver Greg Jones had a standout performance of his own with three touchdown grabs on 105 yards receiving.

Duke quarterback Sean Renfree tossed two touchdown passes of his own before getting taken out for most of the remainder of the contests after suffering a rough hit in the first half. Head coach David Cutcliffe will finish the season with three wins at Duke, as the team has failed to qualify for a bowl since 1993.

Following an embarrassing loss at the hands of NC State last week, the Clemson Tigers did little to reassure their fans as they suffered another blowout loss to rivals South Carolina. Sophomore quarterback Connor Shaw was a steady 14-20 with three touchdown passes and no interceptions for the Gamecocks, wearing a t-shirt reading “Beast Mode” after the win. As first-year starting quarterback for the Tigers, sophomore Tajh Boyd chose the wrong time of year to experience his growing pains as he only completed 11 of 29 passes for 89 yards.

With Wake Forest having already clinched bowl eligibility, the Vanderbilt Commodores came into Winston-Salem with one chance to reach a bowl for the first time since 2008. Playing with much more at stake, the eventual result showed as Vanderbilt won 41-7. Running back Zac Stacy had a huge game for the ‘Dores, as he ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns to help first-year head coach James Franklin to the coveted 6th win.

Hosting a heated rival that won nine consecutive games before heading into Atlanta, Georgia Tech was unable to halt the momentum as the Georgia Bulldogs won 31-17. Quarterback Aaron Murray picked apart the Yellow Jacket defense for four touchdowns, as the Bulldogs won what was essentially a tune-up for the SEC championship game against top-ranked LSU. The Yellow Jackets will finish the season with eight wins, including five in the conference.

The only ACC team to beat a non-conference opponent on rivalry week was the Florida State Seminoles. Despite only netting 95 yards of total offense, the Seminoles were able to score two touchdowns from Florida as running back Devonta Freeman punched in a pair of one-yard touchdown scores. The ‘Noles were also only just over four minutes away from shutting out the Gators for the first time since 1988, and finish the season with an identical record to Georgia Tech.

By Matt Jones, sports editor

Eight total Hokies were named to All-ACC teams Monday the league announced, and five others were named Honorable Mention.

Running back David Wilson and right tackle Blake DeChristopher were the only first team Hokies, while offensive guard Jaymes Brooks, quarterback Logan Thomas, defensive back Kyle Fuller, defensive end James Gayle, defensive back Jayron Hosley and defensive back Eddie Whitley took home second team honors.

Thomas was beat out for the first team honors at quarterback by Clemson’s Tajh Boyd.

Wilson was one of only two unanimous selections. Boston College Linebacker Luke Kuechly was the other.

Here are the full teams:

First team — Offense

QB-Tajh Boyd, Clemson (71) RB-David Wilson, Virginia Tech (90)* RB-Giovani Bernard, North Carolina (66) WR-Sammy Watkins, Clemson (86) WR-Chris Givens, Wake Forest (69) OT-Blake DeChristopher, Virginia Tech (86) OT-Zebrie Sanders, Florida State (46) OG-Austin Pasztor, Virginia (49) OG-Omoregie Uzzi, Georgia Tech (45) C-Dalton Freeman, Clemson (44) TE-Dwayne Allen, Clemson (78) K-Dustin Hopkins, Florida State (75) Spec.- T.J. Graham, NC State (45).

First team — Defense

DE-Andre Branch, Clemson (79) DE-Quinton Coples, North Carolina (64) DT-Joe Vellano, Maryland (68) DT-Matt Conrath, Virginia (55) LB-Luke Kuechly, Boston College (90)* LB-Sean Spence, Miami (82) LB-Zach Brown, North Carolina (48) CB-David Amerson, NC State (86) CB-Chase Minnifield, Virginia (47) S-Matt Daniels, Duke (80) S-Josh Bush, Wake Forest (41) P-Shawn Powell, Florida State (85).

Second team — Offense

QB-Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech (49) WR-Dwight Jones, North Carolina (58) WR-Conner Vernon, Duke (34) RB-Lamar Miller, Miami (62) RB-Andre Ellington, Clemson (26) OT-Oday Aboushi, Virginia (43) OT-James Hurst, North Carolina (30) OG-Jaymes Brooks, Virginia Tech (35) OG-Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina (31) OG-Joe Looney, Wake Forest (31) C-Tyler Horn, Miami (32) TE-George Bryan, NC State (29) K-Chandler Catanzaro, Clemson (37) Spec.-Sammy Watkins, Clemson (33).

Second team — Defense

DE-Brandon Jenkins, Florida State (51) DE-James Gayle, Virginia Tech (25) DT-Brandon Thompson, Clemson (43) DT-Nikita Whitlock, Wake Forest (30) LB-Terrell Manning, NC State (44) LB-Julian Burnett, Georgia Tech (34) LB-Steve Greer, Virginia (23) CB-Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech (36) CB-Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech (34) S-Eddie Whitley, Virginia Tech (33) S-Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State (23) P-Alex King, Duke (22).

Honorable Mention

Jeremiah Attaochu, lb, Georgia Tech (16); Brandan Bishop, s, NC State (19); Nigel Bradham, lb, Florida State (20); Audie Cole, lb, NC State (19); J.R. Collins, de, Virginia Tech (17); Everett Dawkins, dt, Florida State (18); Antone Exum, s, Virginia Tech (15); Demetrius Hartsfield, lb, Maryland (11); Cooper Helfet, te, Duke (25); Perry Jones, rb, Virginia (16); Cody Journell, k, Virginia Tech (10); Rodney McLeod, s, Virginia (17); Anthony Mihota, c, Virginia (21); Merrill Noel, cb, Wake Forest (30); Greg Nosal, og, Virginia Tech (10); Tydreke Powell, dt, North Carolina (17); Phillip Price, ot, Clemson (12); Greg Reid, spc., Florida State (27); Rod Sweeting, cb, Georgia Tech (13); Bruce Taylor, lb, Virginia Tech (11); T.J. Thorpe, spc., North Carolina (22); Landon Walker, ot, Clemson (29); Bjoern Werner, de, Florida State (13); Earl Wolff, s, NC State (12); Dawson Zimmerman, p, Clemson (15).

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Photo by Daniel Lin, SPPS

By Matt Jones, sports editor

At times it didn’t look promising, but the young Hokies made it work again.

The Hokies got solid play and big minutes from their five starters, and Cadarian Raines chipped-in off the bench for six points and four rebounds in a 73-64 Hokies win.

Hokies take down St. Bonaventure 73-64

Victor Davila was given the task of scoring on and defending against one of the brightest young players in the Atlantic 10 in Andrew Nicholson. The 6-foot-9 forward was playing before a handful of NBA scouts Sunday night.

“(Nicholson’s) a great player, so we had to double him,” said Erick Green. “Vic, Cadarian, C.J. did a great job controlling him, and I think the hardest thing was rebounding — they killed us on the glass. In the second half we stepped it up.”

Davila said his game plan for Nicholson was very simple.

“I was just trying to front him the whole game, not trying to get him down to the post or anything,” Davila said. “No tight touches (anything close to the basket).”

Greenberg and the Hokies, who were coming off two-straight emotional games in Madison Square Garden for the Preseason NIT, started slow, but finished strong once again.

“The Garden was a great experience for our guys, and I thought they handled it well,” Greenberg said. “We’re taking baby steps. I think this team can continue to get better.”

Here’s what the Greenberg and Green had to say about the win…

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Seth Greenberg

Erick Green

On the slow first half, and what was said at halftime: “All you need is coach Greenberg to come in here and say some words. We knew we had 10 turnovers in the first half, and we knew we had to take care of the ball. That was the emphasis.”

On Davila’s play against Nicholson: “I think he outdid him today, he did a great job. Vic’s a great player, and I think the main thing is we don’t give him the ball a lot. I think today he got some touches, and we see what the guy can do. The main thing we have to do is get the ball inside.”

On what the Hokies did to slow down Nicholson: “When Nicholson got the ball just double him. We got the ball out of his hands, because we knew if he was getting hot it would be a long night. We made other guys make plays, and a couple of their guys stepped up, but we made some great stops and some key plays.”

On win coming off of two straight tough games: “We’re not going to use any excuses. We’re a little wore out, but we’re going to get our minds right and our bodies right for Wednesday. It’s a big front court (Minnesota’s) got, and we’re going to go back to emphasizing rebounding and just going at them.

—

Photo by Trevor White, SPPS

By Matt Jones, sports editor

Game story by Zach Mariner.

On the field after the game, several Virginia Tech players gathered in the endzone to conduct a special postgame ritual.

Antone Exum shouted, in front of several TV cameras and reporters, “This is still our state.”

That proclamation, declaration, whatever you want to call it goes a long way toward describing the mood of the Hokies 38-0 win over Virginia Saturday night.

As Frank Beamer gathered with the media following the game, the Hokies locker room, which is adjacent to the media room, was loud and boisterous.

“What happened here tonight is really special,” Beamer said. “Everyone in that locker room contributed.”

Next Saturday night, when the Hokies get their matchup with the Clemson Tigers and a BCS bowl game on the line, expect the Hokies to be ready.

“I’m ready to play Clemson more than I am right now (against UVa),” said Marcus Davis. “We get another shot to win an ACC championship, and that’s big right there.”

Thomas picks apart the defense

Quarterback Logan Thomas, who finished the game 13-of-21 passing for 187 yards and two touchdowns, continued his red-hot play since the Hokies loss to Clemson early in the season.

The 38-0 final score was definitely not something Thomas was expecting.

“I don’t think we ever expected to win like that,” Thomas said. “They have a good team, they’re very physical and strong, but I think we just played our best ball today.”

Leading into the in-state matchup, Thomas and the Hokies weren’t immune to the hype UVa was receiving from fans and media.

“I think the guys took it as a slap in the face,” Thomas said. “Nobody was really talking about us, they were all talking about Virginia. We wanted to play hard and make the outcome the way it was.”

Beamer loves the way Thomas is cool and calm and controls the team.

“He’s in control,” he said. “He’s just a great leader for us, he gets the job done. The players really respect him; I don’t think you could ask for anything better.”

• Thomas’ first completion was a 36-yard to Marcus Davis. “I kind of figured throughout the week that we were going to do that,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t the best ball by me, Marcus just went up and made a great play on it. That was in the game plan; beat them deep and I think we did so.”

• Thomas on the Lynchburg, Va. quarterback matchup. “They were talking all week about me and Michael (Rocco),” Thomas said. “He’s a great player, and I think we’ll both progress as our careers go on. Best of luck to him as well.”

Wilson goes over 100 yards again

Late in the second half, as the Hokies seemed to pick up steam, Wilson could feel the UVa energy level go down.

“It was visible on the field, and you could see it in the stands,” Wilson said. “When we first came out for warm-ups, you couldn’t get them to shut up. Close to the end of the game, it got kind of quiet on those first downs.”

Even in the locker room the Hokies were hearing the haters.

“We have televisions in our locker room and we see what people say,” Wilson said. “ESPN was doubting us, saying we should not be in the top five, but the way the score went today gave a lot of those guys a wake up call.”

Through the first quarter, Wilson had only gained 17 yards. A majority of his yards came as the Hokies ran away with the win.

“We started slow running the ball, but eventually we got in there and started doing a great job,” Wilson said. “Regardless who the ball goes to on this offense, we’re going to make plays.”

Wilson, who finished with 153 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns, topped 100 yards for the 10th time this season.

• On the team after the loss to Clemson in October. “Logan is definitely getting into his groove with the receivers, and the offensive line has been doing a great job all year.”

• Wilson noted that he heard the “Wilson Sucks” and “Overrated” chants before the game. “Everybody in the stadium was joining in,” he said. “That’s motivation for me, and let’s me know I’m important in the game.”

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Notes

• The Hokies are now 53-11 in ACC games since joining the conference. They are 25-2 in November in that time. Now, the Hokies have to win in December against a Clemson team that beat them in October. “Nobody was really talking it, but everybody wants it,” Thomas said. “We didn’t play our best ball that day, and hopefully we can get them this time.”

• Linebacker Jack Tyler on the Hokies holding the Cavaliers to 30 rushing yards. “(It’s) our game plan every week, if we stop the run we’ll be fine,” he said.

• Tyler’s fourth down stop on UVa’s second drive set the table for the strong performance. “In the week leading up to the game, they run a play called ‘Iso,’” Tyler said. “Their gaps got a little bit bigger, we saw it on film and anticipated it going into the game. I read it quick and just tried to dive in there and make a play. Luckily (Parks) tripped over me.”

• Danny Coale punted four times Saturday for an average of 47.5 yards. It was his first punting action since Marshall. “I had been punting a little this week, but I didn’t really know where (Beamer) was going to go,” Coale said. “In pregame warm-up, he said he was comfortable with me punting, and that’s kind of where it went.”

• James Gayle, who finished with five tackles and two sacks, on the 38-0 score. “We played hard, they played hard, and sometimes it’s just like that.”

• Davis, who seemed to be finding open space all night, on his big game. “Our coach has been preaching to us all week that we need to go out there and face a challenge,” Davis said. “He gave us a challenge. I just took that and tried to win my individual battles. There was good play calling, and they just put me in the right situations.”

Photo by Daniel Lin, SPPS

The Collegiate Times is live in Charlottesville for today’s matchup of Virginia Tech and Virginia.

Follow me on Twitter (@MattJonesCT) and Zach Mariner (ZMarinerCT) all game long.

Come back after the game for a full breakdown.

By Nick Cafferky, sports special sections editor

A few notes from the 3rd quarter

• UNC running back Giovani Bernard, who left in the second quarter from an apparent helmet-to-helmet hit with Jayron Hosley, has a mild concussion and will not return. However, in his place, A.J. Blue has performed just fine, rushing for 32 on 9 attempts
• Hokies scored on first drive of the half, going 70 yards on 9 plays. Touchdown was on a Thomas run up the middle for 23 yards. Thomas was just trying to get first down on 3rd-and-two, got a lot more
• With that rushing touchdown, Thomas ties Bib Schweickert for 2nd all time with 9 rushing TDs by a QB. He’s two behind Bruce Arians.
• Since catching three balls in the first quarter, Jones has yet to touch the ball. Hosley has played much better since bad start.
• Hokies second touchdown as on seven plays and went for 67 yards. Touchdown was on 4-yard pas to D.J. Coles
• With 9 receptions Jarrett Boykin has set his career high on his senior day and has eclipsed 100 yards. Great way to end his career.

Notable Stats

Logan Thomas: 18-of-30 192 yards 2 TDs; 9 rushes 48 yards 1 TD

Bryn Renner (UNC): 7-of-16 91 yards

David Wilson: 13 rushes 50 yards

A.J. Blue (UNC): 9 rushes 32 yards

Jarrett Boykin: 9 receptions 103 yards

Danny Coale: 4 receptions 37 yards

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By Nick Cafferky, sports special sections editor

A few notes from the first half…

• Andrew Miller is in locker room with a right ankle injury. Return is questionable
• Hokies touchdown was on a 18 play, 95 yard drive that ate up 7:59. Drive was highlighted by a 17-yard on 3rd-and-18 by Logan Thomas and capped off by Chris Drager’s second touchdown catch in as many weeks.
• UNC running back Giovani Bernard took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jayron Hosley, and after staying down for several minutes, walks off of field with help. He will be evaluated at halftime.
• After starting 4-of-4 n the first quarter, Renner was just 1-of-5 in the second.

Notable Stats

Logan Thomas: 12-of-20 109 yards, 1 TD

Bryn Renner (UNC): 5-of-9 66 yards

Giovani Bernard (UNC): 10 rushes for 47 yards, 1 TD

David Wilson: 9 rushes for 55 yards

Dwight Jones (UNC): 3 receptions 53 yards

Jarrett Boykin: 7 receptions 60 yards

Chris Drager: 1 rec 11 yards, 1 TD

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By Nick Cafferky, sports special sections editor

A few notes from the first quarter…

• After receiving the ball, the Hokies started the game with catastrophe, as Logan Thomas was sacked and fumbled the ball on the first play. UNC took over on the VT 20-yard line, and three plays later, RB Gionvani Bernard was in with a 4-yard touchdown just 1:18 into the game.
• Jayron Hosley is having noticeable problems with 6’4″ receiver Dwight Jones, who already has three receptions for 53 yards
• UNC quarteback Bryn Renner  is 4-for-4 so far for 56 yards. Has looked great so far.
• Meanwhile, Thomas is having problems getting the ball off, as his offensive line has been unable to give him time

Notable Stats

Logan Thomas: 5-of-10 39 yards

David Wilson: 3 rushes, 9 yards

Jarrett Boykin: 4 receptions, 32 yards

Giovani Berard: 7 rushes, 26 yards 1 TD

We’re live from Blacksburg for tonight’s Virginia Tech football game against North Carolina.

We’ll check back in after the game, but until then, follow me (@ZMarinerCT) and Nick Cafferky (@NickCaffCT) for updates.