Virginia Tech's Top 10 Plays of the Last Ten Years: No. 8

As a TKP reader, and therefore Virginia Tech Hokies fanatic, EVERY play of every game has you captivated and your emotional state hangs on every pass, every tackle, every penalty, every little detail of every game. But of course not all plays are as big as others and as your memory of the mundane fades you're left with last memories of the truly game-changing plays of every season. Here we use analytics to count down the biggest, most game-changing plays in the past 10 years of Virginia Tech football...

In each installment of this series I'll bring you two plays: one play devastating to the Hokies' chance to win, and one dominating play in Virginia Tech's favor. They will count down in order of how much each play affected the odds of Tech's victory.

For details on the method, see Virginia Tech's Top 10 Plays of the Last Ten Years: No. 10.

The Countdown

Most Devastating:

10. Boise State 9/6/2010 - Kellen Moore pass complete to Austin Pettis for 13 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
9. Miami 11/4/2006 - Tyrone Moss rush for 50 yards for a TOUCHDOWN

Most Dominating:

10. Boston College 12/1/2007 - Sean Glennon pass complete to Eddie Royal for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
9. North Carolina 10/29/2009 - T.J. Yates pass intercepted by Rashad Carmichael at the North Carolina 10, returned for 5 yards to the North Carolina 5

The 8th-most Devastating Play: Boston College 11/2/2013 - Logan Thomas pass intercepted by Kevin Pierre-Louis at the VTech 33, returned for 33 yards for a TOUCHDOWN

Late in the 2013 season, Virginia Tech (then 6-2) was looking to bounce back after a disappointing home loss to Duke. The usually excellent Hokie defense had been getting dominated by Eagles' running back Andre Williams all day, but the Tech offense had stayed in the game and with minutes to go in the fourth quarter took the ball tied 20-20. By draining some of the clock while moving into field goal range, the team could likely walk away with a narrow win.

However, the Tech quickly found itself in a 3rd-and-5 from their own 25 yard line, and it seemed likely that they would be soon giving the ball back to Boston College. Hokies fans had no idea just how soon that would happen. Logan Thomas was forced to quickly backpedal deep behind the line of scrimmage as defenders easily came through. Rather than eat a sack or toss the ball away, he instead threw an ill-advised pass straight up the middle of the field to a crowd of waiting Eagles.

With plenty of blockers, Kevin Pierre-Louis is able to fairly easily take the ball 33 yards back to the end zone and give Boston College a 7-point lead.

Andre Williams would later twist the knife on a 62-yard touchdown run and a final VT touchdown was too little, too late as the Hokies fell 27-34.

The 8th-most Dominating Play: Georgia Tech 9/3/2012 - Logan Thomas pass complete to Demitri Knowles for 42 yards for a TOUCHDOWN

In an unusually low-scoring Techmo Bowl, the teams entered the fourth quarter with the Bees holding a narrow 10-7 lead. Given Georgia Tech's ability to drain huge amounts of clock by efficiently running and never passing, the Yellow Jackets had the game well within control. About midway through the quarter, Virginia Tech had the ball and couldn't be sure they would have another possession if they weren't able to at least tie the game.

On 2nd-and-12 from their own 23, a 35-yard completion to Marcus Davis nearly ended in disaster when Jamal Golden forced a fumble, luckily recovered by Corey Fuller. It would be unsurprising to get a little conservative after the nearly costly mistake. But Logan Thomas is nothing if not unshakable.

Still needing at least field goal range from the Yellow Jacket 42, Logan took a short drop and lofted a ball deep up the right side of the field. There, Demitri Knowles had a couple of steps on the coverage and Logan had placed the ball just in the right place for Knowles to catch it a couple of steps into the end zone despite a desperate pass interference attempt by the defender.

In a real thriller, Georgia Tech would respond with a touchdown with 44 seconds to go; the Hokies would then get a field goal as time expired, and seal the win with an overtime field goal.