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
8. Boston College 11/2/2013 - Logan Thomas pass intercepted by Kevin Pierre-Louis at the VTech 33, returned for 33 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
7. Lamar Miller rush over right guard for 30 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
8. Georgia Tech 9/3/2012 - Logan Thomas pass complete to Demitri Knowles for 42 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
7. Rutgers 12/29/2012 - Logan Thomas pass complete to Corey Fuller for 21 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
The 6th-most Devastating Play: Boston College 10/25/2007 - Matt Ryan pass complete to Andre Callender for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
That happened.
The 6th-most Dominating Play: Marshall 9/21/2013 - Logan Thomas pass complete to Willie Byrn for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN
An early first quarter Marshall punt attempt blocked and returned for a Hokies' touchdown was a ruse. Points, yards and Virginia Tech's 700th program win would not come that easy for the Hokies the rest of the game. Marshall's defense clamped down against Virginia Tech's lackluster offense throughout most of the game. A touchdown at the bottom of the first quarter put Tech up 14-7, but that lead soon slipped away. Two second quarter Herd touchdowns gave Marshall a 21-14 lead. Subsequent Hokie drives went: interception, missed field goal, punt, turnover on downs, punt and punt. With 9:25 to go in the game, Tech got the ball back still down 14-21 and desperately needed to put points on the board.
Ten plays into a clock-draining drive, it seemed a tie was inevitable as Logan Thomas had the offense in a first-and-goal from the one-yard-line. Then Trey Edmunds lost two yards on a first down carry. Logan Thomas lost four more and nearly a fumble on second. On third, Thomas moved forward but was unable to get into the end zone. With just over three minutes left on the clock, and little to make anyone in Lane believe they'd have another chance to score, the decision was made to leave the offense on the field on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard-line.
Willie Byrn ran a quick out towards the right flat of the end zone. The Paperboy created plenty of space on the closest defender and Thomas floated the ball in his direction. A Marshall defender deflected the pass on a great defensive effort, but it wasn't enough as Willie turned and grabbed the bobbling ball in an unbelievable catch before falling out of the end zone.
The score and extra point knotted the game up. Virginia Tech was able to pull out the win 29-21 in triple-overtime. Against a name brand opponent would have been remembered as an instant classic instead of a squeaker.
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