Virginia Tech's Top 10 Plays of the Last Ten Years: No. 5

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
6. Boston College 10/25/2007 - Matt Ryan pass complete to Andre Callender for 24 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
6. Marshall 9/21/2013 - Logan Thomas pass complete to Willie Byrn for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN

The 5th-most Devastating Play: Georgia Tech 9/20/2014 - Paul Davis 41 Yd Interception Return for a TOUCHDOWN

In 2014 Bud Foster once again proved capable of preparing and executing a gameplan that would at least slow the dynamic Georgia Tech offense. Early in the fourth quarter, the Hokies led the Yellow Jackets 16-10 and had the ball; a field goal would make it a two-score game that the run-reliant bees would have a difficult time winning with so little time left. On second-and-one from the Georgia Tech 44-yard line, that field goal seemed to be not too far out of reach. But back-to-back penalties by the Hokie offense suddenly made that situation more difficult, and Virginia Tech soon faced 2nd-and-21 from their own 36, desperately needing to keep the drive alive.

Michael Brewer dropped back, and then... was it a busted screen, or just an errant throw? Either way, P.J. Davis picked off the lofted pass just past the line of scrimmage and made a house call. Georgia Tech takes a one-point lead with 11 minutes to go in the game.

The scoring wouldn't end there as Georgia Tech would ultimately tie the game at 24 with two minutes to go, recover the ball, and kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.

The 5th-most Dominating Play: East Carolina 8/30/2008 - Patrick Pinkney rush, fumbled, recovered by VTech Stephan Virgil at the ECaro 28, Stephan Virgil for 28 yards, to the ECaro 0 for a TOUCHDOWN

Honorary Virginia Tech rival and ACC want-to-be East Carolina has certainly delivered many plays most of us would rather forget, but the 2008 contest at least included one dominating play. Neither team had been able to put points on the board in the first quarter, and Hokie fans were understandably anxious to get a lead and some confidence to quell the mindset an upset was in the works. Unfortunately, on their first drive in the second quarter, the offense went backwards a yard and was forced to punt from their own 19-yard line; the Pirates would take over on their own 32-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Stephan Virgil's instincts would quickly cede control of the game in Virginia Tech's hands. ECU quarterback Patrick Pinkney dropped back and threw a WR screen that tips off the fingers of his target. Stephan didn't assume it was incomplete or quit on the play, and shed his block to scoop up the ball and return it to the end zone. His instincts and awareness paid off: the pass had in fact gone backwards and was a live ball, ruled a fumble.

The Hokies held the lead until late in the game, but ultimately lost to the Pirates 22-27 after ECU scooped and scored a blocked punt with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game.