Hokies downgrade Hurricanes

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By Mike Harris Special to The Washington Times

BLACKSBURG, Va. | Cody Grimm, sitting in a soaked, sleeveless undershirt, was shivering a little. "I might catch hypothermia here now," the senior linebacker said.

Jason Worilds, a junior defensive end, covered his wet uniform with a jacket. "I'm a little cold," he said.

Ryan Williams, a freshman tailback and an emerging star, was feeling chilled, too. "I'm still kind of shaking and stuff right now," he said.

After Saturday's game against No. 9 Miami, the rainy conditions that turned Lane Stadium into a soaked adventure land finally caught up with No. 11 Virginia Tech. But during the game? The Hokies delivered as complete a performance as they have all season in dispatching the Hurricanes 31-7.

"It was so much fun," said Grimm, who had 11 tackles to lead a defensive effort that held Miami to 209 yards. Miami (2-1, 2-1 ACC) had scored 71 points in its two victories, both against ranked teams. It gained 930 yards in those games.

"During the game, I felt fine," Grimm said. "It was pouring, you slide in the mud. When stuff's working for you, it's fun. Your feet get a little cool. When you're on the sidelines, you have to keep it warm, jog around."

Powering the offense for Virginia Tech (3-1, 1-0), Williams almost outgained Miami by himself. He had 150 rushing yards, his third straight game with more than 100. He added another 40 on two receptions.

He also scored his seventh and eighth touchdowns of the season, putting him three away from the freshman record set last season by Darren Evans. Evans' preseason knee injury opened the way for Williams to be the Hokies' primary ball carrier.

Williams opened the scoring with a 2-yard run in the first quarter and closed it with a 1-yard run in the fourth. In between, Virginia Tech got a 48-yard touchdown pass from Tyrod Taylor to Jarrett Boykin and a 1-yard return of a blocked punt by Matt Reidy. Jacob Sykes got the block.

Virginia Tech handed the ball to Williams 34 times.

"We had to get the rain out of our heads and focus on moving the ball and stopping the ball, and that's what we did," Williams said. "I feel good. I've got a [lot of] bumps and bruises and stuff. I'm bleeding all over the place. I wanted to take myself out a couple of times and get a breather, but I knew it wasn't right. The team needed me out there, so I toughed it out for them."

Miami's main weapon coming in was sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris, who had thrown for 656 yards and completed 69.5 percent of his passes in the first two games. He never looked comfortable Saturday.

He completed just nine of 25 passes for 150 yards, was sacked three times and threw an interception. Twice in the first half he had open receivers, but his passes floated and fell incomplete. Later in the game, two of his passes were dropped and another was picked off by Rashad Carmichael.

"The conditions were just as tough as they looked," Worilds said. "Later in the game, the field started to give a little bit, so people were slipping around. It was classic football - what you wanted to play as a kid."

Miami coach Randy Shannon didn't use the conditions as an excuse.

"We've scrimmaged in it plenty of times," he said. "They just came out and they beat us."

The blocked punt in the second quarter was the 61st by the Hokies since coach Frank Beamer took over in 1987. It was Virginia Tech's first touchdown off a block since 2003, and it turned out to be just one of many reasons the Hokies had to smile while getting soaked.

"I told the team in pregame, I didn't know if it was going to rain or not, and I didn't care," Beamer said. "I wanted to get out there and get after these guys. We played great. I thought we rose to the occasion, and I like that."