Hokies take down Volunteers, 37-14, in Chick-fil-A Bowl

ATLANTA — Virginia Tech ended 2009 just as it started it — with a breakthrough bowl victory.

Before a national television audience and an overflow crowd of 73,777 at the Georgia Dome, the 12th-ranked Hokies toppled Tennessee 37-14 in Thursday night’s Chick-fil-A Bowl and put a triumphant coda on a year that began with an Orange Bowl victory over Cincinnati on New Year’s Day.

Tech redshirt freshman tailback Ryan Williams capped his record-breaking season with 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter with an apparent left ankle injury.

Before leaving, he broke the Hokies’ single-season rushing record previously held by Kevin Jones. He entered the game needing 110 yards to pass Jones, and he vaulted to the top of the record book on his sixth carry of Tech’s first second-half drive.

Williams, who finished the season with 1,655 rushing yards and an ACC record 22 touchdowns, rushed for 78 yards on seven carries during that possession, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown sneak by quarterback Tyrod Taylor that gave the Hokies a 24-14 lead.

Tech scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to put the Vols away for good.

This was Tech’s 17th straight bowl appearance under coach Frank Beamer, but before Thursday night, it had never won bowl games in back-to-back seasons.

The Hokies (10-3) can now scratch that off the to-do list as they take a two-game bowl win streak into 2010. They improved to 8-9 in bowl games under Beamer.

Tech ended a four-game losing streak against SEC teams, and it beat the Volunteers (7-6) for the first time since 1911. This was only the eighth game between the schools located 233 miles apart, and it was just their second meeting since 1937.

The Hokies completed their sixth straight season of 10 or more wins, which is tied for the fifth-longest streak ever in the modern era in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Texas, which plays top-ranked Alabama on Jan. 7 in the national championship game, is the only other team with a current streak of six or more seasons with double-digit wins.

Tech also ended a four-game losing streak for the ACC in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

The Hokies, who opened the season here with a loss to top-ranked Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game, are now 1-2 in games played at the Georgia Dome.

Two of their losses this season came here in Atlanta — they also lost to ACC champion Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium — and that seemed to spur on Tech’s players even more leading up to their bowl.

Like their previous two games at the Georgia Dome, the Hokies were ahead at halftime, but they didn’t relinquish the lead this time.

Virginia Tech scored 20 unanswered second-half points to put an exclamation point on the victory.

The Hokies suffered no discernable dropoff with Williams out of the game. Backup tailbacks Josh Oglesby and David Wilson combined to rush for 63 second-half yards, and Wilson scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to put Tech up 34-14.

Tech’s defense held the Volunteers to 240 yards (five rushing) and for the fifth straight game held its opponent to zero second-half points. The Hokies sacked Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton six times.

Tech’s offense accounted for 438 total yards, 229 on the ground.

The Hokies broke the game open in the second half after a roller-coaster first two quarters.

After allowing a quick Tennessee touchdown drive with 18 seconds left in the second quarter, Tech’s quick-strike offense leveled a blow that allowed it to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room at the break.

With nine seconds left, Taylor connected with wide receiver Jarrett Boykin on a 63-yard completion to the Volunteers 4-yard line. The clock appeared to run out, and Tennessee’s players and coaches ran for the tunnel.

But the officials herded them back to their sideline, and after a brief review they ruled that two seconds remained on the clock.

Tech senior kicker Matt Waldron, who had three field goals in the game, booted a 21-yard go-ahead field goal as time expired.

Before that kick, Tennessee had stolen all the momentum from the Hokies, who led 14-0 before giving up back-to-back Volunteer touchdowns in the second quarter.