Thursday night college football: Hokies win Techmo Bowl over Georgia Tech

Crowd aside, the Hokies were too much to handle from the start, as quarterback Logan Thomas came out red-hot. He finished 19-of-25 for 221 yards and one touchdown, as well as 58 rushing yards and one touchdown on 16 attempts.

VT scored the game’s first 14 points and entered halftime with a 14-3 lead. Both teams were relatively sloppy from the start; though, with Georgia Tech heavily limited by nine penalties for 66 yards, while Virginia Tech had 10 at a cost of 69 yards. Between that even struggle and the benefit of holding the ball for nearly three minutes longer, Georgia Tech was close in total yardage (276-273, in favor of Virginia Tech) and held a 16-14 advantage in first downs.

If Logan Thomas hadn’t begun Thursday night’s game at Georgia Tech on fire, Virginia Tech might not have escaped Bobby Dodd Stadium with a win. The Hokies quarterback engineered a 14-3 halftime lead and Virginia Tech was ultimately able to hold on for a 17-10 win.

Georgia Tech had the ball late in the fourth with a chance to tie the game, but a nine-play drive ended on a fourth-down interception by Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech cruised to an easy start vs. Georgia Tech Thursday night, scoring the game’s first 14 points and riding a hot Logan Thomas start to a 14-3 halftime lead. But the Yellow Jackets pulled closer in the third and now trail just 17-10.

Quarterback Vlad Lee engineered a 14-play, 82-yard drive that consumed more than eight minutes of the third quarter and culminated in a two-yard touchdown rush by running back David Sims.

Thanks largely to a fantastic start by quarterback Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech leads Georgia Tech at halftime, 14-3, on Thursday night. The Hokies scored the game’s first 14 points before the Yellow Jackets responded with a 49-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.

Thomas was on fire in the first half, entering the break 11-of-14 for 149 yards and one touchdown. He also recorded seven rushing attempts for 36 yards and a touchdown.

ESPN broadcaster Rece Davis must also be entertained, as he’s made not one, but two pop-culture references after managing to sneak a Ric Flair reference into the first half of the game as well.

The “Breaking Bad” theme is an obvious one, considering the show’s finale was three days away, but hey, they got themselves onto TV.

The other main story, aside from Virginia Tech’s insane “Hokie Stone” helmets, was the high number of penalties through one-plus quarter. Each team has four for 20 yards, which has contributed to just nine first downs between the two. Virginia Tech, despite having held the ball for slightly less than time, has out-gained Georgia Tech, 136-70.

Thomas is 9-of-9 for 121 yards and that first touchdown strike to Coles. On the ground, he’s carried four times for 14 yards and VT’s second score.

Via ESPN broadcast

What’s not clear is whether the ball actually hits the ground during all that jostling.

1. Virginia Tech’s #BRICKSQUAD helmets:

2. Georgia Tech’s throwbacks, throwing back to one logo-free season or another:

For the second straight week, Bobby Dodd Stadium will host two ACC Coastal hopefuls. After Georgia Tech defeated North Carolina 28-20, they host Virginia Tech in a Thursday night showdown. Television coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

After an opening loss to top-ranked Alabama and a run-of-the-mill 45-3 victory over FCS opponent Western Carolina, Virginia Tech’s offense has really struggled in the past two weeks en route to close victories. On the road against East Carolina -- a team that gave up 38 points to Old Dominion -- Virginia Tech managed just a 15-10 victory, as the Hokie defense made up for another sub-par Logan Thomas performance. Against Marshall the following week, Virginia Tech won 29-21 in triple overtime as Thomas struggled again, throwing two interceptions, completing just over half of his passes, and averaging just over five yards per attempt.

The Cyclones lost their opener in very disappointing fashion, falling at home to FCS opponent Northern Iowa 28-20. After a week off, they lost their rivalry game to Iowa, 27-21, returning the Cy-Hawk Trophy to Iowa City. They took an extra week to prepare for Tulsa, but will soon be thrown into nine straight weeks of Big 12 play.

Tulsa has not had the start they envisioned either, falling 34-7 at Bowling Green in a game that was predicted to be a close one. They rebounded the following week with a 30-27 victory over Colorado State, but were blown out by Oklahoma the next week. This will also be the Golden Hurricane’s last non-conference game and a home win will put them at .500 and in good position for C-USA play to start.