Virginia Tech gets Frank Beamer one last win with 55-52 Independence Bowl thriller

After 29 years, the Frank Beamer era is over at Virginia Tech, and the Hokies’ players sent Beamer out in both the most and least Beamer-like ways possible, with a 55-52 win over Tulsa in the Independence Bowl.

First, the win. This was Beamer’s 236th win at Virginia Tech, where he won 66 percent of his games. He only won seven games this year, but he won at least 10 games 13 times in his 29 seasons in Blacksburg, and this year, he continued a 23-year streak of reaching a bowl game. Next year will be Beamer’s first game home for the holidays since 1992 — the year the oldest redshirt seniors on this year’s team were born.

It was a helluva career for a coach who defied the norm of short-term coaches in this new college football world, and that’s why Beamer was carried off the field in his final home game, which ended in a loss. Now he got to go out with a win.

But this was not a Beamer-type game. Beamer’s Virginia Tech teams are known for their great defense, and he’s celebrated for this picture:

But this game was all about POINTS. And here’s what it featured:

The scoring slowed down a bit in the second half — particularly for Virginia Tech — but here’s what the offenses did in that fabled first half:

This one wasn’t over at halftime, though. Tulsa surged back from a 21-point second half deficit to cut the score to 55-52 with just under four minutes left. However, the Virginia Tech defense held at the end, with a still-ridiculous stat line.

That included a magnificent performance from both quarterbacks. Virginia Tech’s Michael Brewer was 23-of-37 for 344 yards and a touchdown, at 9.3 yards per attempt. Tulsa’s Dane Evans was 27-of-44 for 374 yards and three touchdowns, at 8.5 yards per attempt.

Even though Virginia Tech held on, there has to be some concern for defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who will stay on as defensive coordinator for new coach Justin Fuente.

But this game was for Beamer, who in unpredictable fashion saw his team give up 52 points and win a game. It was a helluva finish to a helluva career.