A post-game wrap: Virginia Tech 23, Boston College 10

Virginia Tech topped Boston College 23-10 Saturday night, a game that was never really in doubt from the midway through the second quarter.

It was a deadline game, so all this was written quickly before the final seconds ticked off. Here's everything we wrote/produced:

-- My game story, starting out with the fact that some younger Hokies receivers stepping up after Cam Phillips went out early with a foot sprain.

-- Aaron McFarling's column on Virginia Tech coming into Alumni Stadium and winning a game it should in a mostly comfortable manner.

-- My notebook, filed in the third quarter, leading off with Joey Slye breaking Virginia Tech's all-time scoring record.

-- Aaron and I breaking down the game in this post-game video.

Now for a few more notes and quotes from post-game interviews ...
A win, but not a thing of beauty

The Hokies didn't earn many style points in their 23-10 win against Boston College, a team they were favored to beat by 16.5 points, but given the road environment, the early injury to Phillips and Boston College's feisty defense, Tech head coach Justin Fuente was still pleased with the win.

"I was tickled to death," Fuente said. "Our guys responded like we asked them to do. We didn't particularly play fantastic at times. Disappointed in the penalties. But we played well enough to beat a very physical and tough, hard-nosed football team at their place."

Tech has plenty to work on heading into its open week. The Hokies ran for only 109 yards against a BC defense that was allowing 259 per game coming into the night. Although the passing game produced yards, quarterback Josh Jackson was still sacked five times, something that was on the offensive line at times but also him.

"I thought that was some shared responsibility there," Fuente said. "First of all, they're really good at end. Really good. And second of all, there's a couple times I thought Josh, when things just weren't right, we were getting wired a little bit at wideout at times and guys just weren't slam open, I thought we held the ball just a little too long. I told Josh a couple times, just throw that away and just go play the next play. It's part of the maturation process."

Fuente still said the number of sacks was far too many. And some other facets of the game were rough around the edges. Tech had nine penalties for 67 yards and Fuente sensed a slight lapse in energy level after the Hokies got a big lead, although he thought his team competed hard.

"I liked how we approached the game," Fuente said. "I liked our intensity and our toughness level throughout the game. And let me tell you something: we're going to play in some tight, close games. It doesn't matter who we're playing or what Las Vegas says about the spread or anything else. Just where we're at as a team, every game is going to be a 3 1/2-hour stomach ache. That's just the way it's going to be. And we've got to be disciplined enough to do the little things to give ourselves a chance to win those games."
Encouraging news for Phillips

Phillips left on the Hokies' second drive with what looked like a bad ankle injury. It turned out to be a right foot sprain, one that kept the senior out the rest of the night.

X-rays were negative, however, and Fuente was encouraged by the post-game news he received about the injury.

"The limited information I got, I have, everything checked out as a sprain," he said. 'And the bye week is coming at a good time. We'll get him healthy and get him ready to go."
Stepping up

This was the crux of my game story, but Sean Savoy and Eric Kumah stepped up in big ways to fill the void left by Phillips, in addition to junior C.J. Carroll, who didn't travel for the game after suffering a foot injury during the week.

Savoy had nine catches for a career-best 139 yards, with a 53-yard touchdown in the first quarter

"I'm just thinking about not making another mistake, man," Savoy said, noting that he dropped an easy catch earlier in the game. "That first one I dropped. I really needed that. I've just got to slow the game down and let it come to me. But [the touchdown] was a play we repped all week. I practiced it to perfection and came out and executed it."

Kumah had his best game to date, with four catches for 53 yards, all coming on third down to move the sticks. It equaled his career catches coming into Saturday.

"Really, really encouraging to see Eric win those inside routes and break a tackle and make some good plays," Fuente said. "Usually that's Cam in there, and that's what a team does. That's what a team needs. That's what we need, is we need our young guys to continue to improve to give ourselves a chance to be the best that we can be."

"I just want them to believe in me, and I think I showed that tonight," Kumah said. "I just knew that my number was going to be called. It was time for me to go make a play. I'm still trying to make a name for myself here."
Defensive shutdown

Once the Hokies got up, Bud Foster's defense wasn't going to let Boston College back into the game. The Eagles didn't get a first down in the second half until more than midway through the fourth quarter, producing 6 yards and five three-and-outs on their first five drives after halftime, in part thanks to great field position.

BC got 164 of its 344 yards of offense on its final three drives, after it was already down 23-3. The Hokies held BC to just 2 of 15 on third downs.

"We really responded to the challenge," Fuente said. "Got them behind the chains. Gives Bud a chance to mix his looks up, his pressures, his drops, which is a lot for a young quarterback. And I thought that young man played admirably tonight, but getting behind the chains can be tough."

The Eagles managed to score on a trick play late, with backup quarterback Jeff Smith taking a handoff and throwing it back across the field to quarterback Anthony Brown for a 25-yard touchdown. It was a play Foster knew former Hokies offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler was going to try at some point for BC.

"I knew they were going to run that reverse pass," Foster said. "We showed it and talked about it and told who was responsible for it. I knew that was going to come. And it did."

There were other areas in need of improvement, but overall, Foster came away from the night pleased, especially with how the Hokies matched BC physically.

"We didn't get the quarterback on the ground," Foster said. "We had some guys come free on some pressures that we didn't finish, and that was disappointing. I know we were really good on third down and played hard all night. And I was really proud of how our kids played."
Slye's record setter

Slye finally passed Shayne Graham as Virginia Tech's all-time scoring leader with a 29-yard third quarter field goal, a nice weight off his shoulders. He scored 11 points Saturday night, giving him 376 for his career.

"Honestly, there's just been a lot of talk about it and for me it's just something that's been there," Slye said. "If I do my job, it was going to come anyway. So I just have been focusing on what I can do to help the team and kind of those victories will come with everything. But it is nice to get away from talking about it."

Slye had his struggles coming into the night, going 8-for-14 on field goals prior to Saturday, which had been frustrating.

"I've been pretty disappointed," Slye said. "I've really been working my butt off to be as efficient as I can be for the team. When they send me out there, I've got to make the kicks. ...

"Having these inconsistencies this year have been really disappointing, but it's also kind of a silver lining, where I'm dealing with some adversity that I've never had to deal with since I've gotten here. So it's been good to work through, but it's something that I don't feel like working through anymore. I feel like I've got my head back on straight and feel confident in my kicking."

Fuente was happy to see his kicker have a nice, clean day more than breaking the record.

"It was good for Joey to respond, to get out there, to hit a couple of them true," he said.
Travon bounces back

Running back Travon McMillian got the lion's share of carries and produced, running a season-high 17 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry and scored on a 23-yard run off the left edge in the second quarter.

That came a week after he had a disappointing showing against Clemson that included a costly fumble near midfield in the third quarter that earned him a spot on the bench.

"I thought he ran hard, from just the field level," Fuente said of his showing Saturday. "I thought he got in there and competed and was ready to compete in pass protection and running the football."

That was about all Tech did on the ground. Coleman Fox was the next leading rusher with 14 yards on five carries. The Hokies ran for only 109 yards as a team, with a 2.3-yard average, although the five sacks of Jackson contributed to that.
Tough to block

The Hokies were especially tough on the interior defensively, with tackles Tim Settle and Ricky Walker combining to make 4.5 tackles for a loss.

Foster once again praised Walker for being Tech's "bell cow" up front, noting that Settles seems to be taking notes.

"Ricky's a guy that is just a good role model for a guy like Tim," Foster said. "To see the success he has from what he's putting into it. And you're seeing the result of that. And you're seeing a guy like Tim Settle continue to improve and play better. And he's playing again for the first time, the number of plays that he's playing. Last year he played about 20 plays a game. Now he's playing 50 plays a game and getting better and better each week.

"But I also think Ricky is a guy who's kind of rubbing off as far as his work ethic and his approach and his professional attitude in meetings and how to prepare and what to look for and those type of things. If those young guys are smart, they're going to pay attention to how he does it."
Extra points

-- Virginia Tech improved to 5-0 under Fuente when coming off of a loss.

-- The Hokies are now 6-1 on the road with Fuente as coach.

-- It was the second 300-yard game of Jackson's career. He's thrown for at least 200 yards in every game this year.

-- Savoy's 139 receiving yards were the most by a Virginia Tech freshman since at least 1987. The next closest in that time was Josh Morgan, who had 126 yards in the 2005 Sugar Bowl against Auburn.

-- Tight end Dalton Keene had career highs with four catches for 66 yards.

-- Tech got some help in the receiving game by Henri Murphy, who had three catches for 40 yards.

-- Cornerback Brandon Facyson had one pass breakup, giving him 42 for his career. That ties Brandon Flowers for the most by a Hokie since at least 1987.

-- Punter Oscar Bradburn averaged 43.9 yards on seven punts, with three downed inside the 20. That included one downed at the BC 2-yard line in the fourth quarter.

-- Mook Reynolds led the Hokies with 9 tackles. Tremaine Edmunds had 8 and Terrell Edmunds had 7.

-- BC"s defensive ends did some damage. Harold Landry, a possible first-round pick next spring, recorded three sacks. Zach Allen had a game-high 14 tackles on the other side, with three tackles for a loss, one sack and a tipped pass that led to an interception. In all, the Eagles had five sacks and nine tackles for a loss.

Up next

The Hokies are off this week, with a return to action Oct. 21 at home against reeling North Carolina, which is 1-5 this year. The open week comes at a good time, not only for guys like Phillips to rest up but for Tech to get some extra reps in as it prepares for what's shaping up to be quite a fight in the Coastal Division.

"It's going to be tough," Fuente said. "It's going to be really, really hard, so we've got to get geared up for it. So I like where it falls. There'll be numerous things that we'll evaluate that we've got to improve on. There'll be some young players that have played a little bit the first six games that I think are going to continue to play more. They've got to continue to improve. There'll be some older guys that have played a lot of reps that we need to get them feeling good and feeling healthy and ready for the stretch run."