WVU football falls to Virginia Tech at FedEx Field
The game was just about everything it was hype dup to be. A great crowd was on hand to witness the revival of the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
Push came to shove and the end result went in favor of Virginia Tech as the Hokies earned a 31-24 victory against the WVU football team. This game could’ve went either way and both teams showed up in moments when they needed to most.
The Hokies just got the best of the Mountaineers in the end. The WVU football team committed too many penalties and allowed VT superstars Josh Jackson and Cam Phillips to run over the defense more than they should have done.
The game was sealed when Travon McMillan had a three-yard touchdown run with just over six minutes remaining in regulation. That touchdown capped the scoring as the Hokies had gone up by seven points, 31-24. The WVU football team had two possessions after that to score and tie it again, but failed to do so.
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On the last two plays of the game, West Virginia quarterback Will Grier had a pair of misfires. First, with 11 seconds remaining, he ran a play and escaped three tackles in the backfield before launching the ball to an open David Sills in the end zone. The pass was low and even on his knees, Sills couldn’t corral it in.
Then, with three seconds left, Grier had to scramble again. His final heave as the clocked read all zeroes was just out of the reach of Gary Jennings in the corner of the end zone.
It was Jennings and Grier who helped tie the score earlier in the fourth quarter with a 60-yard pitch and catch.
Other scores by the Mountaineers came from Grier and Sills who connected on pass plays for touchdowns on plays of 10 and 11 yards. Mike Molina delivered a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter.
It was a solid opening game for both teams, obviously it didn’t go the way of the Mountaineers, but it could have if two or three plays bounced in the WVU football team’s favor.
Next: Shelton Gibson should have stayed at WVU
West Virginia is back in action Sept. 9 against East Carolina. Virginia Tech will play Delaware. Once the Hokies and the Mountaineers get into their respective conference slate, both squads should be competing for a conference title. They proved that they both earned their top 25 preseason rankings on Sunday.