On a day when Virginia Tech celebrated its past, the Hokies relied on an old-school formula, using defense and special teams to down Marshall 31-14 in Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday.
Jaylin Lane returned a punt for a touchdown and Virginia Tech (1-1) held Marshall to 278 yards of total offense and 12 first downs while paying tribute to its 1999 team that played in the BCS National Championship Game.
Bhayshul Tuten had 22 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Kyron Drones ran for a touchdown and threw for another as Virginia Tech avenged last season’s 24-17 loss to the Thundering Herd.
Drones completed 14 of 21 passes for 130 yards.
Marshall (1-1) sputtered on offense throughout the contest. Stone Earle completed 13 of 36 passes for 129 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The lone offensive spark for the Thundering Herd came from A.J. Turner, whose 69-yard run in the third quarter set up an 18-yard touchdown pass from Earle to Christian Fitzpatrick.
In a first half in which there were 13 punts, both teams scored a touchdown thanks to special teams.
Lane gave Virginia Tech a 7-0 lead on the final play of the first quarter when he caught a short punt on the run in heavy traffic, burst into the clear and then split a second wave of defenders on his way to a 58-yard touchdown.
After the Hokies took a 10-0 lead on a 42-yard field goal by John Love, Ahmere Foster gave Marshall a much-needed lift with a blocked punt that gave the Thundering Herd possession at the Hokies 5, leading to a 2-yard touchdown run by Ethan Payne with 3:19 left in the second quarter.
After leading 10-7 at the break, Virginia Tech thrived thanks to a run-heavy game plan, and it scored on its first three possessions of the second half.
Of his 21 passes on the day, Drones threw only five in the second half but completed them all for 88 yards.
Tuten scored on a 1-yard run with 8:02 remaining in the third quarter, putting the Hokies up 17-7.
Drones then helped set up his own 3-yard scoring run in the third quarter with a 49-yard completion to Stephen Gosnell, who made a diving, over-the-shoulder catch.
Drones completed the scoring early in the fourth quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Da’Quan Felton. Mansoor Delane set up the score with an interception.
–Field Level Media