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BOX SCORE
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Pittsburgh knocked Michael Vick out of
the game, but Lee Suggs and Dave Meyer wouldn't let the Panthers
knock No. 2 Virginia Tech out of the national title picture.
Meyer replaced the injured Vick just before halftime and
directed the Hokies on a 13-play, 74-yard drive to set up Carter
Warley's 27-yard field goal with 16 seconds left as the Hokies
escaped with a 37-34 victory Saturday.
"That drive. Dave Meyer coming in like he did. If there's a
hero tonight, it's Dave Meyer," said Warley, who missed from 46
yards before coming back to make his first-ever game-winning field
goal.
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Sat, October 28
You need wins like this if you're going to get to a national championship game. Remember last year, when Michael Vick brought them back against West Virginia? Same type of game at the same point in the season.
Assuming Michael Vick can not play next week, Virginia Tech will not beat the Hurricanes in Miami next weekend. Miami will have an entire week to prepare for their backup quarterback Dave Meyer. The absence of Vick significantly restricts Virginia Tech. Frank Beamer will be forced to play a tighter, more conservative game. He will rely on his defense and try to get something out of the special teams. He will play the game to get to the fourth quarter, and not rely on his offense to come up with any kind of consistency.
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Suggs rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns, but it was
Meyer who did most of the work on the winning drive, completing
three straight passes for first downs to get the Hokies in Warley's
range.
"I was confident," the fifth-year senior said. "I've run this
offense here for five years. I was ready to roll. I can't say
enough about the way everyone hung together, kept their composure
and kept doing the things that have made us successful. It was a
good testament to this team."
And it all came in the most unlikely of circumstances, with
their leader and top Heisman Trophy contender standing on the
sidelines, his sprained right ankle in a brace and crutches under
both of his arms.
Vick, whose status is day-to-day pending an examination when the
swelling goes down Sunday, said it was difficult to watch, but he
and the rest of the Hokies said they knew Meyer could lead them to
victory.
"The defense feels just as confident with him in there as we do
with Mike," defensive tackle Chad Beasley said. "He showed why
tonight."
Meyer finished 7-for-13 for 114 yards, the last three
completions going for 12, 11 and 11 yards on the drive to Warley's
third field goal.
"The composure of our offense was something special," Meyer
said. "There was never a time we didn't think we were going to win
that game."
The kick gave the Hokies (8-0, 6-0 Big East) their 19th
consecutive victory and conference-record 14th in a row in league
play, a streak that figures to be tested next Saturday at No. 4
Miami.
It also wiped out another huge performance by Panthers
quarterback John Turman, who came off a five-touchdown performance
against Boston College with four more against the Hokies, three to
Antonio Bryant.
"We played the second- or third-ranked team toe-to-toe,
blow-for-blow," Panthers coach Walt Harris said. "We just didn't
make enough of the good plays we had to make in a highly contested,
highly competitive game."
Turman finished 17-for-26 for 311 yards, and Bryant caught nine
for 127 yards, including touchdowns of 17, 26 and 29 yards. The
other was a 47-yard throw to Latef Grim, who had three catches for
106 yards.
But Turman, who directed a 2-play, 65-yard drive and a 1-play,
29-yarder, both for touchdowns to Bryant, was no match for Meyer
and a tense but energized crowd of 56,272 when it was time to
decide the game.
"I think that hurt our defense," Harris said of the
quick-strike drives, the last to give the Panthers a 34-27 lead
with 15:04 to play.
But it was as much Suggs, Meyer and the Hokies as it was
fatigue.
Virginia Tech trailed 34-27 and faced a third-and-7 at the
Panthers 32 when Emmett Johnson made a sliding catch of a wobbly
pass from Meyer at the 3. Suggs ran it in on the next play to tie
it with 12:16 left. It was his third scoring run of the game and
school-record 17th of the season.
After holding Pittsburgh, the Hokies drove again with a chance
to go ahead, but Warley's 46-yard field goal try missed left badly.
Then, watching Meyer lead the Hokies on the final march, Warley
paced the sidelines, hoping for a shot at redemption and that first
game-winner.
"I was excited," he said. "I was looking forward to it."
Earlier, the Hokies looked like they were in trouble, even after
taking a 27-20 lead on Jarrett Ferguson's 6-yard run in the third
quarter.
The Panthers promptly matched the drive, getting a 2-yard run
from Kevan Barlow to tie it with 29 seconds left in the quarter.
When Ryan Gonsales recovered a fumbled snap by Meyer two plays
later at the Hokies' 29, Turman hit Bryant between defenders in the
right corner of the end zone on the first play, giving the Panthers
a 34-27 lead.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Virginia Tech Clubhouse
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