Virginia Tech Is Hall Over Syracuse, 51-7

DeAngelo Hall and his teammates endured talk all week about how Syracuse embarrassed Virginia Tech last season with 604 yards in a triple-overtime victory.

Hall, a cornerback and kick returner, and linebacker Vegas Robinson sat out that game because of injuries but made their presence felt Saturday in the No. 4 Hokies’ 51-7 victory over the Orangemen at Blacksburg, Va.

“We kind of had a little chip on our shoulders,” said Hall, who returned two punts for touchdowns and scored on a 24-yard run. “We wanted to come out today and take it to them, every aspect of the game.”

Virginia Tech, 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big East Conference, outgained Syracuse, 439 yards to 172, and Robinson led a defense that held Walter Reyes, the nation’s top rusher, to 40 yards -- 130 below his average.

“We played good Hokie football,” Robinson said. “Every time someone got the ball, it was like nine, 10 hats to the football.”

Virginia Tech blocked a field goal -- the 100th under Coach Frank Beamer -- in the last scheduled game against Syracuse (3-2, 0-1), which last season defeated Virginia Tech, 50-42. The Hokies will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.

Virginia Tech quickly made sure its wouldn’t repeat its mistakes of two years ago, when Syracuse used a blocked kick and a punt return touchdown to take a big early lead and then hung on for a 22-14 victory.

Quarterback Bryan Randall had a 75-yard touchdown run on the Hokies’ third play, stopping short about halfway into his burst up the right sideline to allow two defenders to run by, then cutting left.

“It started the momentum and switched it over to us real quick,” Randall said. “It set the pace for the entire game.”

Then Hall got going, doing his Dante Hall imitation with punt returns of 58 and 60 yards for touchdowns. He then scored on a reverse, the only time he handled the ball on offense, giving Virginia Tech a 48-7 lead in the third quarter.

Said Syracuse quarterback R.J. Anderson: “The dude had three touchdowns, and he doesn’t even play offense.”

West Virginia 34, Rutgers 19 -- Quincy Wilson had a career-high 40 carries for 177 yards and three touchdowns at Morgantown, W.Va., and the Mountaineers (2-4, 1-1) handed the Scarlet Knights (3-3, 0-2) their 24th consecutive Big East loss.

Boston College 38, Temple 13 -- Quinton Porter completed 18 of 24 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns, and Derrick Knight had 158 yards in 21 carries for the Eagles (4-2, 1-1) at Philadelphia. Temple is 1-5, 0-1.