Boston College had Virginia Tech right where it wanted it late in the fourth quarter Saturday, but the Eagles couldn’t close the door.
BC built an eight-point cushion with 11 minutes left, only to watch the Hokies storm back for a 21-14 ACC win in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Virginia Tech improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Boston College dropped to 2-2 and 0-1 in the ACC.
The turning point came after BC’s defense had given the offense a chance to put the game away. Instead, the Eagles went three-and-out on their next possession, and Virginia Tech answered with a quick strike to tie it.
Ethan Grunkemeyer found Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown, and Jeffrey Overturn Jr. powered in the two-point conversion to make it 14-14. Overturn finished with 190 rushing yards and a score on 24 carries.
Boston College then gave the ball right back after coughing it up on the following drive. Virginia Tech needed just one play to make the Eagles pay, as Overturn ripped off a 76-yard touchdown run that slammed the door.
The game started as a defensive slog. BC opened by forcing a three-and-out, then marched from its own 43 to the Virginia Tech 28 before stalling on fourth-and-9. Rather than try a field goal, the Eagles went for it, and Mason McKenzie’s scramble came up seven yards short of the line to gain.
Neither team found the end zone for the rest of the first quarter or most of the second. The first points didn’t arrive until there were 16 seconds left before halftime, when John Love drilled a 45-yard field goal to put Virginia Tech ahead 3-0.
Even with that deficit, the numbers were tight at the break. The teams were even at 117 total yards apiece, and BC held a 16:32 to 13:28 edge in time of possession.
But the Eagles also had more penalties, more yards lost on those flags, and were shut out on third down, going 0-for-7. They were 1-for-2 on fourth down.
BC’s first drive of the second half didn’t give any hint of the burst that was coming. The Eagles went three-and-out, then watched Virginia Tech flip field position in a hurry. Bryce LaFollette’s punt was fielded by Que’Sean Brown, who darted through the coverage for a 50-yard return that set the Hokies up at the BC 10.
The defense limited the damage from there, forcing Virginia Tech to settle for another field goal and a 6-0 lead with 11:58 left in the third quarter.
Then McKenzie changed the game with his legs.
After completing just his seventh pass of the day for 19 yards to Javarius Green, and after back-to-back runs picked up 10 more, McKenzie broke free on 3rd-and-4 for a 45-yard scramble to the Virginia Tech 5. That run pushed him past 2,000 career rushing yards, and he scored on the next snap for his second rushing touchdown of the season. The extra point put BC in front 7-6 with 9:52 left in the quarter.
Boston College’s defense kept that lead intact with two huge stops. Max Tucker forced a fumble from Marcellous Hawkins Jr. on a long third down and recovered it at the Virginia Tech 22. The Eagles couldn’t capitalize and had to punt, but Tucker came through again moments later, stopping Brown one yard past the line on 4th-and-4 at the BC 34 to force another turnover on downs.
BC turned that into a touchdown drive in just nine plays. McKenzie finished it himself from two yards out after a 20-yard completion to Dawson Pough, and the Eagles pushed the lead to 14-6.
Virginia Tech wasn’t done, though. The Hokies pieced together an 11-play, 80-yard drive that got a lift from a defensive-holding call on 4th-and-2 at the BC 40, which moved the ball to the Eagles’ 30. Three plays later, Grunkemeyer dropped a pass into the back of the end zone to Jackson over Charlie Comella, and Overturn ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 8:05 remaining.
From there, Virginia Tech finished the job. Overturn’s 76-yard burst on the next drive sealed it and handed the Hokies the road win. McKenzie finished with 111 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
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Virginia Tech navigated its first road test of the season in the kind of conditions that can flatten even a confident team, then left Alumni Stadium with a 21-14 win over Boston College and a 4-0 start for the first time since 2017. The Hokies had to fight through adverse weather and a halftime deficit, but the game turned on a performance that gave the offense the spark it needed when things started to tighten.
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