College football

Va. Tech beats BC, wins 2nd straight ACC title

Hokies likely headed to play Boston College in Orange Bowl

ACC Football Championship - Boston College Eagles v Virginia Tech Hokies

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Virginia Tech linebacker Cam Martin, right, recovers a fumble in the end zone against No. 18 Boston College in the ACC championship game Saturday. The Hokies went on to win 30-12.

updated 5:57 p.m. ET Dec. 6, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. - A pair of Virginia Tech fans in the South end zone seats held a sign above their heads, summing up the Hokies’ jubilation and Boston College’s disappointment.

“History Repeats Itself,” the message began. “VT over BC when it counts.”

Tyrod Taylor scored two first-half touchdowns and Darren Evans ran for 114 yards and one TD in less than half-full Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, helping Tech become the first two-time winner of the ACC championship game with a 30-12 victory.

It was the fourth meeting in the past 14 months between the one-time Big East rivals. BC (9-4) won during the regular season this year and last, but the Hokies (9-4) prevailed for the second straight time with league’s BCS spot and a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line.

“That was real sweet,” Evans said after becoming the sixth player in league history to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman. “It would be good to get the regular-season games, but you can’t be too greedy.”

The Hokies are just that when it come to collecting ACC titles. They’ve won three in the five years they’ve been in the conference.

Boston College left the Big East for the ACC the season after Virginia Tech and is still looking for its first outright conference title in either league. The best the Eagles have done in a four-way tie for the Big East championship in 2004 — the year the Hokies won their first ACC crown.

“We fell a little bit short, but it takes nothing away from what these guys accomplished this year,” Jeff Jagodzinski, BC’s second-year coach, said. “They kept battling. It didn’t go our way.”

Easily playing its most complete game of the season, Tech was dominant on offense and defense in avenging a 28-23 regular-season loss to BC, which won that meeting despite five turnovers.

Special teams contributed, too, with Dustin Keys kicking a 50-yard field goal — longest in the title game’s four-year history.

Evans set a record for individual rushing in an ACC title game, but also fumbled twice. His 10-yard TD burst, set up by Stephan Virgil’s interception and 36-yard return, put the Hokies up 24-7 late in the third quarter.

“We came out with a lot of intensity, and we took advantage of our opportunities that they gave us,” Evans said.

Michael Kelly, ACC associate commissioner for football operations, said 53,927 tickets were distributed for the game, played in Tampa for the first time after a three-year run in Jacksonville, Fla.

Dwindling attendance has been a concern ever since the inaugural title game between Virginia Tech and Florida State drew an announced 72,749 in 2005. The figures slipped to 62,850 for Georgia Tech and Wake Forest in 2006 and 53,212 for BC and Tech a year ago.

Although each school was allotted about 10,000 tickets for Saturday’s rematch, the Eagles and Hokies reportedly combined to sell fewer than 5,000. And, with neither Florida State or Miami in the game, and Florida playing for the SEC championship on television later in the afternoon, there was little interest locally.

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“It’s just the way it is right now. ... Obviously, we’re never going to be satisfied until we get this game sold out,” Kelly said, adding that ticket sales was affected by the economy and the fact neither school clinched a spot in the game until last week.

The game will be played in Tampa again next year, then head to Charlotte in 2010.

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