Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Virginia Tech
Football Falls to Virginia Tech, 28-23
October 10, 2002 | Football
Oct 10, 2002
By HOWARD ULMAN
AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) - Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones both rushed for more than 140 yards as No. 4 Virginia Tech's relentless ground game and big-play defense beat Boston College 28-23 Thursday night.
The Hokies, second in the nation in turnover differential, needed three of them in or near the end zone to stop BC drives and win their seventh straight game against the Eagles.
And just when BC could have drawn within a field goal after Brian St. Pierre's 1-yard run made it 28-23 with 49 seconds to go, Michael Crawford intercepted the 2-point conversion attempt.
Suggs rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns, Jones ran for 144 yards and one score, and the Hokies amassed 334 yards on 61 carries in their Big East opener. That was still less than their season-high of 395 yards in a 47-21 win over Marshall.
The Hokies improved to 6-0 for the fifth straight season and have only one game left against a ranked team, No. 1 Miami in the regular-season finale. BC (3-2, 0-2) already has lost to Miami.
Jamal Burke's 83-yard punt return 1:03 before halftime made it 14-7 and was the first touchdown in the first half against Virginia Tech this season.
The Eagles tied it 14-14 on their first drive of the second half, moving 80 yards on 10 plays to Derrick Knight's 5-yard run, only the second rushing touchdown against Virginia Tech all season. St. Pierre completed all four of his passes for 70 yards on the drive.
But the Hokies regained the lead, 21-14, on their next drive when Jones scored on a 5-yard run with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.
Sandro Sciortino's 49-yard field goal with 10:35 left in the game cut the lead to 21-17.
Then Suggs broke loose for a 27-yard touchdown run with 5:41 to go.
The game might have been closer had the Hokies not come up with those three turnovers deep in their territory.
In the second quarter, Garnell Wilds recovered Knight's fumble into the end zone for a touchback, and Willie Pile intercepted St. Pierre's pass at the goal line and returned it 43 yards.
In the third quarter, BC trailed 21-14 and had a fourth-and-6 at the Virginia Tech 32. But Vincent Fuller intercepted St. Pierre's pass at the 1 and returned it 43 yards.
The Hokies had taken a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter on Bryan Randall's 44-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Wilford and Suggs' 1-yard run. It was Suggs' 39th rushing touchdown, breaking a tie with Amos Zereoue of West Virginia for most rushing touchdowns in Big East history.
The Eagles could take pride in scoring 23 points against a team that had allowed 39 in its first five games. Still, they lost for the 23rd time in their last 24 games against ranked teams.
