Boston College Athletics
Football Prepares For ACC Championship Rematch Against Virginia Tech
October 15, 2008 | Football
Oct. 15, 2008
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Boston College and No. 17/18 Virginia Tech will face off for the third time in less than 12 months when the teams kickoff on Saturday, October 18 at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2. The Eagles took the regular season meeting last year on the shoulders of Matt Ryan, but Virginia Tech answered in the ACC Championship Game to claim the conference title and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
In BC's 14-10 win back on October 25 at Lane Stadium, the Eagles were down 10-0 late in the fourth quarter. Ryan led the offense on a 91-yard scoring drive, capped off by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Rich Gunnell with 2:11 left in the game. Boston College's Tyronne Pruitt then recovered an onside kick to give the Eagles the ball at their own 34.
With 11 seconds left, Ryan found Andre Callender for the game-winning score to keep the No. 2 Eagles perfect.
In the rematch in the ACC Championship in Jacksonville, the two sides went into the fourth quarter tied, 16-16, but it was the Hokies who scored 14 in the final quarter this time to claim the title. Eddie Royal caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to put Virginia Tech ahead and then Xavier Adibi tacked on another score on an interception return.
"It makes it a lot more difficult that we have played them twice in the last year," senior QB Chris Crane said. "We've seen them so many times. They just know us. They know our offense but we know their defense. Every game is going to be a battle. There are not many new things that you can write up that they haven't seen. It's going to be about execution. It's going to be a big test for our offense."
Both teams are coming off of a bye week. Boston College enters with a 4-1 record overall and is 1-1 in the ACC Atlantic while Virginia Tech is 5-1 and 2-0 in the Coastal Division. The Hokies lost their season-opener against East Carolina and have won five-consecutive games.
Virginia Tech owns a 10-5 record in the all-time series but the Eagles have won three of the last four regular season games. In the Hokies' last trip to Chestnut Hill in 2006, BC came away with a 22-3 victory.
