Virginia Tech had three great quarters and one rough quarter against Boston College, but that was more than enough to boost the Hokies to a 42-21 victory over Eagles. That's because the Hokies had a pair of record-breaking and record-tying performances who easily earned this week's Hokies of the Game honors.
Offensive Hokie of the Game: Bhayshul Tuten
65,632 fans witnessed greatness tonight as Bhayshul Tuten put together what can easily be argued as the greatest rushing performance in Virginia Tech Football history.
Tuten set a new school record with 266 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries plus a 20-yard receiving touchdown. Those 266 rushing yards surpassed the previous single-game rushing record held by Darren Evans who had 32 carries for 253 yards against Maryland on November 6th, 2008, which also was a Thursday night game.
After the game, Tuten reflected on what it meant to him to break Virginia Tech's school record for rushing yards in a single game.
"It means a lot. I’ve been here for two years and I’ve worked so hard. And to get to this point and to have a game like that in front of a sold-out crowd at Virginia Tech, with a lot of running backs in the past that were amazing, first-rounders and whatnot, to just break that record, it definitely means a lot to me and my journey and where I came from," Tuten said.
Tuten's standout performance was highlighted by an 83-yard touchdown in the first half and a 61-yard touchdown in the second half to ice the game. Even if you take those runs out, Tuten still would have 16 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown which is a quality performance that you'd take any day of the week.
Bhayshul Tuten put on an incredible performance that will be remembered for a long time by Tech fans, and also likely made him a lot of money with dozens of NFL scouts in attendance this evening.
Kyron Drones was Jekyll and Hyde in the passing game, finish this game 14-18 for 164 yards and a touchdown after going 12-13 for 144 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He also added 40 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in what was a productive night for him. Benji Gosnell led the Hokies with four catches for 49 yards while Stephen Gosnell added three catches for 40 yards, and Ayden Greene a 25-yard run and a 14-yard reception.
Defensive Hokie of the Game: Antwaun Powell-Ryland
Tuten will take the headlines and rightly so, but this was another special performance from Antwaun Powell-Ryland who also claimed some exclusive Hokie history himself.
Powell-Ryland had seven tackles including a VT record tying four sacks plus a fumble recovery and a QB hurry in this game. This was the third four-sack performance of his Virginia Tech career, surpassing Bruce Smith who previously held the mark for the most four-sack performances in a career at two. Powell-Ryland also became the first Hokie to have double-digit sacks in a season since Darryl Tapp in 2005, with 11 sacks now through seven games.
Powell-Ryland had this to say about what it means to surpass Bruce Smith with the most 4+ sack games in Virginia Tech history.
"It means a lot to do that. Bruce had two, so for me to go out and get three, that speaks a lot about my game as far as how hard I work and the work I've put in to get there," Powell-Ryland said.
This was another trademark APR performance, with the standout 757 defensive end producing these great runs where he turns one sack into multiple consecutive pressures and multiple sacks once he gets going. Even when things were spiraling for the Hokies, APR still found ways to make plays and eventually help Tech turn things around in this game.
With this performance, he's rightly put himself at the forefront of the All-American conversation with another standout performance on a major stage.
Caleb Woodson continues to play better and better at will linebacker with nine tackles including 1.5 for loss in this game. Jaden Keller had one of his best games as a Hokie with 10 tackles including 0.5 for loss while Mansoor Delane added nine tackles including 0.5 for loss.
