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Glennon Leads Hokies To ACC Title

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By MARK LONG, The Associated Press

Published: December 2, 2007

JACKSONVILLE - Sean Glennon held an orange in one hand and a most valuable player trophy in the other.

He waved both of them in the air as thousands of Virginia Tech fans chanted his name - not exactly a scene anyone would have envisioned after Glennon got booed to end last season and benched to start this one.

Glennon threw three touchdown passes, outshining Boston College star Matt Ryan and leading the No. 6 Hokies to a 30-16 victory against the 12th-ranked Eagles in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game on Saturday.

"It's been such an emotional roller coaster this season, and for it to end probably on the most unbelievable high note of my athletic career - you get the MVP - it just shows how blessed I've been," Glennon said.

Ryan overshadowed Glennon and teammate Tyrod Taylor much of the game. But Tech's two-quarterback system worked to perfection on one drive, enough to get the Hokies (11-2) to the Orange Bowl.

The duo put together a game-winning drive that showed exactly why the coaching staff decided to play both of them.

Taylor gained 31 yards on a quarterback draw, his best play of the day, and Glennon capped an 84-yard drive with a 24-yard strike to Eddie Royal with 7:12 remaining.

The Hokies' defense did the rest.

Kam Chancellor made a touchdown-saving tackle on Kevin Challenger, then Vince Hall intercepted Ryan's fourth-down pass near the goal line four plays later to maintain a 23-16 lead with 2:16 to play.

The Eagles (10-3) forced a punt, but Ryan threw another pick that Xavier Adibi returned 40 yards for a score with 11 seconds to play.

"I thought we moved the ball really well, but we just couldn't get it into the end zone," Ryan said. "To win these types of games, you've got to score points, and we didn't get it done today."

Oranges flew on the field as the Hokies celebrated their fifth consecutive victory and their first win in two trips to the ACC title game.

"When it seemed like the defense was having trouble with Boston College, the offense would respond," Glennon said. "And when we were having trouble moving the ball, the defense was making huge stops for us. At the end, we scored when we needed to and they stopped BC when they needed to. It just says everything about our football team right there."

The Hokies were steady throughout, coming up with two blocked kicks in the first half and the huge drive and two turnovers in the second.

Tech's Duane Brown, a 6-foot-5 offensive lineman, blocked Steve Aponavicius' 36-yard field-goal attempt on the opening drive.

Brown came up big again following Ryan's 14-yard TD run. Brown blocked the extra point, and Brandon Flowers returned it 75 yards for a 2-point conversion that made it 16-9.

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