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Taylor: From Redshirt To MVP

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2008

TAMPA - When the season began, Virginia Tech sophomore QB Tyrod Taylor was scheduled for a redshirt year. But after just one game, Hokies coach Frank Beamer changed that strategy, and Taylor eventually became the starter.

Saturday, he was Most Valuable Player of the ACC Championship Game.

Taylor staked the Hokies to a 14-0 lead with touchdown runs of 5 and 4 yards and Virginia Tech stomped the Boston College Eagles 30-12 at Raymond James Stadium.

Taylor was 11 of 19 passing for 84 yards, and he also rushed for 30 yards. Redshirt freshman TB Darren Evans, who rushed for 114 yards and one touchdown, also received MVP consideration.

"Taylor is slippery," BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "We had him in the back end a couple of times and he got away."

"I feel very comfortable," Taylor said. "Guys have stepped up and it's all about trusting your teammates and allowing them to make plays for me."

Boston College redshirt QB Dominique Davis, from Lakeland's Kathleen High School, was 17 of 43 for 263 yards. He had two interceptions, was sacked five times and lost a fumble. In the second half, Davis was just 10 of 33 as the Eagles were forced into a passing game.

"They weren't going to let us run the ball," BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "They were putting both safeties down. When you start throwing the ball a lot, you are going to get some turnovers. They took something away, and you have to be able to do something else. We just didn't throw it effectively today."

THE EXPANSION ERA

Virginia Tech and Boston College, additions from the Big East, are the ACC's two most-successful programs since the league expanded and went to a two-division format in 2005. Here are the composite four-season records:

Virginia Tech CB Victor "Macho" Harris had perhaps the game's key play in the second quarter when the Hokies led 14-0. Harris stripped the ball away from BC receiver Rich Gunnell at the Hokies' 2-yard line, then recovered it in the end zone.

"Obviously, a big turning point in the game," BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "They made a play."

Harris, a big playmaker on defense and the return game, is accustomed to that.

"The one thing I would say about Macho is he is a player," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said. "When he talks, the kids listen because they know he can back it up."

COACHING UNTIL THE END

Virginia Tech led 30-10 with 2:58 remaining and was forced into a fourth-and-2 situation from its 13-yard line. Punter Brent Bowden took the snap and ran out of the end zone for a safety.

What's up with that?

"I thought it was a pretty good decision," Beamer said. "If they block a kick, that's the way they can get back into the game. I thought it was the right move."

Joey Johnston

In the official scorebook, it said there were 53,927 tickets "sold and distributed." Obviously, actual attendance was a fraction of that as anyone on hand (or watching ABC's national telecast) could clearly notice.

Rob Higgins, Tampa Bay Sports Commission executive director, said BC and Virginia Tech sold about 5,000 of the 20,000-ticket allotment. The unused tickets were donated to about 80 local charities.

Tampa has the ACC title game again in 2009 before it shifts to Charlotte, N.C., in 2010 and 2011.

Michael Kelly, the ACC's associate commissioner for football operations, said the annual goal is to "always to fill every seat," but he praised Tampa's local organizers for marketing and promoting the game. Short of a Florida State-Miami matchup, anything else might be a tough sell in the Florida market.

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