North Carolina State University Athletics
"In the Thick of it with Gary Hahn
9/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 22, 2004
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NC STATE (1-1, 0-0) at VIRGINIA TECH (2-1, 1-0)
DATE: Saturday, September 25, 2004
TIME: Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA (65,115)
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network: 11:00 a.m. (EDT)
TELEVISION: ESPN
OPPONENT---- Virginia Tech's first ACC football victory Saturday over Duke was a game of big plays. The Hokies created most of the fireworks and outclassed the Blue Devils 41-17 before a sell-out crowd at Lane Stadium.
Wide receiver, Richard Johnson, became the first Tech player in 23 years to throw and catch a touchdown in the same game. He took a handoff from quarterback, Bryan Randall and connected with Josh Hyman on a 34-yard second-quarter pass. Later, Johnson caught an 11-yard TD toss from Randall.
Not everything went perfectly. It took the Hokies a while to match all the pregame excitement that culminated with a special coin-toss ceremony marking their first ACC game. But, once they started rolling there was no stopping them. Tech scored 34 of its points in the second and third quarters.
Randall threw two interceptions, the first of which set up Duke's first-quarter touchdown that gave the Blue Devils a brief lead. Randall also rushed for 93 yards and a score and threw for 138 yards and a score. Once the first quarter ended, so did Duke's advantage.
Justin Hamilton scored for Tech on a 1-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. By halftime, the Hokies had added a 21-yard field goal by Brandon Pace; the Johnson-to-Hyman pass and a 30-yard scoring run by Randall. Tech tackled on a 28-yard field goal by Pace and the Randall-to-Johnson touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Tech's defense dominated. Although Duke gained just 197 yards, it got 62 in the final quarter. The Blue Devils completed only 6 of 20 passes, and were intercepted twice. Duke was 1-for-15 on third-down conversions, failing on its first 11 opportunities.
With the game tied at 7, Tech linebacker Vince Hall added another name to Duke's long injured list when he hit Mike Schneider. The Blue Devils quarterback was unconscious for a few minutes before he was helped to the sideline.
Tech's ground game was also impressive. Cedric Humes carried 17 times for 74 yards, including a 1-yard TD run, and Justin Hamilton had 64 yards on 13 and a 1-yard TD run as Tech finished with a season-high 250 rushing yards. Tech was penalized 13 times for 101 yards.
The departure of a productive senior class and the early exit of junior first-round NFL draft picks Kevin Jones and DeAngelo Hall left Tech with a lot of holes to fill. The Hokies returned nine starters from last year's 8-5 squad that suffered a late-season slide and lost to California in the Insight Bowl.
Most of Tech's questions heading into the season were on offense. Filling holes in the offensive line and at wide receiver as well as replacing Jones (1647 yards rushing in '03) were at the top of the list. At the moment, Randall is Tech's top rusher (175 yards, 5.6 ypc.), but it looks like help is on the way. The return of runningback Mike Imoh could make a difference this week. Imoh can line up at tailback or wide receiver and Tech can run the option with him at either position.
Imoh, a junior, will be making his season debut after being suspended for Tech's first three games. Last week, he accepted the same plea agreement that teammates Marcus Vick and Brenden Hill took in connection with a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charge stemmed from a Jan.27 party that involved the three football players and three teenage girls. Hill has also been reinstated to the team, but Vick was suspended for the season.
Meanwhile, an offensive line that had to replace two starters is improving, but still trying to become a cohesive unit. The Hokies pack a lot of pounds up front. The starting offensive line averages 6-5, 317 pounds.
Hyman has stepped up at wide receiver. For the second straight game, the redshirt freshman had 4 catches for 89 yards. His touchdown reception against Duke was the eighth scored by a Tech freshman this season. Hyman is the team's leading receiver (9 catches, 190 yards, 2 TD) with redshirt junior tight end, Jeff King (6-3, 263) next with 7 receptions. Tech has 14 touchdowns and rookies have scored 8 of them.
Defensively, the Hokies are fast, athletic and physical. Tackle, Jim Davis (6-4, 265, Sr.), a pro prospect, anchors a deep line while junior end, Darryl Tapp, has stepped up his game. The Hendricks Award candidate recorded seven tackles against Duke including two sacks and leads the team in tackles for loss (4) and sacks (3.5).
Redshirt senior, Mikal Baaqee (5-10, 224) has started 28 career games and is Tech's most experienced linebacker, but Vince Hall, a redshirt freshman, is making a huge impact and leads the Hokies with 22 tackles. Hall entered the lineup after Xavier Adibi suffered a season-ending injury in 24-13 loss to Southern Cal on August 28th.
The secondary lost three starters from a year ago, but has a lot of experience back. The lone returning starter, cornerback Jimmy Williams (6-3, 219, Jr.), was at free safety last season. Seniors man two of the other three defensive back positions. Cornerback Eric Green (6-0, 198) has played in 39 career games.
Redshirt senior Vinnie Burns (5-11, 194) is fourth in the nation in punting, with an average of 46.67 yards per punt and is a candidate for the Ray Guy Award. Against Duke, the Hokies net punting average was an astounding 43.4 yards per kick.
First-year starter, Brandon Pace, a redshirt sophomore, does the place-kicking. He has made all four of his field goal attempts this season with a long of 42-yards. Freshman, Eddie Royal, a wide receiver and 2003 Virginia High School Player of the Year, is averaging 19.6 yards per kickoff return and 7.0 yards per punt return. Imoh, with a kick return average of 30.5 yards last season, could also be a factor this week.
The Hokies have blocked two kicks this season and 38 since the 1998 campaign including 25 punts.
NC State will be making its first trip to Lane Stadium since a 13-13 tie in 1992. The Wolfpack has a 17-23-4 series record against the Hokies.
INJURIES--NC State: TB Bobby Washington-Questionable, ankle sprain; DE James Martin-Out, knee surgery. Virginia Tech: LB Xavier Adibi-Out, torn biceps muscle.
