Halftime: Virginia 21, Texas Tech 7

– Andy Bitter

Wow, what a bizarre first half. As if it wasn’t strange enough that Mikell Simpson busted free for a 96-yard touchdown run, the longest in Virginia history, the Cavaliers registered not one, but two safeties on intentional grounding penalties in the end zone. And to top it off, Virginia tossed a lateral to the sideline to left guard Branden Albert, who ran for a modest 2-yard gain just before the half. I hope the second half is just as fun to watch.

– We’ve just been informed that Simpson’s run is the longest by a running back in bowl history.

Oregon State quarterback Terry Baker ran for a 99-yard touchdown in 1962 Liberty Bowl vs. Villanova. – Virginia has an interesting defensive alignment, with six defensive backs, three down lineman (though one has been linebacker Clint Sintim) and two linebackers. Safety Nate Lyles is essentially playing a linebacker position.

– UVa has been pretty good about rotating its frontline players. When Nate Collins got to Graham Harrell in the end zone, forcing the safety, it was his first play on the field.

– Texas Tech has really yet to get Michael Crabtree involved, other than one tunnel screen where he ran all the way across the field. Put it this way, Crabtree, the Biletnikoff winner, has touched the ball exactly as many times as Albert, an offensive guard. Ras-I Dowling, who is filling in for Chris Cook, has been matched up with Crabtree most of the afternoon and has done a nice job.

– The Cavaliers are trying a newfangled punt formation, probably because of the protection problems they’ve had all year. I think the term is the Swinging Gate, where there are three personal protector types for the punter and the rest of the team is spread out along the line of scrimmage. UVa has Allen Billyk, Gordie Sammis and Patrick Slebonick back as blockers for the punter. So far, it looks like it’s worked pretty well. Texas Tech hasn’t come close to blocking anything.

– Here’s the part where I normally say what an idiot I am for my prediction (45-38 Texas Tech by the way). But it would not surprise me to see the Red Raiders figure things out in the second half. I’m sure Groh is reminding his players of what Tech did in last year’s Insight Bowl, rallying from a 38-7 second-half deficit in an eventual overtime win.

And it’s not as though the Cavaliers have a huge lead. Despite dominating the action, Virginia only leads by two touchdowns, something Texas Tech can make up in the blink of an eye.

Back in Jack

– Andy Bitter

Greetings from lovely Jacksonville! (I’m thinking of trademarking that phrase). Well, I’m back in the River City (I don’t know if that’s what it’s called) for the Gator Bowl between Virginia and Texas Tech a month after being down here for the ACC championship game. So I don’t really have any new observations about the town.

But I’ve got to write something, so here goes:

– At The Landing yesterday, I thought this was going to be a completely pro-Virginia crowd. Then I found out I happened to be walking through the Cavaliers pep rally. Apparently the Texas Tech one later in the day was not as well attended. Who knows what that means? I will say that right now, the crowd’s about even as it trickles into the stadium.

– Beautiful weather for the game. Really, you can’t ask for much better. There’s a little wind, which a lot of people say would affect the Texas Tech passing game. Those people obviously don’t know much about Lubbock, Texas, which is like a wind tunnel most of the time from what I hear. It will take more than wind to slow the Red Raiders’ passing attack down.

– I’m legitimately excited to see this game. Normally, bowl matchups aren’t this intriguing, but I honestly want to see how UVa, with a month to prepare (supposedly Al Groh’s strong suit), can come up with something — anything — to slow this offense down. It will be especially interesting to see how the Cavaliers do it without Chris Cook, who, despite Groh’s reluctance to say so, is Virginia’s best cornerback.

– Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is a trip. At this final press conference before the game, he arrived wearing a black Under Armour shirt with a blue blazer over the top. I wrote an article about him earlier this week, but it didn’t come close to doing him justice. Here’s a much, much, much better article by Michael Lewis of “Moneyball” fame. It’s long, but has a bunch of stuff about Leach’s obsession with pirates. It’s well worth a read.

– The Cavaliers allowed 37 and 31 points in their last two bowl games. I’m guessing they’ll give up more in this one.

– There is no finer food at 1 a.m. in Florida than the Waffle House’s All-American breakfast. Kudos to our waiter, who repeatedly said he was, “Livin’ the dream.”

– Prediction time: Virginia normally shows up in these bowl games, but I think it’s just too undermanned in the secondary to stop Texas Tech. Remember how Sean Glennon carved the Cavaliers up at Scott Stadium late in the year? I see a repeat performance of that. UVa will score, but not enough. Final: Texas Tech 45, Virginia 38.

Final: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16

– Andy Bitter

I don’t want to go into too much detail and ruin our wonderfully crafted stories in tomorrow’s paper, but I will say I’m impressed with the way Tech’s defense clamped down in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. By the way, the Hokies haven’t allowed a point in the fourth quarter since they’re meltdown against Boston College in October.

This will all be sorted out tomorrow, but here’s what you can probably expect out of the bowls for the ACC:

Orange: Virginia Tech, obviously. I think everyone involved would like to see a rematch with Georgia.

Chick-fil-A: Clemson. The Tigers are too close and draw too many fans for Atlanta not to invite them.

Gator: Virginia. Jacksonville doesn’t want BC back after having it there this weekend. The ‘Hoos are the only other choice. Texas Tech is a possible opponent in what could be a very entertaining game.

Champs Sports: Boston College. The Eagles only sold 3,500 of their allotted tickets to Saturday’s game, upholding their reputation as a school that won’t travel. This is the price they pay.

Second verse, same as the first

– Andy Bitter

Day 2 in Jacksonville was just like Day 1: overcast and empty, though a few more fans started trickling in. Maybe it’s because we’ve been sequestered at the hotel all day, but I haven’t gotten the sense that this is the eve of a big game. As the dutiful sportswriter that I am, I will force myself to go out to the bars once again tonight to get the pulse of the fans (I do it for you, the readers, of course).Today was a pretty light day in terms of interviews. BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski and Tech coach Frank Beamer had short press conferences, which I think was more for the benefit of TV than anything. Nothing new came out of it.They followed it up by presenting the ACC legends, recognizing a player for each current ACC team. NFL Hall of Famer and Miami great Jim Kelly was the biggest name, but here’s the thing: he never played in the ACC. Miami was an independent back then. It only joined the Big East in 1991 and the ACC in 2004. Same goes for Tech’s “ACC legend” Antonio Freeman, who played his entire career in the Big East. It seems kind of misleading.

Some other odds and ends:

– We ate lunch at a place called Mongo’s, a Mongolian barbecue joint where you select raw food from a buffet line and they cook it on a grill in front of you. Memo to entrepreneurial Lynchburgians (Lynchburgers? Lynchburgites?) with some extra cash to throw into the restaurant biz: this place would be a cash cow in the Hill City. I’m on record as saying I will eat there every day if one is built, and noted News & Advance chowhound Nathan Warters said he’d eat there twice a day.

– Loyal reader Lee Carpenter mocked my bowl selection story in an e-mail today, saying I misled my readers by writing that Virginia Tech had an outside chance of appearing in the national championship and, if it loses, earning an at-large berth in the BCS.

I fully admit both are longshot scenarios (the national championship one in particular, since it would require about five things to happen), however, despite not being probable, they are possible and warranted mentioning in the story.

That said, in my professional opinion, I think Tech wins tomorrow and goes to the Orange Bowl. If the Hokies lose, I’d wager on a repeat trip to Atlanta.

– Virginia may not be in the ACC title game, but the ’Hoos were represented well in Jacksonville today. Coach of the Year Al Groh, Defensive Player of the Year Chris Long and Jim Tatum Award winner Tom Santi (top ACC senior student-athlete) were on hand for the awards ceremony.

– Read tomorrow’s News & Advance for Nathan’s game advance and my feature on Jagodzinski. I’m fairly certain I spelled his name correctly throughout the story.

– I’ll chime back in tomorrow before the game, but will first post these YouTube clips. The first might be painful for Virginia Tech fans. It’s a quick recap of the final minutes of the loss to Boston College, but it is a remarkable game. What a great finish. The second shows how Matt Ryan left everything on the field in that game. And I mean everything.

 And another reminder, send some quetions to us. I promise we’ll answer them.

Virginia Tech 33, Virginia 21 — Final thoughts

– Chris Lang

First off, I wanted to thank the masses for all of the e-mails and thoughts during the game. Several weren’t printable. One asked me what the salacious lyrics in Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” really mean. Sorry. Can’t go there. That could get me in some hot water.

OK. So the blog didn’t get a lot of e-mails today. That’s OK. That means you were either at your favorite watering hole watching the game, or at a friend’s house, or even sitting in cold as could be Scott Stadium taking in the proceedings yourself.

Some kudos first:

* Tech quarterback Sean Glennon looked fantastic today, and the Hokies’ rotation at the position is working. From talking to both afterward, they both seemed to be on board with what Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring is doing with the rotation. It was pretty clear that when Glennon was in, Tech was either going to throw or go with the power run game. And when Taylor was in, Tech was going to either run some sort of scramble play with the quarterback or throw a quick hitch or an out. It didn’t matter. Virginia couldn’t stop it, and the Cavs couldn’t tackle the athletic Taylor.

* Virginia’s Mikell Simpson, who was effective against a Tech defense that held Miami to minus-2 yards last week. Simpson ran 16 times for 81 yards and scored on a 27-yard touchdown run.

* To Tech’s secondary, who not surprisingly dominated Virginia’s receiving corps. Virginia quarterbacks Jameel Sewell and Peter Lalich completed a combined 17 passes. Only three went to receivers, two to Maurice Covington and one to Staton Jobe. Brandon Flowers’ interception at the end of the first half, with Virginia driving and trying to extend a 14-13 lead, proved to be a game-changing moment. It led to Tech’s three-play touchdown drive in the final minute of the first half. This is a much different game if UVa heads into halftime even leading 17-13.

And some thumbs down:

* To UVa’s secondary, which was abused all day. Vic Hall, Chris Cook, Byron Glaspy. It didn’t matter. Glennon picked on all of them, trying to get his talented receiving corps into one-on-one situations with the Cav corners.

* To UVa’s Clint Sintim for slamming Glennon to the turf and drawing a personal foul penalty and an ejection in the last 30 seconds. Just a heat of the moment thing, but dumb nonetheless.

******

Onto some bowl projections for the ACC, which has eight eligible teams, with Maryland whipping N.C. State in a battle to become bowl eligible earlier today.

BCS (Orange): Virginia Tech. I just get the feeling the Hokies are going to be a much better team than they were the first time Tech and BC met in Blacksburg. The Hokies are winning games in a complete fashion, with offense, defensive and special teams contributions. If the Hokies get more of a pass rush on Matt Ryan, Tech wins next week.

Chick-fil-A: Clemson, or Virginia Tech if the Hokies lose the ACC championship game. Clemson is way too attractive of a team, in terms of fan support.

Gator: Virginia.  If BC loses in the ACC title game, I just don’t see the Gator Bowl committee wanting to bring the Eagles back for a second trip. Virginia has only made one trip to the Gator, a 48-14 loss to Oklahoma in 1991. Clemson falls here if Tech loses to BC.

Champs Sports: BC. The Orlando bowl won’t pass up a division champ to pick Wake Forest.

Meineke Car Care: Seems tailor made for Wake Forest, which will travel to a closeby destination.

Music City: Florida State. The Nashville bowl won’t pass up a chance at the Noles.

Emerald: Georgia Tech.

Humanitarian: And your prize for whipping N.C. State today, Terps? A New Year’s Eve trip to Boise. Hooray!

Well, that’s all kids. It’s been fun. Time to find a place to hunker down and watch that huge KU-Mizzou game.

I never thought I’d find myself saying those words. Wild year in college football indeed.

***

PS — Could the Twins really lose Torii Hunter and Johan Santana in the same offseason. Come on Twinkies, pony up some cash. Pay Johan. The man deserves it.

Lalich in

– Chris Lang

Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell is being helped off the field after taking a sack from Chris Ellis. Peter Lalich in for the first time today. Tough spot, down 30-21 with 11:41 left.

End of 3rd – Virginia Tech 23, Virginia 21

– Chris Lang

Well, Sean Glennon had to come back to earth at some point. Chris Long sacks him, Glennon fumbles, and Virginia answers with a rare third-quarter touchdown, just their second this season, on a Jameel Sewell 2-yard run.

Sewell showed some stones on a key third-down play on that drive, making patient reads and finding Jonathan Stupar open for a 17-yard gain to the 2.

Tech just got a big stop on 3rd and 1, though, and the Hokies will get the ball to open the fourth quarter at its 33. Looks like this one is coming down to the wire. (Thanks for that, Captain Obvious.)

Halftime – Virginia Tech 20, Virginia 14

– Chris Lang

First, a disclaimer from Mojo: “I was picking the halftime score, not the final. And you, you sniveling idiot, you went and put it down as the final score. I hate you.”

Monkey needs an attitude check. I swear.

Kudos to Virginia for playing Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Shining Star” just before halftime. Made me think of Elaine’s little kicks dance during the company party at J. Peterman’s.

OK… game-related stuff. Tech has no business being in the lead here. Virginia’s Jameel Sewell threw an ugly interception in Tech territory. Who it was intended for, only Brandon Flowers knows. He’s the cat who intercepted the ball. Three plays later, Sean Glennon was hitting Eddie Royal for a 39-yard touchdown pass. Virginia safety Byron Glaspy is still looking for the ball.

Then Virginia’s Joe Torchia fumbles the ensuing kickoff at his own 37, giving the Hokies a shot to score right before halftime. At first, Jud Dunlevy came out to attempt a 54-yard field goal, but after a Virginia timeout, Tech tried a Hail Mary instead. It didn’t work. UVa should consider itself lucky.

Ruh, roh Rokies

– Chris Lang

So says Scooby. Tech picks an odd time to throw a trick play into the mix, and the Cavs make the Hokies pay. Eddie Royal take a screen pass, rolls left and then tries to throw down the field across his body … and Chris Cook intercepts it. The Cavs then roll right down the field and take the lead on Jameel Sewell’s eight-yard touchdown run. Momentum squarely in Virginia’s favor for once. It’s been a while since that’s happened in this series.

Anyway, I’m going to go back to looking for Erin Andrews on the field.

End of 1st – Virginia Tech 13, Virginia 7

– Chris Lang

Virginia had momentum for about a minute, when Mikell Simpson busted through for a 27-yard touchdown run to cut Tech’s lead to 10-7. But Tech snuffed that out quickly when Sean Glennon threw a 56-yard pass to Eddie Royal on the next play after the kickoff, leading to a Hokie field goal that pushed the lead to 13-7.

First quarter awards:

Top player: Tech’s Sean Glennon. The embattled quarterback has been on point all day, delivering crisp passes to wide open receivers. Protection helps.

Toast back award: Sorry Gretna fans, but it goes to UVa defensive back Vic Hall, with emphasis on the “si(e)ve” part of defensive. The Hokies have picked on Hall all day and beaten him for several long gains. UVa’s Ras-I Dowling is out. I’m not sure why. But Tech is throwing at Hall and beating him every time.

Top play: Glennon’s 56-yard pass to Royal, who got behind Tech’s coverage and pulled in a beautifully thrown ball to move the Hokies deep into Cavs territory.

Be back with more at halftime.