Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall completed 22-of-28 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 10 of his first 11 attempts as the Hokies took a 28-0 second-quarter lead on Central Florida. Randall, a junior, made a statement that he wasn't ready to cede his job to his more famous backup, sophomore Marcus Vick. But the younger brother of you-know-who went 7-of-10 for 102 yards and a touchdown, too, at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field. So in the third mismatched meeting between the programs, No. 9 Virginia Tech found a new way to waylay UCF 49-28 on Sunday: with a precise and prolific passing attack.
The Golden Knights spent all summer preparing for the Hokies' traditionally brutal ground attack and dangerous tailback Kevin Jones. Jones rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns anyway, and UCF has been outscored 139-63 in the series since 2000.
"It's crazy," UCF defensive tackle Larry Brown told the Orlando Sentinel. "Every day we talk about stop the run, stop the run, stop the run. Then we come out there, and they start passing. It surprised us. We had to make that transition, but it's not that easy."
UCF hosts Florida Atlantic Sept. 13 in its Citrus Bowl home opener.
MOTOR CITY MADNESS: No wonder Florida A&M wants to get to Division I-A as soon as possible.
The Rattlers can barely compete in I-AA.
FAMU inaugurated the first Ford Detroit Classic by falling in a 38-22 upset to Alabama State in front of 54,951 at Ford Field. The Rattlers have lost to consecutive I-AA foes, dating to last year's 37-10 Florida Classic defeat against rival Bethune-Cookman.
FAMU's home opener is 7 p.m. Saturday against Morgan State at Bragg Memorial Stadium, and the Bears are expected to be Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference contenders. Then comes a trip Sept. 13 to Gainesville to take on Florida. Are the Rattlers staring at coach Billy Joe's first 0-3 start in his 10th season there?
"It appears to us that we just were not ready to play this football game this particular time," Joe told the Tallahassee Democrat. "Alabama State looked better prepared for this first game."
That is a tribute to first-year coach Charles Coe III, brought in a month ago to a program that lost its coach and two assistants; a team that according to athletic director Richard Cosby was "almost totally out of control."
FAMU's special teams were victimized three times: on Richard Rowe's 51-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter; Rowe's 64-yard punt return to the FAMU 3 in the second; and Rowe's block of Juan Vasquez's 30-yard field-goal attempt, which Erlin Sanders returned to the opposing 35, setting up another ASU score.
The Rattlers' new quarterback, Ben Dougherty, looked solid in his debut, completing 26-of-35 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown. But he threw an interception and was sacked six times.
HO-HUM: Bethune-Cookman got in some good practice time against Savannah State, because Saturday's 62-12 win was that easy.
Tampa Catholic alum Allen Suber looked healthy at quarterback, rushing nine times for 117 yards and completing 7-of-10 for 170 yards for the Wildcats. He scored on a 54-yard run and threw a 56-yard score to freshman Eric Weems in the second quarter.
Suber's TC teammate, Larry Crayton, started at safety in place of Tor-El Robinson, suspended a game for violating team rules. Crayton recovered a fumble at the Tigers 11, which led to a Wildcats' score.
"I was surprised (to start), but I know Tor-El's a great athlete and it's his position," Crayton told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. "I just want to contribute to the team as much as I can. When he comes back I just want to get in the rotation so I can contribute some."
- Information from other news organizations was used in the report.
