Big East: Hokies say goodbye to Rutgers with thrashing
By Associated Press
Published October 5, 2003
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Virginia Tech gave Rutgers one last Big East beating with an offensive show that had coach Frank Beamer wondering how good his team can be.
Bryan Randall threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-22 win Saturday, beating Rutgers for the 11th straight time.
"Sometimes we do things as good as we have ever done them at Virginia Tech," Beamer said after the final conference game between the schools.
"At other times I scratch my head a little bit," Beamer added. "The good part is if you can do it one time, you can do it every time."
Virginia Tech should find out how good it is over the next month, when it faces Syracuse, West Virginia, Miami and Pittsburgh. All four beat the Hokies last season.
Randall made sure Rutgers never came close to beating Virginia Tech for the first time since 1992 by throwing TDs of 28 and 45 yards to Chris Shreve and two 10-yarders to Mike Imoh.
Kevin Jones scored on a 5-yard run, safety Jimmy Williams scored on a 55-yard interception return and Cedric Humes had a 35-yard TD run.
The Hokies join the ACC next season. Rutgers likely will not miss playing them after being outscored 182-36 in the past four games.
"They've got playmakers on that team," linebacker William Beckford said after the Scarlet Knights lost their 23rd straight conference game. "This is a learning experience for us. We can't lower our heads and just say they beat us. That's a great team and we have to learn from it."
Rutgers entered looking for its first 4-1 start since 1991.
A 17-yard touchdown from Ryan Hart to Shawn Tucker after an early Tech turnover gave the Scarlet Knights a 7-0 lead 2:12 after the opening kickoff. It marked the first time the Hokies trailed this season. Randall, who was 16-for-22, wiped out whatever energy the Scarlet Knights had by leading Tech on scoring drives of 81, 53, 63 and 58 yards on its next four possessions.
TEMPLE 44, MIDDLE TENN. 36: Visiting Temple scored 41 unanswered points, then held off a fourth-quarter rally. The Owls fell behind 14-0 early in the second quarter, but took advantage of two Middle Tennessee turnovers to control a 24-point second quarter. Mike McGann, the Owls' regular starting quarterback, came off the bench after an injury to Walter Washington to spark Temple. McGann scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter and finished 16-of-34 for 186 yards and a touchdown. Temple added 17 points in the third quarter for a 41-14 lead.
