Virginia Tech 35
Nebraska 30

Sept. 27, 2008 • 7 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium •Lincoln, NE • ABC
1st2nd3rd4th F 
Virginia Tech9910735
Nebraska7371330
1st quarter
VT: S. Virgil blocked punt, safety, 8:35
VT: D. Evans 1 run (D. Keys kick) 5:22
NU: M. McNeill 32 pass from J. Ganz (A. Henery kick) 3:54
2nd quarter
VT: Keys 19 field goal, 14:51
NU: Henery 48 field goal, 10:45
VT: Keys 38 field goal, 7:10
VT: Keys 27 field goal, 1:15
3rd quarter
VT: Keys 36 field goal, 10:25
VT: Evans 19 run (Keys kick) 6:54
NU: R. Helu Jr. 12 run (Henery kick) 0:04
4th quarter
NU: N. Swift 88 punt return (pass failed)
VT: T. Taylor 2 run (Keys kick) 2:28
NU: T. Peterson 17 pass from Ganz (Henery kick) 1:32

                            VT        NU
First downs................ 21        14
  Rushing.................. 12         3
  Passing................... 7        10
  Penalty................... 2         1
Rushes-Yards........... 55-206     25-55
NET YARDS PASSING......... 171       278
  Comp-Att-Int......... 9-15-0   17-26-1
Total offense yards.... 70-377    51-333
Fumbles-Lost.............. 0-0       3-1
Penalties-Yards.......... 4-30      7-69
Punts-Average.......... 5-34.6    5-29.4
Possession Time......... 34:44     25:16
Third-Down Conv. ..... 7 of 17   2 of 11
Fourth-Down Conv. ..... 0 of 0    1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances... 6-6       2-2

RUSHING
VT: T.Taylor 15-87, Evans 21-72, Lewis 17-50, Coale 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 2).

NU: Helu 4-21, Ganz 8-18, Lucky 8-17, Castille 3-8, Team 1-(minus 3), Paul 1-(minus 6).

PASSING
VT: T.Taylor 9-15-0-171.
NU: Ganz 17-26-1-278.

RECEIVING
VT: Boykin 2-58, Smith 2-54, Boone 2-33, Coale 2-14, Roberts 1-12.

NU: Peterson 4-60, McNeill 3-66, Swift 3-58, Lucky 3-38, Paul 1-21, M.Holt 1-20, Young 1-10, Gilleylen 1-5.

Attendance: 85,831

Embed from Getty Images

2008 Nebraska-Virginia Tech football, Darren Evans TDDarren Evans scores on a one-yard run in the first quarter to give Tech a 9-0 lead. · Fort Worth Star-Telegram · Newspapers.com

Coverage

Stats & recap
COMPLETE STATS

Huskers’ late charge not enough vs. Hokies

Virginia Tech scored on six straight possessions in the second and third quarters and held off a late Nebraska rally to hand the Huskers their first loss of the season, 35-30, in front of a record Memorial Stadium crowd.

Nebraska trailed 28-10 late in the third quarter but rallied to cut the deficit to 28-23 with more than seven minutes remaining. The Huskers (3-1) could get no closer, however, as a pair of costly penalties kept the decisive Virginia Tech drive alive, resulting in the Hokies’ final touchdown with 2:28 left to give VT a 35-23 lead.

Despite facing a two-touchdown deficit with less than 2:30 remaining, NU refused to fold. Quarterback Joe Ganz engineered a four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took just 56 seconds. The drive was capped by a 17-yard touchdown strike to Todd Peterson to pull the Huskers within 35-30 with 1:32 left.

Nebraska’s ensuing onside kick was secured by Virginia Tech at the NU 43. The Huskers had two timeouts left and were able to force a Hokie punt. Brent Bowden, who shanked a 21-yard punt and watched Nate Swift return a punt 88 yards for his first career return touchdown on his two previous punts in the fourth quarter, lofted a 30-yard punt to stick NU at the 10 with 25 seconds left.

With no timeouts remaining, Ganz again got Nebraska moving. He hit Niles Paul on a 21-yard pass, then found Peterson deep across the middle on a crossing route. Peterson hauled in the pass and crossed midfield but was stripped of the ball by VT cornerback Stephen Virgil at the Hokie 44, ending Nebraska’s hopes for victory.

Omaha World-Herald*
Lincoln Journal Star*
Grand Island Indep.
More Neb. sources
Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska Athletics
Opponent sources
Roanoke Times
Newport News Daily Press
Virginian-Pilot
Virginia Tech Athletics
More sources
Washington Post
Denver Post
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Associated Press
Photos/Audio/Video
Photos
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Pregame & team info
2008 schedule
04/19Reds 24, Whites 14
08/30W. MichiganW 47-24
09/06San Jose St.W 35-12
09/13New Mexico St.W 38-7
09/27Virginia TechL 30-35
10/04MissouriL 17-52
10/11@ Texas TechL 31-37
10/18@ Iowa St.W 35-7
10/25BaylorW 32-20
11/01@ OklahomaL 28-62
11/08KansasW 45-35
11/15@ Kansas St.W 56-28
11/28ColoradoW 40-31
01/01ClemsonW 26-21

Commentary

Colonel Mustard

Overall too many mistakes to beat a well-coached team that despite being young didn’t make mistakes.


Colonel Mustard
HuskerMax
Stryker

There were some pleasant discoveries. There were a few disappointing ones.

Tad Stryker
HuskerMax
Sipple

Think back to last season, when Nebraska would get punched in the mouth and wilt into a corner. Not this time.

Steven M. Sipple
Lincoln Journal Star
Douglass

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is the lack of consistency of the Huskers’ offense in the first three quarters.

Terry Douglass
Grand Island Independent
Schlabach

Nebraska has to figure out how to fix its defense in a hurry. Virginia Tech went 6-for-6 in the red zone and 7-for-17 on third downs.

Mark Schlabach
ESPN
Max

There are some glaring statistics. ... Total yards rushing for the game by Nebraska - 55. Total yards by VA Tech after they already had nine points on the board - 14.

David Max
HuskerMax
Husker Dan

Bo Pelini’s late blowup may not have cost the Huskers the game, but he must learn to be smarter.

Husker Dan
HuskerMax
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