Hokies Trounce Wolfpack 28-13 on Backs of Travon McMillian, Banged Up Brenden Motley

Frank Beamer promised personnel changes after the team's discouraging win to Pittsburgh and on Friday night, fans got a look at exactly what he meant.

The head Hokie made a statement with the players he made sure touched the ball against NC State, and which ones didn't.

J.C. Coleman and Trey Edmunds managed one touch between them. Travon McMillian, on the other hand, led the team in carries with 11, racking up 97 yards and a score to spark an offense that finally came alive in the 28-13 win.

"Our fans are going to like that guy a lot before he leaves here," Beamer said after the game. "He's got it."

OC Scot Loeffler made it plain that his comment about McMillian's future as a "dude" remains true, and pledged that the team will "continue to feature him" going forward.

That's welcome news for Hokies fans, who howled after the team worked in back after back to limited effect over the last few downtrodden weeks.

"It allows me to get a rhythm, get a feel for the defense and what they're doing," McMillian said about his expanded role. "It allows me to see things a lot better now that I'm getting more carries."

But he was also helped out immensely by his offensive line. The group looked considerably more confident in the running game, and protected QB Brenden Motley immeasurably better than it did last week — instead of the seven sacks it yielded against Pitt, the group gave up just one this time around.

"I wish we had more experience, but the thing I think we do have are athletic guys who are tough and will get better each week," Beamer said. "I think we took a step towards that tonight and I think we'll continue to do so. The thing is, you get kids who are athletic and tough on the offensive line, that's a great start."

Yet even though Motley had a much cleaner pocket this time around, he still took his fair share of shots.

Michael Brewer was ruled out ahead of the game, with the team saying he wasn't medically cleared despite being listed as "probable" in the injury report and Beamer insisting it was a decision that came down to the team's doctors, leaving the Hokies few options under center. Motley was even briefly knocked out of the game in the second half, but toughed it out and remained in the game for all but one play.

"I had a previous foot injury and I thought I reinjured it again, but I was fine," Motley said. "I was banged up a little bit, it's what happens in the game. You get banged up, you have to keep going, keep fighting, be a tough guy and we're a team full of tough guys."

Both Tech's offense and defense certainly proved that against the Wolfpack. Not only did the offense respond with 358 total yards, but the defense also stayed stingy. Bud Foster's group allowed just 270 yards to the Wolfpack, roughly 150 yards less than their average coming into the game.

"We were a little slow starting out, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish," Foster said.

The game certainly started unconventionally. Lightning in the area temporarily delayed kickoff, keeping many fans out of Lane Stadium until the game had already gotten underway.

When fans did make into Lane, they got to see a first quarter that kicked off in an eerily similar fashion to the team's loss to Pittsburgh just one week ago. The Hokies only mustered a few plays before punting the ball to the Wolfpack, and on the very first play, QB Jacoby Brissett threw a 24-yard wheel route to TE/FB Jaylen Samuels.

Brissett added on a 14-yard pass to WR Jonathan Alston and 24-yard keeper, where he completely bamboozled the defense and NC State was quickly down to Tech's 15-yard line. Yet the defense stiffened, and the Wolfpack had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Once more, the Hokies couldn't manage much on offense, yet punter A.J. Hughes was able to pin the Wolfpack on their own nine-yard line. Brissett and company didn't flinch.

NC State picked up big chunks of yardage, including a 17-yard swing pass to onetime Tech target Nyheim Hines, a 14-yard Brissett keeper and a 13-yard completion to Alston. Brissett ultimately capped things off with a beautifully thrown ball to WR Jumichael Ramos to beat Chuck Clark, giving the Wolfpack a 10-0 lead.

Although the first quarter elapsed in the middle of that drive, Hokies fans were surely reminded of the Panthers' ominous 10-0 start in the first a week prior, especially considering the Hokies were outgained 145-29 in the quarter.

Yet the Hokies responded in a big way on offense. A quick throw to McMillian for 19 yards down the sideline sparked the offense, followed by a 14-yard completion to WR Cam Phillips that he nearly broke for a score.

A costly defensive holding penalty on the Pack bailed out the offense, and Motley followed things up with a pretty pass to WR Isaiah Ford in the corner of the end zone. The 27-yard score made Ford the fastest Tech player to catch 10 receiving TDs, and cut the NC State lead to 10-7.

The defense responded with a big series, leading things off with a sack of Brissett by LBs Andrew Motuapuaka and Deon Clarke, then stopped Samuels in the backfield for a loss before forcing an incompletion. The Wolfpack then shot themselves in the foot on the punt, illegally batting the ball out of bounds Kam Chancellor-style to give Tech the ball on their 45-yard line with 10 minutes left in the second.

Loeffler then turned to McMillian on the ensuing drive and the offense rode the RB down the field. The redshirt freshman kicked things off with a 15-yard run on a pitch, then kept the ball for three straight runs to pick up a first down.

After a slant to Phillips and another short run by FB Sam Rogers to get another set of downs, Motley used a five-yard keeper before finding Ford in the end zone once more. This is most certainly where the Pitt comparisons end: The Hokies were now up 14-10.

The Wolfpack sputtered on offense once more, going three and out, and the Hokies took over at their 29-yard line with just over three minutes left on the clock.

Motley shone, engineering a 12 play, 71-yard drive that only ended with a dozen seconds left on the clock. He found Ford for his third TD of the game, finishing off a quarter that saw the Hokies outgain NC State 156-2 and take a 21-10 lead into the half.

"In the second quarter, we started to convert and executed like we're supposed to," Motley said.

After few fans got to experience "Enter Sandman" at its regularly scheduled airing, the song blared over the Lane loudspeakers once more to start the second half.

The defense responded, forcing another Wolfpack punt after they made it to their 42-yard line.

Calamity nearly struck for the Hokies when Greg Stroman insisted on catching a long punt, then promptly ran backwards to give Tech the ball on the four-yard line. Yet Motley stayed calm, getting the team a first down to ease the burden. The drive sputtered out due to penalties, but the Hokies avoided punting from the shadow of their own goalposts.

The Pack responded by hammering the Hokies on the ground on the next drive. NC State ran 10 plays, nine of which were runs to bring the Wolfpack down to Tech's 14-yard line. But on a key 3rd and 2, Brissett lined up in the shotgun and sailed a pass out of bounds to force another field goal. The drive ate up 5:25 of clock, and the Wolfpack cut the VT lead to 21-13.

Motley led off the next drive with a near miss to TE Bucky Hodges down the sideline. He kept the ball himself on second down, and came up hobbled after a short gain. He came out of the game, forcing freshman QB Dwayne Lawson to try and convert a 3rd and 12. The youngster had Ford open deep, but overthrew him to end the third quarter.

NC State drove to Tech's 47-yard line to open the fourth quarter, but the drive sputtered. The Wolfpack nearly pinned the Hokies deep, but the ball rolled into the end zone to make life easier for the Hokies.

Motley looked hobbled, limping around on the sideline, yet he returned to the game. The offense could only manage a three and out, with the QB missing Ford badly down the field. Hughes then made an uncharacteristic blunder with some thoroughly poor timing — his punt traveled just 25 yards to give NC State the ball just shy of midfield.

But Bud Foster's defense held firm, using some very sound tackling to limit the Wolfpack to a three and out.

Tech's offense seized that opportunity. Motley nailed Hodges for a 26-yard gain on third down, then McMillian, with the help of a timely Wyatt Teller pancake, busted into the secondary and flew down the sideline for a 59-yard score. The Hokies grabbed a 28-13 lead, putting the pressure on the Pack.

"I was running to the outside and I saw Wyatt, I saw the block getting set up and I just cut off his block and sprinted into the endzone," McMillian said. I didn't think I was going to get caught."

Foster turned his front seven loose on Brissett, and Ken Ekanem finally broke the dry spell for the defensive ends, registering half a sack with Clarke. The Wolfpack managed a first down, but four straight incompletions gave the Hokies the ball back quickly, and the running game — yes, the same running game that fell short of double digits less than a week ago — finished off the game.

A nine-yard carry by McMillian and a 29-yard, career-long rush by Rogers helped the Hokies bleed just over two minutes off the clock. The team attempted a bizarrely timed fake field goal, giving Hughes a chance to flash his wheels, but failed to convert.

The defense polished off the performance with another Ekanem sack, on his own this time, and an acrobatic interception by Adonis Alexander — Brissett's first since last season — finished off the bounceback win.

It was the type of victory that Loeffler thinks will show the Hokies a lot about their mettle going forward.

"I told them that before we left the hotel, I told them 'we're going to find out if we're men or not,'" Loeffler said. "The fact of the matter is, bad things are going to happen, bad things will happen with your family, bad things are going to happen in life and it's how you respond."

The win keeps Tech alive in the ACC, evening its league record at 1-1, but Beamer, who is no stranger to big wins after disappointing starts, sees more than that at play.

"We as a football team talked about it," Beamer said. "Some wins are bigger than others and this one was big and critical."