BLACKSBURG, Va. — Duke Johnson ran for 249 yards and scored two touchdowns and Miami took advantage of Virginia Tech’s fumbles on three straight second-half drives in a 30-6 victory Thursday night.
The Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) outgained Virginia Tech 255-36 in the first half in taking a 24-0 lead, then took the ball away on the Hokies’ first three drives of the second half. The first takeaway came at Miami’s 1 as Deon Bush stripped Marshawn Williams and made the recovery, too.
Virginia Tech (4-4, 1-3) lost for the second week in a row and for the fourth time in its last five Thursday night appearances. Its continuing offensive struggles drew boos before halftime and the fumbling sent fans heading for the exits.
The Hokies also almost had their 250-game scoring streak that dated to 1995 come to an end, but backup quarterback Mark Leal hit Isaiah Ford for a 14-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 with 1:30 left.
Johnson, who missed the Hurricanes’ game against Virginia Tech last season with a broken right ankle, got the ball on Miami’s first seven plays from scrimmage, and he was just warming up.
He gained 15 yards from a “Wildcat” formation on a drive to Michael Badgley’s 28-yard field goal, and had a 29-yard gain on the next drive. He also caught a 15-yard pass on third-and-8 early in the drive to keep it going before Gus Edwards came in to give Johnson a rest and bulled in from 3 yards out, making it 10-0.
PHOTOS: Miami manhandles Virginia Tech, 30-6
An exchange of punts found the Hokies starting at their 1, and after three consecutive incompletions by Michael Brewer, A.J. Hughes’ short punt took a big Miami bounce, setting them up at the Hokies’ 24.
Johnson ran it in on the next play, and capped the following drive with a 22-yard touchdown reception from Brad Kaaya, making it 24-0. He also had runs of 14 and 25 yards on a drive that ended in a punt.
Edwards, who added a 38-yard touchdown run with 4:14 to play, finished with 115 yards on 20 carries. The Hurricanes finished with 364 yards on the ground, the most ever against a team coached by Frank Beamer.
The Hokies looked primed to at least make a game of it after halftime as Deon Newsome returned the opening kickoff 58 yards to the Miami 42 and Marshawn Williams’ running got them to the 3. But on second-and-goal, he plowed into the line, Bush stripped the ball and recovered, and a comedy of errors began.
Brewer hit Joel Caleb for 13 yards on Virginia Tech’s next play from scrimmage, and after getting the ball to the Miami 32, Tracy Howard took it away and Jermaine Grace recovered for the Hurricanes.
After another Miami punt, the Hokies drove from their 11 to the Miami 18, but Denzel Perryman knocked the ball away from Jerome Wright on a run to the 13 and Grace again made the recovery for the Canes.
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