Hokies pluck Orange Bowl bid

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sean Glennon held an orange in one hand and a most valuable player trophy in the other.

He waved both of them in the air as thousands of Virginia Tech fans chanted his name – not exactly a scene anyone would have envisioned after Glennon got booed to end last season and benched to start this one.

Glennon threw three touchdown passes, outshining Boston College star Matt Ryan and leading the No. 6 Hokies to a 30-16 victory over the 12th-ranked Eagles in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday.

“It’s been such an emotional roller-coaster this season, and for it to end probably on the most unbelievable high note of my athletic career – you get the MVP – it just shows how blessed I’ve been,” Glennon said.

Ryan overshadowed Glennon and teammate Tyrod Taylor much of the game. But Tech’s two-quarterback system worked to perfection on one drive, just enough to get the Hokies (11-2) to the Orange Bowl.

The duo put together a game-winning drive that showed exactly why the coaching staff decided to play both of them.

Taylor gained 31 yards on a quarterback draw, his best play of the day, and Glennon capped an 84-yard drive with a 24-yard strike to Eddie Royal with 7:12 remaining.

The Hokies’ defense did the rest.

Kam Chancellor made a touchdown-saving tackle on Kevin Challenger, then Vince Hall intercepted Ryan’s fourth-down pass near the goal line four plays later to maintain a 23-16 lead with 2:16 to play.

The Eagles (10-3) forced a punt, but Ryan threw another pick which Xavier Adibi returned 40 yards for a score with 11 seconds to play.

“I thought we moved the ball really well, but we just couldn’t get it into the end zone,” Ryan said. “To win these types of games, you’ve got to score points, and we didn’t get it done today.”

The Hokies won their fifth straight game.