BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Bhayshul Tuten rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown to lead Virginia Tech to a 31-14 victory over Marshall on Saturday.
Kyron Drones ran for a touchdown and threw for another for the Hokies, who started slowly, leading by a field goal at intermission, 10-7. But they caught fire after the break, scoring touchdowns on their first three second-half possessions to pull away.
Tuten scored from a yard out on Virginia Tech’s opening drive of the second half to give Virginia Tech (1-1) a 17-7 lead. Marshall (1-1) answered to make it 17-14 on an 18-yard scoring pass from Stone Earle to Christian Fitzpatrick, but the Hokies answered behind Drones, who scored on a 3-yard run on the Hokies’ next possession, then threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Da’Quan Felton early in the fourth quarter to push the Virginia Tech lead to 17.
Tuten’s performance marked his fifth 100-yard rushing game as a Hokie and the 15th of his career. Virginia Tech finished with 208 yards rushing.
After amassing 549 yards in its season-opening victory over Stony Brook, Marshall finished with just 278 yards.
TAKEAWAYS
Marshall: The Herd used three quarterbacks in the season opener, but stuck with Stone Earle in this one. The North Texas transfer completed just 13 of 36 for 129 yards against the Hokies. He – and Marshall’s offense – will have to be much better to have a chance at No. 2 Ohio State in two weeks.
Virginia Tech: The defense bounced back in a big way after allowing Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to account for 294 yards and three touchdowns in their season-opening loss. The Hokies sacked Earle twice, picked him off once, and held Marshall to just 5 of 17 on third down.
UP NEXT
Marshall: The Herd plays at No. 2 Ohio State on Sept. 21
Virginia Tech: The Hokies play at Old Dominion on Saturday.
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