Hokies cruise past Ohio for second straight 45-0 win

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Marcus Vick and Virginia Tech started fast, stalled some and then got it going again with a couple kick-starts from the defense.

Vick threw two scoring passes and ran for a third as the Hokies turned three turnovers into touchdowns in their second straight 45-0 victory, this one against Ohio.

"The defense has been giving us great opportunities," Vick said after the turnovers led to scoring drives covering 8, 32 and 81 yards, the latter breaking it open.

The Hokies (3-0), who blanked Duke 45-0 last Saturday, also twice turned the Bobcats away after they drove to the Hokies' 19. The first time, Brooks Rossman missed a field-goal attempt; the second time, Tech's Roland Minor made an interception.

"Those guys are playing phenomenal right now," said tight end Jeff King, who turned one of Vick's passes into a 28-yard touchdown with a lunge toward the end zone.

"Hopefully, one day we'll be able to pick them up, but that's kind of our recipe for success right now -- they're setting us up for some easy touchdowns," King said.

The Bobcats (1-2) were coming off a 16-10 overtime victory against Pittsburgh that heightened excitement in their first season under former Nebraska coach Frank Solich, but they had never played a team ranked as high as the Hokies. And they probably won't be in any rush to again. Ohio finished with just 188 yards to the Hokies' 473.

Solich said Vick's presence in the backfield makes the Hokies hard to beat.

"Any time you have a guy who can run and throw, make big plays with both ends of it, you've got yourself what you want at the quarterback position," he said.

Vick hit David Clowney for a career-long 52-yard completion on the Hokies' first play from scrimmage and finished 12-for-16 for 200 yards. He also ran for 38 yards.

"He runs our team," coach Frank Beamer said. "He's very much in control. He's the calmest guy on our sideline as far as I can tell, and that's the mark of a good quarterback and a good leader for your offense. He's always got it under control."

It never hurts, either, when the defense helps out.

The Hokies limited the Bobcats to 17 yards on 13 plays in the first quarter and then took command by turning a pair of second-quarter turnovers into scoring drives.

The first takeaway came when James Anderson disrupted Austen Everson's option pitch, knocking the ball away. Noland Burchette recovered for the Hokies at the Ohio 8, and three runs by Cedric Humes later, he went wide to the left and made it 10-0.

"That one was tough on us," Solich said. "Once that pitch gets executed, you hope to have the chance for a big play. But it didn't and it got us in a big hole."

Late in the half, the defense did it again as Xavier Adibi was in the right spot to catch a deflection on Everson's pass. He returned it 25 yards to the Bobcats' 32 and three plays later, Vick hit King over the middle with just 1:12 left before halftime.

Vick also hit Jesse Allen from 3 yards out and then scored himself on a 4-yard run in the third quarter, capping a drive set up by Minor's interception at the Hokies' 5.

Humes added another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 33-yard run, and John Kinzer caught a 38-yard scoring pass from backup Cory Holt in the fourth quarter.

By then, many of the fans were on their way to the parking lots, off to celebrate another easy Hokies victory.