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NCAAF UAB AT VIRGINIA TECH NOTE: FINAL RE-SENT TO CORRECT YARDAGE ON THIRD VIRGINIA TECH TOUCHDOWN.
Extended BoxNCAAF 1 2 3 4 F - - - - -- Uab 0 10 0 0 10 Virginia Tech (11) 10 7 0 14 31 FINAL
Virginia Tech-Johnson 41 pass from Meyer (Graham kick) Virginia Tech-FG Graham 22 Virginia Tech-Stith 1 run (Graham kick) Uab-Coleman 29 pass from Dixon (Gallego kick) Uab-FG Arians 47 Virginia Tech-And Davis 35 pass from Kendrick (Graham kick) Virginia Tech-Suggs 1 run (Graham kick)
Uab Virginia Tech First downs 8 26 Rushed-yards 27-18 55-196 Passing yards 45 179 Sacked-yards lost 4-34 3-7 Return yards 18 90 Passes 10-26-1 13-22-3 Punts 9-47.7 3-42.3 Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-2 Penalties-yards 10-78 8-85 Time of possession 23:59 36:01
Individual Statistics RUSHING: Uab-Fair 13-35, Coleman 6-9, Conley 1-2, Thatch 2-1, Dixon 5-minus 29. Virginia Tech-Stith 29-124, Kendrick 12-49, Ferguson 5-24, Suggs 3-3, Meyer 6-minus 4.
PASSING: Uab-Dixon 10-26-1-45. Virginia Tech-Meyer 12-21-3-144, Kendrick 1-1-0-35.
RECEIVING: Uab-Coleman 4-20, Thatch 3-0, D Malone 1-15, Arrington 1-5, Fair 1-5. Virginia Tech-And Davis 4-57, Johnson 3-62, Hall 3-43, Ferguson 2-12, Parham 1-5.
Att: 51,907
Game StoryBLACKSBURG, Virginia (Ticker) -- With his backup quarterback on the field and his 11th-ranked team struggling, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer dug deep into the playbook.
Beamer went against his conservative nature early in the fourth quarter and called a halfback option which worked to perfection and helped the Hokies to a 31-10 victory over Alabama-Birmingham.
With Virginia Tech (2-0) leading 17-10, Dave Meyer handed to Andre Kendrick, who darted to the right before pulling up and lofting a 35-yard pass down the sideline to Andre Davis for the score 1:17 into the final quarter.
"We throw it in practice a lot," Beamer said of the play. "I thought (Kendrick) overthrew him at first, but Andre was using that 4.2 speed. It turned out to be a nice play."
Lee Suggs added a one-yard touchdown run with a little over two minutes remaining as Virginia Tech avoided being upset at home for the second straight season. The Hokies suffered a 28-24 loss to Temple last October 17, when they were 5-0 and ranked 10th.
"I'm really happy with our football team," Beamer said. "I think to come back and play the second half the way we did, good football teams do. We didn't turn the ball over offensively in the second half. Overall, I think good football teams know how to win in the second half, and that's what our football team did."
Playing for the injured Michael Vick, Meyer completed 12-of-21 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown but was also picked off three times in the first half, allowing the Blazers (0-2) to remain in the game.
"He started out good and then a couple of things there, the interceptions," Beamer said. "I think that things just broke down a little bit around him. If the throw's not there, just run it."
Vick, a redshirt freshman, ran for three touchdowns in a season-opening victory over James Madison but suffered a contusion to his lower left leg in the second quarter of that contest when he did a somersault into the end zone.
Meyer's best moment of the day came just 2:08 into the contest, when he hooked up with Emmett Johnson on a 41-yard score. Shayne Graham, the Big East Conference's all-time leading scorer, booted a 22-yard field goal later in the period to give the Hokies a 10-0 advantage.
Johnson totaled 62 yards on three receptions and Davis caught four passes for 57 yards.
Attempting to take some of the pressure off Meyer, Shyrone Stith carried 29 times for 124 yards and Kendrick added 49 yards on 12 carries. Stith's one-yard scoring plunge gave Virginia Tech a 17-point cushion.
Meanwhile, the Hokies' defense was clamping down on the Blazers. UAB managed only 63 yards of total offense and 18 yards rushing. But 29 yards was covered in one play as Daniel Dixon found Percy Coleman for a score 11 minutes into the second quarter.
"I've had all I want of Virginia Tech," Blazers coach Watson Brown said. "Their defense is really, really good. They are so fast and they play with such confidence."
Dixon was 10-of-26 for 45 yards and one interception. Carl Fair led the Blazers with 35 yards on 13 carries.
All-American defensive end Corey Moore led Virginia Tech's defense. He had six tackles, including one for a loss and three sacks, and broke up two passes.
"I don't think everybody realizes what a great player we're seeing sometimes," Beamer said. "He has such a get-off. He just beats everybody. He's a step ahead of everybody, and then after that he's so fast. I don't think there's a lineman in the country that can catch him."
Jake Arians' 47-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining in the first half brought UAB within 17-10.
"This is disappointing," Brown added. "We came here to win and we got ourselves in a position to do that. We just can't move the ball. We're just not executing physically."
 © Copyright 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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