BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech capitalized on a multitude of Appalachian State University mistakes to jump out to a huge early lead and cruise to a 66-13 win over the Mountaineers in Saturday's season opener at Lane Stadium.
Appalachian (0-1) fumbled on the second play of the ballgame and Virginia Tech (1-0) needed only one snap to grab a 7-0 lead when David Wilson rumbled 20 yards for the first of his three touchdowns on the afternoon. Things didn't get much better for the Mountaineers from there, as they were limited to negative-four yards over their next two possessions and the Hokies stretched their advantage to 17-0 less than nine minutes in.
Things went from bad to worse for ASU in the second quarter, as they turned the ball over for the second time on their first snap of the period and Wilson once again needed only one play capitalize, this time rumbling in to the end zone from 19 yards out to make it 24-0. The Hokies would go on to find paydirt on each of their next four possessions, taking a 52-0 lead when Kyle Fuller recovered a blocked punt in the end zone just two-and-a-half minutes into the second half.
The Mountaineers got on the board for the first time in 2011 later in the third period when backup quarterback Jamal Jackson found Brian Quick for an acrobatic 46-yard touchdown pass. Quick caught the throw from Jackson while streaking up the right hashmark then kept his balance as several tacklers tried to trip him up before falling into the end zone for the 21st score of his career. Quick was a bright spot for the Black and Gold with three receptions for 110 yards. The 100-yard receiving effort was the seventh of the senior all-American's career.
Jackson led Appalachian on a second touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, a seven-play, 80-yard jaunt that was highlighted by a 41-yard pass to Tony Washington and capped by a 15-yard scoring run by the sophomore signal-caller.
In addition to directing the Mountaineers' two scoring drives, Jackson rushed six times for a team-high 46 yards and threw for 87 yards and a score. He entered the game midway through the third quarter in relief of All-America starting quarterback DeAndre Presley, who managed to throw for 89 yards and rush for 43 more against the Hokies' staunch defense.
Appalachian's defense, which was forced to defend a short field due to offensive and special-teams mistakes throughout the afternoon, was led by safety Troy Sanders' 10 tackles. Linebacker Brandon Grier added eight stops, including one for loss, while nose tackle Dan Wylie chipped in with four tackles, including ASU's lone sack.
Junior Sam Martin had a career day, booming eight punts for an average of 45.0 yards. Two of his eight boots covered 50 or more yards while two more were downed inside the five yard line.
Wilson led the way for Virginia Tech (ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press college football top-25 poll), rushing for 162 yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries. Making his first start, 6-6, 254-pound quarterback Logan Thomas completed 9-of-19 passes for 149 yards and two scores.
The margin of defeat was Appalachian's largest in 82 all-time season openers, the largest in any game since a 56-0 loss at NC State on Oct. 6, 1990 and the fifth largest-overall in program history. The Mountaineers surrendered 60 points for only the second time in 882 all-time games and allowed 50 for just the 15th time.
Appalachian (ranked No. 2 in the major NCAA Division I FCS polls) will look to rebound next Saturday when it hosts North Carolina A&T. Kickoff for ASU's home opener is set for 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
NOTES: Appalachian dropped to 0-4 all-time versus Virginia Tech ... ASU fell to 7-39-1 all-time versus NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision — formerly Division I-A) competition since the inception of Division I football subdivisions in 1978 ... Appalachian fell to 3-7 in its last 10 season openers ... each of the Mountaineers' last 10 openers have come on the road and all seven losses have come at the hands of FBS opponents ... the Mountaineers have been outscored by a combined 124-7 in the first half of their last four games versus FBS opponents ... ASU has allowed a touchdown on its first defensive series against its last five FBS opponents ... Saturday marked the first time that Appalachian has surrendered 50 or more points since a 59-56 loss at Chattanooga on Oct. 30, 2004 ... five Mountaineers made their first-career starts: sophomore wide receiver Andrew Peacock, redshirt-freshman left tackle Kendall Lamm, redshirt-freshman left guard Kalan Jones, true-freshman C Alex Acey and true-freshman right defensive end Ronald Blair ... right tackle Orry Frye and right guard Matt Ruff each made their 28th-consecutive starts ... Presley and Sanders are the only other Mountaineers with double-digit streaks of consecutive starts (14 apiece) ... long snapper Wilson Fitchett and Jones both left the game with ankle injuries ... their statuses for next week's game versus A&T are unknown.
