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Hokies beat Bearcats in Military Bowl

Dec 28, 2014 - 3:38 AM Annapolis, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Coach Frank Beamer may not have been on the sideline for Virginia Tech, but the Hokies were still able to earn a 33-17 win over Cincinnati in the Military Bowl.

Virginia Tech (7-6) registered its 22nd consecutive winning season with the victory.

J.C. Coleman ran for a season-high 157 yards for the Hokies, who piled up 210 yards on the ground.

Michael Brewer threw for just 94 yards on 14-of-24 passing with a touchdown and interception.

Beamer was coaching from the coaches' box, where he was ordered to be following throat surgery earlier in the month. His son Shane Beamer was the acting head coach.

"I tip my cap to Shane Beamer and how he and the rest of the team represented Virginia Tech," said Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville.

Gunner Kiel completed 14-of-26 passes for 244 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Bearcats (9-4), most of which came in the first half. Kiel exited the game early in the third quarter with a reported head injury.

Chris Moore and Shaq Washington had 103 and 100 receiving yards, respectively, for Cincinnati, and Moore caught a pair of touchdowns.

Backup quarterback Michael Colosimo led Cincinnati with 54 rushing yards.

Holding a narrow 13-10 lead at the break, Virginia Tech was able to gain some breathing room on the first two possessions of the third quarter.

Brewer capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Malleck on the opening possession of the second half to extend Virginia Tech's lead to 20-10.

On the Bearcats' first possession, Kiel was hit hard by Deon Clarke and lost the ball. Defensive tackle Nigel Williams scooped up the loose ball and after he was stripped on the return, teammate Greg Stroman recovered the ball and dragged a Cincinnati player into the end zone as the Hokies took a 27-10 lead.

Kiel would not return to the game, and Cincinnati mixed in Washington taking snaps in the wildcat and Colosimo over the following two drives. Colosimo was pressed into action because the more experienced backup quarterback, Munchie Legaux, was unable to play.

After two drives stalled in Kiel's absence, the Hokies added to their lead with a 38-yard Joey Slye field goal.

The Bearcats offense finally got into a rhythm. Colosimo missed on his first three pass attempts, but his next two went to Moore for 23 yards and then a 43-yard score to get Cincinnati back into the game.

"I thought he was scared to death but he competed well, especially that one pass that he threw for a touchdown that he could not have thrown any better," said Tuberville.

Colosimo could not duplicate that success, and Virginia Tech added one more field goal to account for the final margin.

The teams were tied at seven after a first quarter that saw each team touch the ball five times and turn it over once. Kiel's 31-yard pass to Moore opened the scoring, and Coleman responded with a 1-yard plunge on the following drive.

In the second quarter, Slye made field goals of 45 and 49 yards. Andrew Gantz kicked a 25-yarder for Cincinnati.

Game Notes

Virginia Tech now owns a 6-5 lead in the all-time series, including a 2-1 record in bowl games ... The Hokies improved to 11-17 in bowl games, while the Bearcats fell to 8-7 ... Kiel's touchdown pass was his 31st of the season, tying a single-season school record.