• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

'Beamer ball' prevails as Virginia Tech downs Clemson

Oct 7, 2007 - 3:22 AM CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) -- As long as Frank Beamer is roaming the sidelines, Virginia Tech will continue to win with special teams and defense.

No. 15 Virginia Tech returned an interception, punt and kickoff for a touchdown and forced three turnovers en route to a 41-23 triumph over 22nd-ranked Clemson on Saturday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle.

"That was four hours of work right there," Beamer said.

Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper's night got off to a bad start when he was intercepted by safety D.J. Parker just over a minute into the contest. Harper scampered 32 yards for a touchdown to give Virginia Tech an early 7-0 edge.

Eddie Royal seemed to enjoy his new role as the Hokies' punt returner. His first return went for 33 yards and helped set up Jared Develli's 32-yard field goal.

Royal made the most of his next return, cutting to the right side and finding a seam to break off an 82-yard effort for a score to extend the advantage to 17-0 with 4:48 still remaining in the opening quarter.

"I can truly say we emphasize it," Beamer said of Virginia Tech's special teams. "It really is a third of our preparation - offense, defense, and special teams. We try to get the best people possible on special teams."

Royal also had another punt return for a touchdown called back because of a block in the back.

Cornerback Victor Harris, who also had an interception, continued the miserable night for Clemson's special teams.

After Clemson (4-2, 2-2 ACC Atlantic) got on the scoreboard with Mark Buchholz's field goal, Harris broke a school-record 100-yard kick return for a touchdown to give the Hokies a 24-3 lead in the second quarter.

"We can't work any harder on special teams," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. "We're just going to have to figure out the right combination of players and continue to work hard."

It was the 112th non-offensive touchdown for Virginia Tech during Beamer's 21-year tenure as the school's coach.

Virginia Tech (5-1, 3-0 Coastal) took a 31-8 lead into the intermission despite being held to just 91 yards of total offense.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor passed for 65 yards and connected with Justin Harper on a 21-yard touchdown strike for Virginia Tech, which managed just 219 yards of offense in its fourth consecutive win. Taylor also collected 118 yards on the ground.

"Tyrod's play on third down was fantastic," Beamer said. "His play was big because we were getting ready to punt back to (Clemson). We just needed a play at the time and he not only got us a first down but he got us good field position."

The disappointing season continued for Hokies tailback Branden Ore, who rushed for just 35 yards on 23 carries. Ore did punch in a two-yard touchdown rush in the final minute to make it 41-23.

Harper completed 38-of-66 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for the Tigers, who converted just 2-of-18 on third down.

"We just had to abandon the running game," Bowden said. "We couldn't afford to waste plays and are going to have to figure out the problem there."

Harper connected with Tyler Grisham on a three-yard touchdown strike, and Aaron Kelly made an impressive acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard score.

"Our players fought back in the second half, but we dug ourselves such a deep hole to start the game that we just couldn't climb out," Bowden said.