This season, the Hokies have already retired the No. He already has a Hokie career record 35 TDs (34 rushing). In addition to his penchant for holding on to the ball, he also has a nose for the end zone. Since his last fumble, Suggs has rushed 313 times without putting it on the ground. His only fumble came in 1999 on the 14th carry of his redshirt freshman season in Virginia Tech’s 58-20 victory at Rutgers. Suggs had just one fumble in 327 career carries prior to the Marshall game, not including his 20 carries in the 2000 Gator Bowl, according to the Hokies’ sports information department. As if all the touchdowns weren’t impressive enough, Lee Suggs, Virginia Tech’s senior tailback, was in the midst of a streak that may be considered even more remarkable coming into Thursday night’s game. Leftwich helped the Thundering Herd pick up three quick touchdown in the final 5:38 (on drives of 80, 81 and 80 yards), but the damage was done. Virginia Tech had built a 33-0 lead a minute into the fourth quarter, and the Hokies’ defense was able to sag for the remainder of the game. “People have been making (a big deal) about us since the beginning of the season, so it’s about time we finally got a chance to go out there and prove it,” Suggs said. Virginia Tech had drives of 14 and 15 plays in the second half, capped off by touchdown scoring runs of a yard each by Suggs and Jones. Hand it off to Jones and Suggs and let them milk the clock. The Hokies, who scored on all but two of their possessions, did what they do best in the second half. Marshall drove into Virginia Tech territory two more time in the quarter, but turned the ball over on downs each time when Hokie defensive ends Nathaniel Adibi and Davis got pressure on Leftwich and Virginia Tech’s secondary held their coverages. Three plays after the interception, Jones raced into the end zone to increase Virginia Tech’s lead to 20-0 with 9:11 left before halftime. Early in the second quarter, with Marshall trailing 13-0, Leftwich made his only major mistake of evening when he was intercepted by Hokies linebacker Mikal Baaqee at Marshall’s 47-yard line. Marshall place-kicker Curtis Head had a 22-yard field goal rebound off the back of one of his offensive linemen with the Thundering Herd trailing 3-0 and 7:05 remaining in the first quarter. 16 Marshall (1-1) into third and long situations. It was the third-most passing yards ever surrendered by the Hokies, but Virginia Tech’s defensive front pressured Leftwich in the first half to force No. Leftwich finished 31-of-49 passing for 406 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Hokies quarterback Bryan Randall, 5-of-12 passing for 101 yards to go along with 36 rushing yards, was erratic in his first start. Virginia Tech’s Kevin Jones and Lee Suggs ran … and ran, and ran, and ran. Other than the lopsided final score, nothing was unexpected about the matchup. Virginia Tech defeated Marshall 47-21 in front of 65,049 fans at Lane Stadium and a national television audience. Leftwich got his numbers, but his team got a thumping. If Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich was expecting Thursday night’s tussle with Virginia Tech to propel him to the forefront of the Heisman Trophy race, he’d better hope the voters don’t hold the thundering Herd’s shaky defense against him.
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