10/25/97 - 8:40PM ET - Click reload often for latest version
NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- VIRGINIA TECH (17) 0 7 3 7 17 WEST VIRGINIA (20) 3 24 3 0 30 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QTR: WVA - FG, JAY TAYLOR 44 YD, 10:02 2ND QTR: VTCH - TD, KEN HANDY 11 YD PASS FROM AL CLARK (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK), 1:54 WVA - TD, SHAWN FOREMAN 46 YD PASS FROM MARC BULGER (JAY TAYLOR KICK), 3:15 WVA - TD, MARC BULGER 1 YD RUN (JAY TAYLOR KICK), 4:31 WVA - TD, AMOS ZEREOUE 3 YD RUN (JAY TAYLOR KICK), 9:33 WVA - FG, JAY TAYLOR 20 YD, 14:50 3RD QTR: VTCH - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 33 YD, 10:36 WVA - FG, JAY TAYLOR 39 YD, 13:10 4TH QTR: VTCH - TD, SEAN SULLIVAN 1 YD PASS FROM AL CLARK (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK), 13:56
ATT: 63,649
GAME RECAPMarc Bulger threw for one touchdown and ran for another in a 24-point second quarter as 20th-ranked West Virginia defeated Virginia Tech, 30-17, in a key Big East conference matchup.
Bulger, who completed 15-of-25 passes for 217 yards, helped West Virginia (6-1, 3-1 Big East) position itself for control of the conference and a berth in an alliance bowl. The Mountaineers are one-half game behind Virginia Tech (5-2, 4-1) with a road game against Syracuse and home contests versus Temple and Pittsburgh.
Trailing 7-3 early in the second quarter, West Virginia scored 24 straight points, including three touchdowns, to break the game open. Bulger threw a 46-yard scoring strike to Shawn Foreman 3:15 into the period and, after a fumble, added a one-yard scoring plunge 76 seconds later.
Foreman caught six passes for 94 yards.
Amos Zereoue pushed the lead to 24-7 with a three-yard run before Jay Taylor capped the barrage with a 20-yard field goal 10 seconds before halftime. Zereoue finished with 153 yards on 29 carries.
Virginia Tech lost for the first time in three road games this season and had its nine-game Big East road winning streak come to an end.
After a 44-yard field goal by Taylor with just under five minutes left in the first quarter, Virginia Tech took its only lead of the game. Al Clark found Ken Handy with an 11-yard scoring pass 1:54 into the second quarter for a 7-3 advantage.
Graham and Taylor swapped field goals in the final five minutes of the third quarter before a one-yard touchdown toss from Clark to Sean Sullivan with 64 seconds left capped the scoring.
Clark was 14-of-34 for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked five times and threw an interception. Ken Oxendine, who was coming off his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and gained 104 yards against West Virginia last season, was held to 31 yards on 14 carries.
This was the 43rd meeting between the schools, with West Virginia holding a 26-16-1 advantage in a series that dates back to 1912. But the Mountaineers have won just three of the last nine games.