Hokies fall short vs. Herd, 24-17

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP via Hokiesports.com) – Rasheen Ali ran for 174 yards and two touchdowns to lift Marshall to a 24-17 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Ali ran for touchdowns of 56 and 1 yards to keep the Thundering Herd (3-0) unbeaten.

Virginia Tech (1-3) was without injured quarterback Grant Wells, a West Virginia native who played at Marshall for three seasons before transferring to the Hokies prior to the 2022 season.

Kyron Drones started in Wells’ place. The Baylor transfer ran for two touchdowns and drove the Hokies past midfield in the final minute of the game. But Virginia Tech was called for a false start on fourth-and-1 at the Marshall 31 with 47 seconds left, and Marshall’s Josh Moten broke up Drones’ pass on the next play to end the threat.

Marshall was backed up against its goal line in the third quarter and Ali burst down the sideline for 61 yards to set up his short TD run.

Drones’ touchdown run of 31 yards in the first quarter came after Marshall’s Cam Fancher threw an interception, and Drones ran in from 16 yards out with 7:41 to play in the fourth quarter to pull the Hokies within 24-17.

Fancher completed 16 of 27 passes for 166 yards, including a 12-yard scoring pass to DeMarcus Harris in the second quarter.

Drones completed 19 of 35 passes for 160 yards and ran for 75 yards. Bhayshul Tuten led the Hokies with 88 rushing yards on nine carries. Virginia Tech gained 344 total yards.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech hosts Pittsburgh next Saturday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. ET. Following Tech Athletics’ announcement of a sellout, tickets for the game are available on SeatGeek, their official secondary marketplace.