Virginia Tech holds first practice in Shreveport for Independence Bowl

Tulsa’s Dane Evans tossed for 374 yards and a trio of scores.

Michael Brewer and the Hokies will be fired up for Beamer’s final game, but two touchdowns against a good offensive team looks like a good play.

The win sets them up for the holiday break, where Martelli said five of his players would be not be traveling back with the team and head off to go with their families for the break.

In the end, as it should have been, it was the Virginia Tech defense who stepped up and sealed the deal when it seemed Tulsa was on the move to take the lead in this buffet of passing and points. Fittingly, the Beamer era finish was helped by a big special teams play, getting a 67-yard punt return for a score from Greg Stroman. The total is also sitting at 61.5 points for today’s game at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. 107 points, 1161 yards of offense, 57 first downs, and a lot of happy Hokie fans.

Ford trumped them all in a game that featured a tie for the second-most points ever in a bowl that ended in regulation, and a tie for the third-most points in any bowl.

The second-half scoring pace wasn’t quite as frantic.

Tech led 45-31 at halftime, with Ford catching 10 passes for 188 yards.

Tusa rallied from 21 points down to get within three with just under four minutes remaining, but the Hokies held off the Hurricanes on their final drive.

Tulsa’s Keyarris Garrett became the NCAA receiving yardage leader this season after catching eight passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Fortunately for the Hokies, Dadi Nicolas sacked Evans when it mattered the most.

“We just ran out of time”, Tulsa first-year coach Philip Montgomery said. The kick sailed above the right upright and was ruled wide. In Tech’s 50-42 three-overtime loss at Syracuse in 2002, Wilford had 279 yards. Their next drive? 75 yards in 5 plays and 59 seconds. Andre Davis had 962 yards and 9 TDs in the 1999 regular season, then added 108 yards and a TD (1,070 yards, 10 TDs) in the Sugar Bowl against Florida State, back when bowl games didn’t count in season stats.

Miami lost its sixth consecutive bowl game. The Golden Hurricane defense has been virtually nonexistent all season, giving up 38.6 points per game, ninth worse in the FBS.

Gaskin’s other scores came on 2- and 1-yard runs in the first quarter and a 13-yarder in the fourth. They’ve had one of the best nation’s best offenses this year and rely on the big play to stay competitive.

Marshall is 4-0 in bowl games under Coach Doc Holliday, including a 20-10 victory over Florida International in the 2011 St. Petersburg Bowl. The Huskies failed in their bid to have a winning record for the first time since 2010. Frank Beamer is all smiles as he exits his last game as head coach with a win.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Taylor said he had spoken with Beamer’s replacement, Justin Fuente, who came to Virginia Tech from Memphis.