Virginia Tech and Boston College play for ACC title, Orange Bowl

11/25/2007 8:02 PM

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer left his last meeting with Boston College hoping he'd get another chance. Now he regrets ever wanting one.

``Now that it's time to meet them, you've got to find a way to beat them, and it's not easy,'' Beamer said Sunday as the sixth-ranked Hokies prepared for their rematch against No. 12 Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. ``They're a tough team to beat. So we're in here trying to get that figured out.''

BC (10-2, 6-2 ACC) will play Virginia Tech (10-2, 7-1) for the conference championship on Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. It will be the first time two former Big East teams have met for the ACC title; the Hokies defected in 2004 and are already playing for their third ACC championship; BC followed a year later and heads to the championship game for the first time.

``I hope the ACC is as glad to have us as I know Virginia Tech is glad to have the ACC,'' Beamer said. ``I don't think it's done anything but improve the conference.''

BC clinched a berth in Jacksonville by beating Clemson two games ago, then beat Miami 28-14 on Saturday. Beamer's Hokies clinched a spot in the title game with a 33-21 victory over Virginia on Saturday.

That earned them another chance to play BC, which won the first matchup at Blacksburg on Oct. 25 when quarterback Matt Ryan threw a 24-yard touchdown pass across the field with 11 seconds left.

``It was a hard-fought game, and we ended up making plays at the end when it counted,'' BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski said Sunday in a conference call with reporters. ``It will probably end up coming down to the last play of the game again. When you have two good teams playing, that's probably how it should go.''

The victory over Virginia Tech propelled BC to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25, and put Ryan among the Heisman hopefuls. But BC lost two consecutive games and their quarterback fell out of favor.

``I think the mark of a good quarterback is that he wins,'' Jagodzinski said. ``Matt has shown throughout the year that he can do that and he can make the big play. I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country.''

Virginia Tech has a good quarterback, too.

Actually, the Hokies have two of them.

Beamer has been rotating Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor at QB, hoping Taylor's mobility can make up for some weakness on the offensive line and provide a change of pace that puzzles defenses.

``Originally the plan was we were going to redshirt Tyrod and play Sean. We won 10 games with Sean last year,'' Beamer said. ``We're trying to get the best out of two guys' ability. We have two good quarterbacks and they can do different things.''

Taylor didn't play in the regular-season game against BC, so he's one of the few secrets remaining before the game.

Jagodzinski said he's got a strategy to stop the mobile quarterback.

``You end up playing 13 on defense and see if you get caught or not,'' he joked. ``That's probably the best way.''