Arkansas has been blowing first half leads with alarming regularity. The first half lead they gained last night in the Belk Bowl looked very different from the others, though.
Virginia Tech’s Sam Rogers fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, giving the Razorbacks prime field positioning. Broken tackles were the bane of the VT defense in the first half, and Arkansas went into halftime up 24-0 on the hapless Hokies following a series of baffling calls by the perpetually confusing Big 12 refs.
When the third quarter kicked off, former Mansfield High stud Jerod Evans took over.
After struggling to complete passes in the first half and throwing a bad pick, Evans was suddenly surgical, hitting everything he needed to hit. He didn’t turn the ball over again, threw for two touchdowns and ran for one. Likely more importantly, his defense didn’t give up a single point in the second half to a Razorback offense that just seemed out of steam.
Evans has been incredible all season, and his mental toughness and calm in the face of a huge deficit helped his team out of many bad situations this year. The Hokies went 10-4 after losing to Clemson in the ACC Championship, but even so, Evans and head coach Justin Fuente have laid the foundation for a future that should see some serious success for Virginia Tech. The comeback that Evans lead was the largest comeback in school history. He also set records for most passes completed in a season, most touchdowns thrown in a season, most touchdowns thrown in a game, and most passing yards. Evans’ numbers were better than other Virginia Tech legends like the controversial Vick brothers (Michael and Marcus), Tyrod Taylor, and Logan Thomas.
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