Tech to meet UC in 2012 Virginia Tech will play Cincinnati in 2012 at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, Tech announced yesterday. The game was originally scheduled to be this season’s opener, in Cincinnati. But the Hokies moved it to 2012 to accommodate a game against Alabama in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, which they lost 34-24. Now, the location is moving, too, though the Bearcats will technically be the home team.

Among the dozens of items on Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg’s mental checklist before this season were two that emerged—one positively, the other less so—in yesterday’s first game, a 69-55 win over Brown at Cassell Coliseum. Greenberg wanted to find a scorer, or two or three, to complement his main offensive options, point guard Malcolm Delaney and forward Jeff Allen. To that end, his other three starters—guard Dorenzo Hudson, forward Terrell Bell and forward Victor Davila—each scored eight points and combined to shoot 9 of 20.

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—When a game that had been over for hours officially ended, the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrated like they usually do. Coach Frank Beamer smiled as he walked off the field, waving to the fans sitting in the visiting section of Byrd Stadium. Cornerbacks Stephan Virgil and Rashad Carmichael mugged for photos, flashing the palms of their new gloves, special for this game, to show the “VT” logo on them.

BLACKSBURG—A banner hangs from the ceiling of Cassell Coliseum, commemorating Virginia Tech’s last trip to the men’s basketball NCAA tournament, in 2007. Today, the Hokies will play under that banner again, as they begin their season at 4 p.m. against Brown, a season whose success will hinge almost entirely on whether they can return the NCAAs.

Grading the three keys B+Make Jamarr Robinson look inexperienced. The sophomore made his first career start in place of senior Chris Turner, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee last week against North Carolina State. The Terrapins’ offense did not perform well, getting just one field goal and gaining 236 yards. Maryland went three plays and out on six of its 12 drives. But Robinson did OK, despite being sacked six times for a loss of 28 yards. Counting the sacks, he ran 24 times for 129 yards, though he completed just 12 of 32 passes for 104. B-Continue to defend the run well. Maryland’s tailbacks barely carried the ball. Davin Meggett had four carries for 4 yards, Caleb Porzel two for minus-4. Robinson did most of the running. Without sacks, he ran 18 times and had seven gains of 10 yards or longer—12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 25 and 28 yards. AFind some excitement in the game. Despite a lackluster environment at Byrd Stadium, which did appear mostly full, the Hokies were able to take care of business against an overmatched team. But since Georgia Tech won at Duke to clinch the ACC’s Coastal Division, the Hokies’ biggest questions now are: Which bowl will they play in? And: How will they wash the mud off their new white jerseys, which they debuted yesterday, before they auction them off?

After Virginia Tech’s 36-9 win yesterday at Maryland, Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said Memphis has not contacted him about its head coaching vacancy. Foster said “I might be” interested in the job, which opened this week when Memphis fired Tommy West. He will finish the season, his ninth. Foster, who is in his 15th season as Tech’s defensive coordinator, has long stated publicly that he wants to eventually become a head coach, preferably in one of the six major conferences aligned with the Bowl Championship Series. Memphis is outside of those six, in Conference USA.

Score: No.20 Virginia Tech 36, Maryland 9 For starters: The Hokies led 27-3 at halftime, as they gained 289 yards, including 200 passing by quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who was 10 of 17 and threw a career-best three touchdowns before halftime. Turning point: Essentially, the game was over in the first quarter, when the Hokies drove 72 yards in eight plays, and Taylor threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andre Smith, giving Tech a 14-0 lead. Star of the game: Taylor—The junior finished 13 of 23 passing for 268 yards and three touchdowns. He ran eight times for 81 yards. His 349 total yards were his most in his 33 games at Tech. His previous best: 328 this season at Duke, where he threw for 327. Big picture: Though the Hokies enjoyed the win, it was tempered by Georgia Tech winning 49-10 at Duke, meaning the Yellow Jackets locked up the ACC’s Coastal Division and secured a spot in the conference championship game. Tech represented the Coastal in that game the past two seasons. Now, the Hokies are just playing for bowl placement and pride. Go figure: 5.3—Points Tech averaged in the first halves of its previous three games. The Hokies trailed Georgia Tech 7-3 and eventually lost, trailed North Carolina 7-0 and eventually lost and led East Carolina 13-3 and went on to win. Next: The Hokies return home Saturday to play North Carolina State. It will be Tech’s first home game since it lost 20-17 to North Carolina, a 15½-point underdog, on Oct. 29. State is 1-5 ACC, 4-6 after losing 43-23 to Clemson yesterday. The Hokies have played the Wolfpack twice since joining the ACC in 2004, losing that season in Blacksburg 17-16 and winning in 2005 in Raleigh 20-16.

Tyrod Taylor threw for 268 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, and No. 20 Virginia Tech built an early 24-point lead before coasting to a 36-9 victory over Maryland on Saturday.

W hen : 1 p.m.  O n the air: Online - ESPN360.com; radio - WRNL (910), 11:30 a.m.
  Records : Virginia Tech 6-3, 3-2 ACC; Maryland 2-7, 1-4 ACC
  Players to watch: Virginia Tech - QB Tyrod Taylor, Jr., 96-171-3, 1,452 yards, 9 TDs; TB Ryan Williams, r-Fr., 189 carries, 1,109 yards, 10 TDs; LB Cody Grimm, Sr., 79 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 8 quarterback hurries, 4 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. Maryland - RB Davin Meggett, 79 carries, 269 yards, 4 TDs; LB Adrian Moten, Jr., 53 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 pass break-ups, 1 forced fumble.

2 Continue to defend the run well. Tech’s defense made progress last Thursday, in a win over East Carolina, as the Pirates had no runs of 20 yards or longer. In the Hokies’ first eight games, they allowed 14 20-plus runs - the same number they allowed in 14 games last season. The Pirates ran for 110 yards, a week after North Carolina diced the Hokies for 181.

BLACKSBURG Davon Morgan feels like his college years have zipped by. He still remembers coming to Virginia Tech as a freshman two years ago, ready to play again after missing all but four games of his senior season at Varina High because of a broken leg. He is a junior now, with the rest of this season and all of next to make the most of a college career that also has been marred by an injury.

BLACKSBURG The thoughts nagged Brent Bowden every time he stepped on the field to punt last season. He’d stand there, waiting for the snap, and suffocate his mind by thinking about what he shouldn’t do, how if he dropped the ball toward the inside of his foot, the punt would sail left. One bad punt, he knew, might lower his average and disappoint him when he checked his updated statistics after the game, which he always did. He needed a good average to keep his promise to himself of making the all-ACC team, to progress from 2007 the way he believed he should, to prove he was the best punter who ever played at Virginia Tech—and to make everyone forget how they thought he cheated his team.

BLACKSBURG Back home in New Jersey, Kelly Conheeney played on a club soccer team called the Montclair Aristocrats that, befitting of its name, sent all of its high school seniors to Division I college teams. Despite competing with such skilled players, Conheeney knew coming to Virginia Tech this fall and playing in the ACC, which draws some of the nation’s best women’s soccer players, would pose a greater challenge.

THE BASICS: 5-11 senior guard
Wright, an elegant scorer who is particularly effective in transition, led the ACC with a 20.5-point scoring average in 2009. She piled up 696 points, a U.Va. single-season record. The ACC’s preseason player of the year will flourish if the Cavaliers can create and sustain a fast-flowing tempo.
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VIRGINIA   Key players: G Monica Wright, Sr., 20.5 ppg, 3.1 apg; F Chelsea Shine, So., 5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg
  Notable: Optimism is running high in Charlottesville. But is it justified? The Cavaliers must replace Lyndra Littles and Aisha Mohammed, who combined for 32 points and 17 rebounds. Opposing defenses will gang up on Wright unless someone—Shine? Paulisha Kellum? China Crosby?—emerges quickly as a consistent source of double-dight offense.