The beat goes on: Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The ball fluttered toward Virginia tailback Mikell Simpson's hands as he reached back to catch quarterback Jameel Sewell's pitch. Later, Simpson would say that he ran too far ahead of Sewell on the option play, while Sewell would blame himself for flicking the ball too far behind Simpson.

But the whys didn't matter in this moment with 6½ minutes left in the third quarter, after which the Cavaliers' game against Virginia Tech would never be the same. Only the hows.

How the ball bounced off Simpson's hands, hit him in the face mask and fell to the grass. How Tech free safety Kam Chancellor scooped it up, giving the Hokies possession at Virginia's 10-yard line. How the Hokies scored a touchdown two plays later, the first of 28 unanswered points, and won 42-13, continuing to dominate a series that barely resembles a rivalry anymore.

"I think that play was that point where we could start dominating from there," said Tech redshirt freshman tailback Ryan Williams, who churned out a season-high 183 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries.

"It felt like they eased up. Looking in those guys' eyes before that play, they were hungry. They were ready to take our heads off at any second of the game. But after that, a lot of heads on their team started to drop, slouching around. They didn't really just seem like the same team [as they were] before that play."

Maybe the No. 14 Hokies (6-2 ACC 9-3) would have pulled away eventually anyway. There certainly were other moments that favored them yesterday at Scott Stadium, where they ended the regular season - and likely Virginia coach Al Groh's nine-year tenure in Charlottesville - by beating the Cavaliers (2-6, 3-9) for the sixth consecutive game, and the 10th time in the past 11 meetings.

Williams led an offense that scored at least 36 points for the third straight game. With 1,538 yards, he needs 110 in the Hokies' bowl game to break Kevin Jones' single-season school rushing record, set in 13 games in 2003.

Sophomore wide receiver Danny Coale, whom Virginia did not offer a scholarship, caught six passes for 185 yards and beat cornerback Ras-I Dowling for catches of 36 and 41 yards on Tech's first drive, which ended with Williams' first touchdown.

And the Hokies' defense was stingy again. Tech, which led 14-13 at halftime, held Virginia to 96 yards in the second half. The Hokies did it by shutting down Sewell, who ran 10 times for 99 yards in the first half, including seven for 91 in the first quarter, then five times for 24 yards in the second half, not counting sacks. Tech allowed two offensive touchdowns in the regular season's final four games, all wins.

Yet the game turned on that option play, second and 4 at Virginia's 26, with the Hokies up 14-13. Virginia cornerback Chris Cook had just picked off Tyrod Taylor's 25-yard pass in the end zone. Scott Stadium was buzzing. This was the Cavaliers' chance to end their misery against the Hokies.

It started auspiciously enough. Virginia took over on the 20 and handed off to Simpson for a 6-yard gain, after which Chancellor popped him, head-on. Chancellor believes Simpson was thinking about the hit when he tried to catch Sewell's pitch on the next play.

"He had his eyes on me instead of the ball," Chancellor said. "I could see him looking at me. It looked like he was saying, 'Don't hit me, please.' The eyes were just bigger. You could tell he was expecting a hit as soon as he got the ball."

After the game, per Tech tradition, Chancellor knelt in the end zone, plucked some grass with his hand and deposited it in a black metal lunch pail, the talisman of Tech's defense.

The second-tier bowl where the Hokies take it next remains unclear. As they wait for the invitation, they feel satisfied by how they responded to back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina - with a 4-0 finish, including the final three wins over conference opponents, none of which is eligible for a bowl, by 27, 28 and 29 points.

"I think the way we've been winning lately is still proving to people that we can play with the top teams in the country," said Taylor. "I'd take my team against any team in the nation."