Overton's 76-Yard TD Lifts Virginia Tech to 21-14 Win

Jeffrey Overton Jr.'s late 76-yard touchdown run vaulted Virginia Tech past Boston College 21-14 and into the school's top-10 single-game rushing list.

Virginia Tech escaped Alumni Stadium with a 21-14 win over Boston College on Saturday, improving to 4-0 and 1-0 in ACC play in miserable conditions — steady rain and wind gusts that Gobbler Country described as 40 to 50 mph. The Hokies, 14-point favorites, trailed 14-6 entering the fourth quarter after Eagles quarterback Mason McKenzie scored twice on the ground. John Love's two field goals accounted for all of Virginia Tech's first-half and early third-quarter scoring, before Ethan Grunkemeyer hit Marlion Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown and Overton ran in the two-point conversion to tie it with 8:05 left.

According to 247Sports, Overton finished with 209 yards on 25 carries, an 8.4-yard average, with one touchdown and the two-point conversion; Gobbler Country tallied his line as 190 rushing yards plus 19 receiving yards, a discrepancy between the two outlets over how his yards are categorized. Either way, the redshirt freshman's afternoon put him among Virginia Tech's all-time best single-game rushing performances.

Per 247Sports, the 209-yard day slots Overton sixth on Virginia Tech's single-game rushing list, behind Bhayshul Tuten's 266 (2024 vs. Boston College), Darren Evans' 253 (2008 vs. Maryland), Mike Imoh's 243 (2004 at North Carolina), Kevin Jones' 241 (2003 at Pittsburgh) and Michael Vick's 210 (2000 at Boston College), and just ahead of Khalil Herbert's and Branden Ore's 207-yard games. Notably, two of the seven performances on that list came against Boston College. On the season, 247Sports reports Overton has 409 yards and four touchdowns through four games. Virginia Tech rushed for 223 yards as a team, meaning Overton accounted for nearly all of it.

The Boston Globe reports the Eagles outgained the Hokies 94-29 in a scoreless first quarter and led 14-6 into the fourth, with McKenzie — who ran 26 times for 138 yards and both scores while throwing for 111 — accounting for 249 of Boston College's 261 total yards. Gobbler Country notes Virginia Tech again struggled to contain a mobile quarterback, a longstanding issue, and suggests the Hokies should have assigned a spy earlier. BC's ground game produced just 12 yards on 12 running-back carries.

Gobbler Country argues the win — Virginia Tech's first 4-0 start since 2017 and its first real adversity test of the James Franklin era — should make Overton the 1A back ahead of Marcellous Hawkins, whose third-quarter fumble shifted the rotation. It also credits edge rushers Aycen Stevens, Cortez Harris and Mylachi Williams, who have combined for 12.5 sacks through four games. For Boston College, The Boston Globe reports the loss drops the Eagles to 2-2 and 0-1 in the ACC, with Bill O'Brien calling the result 'very frustrating' before a road trip to SMU next Saturday at noon.