BLACKSBURG OK, it's serious time for the Virginia Tech football team. Tech is up to No. 4 in the polls. If the Hokies win out and finish 12-1, plus get some help, they will have a serious shot at a national title.

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Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor has answered the biggest question about his game: Can he throw the ball? He can, as his 995 yards, eight touchdown passes and one interception show. And his 159.59 passer rating ranks 10th nationally. "We're much better than we were a year ago," coach Frank Beamer said. "I think he's an exceptional quarterback right now."

BLACKSBURG Virginia Tech's coaches insisted for the past three seasons that the offense - ranked 99th or worse nationally each year - was often only a single missed block or blown assignment from breaking a big play. Saturday against Duke, Tech put away the pesky Blue Devils with two fourth-quarter touchdown runs that Josh Oglesby broke right through the middle.

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Despite a narrow win over Duke, Virginia Tech jumped one spot to No. 5 in this week's AP and coaches polls. The Hokies (4-1) slipped ahead of Boise State (5-0) after the Broncos struggled against UC Davis, a Football Championship Subdivision team that had lost 51-0 to Fresno State.

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When the finger snapped, jagged bone punching through skin, Cam Martin barely noticed. He just kept playing, kept tackling, kept going. After Virginia Tech’s defense forced a punt, the senior linebacker stopped long enough to empty a glove full of blood and get the finger taped before going  back in the game. He played through the pain.

BLACKSBURG Momentarily lost in the elation of Saturday's stunning, victory over Nebraska - made possible by the last-minute playmaking of quarterback Tyrod Taylor and his relentless receivers - was one very sobering fact: Before Taylor completed two passes for 92 yards and the winning touchdown in those final 104 seconds, he had connected on just five of his previous 19 throws.

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Virginia Tech's last-gasp victory over Nebraska, coupled with Miami's surprising start, has set up a classic, highly-anticipated meeting between the Hokies (2-1) and Hurricanes (2-0) this weekend. A convincing win over Georgia Tech vaulted Miami from

BLACKSBURG Rashad Carmichael is sick of hearing about how Virginia Tech's defense has been effective in its first two games... but for a few plays. The junior cornerback doesn't care that if you exclude seven snaps that accounted for 310 yards in the Alabama and Marshall games, opponents are averaging just 3.3 yards on the other 133 plays.

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It sure sounds like Frank Beamer and Bo Pelini could use a hand. Monday, as the two coaches began preparing for Saturday's showdown between No. 13 Virginia Tech (1-1) and No. 19 Nebraska (2-0), hands were a hot topic.

BLACKSBURG Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor and his teammates returned from Atlanta around 4 a.m. Sunday. Six hours later, Hokies coaches were already breaking down video of the season-opening loss to Alabama, 34-24. They were trying to pinpoint what went wrong with - and searching for glimmers of hope from - an offense that produced just 155 yards against the Crimson Tide.