Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech: Score and Twitter Reaction for 2014 Military Bowl

Virginia Tech ended an up-and-down 2014 season on a high note Saturday, as the Hokies defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 33-17 in the Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

The game was tightly contested throughout the first half, but Cincinnati struggled to keep up in the second, especially after star sophomore quarterback Gunner Kiel left with an injury in the third quarter.

One can only assume that Virginia Tech had a bit of extra motivation entering the game, as head coach Frank Beamer recovered from throat surgery in time to coach from the press box, according to Nathan Warters of The Free Lance-Star:

His son, Shane Beamer, essentially acted as the head coach on the sidelines, but junior defensive tackle Corey Marshall made it clear before the game that Frank Beamer had prepared the team to succeed even without being on the field, per Tom Schad of The Washington Times:

"[Coach Beamer's] left a good imprint on this football team," Marshall said. "We know how to conduct ourselves even if he's not steering the ship, until he gets back right. … We'll go out here and take care of business for him."

Marshall proved prophetic, as the Hokies played hard and were especially strong in the game's latter stages.

Cincinnati was able to move the ball quite smoothly throughout the first half due to the play of Kiel. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, though, they struggled to finish their drives.

After kicker Andrew Gantz missed a 51-yard field goal on Cincinnati's opening possession, its next one ended with Kiel throwing an interception in the end zone. He was picked off by sophomore cornerback Kendall Fuller.

Fuller impressively went up and wrestled the ball away from the Cincinnati receiver in midair. Hokies Journal speculated that he may have tricked Kiel into throwing in his direction:

The Hokies were unable to capitalize on that turnover, however, as junior quarterback Michael Brewer threw an interception of his own just three plays later.

According to Jacob Emert of TechSideline.com, Brewer was totally to blame for the pick, as he made things simple for sophomore safety Zach Edwards:

That would prove to be a costly miscue, as the Bearcats finally managed to cash in on the ensuing drive. Kiel completed three passes of 20 or more yards, including a 31-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Chris Moore, to put Cincinnati on top 7-0.

Per Bearcats Football on Twitter, that touchdown was Kiel's 31st through the air in 2014, which tied a school record:

That lead was short-lived, though. It took Virginia Tech less than two minutes to answer with a touchdown of its own. A roughing the passer call helped the Hokies get into Cincinnati territory, while a bit of trickery set up the eventual score.

Freshman wide receiver Isaiah Ford took a reverse, only to stop and throw a beautiful pass back to the quarterback for 30 yards. According to Warters, it was heralded as a spectacular toss on the telecast:

Junior running back J.C. Coleman ground his way to paydirt from a yard out just three plays later to make it 7-7.

After a pair of subsequent Cincinnati drives stalled, Kiel was intercepted for a second time in the closing seconds of the first quarter. This time, it was sophomore cornerback Chuck Clark who made an athletic, one-handed pick.

Per Mitch Carr of 8News WRIC, Clark may have saved a big play in the other direction with his circus catch:

The Hokies took advantage of field position in Cincinnati territory, and freshman kicker Joey Slye hit a season-long 45-yard field goal to put the Hokies back in control 10-7.

After getting the ball back with just under seven minutes remaining in the half, Kiel orchestrated another strong drive for the Bearcats. Cincinnati ate up six minutes and 23 seconds, and although it couldn't find the end zone, Gantz tied the game back up with a 25-yard field goal.

Most probably assumed that the score would be even at halftime, but sophomore running back Der'Woun Greene had other ideas for the Hokies when he returned the kickoff 46 yards to midfield. 

A 17-yard pass from Brewer to Ford put Virginia Tech in field-goal range, and it once again put points on the board, as Slye bettered his previous career long with a 49-yard make at the gun.

Virginia Tech took a 13-10 lead into the locker room despite the fact that Cincinnati dominated the half statistically, according to Mike Barber of The Richmond Times-Dispatch:

The Hokies clearly picked up some momentum from that late score, and they carried it over to the second half. Their first drive started with six straight runs, which got them all the way down to the Cincinnati 16.

Virginia Tech eventually found the end zone when Brewer tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Ryan Malleck, which made the score 20-10.

There was definite pressure on the Bearcats to make something happen after that score. And the Hokies continued to pour it on.

Kiel was sacked by junior linebacker Deon Clarke on the next drive, which caused a fumble. Big defensive tackle Nigel Williams scooped it up before fumbling in his own right, but Hokies cornerback Greg Stroman finished the play by recovering it and scoring a touchdown.

After Virginia Tech went up 27-10 on that play, injury was added to insult. Kiel was shaken up and had to be taken back to the locker room, per ESPN's Tom Gelehrter:

According to the ESPN telecast, Kiel suffered a head injury on the play, and he did not ultimately return.

With backup Munchie Legaux also injured, the Bearcats turned to No. 2 receiver and former high school quarterback Shaq Washington under center.

He surprisingly came out firing with a 31-yard completion to junior wide receiver Mekale McKay, but Cincinnati couldn't score on the drive.

After Slye added yet another field goal to put Virginia Tech up 30-10 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the game, the Bearcats were forced to abandon the Wildcat concept and turn to senior third-string quarterback Michael Colosimo.

As pointed out by Norm Wood of The Daily Press, Colosimo had very little game experience prior to Saturday's game, despite being a senior:

There wasn't much expected of the walk-on quarterback and former baseball player, but Colosimo made some plays to get Cincinnati back in the game.

With an excellent 43-yard throw to Moore for the first passing touchdown of his career, Colosimo pulled the Bearcats to within 13 points of the Hokies with less than 11 minutes left in the game.

Cincinnati attempted a somewhat surprising onside kick immediately after, but it didn't work, as the ball went out of bounds.

That allowed the Hokies to add another field goal with just under nine minutes left, which meant the Bearcats faced a 16-point deficit.

Cincinnati had a chance to make things interesting, but it couldn't make anything happen, and Virginia Tech went on to win 33-17.

Saturday marked Virginia Tech's 22nd consecutive season with a bowl appearance, and while the Hokies went just 6-6 during the regular season, the Military Bowl win helped them improve to 7-6.

That means that Virginia Tech also now has 22 straight winning seasons, all of which have come under the watch of Beamer. This may not have been an ideal year for the Hokies, but a Military Bowl win and an upset of Ohio State earlier in the season are great building blocks.

The Bearcats had a chance to win 10 games for the third time in four years, but Tommy Tuberville's team fell just short of that goal.

Losing Kiel certainly hurt its chances Saturday, but Cincinnati's future is bright with such a fine young signal-caller in place.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.