Independence Bowl 2015: Game Grades, Analysis for Virginia Tech's Win vs. Tulsa

The Virginia Tech Hokies (7-6) defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-7), 55-52, on Saturday in the highest-scoring Independence Bowl of all time. 

Hokies' quarterback Michael Brewer led the Hokies with 344 yards passing, but sophomore receiver Isaiah Ford was VT's biggest star. The first-team All-ACC receiver caught 12 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown.

Virginia Tech tallied up 598 yards of total offense and also scored on Greg Stroman's 67-yard punt return to send legendary head coach Frank Beamer out a winner.

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Second-Half Grade
Pass Offense	A	B-
Run Offense	A-	B+
Pass Defense	C+	D+
Run Defense	C-	C+
Special Teams	A	B+
Coaching	A-	C+

Pass Offense: Outside of one pass, Brewer was good. Unfortunately, that one pass made the game more interesting. The Hokies were up 52-31 when Brewer was picked. Overall, Brewer had a strong game. Ford was unstoppable, and that led to him being named MVP of the Independence Bowl, as Virginia Tech Alumni noted via Twitter:

Run Offense: Tech rushed for 254 yards and five touchdowns. The offensive line was strong all night. Four different players ran for a score, and Travon McMillian paced the Hokies with 82 yards and two touchdowns. 

Pass Defense: It was a tough night for Bud Foster's defense. Things were especially tough in the second half as Tulsa QB Dane Evans had his way with Tech's young secondary. Fortunately for the Hokies, Dadi Nicolas sacked Evans when it mattered the most. 

Rush Defense: Virginia Tech allowed 189 yards rushing, most of which were of the big-play variety. The Golden Hurricane averaged 4.8 yards per attempt. The run defense improved in the second half, mainly due to Tulsa passing the football more.

Special Teams: "Beamer Ball" goes out with a bang as the Hokies returned a punt for a score, connected on both field-goal attempts, averaged 33 yards per punt return and over 26 yards per kick return. Special teams definitely played a role in this win for the Hokies. ACC Digital Network highlighted Stroman's punt-return TD:

Coaching: The offensive staff did a good job, especially in the first half. They were a little too conservative in the second half. Defensively, it's tough to pin this one on the coaches. Tech was often in position to make plays, but often missed tackles. Overall, how can you give Beamer nothing but a positive grade?