Virginia Tech Sends Frank Beamer Out a Winner in a Very Anti-Beamer Ball Way

And so it ends. 

Tough to swallow for most in Blacksburg, Virginia, yet still understood by that same majority, Frank Beamer's tenure as not only the best football coach in Virginia Tech history, but also as one of the best ever college football coaches period, ended with Saturday's 55-52 Independence Bowl win over Tulsa. 

Saturday marked the 23rd straight season the Hokies played in a bowl game. Perhaps it was most fitting that the streak started with the Independence Bowl in 1993. 

The college football world needed one last purge, though, to exorcise Beamer from the game and to close the book on a legend. 

That purge happened in the form of an Independence Bowl-record 107 points scored by both teams. The 55 scored by Virginia Tech were the most in school history, per ESPN. 

Beamer's teams were never known for high-powered offenses, even during the mythical Michael Vick years. Vick was explosive, but his team as a whole wasn't.

Instead, the Hokies relied on the colloquial "Beamer Ball." That meant playing solid defense and swinging the tide of the game with special teams. It meant dominating in the trenches and scoring points off turnovers. On Saturday, though, the Hokies and Golden Hurricane went into barnburner mode. 

Through the first quarter of the ballgame, the Hokies led 24-21. It seemed as though 25 years of forgotten firepower on offense was ready to explode. 

In the end, Virginia Tech collected 30 first downs. They racked up 598 total yards of offense. They also gave up 563 yards to the Golden Hurricane. 

Even Beamer said afterward he wasn't accustomed to that style of ballgame, per Jon Laaser, the radio voice of the Hokies (0:20 mark). 

There were still Beamer Ball moments, no doubt. It wouldn't be a Frank Beamer-coached game without them. The Hokies' final touchdown with Beamer roaming the sidelines was Greg Stroman's 67-yard punt return. 

Classic Beamer Ball and a perfect ending to folklore. ACC Digital Network highlighted the memorable ending:

Then the final meaningful play, sealing a win and quelling a Tulsa comeback effort—a Dadi Nicolas sack to end the Golden Hurricane's final drive. 

That sack ended a tenure that includes a 238-121-2 overall record (those 238 wins are the most in the FBS by an active head coach as of this year), 11 bowl victories in 23 tries, seven conference titles and two Maxwell Coach of the Year awards—a mark noted by ESPN's Ron Jaworski:

Seeing Beamer fade into the sunset elicits stronger emotions than Frodo and Co. sailing away from Middle Earth. 

While the end choked up plenty of Blacksburg's most faithful disciples, the coach himself seemed at peace with moving on, per ESPN. 

"I realize how fortunate I've been to last this long at Virginia Tech," Beamer said. "All I am is grateful and looking forward to the next step."

But the thrilling win gives the Hokies a brighter outlook for the future, which includes former Memphis head coach Justin Fuente as Beamer's replacement.