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PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Kevin Jones rushed for a career-high 155 yards and two touchdowns as 22nd-ranked Virginia Tech regained its winning form with a 35-0 Big East Conference rout of Temple. A national title contender for much of this season, the Hokies had their championship aspirations dashed in recent weeks with a home loss to Syracuse and an embarrassing defeat last Saturday at Pittsburgh. But facing perennial doormat Temple, the Hokies (7-2, 4-2 Big East) had little trouble, building a 14-0 lead at halftime and posting their fourth shutout of the season. "I'm really proud of my football team," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "They came in and played very hard. We didn't make plays in the two losses. Today we did. I thought we had some big stops defensively. A lot of negative things were written, but there are a lot of good football players in that locker room." In his first career start, Jones had his coming out party Saturday, scoring on runs of 11 and 87 yards. One of the most highly recruited running backs in the country, Jones has helped fill the void left by Lee Suggs, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener. "I think I would've been ready regardless," Jones said. "That was my goal, to establish myself as a starter." Beamer compared his exciting freshman to Michael Vick, who was taken first overall in this past April's NFL draft. "He broke out here, just like another No. 7 did," Beamer said. "He had a big day. Once he gets in the secondary, he's tough to catch." It also was a big day for Virgina Tech's defense, which forced six turnovers. Temple (2-7, 1-5) suffered its fourth straight loss and has lost 12 of 15 all-time meetings against the Hokies. "Our offense's inability to sustain a drive and get the ball in the end zone is very frustrating," Temple coach Bobby Wallace said. "Any time we get in the red zone, we're our own worst enemy. We've got half the team playing pretty good and the other half not." With defeats in consecutive games for the first time since the 1997 season, the Hokies started slowly in this contest and did not score until there was 2:20 left in the opening quarter, when Grant Noel found Andre Davis with a 41-yard touchdown pass. It was Davis' 16th career touchdown reception, moving him past Carroll Dale into third place on the school's all-time list. Traditionally boasting one of the nation's top special teams, the Hokies got a big play from that unit in the second quarter. Under a heavy rush, Temple freshman punter Jace Amore fumbled and Vatech Austin recovered for the Hokies on the Owls 11. On the next play, Jones went up the middle for a touchdown, making it 14-0 with 11:56 left in the half. Mike McGann started at quarterback for the Owls and went just 1-of-6 for 13 yards and an interception before being replaced by Mac DeVito, who was 11-of-34 for 152 yards and two interceptions. Jones, who carried 21 times, scored on an 87-yard run with 8:41 left in the third quarter, extending the Hokies' lead to 21-0. Jarret Ferguson ran two yards for a score with just over two minutes left in the period. Noel provided the final margin, finding Ernest Wilford with a 34-yard touchdown pass with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter. Noel finished 11-of-15 for 134 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Virginia Tech held a 359-237 advantage in total yards.
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