Minnesota shortened the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Friday and leaned on its defense for a 24-10 win over Virginia Tech.

The Gophers ran a 15-play drive in the third and fourth quarters that took 9:20 off the clock and ended with a field goal. They took 4:35 off the clock on the previous possession just to go 29 yards and punt. But it worked. Virginia Tech got just 3 second-half possessions and the Gophers flummoxed each of them.

With the win, Minnesota extended its streak of consecutive bowl victories to 8, a mark that stretches back to 2015. The Gophers end the year at 8-5 while Virginia Tech drops to 6-7.

Here are 3 takeaways from the game.

Minnesota defense dominates

Virginia Tech averaged 8.3 yards per pass attempt — a fine number — but the Hokies were constantly behind the chains. Minnesota sacked Hokie quarterback Pop Watson 5 times. And it held the Hokies to just 4 yards per play on first downs. A disruptive defensive performance had the Hokies out of sorts all night.

Virginia Tech began the game with 3 consecutive 3-and-outs. After an 8-play, 80-yard touchdown march from Virginia Tech to take a 7-0 lead, Minnesota responded with a 21-3 run in the second quarter to take control of the game. In the second half, Minnesota limited the Hokies to 76 total yards of offense and just 18 plays.

The Hokies only got 3 second-half possessions while the Gophers sat on the ball on offense. The lone possession in the third quarter ended in a punt after 7 plays gained only 22 yards. On the Hokies’ final 2 drives, Minnesota held on fourth down twice.

After Max Brosmer threw an interception with 7:03 to play, Virginia Tech had one last chance to tighten things up and make a game of it. Defensive back Dante Lovett caught Brosmer’s pass off a deflection and returned it to Minnesota’s 15-yard-line.

In a 14-point game, the Hokies desperately needed a score. Instead, they went backward. After an 11-yard pass from Watson, 3 straight plays were stopped in the backfield for losses and Virginia Tech was forced to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 14. Za’Quan Bryan jumped a Watson pass and ended the threat without any damage done.

Minnesota was able to run out the remaining 4:24 to walk away with the victory.

Darius Taylor closes strong

Minnesota tailback Darius Taylor ran it 20 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a 10-yard touchdown pass. The 100-yard effort was Taylor’s fifth of the season and the ninth of his Minnesota career. That pushed him into a tie for the 10th-most such games by a Gopher player in program history.

Just a sophomore, Taylor will have a chance to leave his mark all over the Minnesota record book if he stays healthy. With Max Brosmer playing his final game for the Gophers (he went 18-for-29 for 211 yards, 1 score, and the aforementioned pick), Taylor could very well be the offensive engine next season for Minnesota just like Mo Ibrahim was several years ago.

Virginia Tech, shorthanded, does itself no favors

The Hokies were missing their entire starting secondary because of opt-outs and the transfer portal. Their regular starter at quarterback was once again unavailable. There were reasons to enter into Friday night with tempered expectations. Still, Virginia Tech didn’t help itself.

Offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen drew the ire of Hokie fans all throughout the game with his play-calling. After the Hokies’ fourth-quarter interception, Bowen’s sequencing was questionable at best. Rather than let Watson — who has flashed considerable potential late in the year — cook, Virginia Tech split his time with Colin Schlee and never really let Watson find a rhythm. He threw for 254 yards in the win over Virginia on Nov. 30 and threw just 12 passes on Friday.

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.

What do good teams with good players do? They lean on their talent. The Hokies have caught lightning in a bottle with Pop Watson. There is no question that the Hokies’ gameplan revolves around Mr. Watson. He has all of the aspects and attributes that you would expect out of an elite quarterback. Not only is he a great leader, he has an exceptional arm, he’s never panicked, he’s so confident, he’s so fast, and he can throw the ball 40 yards in a flick.

Virginia Tech has a chance to trot out the future of their franchise at quarterback for the game that’s going to matter the most, there’s no reason to not put the entire trust of the offense in his hands. Get Watson in space, give him time to load up, bootleg him to the strong side of the field and have him throw absolute bombs all game. If nobody’s open? Fine, run the ball for countless yards down Minnesota’s throat. If Malachi Thomas does not play, Watson will be the most effective runner on the field.

Put the ball in Pop Watson’s hands. He knows what to do with it.

This will be hard to do with a short handed defense, but it’s no question that Brosmer is a rhythm quarterback, he thrives off timing and if he’s not on, he’s really not on. Iowa put on an absolute clinic on Brosmer earlier in the season. Outside of the second quarter, Minnesota’s quarterback really had minimal success. Outside of the second quarter, Brosmer was 11-for-18 with just 91 yards, two interceptions, and no touchdowns.

Minnesota couldn’t really drive down the field against Iowa, and Virginia Tech, although limited in their players, have to abide by similar rules. Play aggressive defense in the secondary, get Brosmer out of his rhythm, and attack from there. Minnesota is definitely a beatable offense but if the Hokies let the Gophers walk all over them, it’ll be a long day.

How does one beat a team that seems to be in a better position than one’s own? Surprise them. The key example of this was earlier in the season when the Vanderbilt Commodores took down Alabama, the Commodores thrive off of chaos. Did they win because they had the most talent on the team? No. They caused chaos offensively and defensively, but because of the Hokies’ situation on offense, any gameplan should be considered chaos.

Now defense is the big question mark here. It’s entirely possible that Brent Pry goes really conservative with his plan on defense, doesn’t throw out any new looks, and they get smashed on defense. But it’s also possible that after the departure of Chris Marve, Pry is going to throw new looks in the air. That’s what I imagine happening in this game if the Hokies are prepared to win.

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One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating. 

Heightened concerns over drone activity

A Chinese national was sentenced to six months in prison in September after pleading guilty to illegally flying a drone over ship repair yards in Newport News, court records obtained by the Virginian-Pilot reveal. 

The incident raised national security concerns due to the proximity of the yards — used by BAE Systems and NASSCO — to the Naval Station Newport, the world’s largest naval base, located along the York River. 

According to the records, Fengyun Shi, a graduate student from China studying agricultural engineering at the University of Minnesota, purchased the drone on Jan. 3, 2024, The Pilot reported Thursday. Two days later, he traveled from San Francisco to Newport News, where he took photos of the repair yards and Newport News Shipbuilding.

His surveillance came to an abrupt halt when light rain forced his drone into a tree near 65th Street and Huntington Avenue on Jan. 6, attracting the attention of local residents and law enforcement as Shi attempted to retrieve it. 

Shi left for California before wind gusts dislodged the drone. Law enforcement later recovered the device, prompting an investigation by Newport News Police and the FBI. Shi was arrested in San Francisco on Jan. 19 while attempting to board a one-way flight to China.

The case underscores growing statewide concerns about unauthorized drone activity near sensitive areas. Reports of mystery sightings in the western and southern Virginia, including Danville, Fincastle, Floyd, Pulaski, Radford, Roanoke, Salem, and Vinton, have prompted state officials to ramp up surveillance.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Dec. 14 that the Virginia State Police Homeland Security Division and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management are monitoring the issue through the state’s Fusion Center, which coordinates intelligence among law enforcement agencies.

In a statement, Youngkin said he is “concerned” about a lack of sufficient information shared by federal partners regarding drone incidents. “Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the commonwealth has been insufficient,” Youngkin said. 

Va. Beach city council to weigh future of Pharrell’s Something in the Water festival

The Virginia Beach City Council will decide whether organizers of the popular Something in the Water musical festival, founded by hometown star Pharrell Williams, can move forward this April after organizers missed a Dec. 31 deadline to announce their lineup and begin ticket sales, the Virginian-Pilot reports.

The multi-day festival, launched in 2019, has drawn high-profile performers, including Virginia natives Missy Elliott, Chris Brown, Clipse and Trey Songz, and other popular artists, such as Usher. Organizers had agreed to receive up to $500,000 in city funding, contingent upon meeting specific goals and ensuring transparency in the planning. 

Last year, organizers faced delays, postponing the festival from October to April and missing a deadline to sign a sponsorship contract that would grant the city greater oversight of planning and coordination. While the contract was eventually signed, the city council is set to revisit the issue on Tuesday. 

Manassas Park seeks charter change amid timing concerns

Manassas Park officials are pushing for changes to the city’s charter, including updates to candidate requirements for city council and rules for the city manager’s residency. However, InsideNOVA reports that the General Assembly may not act on the proposal this year. 

City Attorney Dean Crowhurst told the outlet that the council’s Dec. 10 decision to approve the changes came too late for legislation to be filed before the upcoming session.

If adopted, the changes would allow, city council candidates to qualify for office without party nominations or petition signatures from registered voters.

The proposed updates would also ease residency requirements for the city manager, allowing them to live within 30 miles of the city rather than inside city limits.

Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: [email protected]