Both defenses tightened up after halftime and the Virginia Tech Hokies squandered a couple scoring opportunities as they still trail the Miami Hurricanes, 20-12, after the third quarter on Thursday night.

Freshman running back Duke Johnson had another strong kickoff return to open the second half, bringing the ball out to Miami's 45-yard line. The Hurricanes went three-and-out, however, and that set the stage for a quarter featuring alternating punts before Virginia Tech put together a 10-play drive that brought them all the way down to Miami's one-yard line.

Knocking on the door on third-and-goal, however, quarterback Logan Thomas fumbled the ball and the Hurricanes' Luther Robinson made the recovery to end the Hokies' primary scoring threat of the frame. It was Virginia Tech's second turnover of the night, and the second in Miami territory, as Thomas also threw an interception in the red zone on the game's opening drive.

The Hokies would get the ball back after a Miami three-and-out, but after driving to the Hurricanes' 30-yard line, placekicker Cody Journell missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, keeping the score at 20-12.