JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The halftime aerial shot from the Direct TV blimp of Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on Saturday was colored in aqua. Since that happens to be the color of the stadium's seats that was anything but good news for ACC officials.

The 77,497-seat stadium was maybe half full for the ACC championship game between Virginia Tech and Boston College. The attendance for the game was listed at 53,212, which was the number of tickets sold.

"It's not up to the standard that we're looking for in terms of a championship football game," ACC commissioner John Swofford said at halftime.

Swofford said the league will make a decision in the next two weeks in regards to where the game will be played next year. Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa, Fla., have submitted bids.

"We had some really good discussions [Friday]," said Swofford, referring to Jacksonville officials who still are hoping to keep the game.

The inaugural game between Tech and Florida State drew 72,749 in 2005. Last year's contest between Georgia Tech and Wake Forest had an announced crowd of 62,850, but it wasn't nearly that crowded.

Tech fans did their part Saturday, as most of the first- and second-deck stands behind the Hokies' sideline were colored in orange and maroon. Still, there wasn't much buzz and enthusiasm about the game close to the 1 p.m. kickoff.

The Tech defensive players said the low-key atmosphere was at least partly to blame for their spotty first half.

"We're just used to Lane Stadium being packed and there were a lot of empty seats here," Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers said.

"We really just had to sit down and get into the game.

Not this time

When informed that Vince Hall had said that he had upstaged him by returning an interception for a touchdown with 11 seconds left, Xavier Adibi laughed. Adibi's pick and 40-yard return provided the final score in the 30-16 victory.

"I had a little bit of extra room with mine, so I just had to take it to the end zone," Adibi said. "I wasn't going to let no one behind me catch me, especially Matt Ryan. I knew nobody was going to catch me."

Did he keep the ball?

"I didn't keep it. I almost threw it in the stands," said Adibi.

Finally a touchdown

Senior Josh Hyman, who at 24 years old and seven months is the oldest player on the Tech roster, caught a 13-yard pass from Sean Glennon to tie the game at 16-16 late in the first half. It was his first TD reception since his redshirt freshman season of 2004 when he had four.

"We're all glad to see the 'Old Man' finally get one," flanker Eddie Royal said. "He's been so close all season long, getting tackled on the 1, on the 3 ... he's made big plays all year and I'm just happy it happened in the biggest game so far."|

Tech tidbits

Josh Morgan likes this game. He had seven catches for 128 yards and a TD in the Tech's 27-22 loss to Florida State in the 2005 game. Morgan had eight receptions this time for 55 yards, including a 5-yard TD catch. ... Flowers' 75-yard return of Brown's PAT block marked the first time that Tech has scored two points in that fashion since 1999, when Ronyell Whitaker turned the trick against Rutgers. ... Glennon's streak of passes without an interception ended at 149 when he was picked off by BC safety Jamie Silva. ... Brown's two first-half blocked kicks gave Tech four blocks for the season.

Hokies return home to celebrate ACC title

BLACKSBURG -- Frank Beamer danced.

Fresh from their victory over Boston College in the ACC championship game the Virginia Tech football team invaded Cassell Coliseum on Saturday night to celebrate with the faithful fans who couldn't make the trip to Jacksonville.

Roughly 6,000 fans, many who had stayed after the Tech men's basketball win over UNC Asheville, cheered as the team -- sporting sweat suits and t-shirts that read "A minor setback for a major comeback" stormed the court and showed off their shiny new ACC championship trophy.

Clutching an orange in his left hand -- "We're going to the Orange Bowl," he hollered -- Beamer recalled the tragic shootings on the Virginia Tech campus on April 16.

"For all those people who died, for the victims and their families, this is for them tonight," Beamer said.

Then it was time for more celebration. Beamer, acting as DJ, asked "can we get some music, these guys want to dance," then did a little Hokie shimmy and shuffle himself.

Katrina Waugh contributed to this report