Photo by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech tailback Darren Evans (left) accepts congratulations from teammates after his 253-yard performance against Maryland.

BLACKSBURG -- After he finished his ESPN postgame interview with Erin Andrews, a grinning Darren Evans received congratulatory hugs from teammate after teammate on the Lane Stadium field Thursday night.

"Way to take it over, dog," backup tailback Josh Oglesby told him.

Evans did indeed take the game over. He rushed for a school-record 253 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries in the Hokies' 23-13 win over No. 23 Maryland.

"I should give you a pep talk more often," place-kicker Dustin Keys told him.

Keys had urged Evans to run hard while they were lifting weights this week.

Evans heeded the suggestion. He broke the Tech single-game rushing mark of 243 yards, set by Mike Imoh in a 2004 win at North Carolina.

"It's good when you're in the game and you're breaking long runs and you're tired," Evans said. "I like to be tired. That makes me know that I'm doing something.

"I got into a rhythm and [running backs] Coach [Billy] Hite just kept me out there."

The redshirt freshman entered the game having rushed for 519 yards on the season, including a 94-yard outing against Georgia Tech on Sept. 13 that had been his previous career high.

"People around campus [have] been doubting me. I hate that," he said. "I just heard rumors that I wasn't even going to get 100 yards. That just fueled my fire. ... It made me go harder."

Evans often pounded his chest after a key run. It was a tribute to his 2-year-old son, James -- he has a tattoo featuring James' name on his chest.

"I'm thinking about him all the time" in games, Evans said.

The Hokies needed Evans to shine. The team's second-leading rusher, quarterback Tyrod Taylor, missed the game with a sprained ankle.

"I knew that sooner or later, my day would come," Evans said. "I know I can do this now, with this game.

"It was cool to kind of get that [ESPN] exposure. ... I'm pretty sure I got about a million texts right now."

Evans' 1-yard TD plunge capped a drive he got started with a 50-yard burst up the left sideline in the second quarter. He was hoping to sprint all the way to the end zone, but he was dragged out of bounds at the Maryland 30 by cornerback Nolan Carroll.

"I should've stiff-armed him a little bit earlier," Evans said.

With Tech clinging to a 20-13 lead, Evans ran for 3 yards on fourth-and-1 from the Maryland 34. That series culminated with a field goal that extended the advantage to 23-13 with 7:30 to go.

"ECU game, we got stopped fourth-and-one," Evans said. "Boston College, we got stopped fourth-and-one. So we had to get that one." Evans and quarterback Sean Glennon were impressed with the holes made by the offensive line.

"There [were] a few plays there where kind of the Red Sea just parted," Glennon said. "It was definitely our O-line's most impressive performance this season."

Glennon, regaining his starting job because of Taylor's injury, completed 14 of 20 passes for 127 yards and one TD. Like Taylor, he had sprained his ankle in an Oct. 25 loss at Florida State.

"[I'm] a little sore, but a win makes everything feel better," he said. " I'm so thankful that I was able to play tonight because every year I look forward to our Thursday night game in Lane Stadium.

"I haven't played as much this season as I would've liked. It was going to take a lot of pain to keep me out of that game.

"Me and Tyrod suffered the same injury. It's just that the type of [players] we are, I can get away with not having a great ankle and still be able to play my game pretty well. Tyrod's game, you can't play as well without a good ankle."

Glennon wasn't the only Hokie to play quarterback Thursday.

Tight end Greg Boone, who had been getting practice snaps at quarterback because of the injuries to Taylor and Glennon, ran for 22 yards on six carries. Five of those carries came when the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Boone was lined up at QB.

Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said he put Boone in the "Wild Turkey" set so the defense wouldn't simply "tee off on our tailback."