KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech defensive end Jason Worilds (middle) celebrates after a sack of Miami quarterback Jacory Harris (bottom) on Saturday.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech kicker Matt Waldron (49) boots a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter on Saturday against Miami.

BLACKSBURG -- After Virginia Tech lost to Alabama in its Sept. 5 season opener, the consensus opinion was the Hokies had squandered all hopes of being a possible contender in college football's national title chase.

Guess what? Three weeks later, Tech finds itself back in the hunt.

As a result of its impressive 31-7 thrashing of then-No. 9 Miami on Saturday in Blacksburg, parlayed with losses by four teams in last week's top 10, Tech vaulted from 11th to sixth in each of the writers' and coaches' polls released Sunday.

The Hokies (3-1, 1-0 ACC) jumped the quartet that lost, plus moved past Oklahoma, which was idle last week.

Tech is the highest-ranked of any team with a loss, a list that includes such perennial contenders as Southern California, Oklahoma and Ohio State.

After playing three ranked teams in its first four games, Tech will be huge favorites the next two weeks -- at Duke (2-2, 0-0) on Saturday, then at home against Boston College (1-1, 3-1) on Oct. 10.

Then comes what figures to be the Hokies' toughest regular-season test left, a trip to No. 25 Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-1) on Oct. 17.

As the first month of the season has proven, nothing is hardly a given these days in college football. Rest assured, Tech coach Frank Beamer won't be talking about anybody but Duke this week.

When asked what coordinator Bud Foster said to the defense after silencing Miami's offense, cornerback Rashad Carmichael replied: "He said, 'Duke this week.' That's about it."

Pats on the back

Beamer dished out praise in all directions following the dismantling of the 'Canes:

On tailback Ryan Williams, who carried 34 times for 150 yards, and now ranks sixth in the nation in rushing (124 yards per game) and is tied for fifth in touchdowns (eight): "I'm impressed with that guy now. He runs hard, he can make a guy miss, he's got speed, and he hurts those guys when he's running."

On Tyrod Taylor, who has led Tech to a 16-3 record -- 11-0 at home -- as its starting quarterback: "I heard a lot about [Jacory] Harris [UM QB], but it was rightfully so.

"But I want it to be known that I like our quarterback. I think he's competitive, tough, does a lot of good stuff. I think he's a winner all the way. I thought he had a fantastic game."

On outside linebacker Cody Grimm, who registered a team-high 11 tackles, including 1 ¹₂ stops for loss: "You talk about a guy who means a lot to our football team. He's the personal protector on Pride [the punt team], he goes down on kickoffs. If you mention football player, that's the guy you ought to talk about on our team. We've got a lot of good players, but I tell you he's got a knack for this stuff, he understands the game. I really like the way he plays the game."

On the home crowd, 99.9 percent of which stayed until the final play despite spending the day in monsoon-like conditions: "I don't think anybody left. It rained all day long. Nebraska says they have the greatest fans, well, I think we've got the greatest fans. They hung in there with us."

Tech tidbits

Seldom-used reserve Jacob Sykes came up huge spelling Rashad Carmichael on the punt-return team. Coming off the edge unabated, Sykes blocked a Matt Bosher punt. The ball was recovered by another not-so-marquee name, Matt Reidy, for a touchdown that put Tech ahead 21-0 late in the first half. "I'm glad I was able to make a big play in the game," said Sykes, a redshirt sophomore cornerback. It was Tech's first blocked punt of the season.

... When asked if he agreed with the assessment that the 'Canes appeared to be a tad uninterested in the contest's final 10 minutes, Grimm said: "When you're down 24 in the fourth, sometimes you don't want to be here."

... Tech limited UM to 272 total yards, boosting it from 77th to 38th in total defense (325.5 ypg). ... Tech's rushing offense (216.5 ypg) improved from 33rd to 16th.