MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Boise State wide receiver Austin Pettis (2) sails through the air after being hit by Tech cornerback Rashad Carmichael.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Boise State assistant coach Jeff Choate called Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer "the godfather of special teams in NCAA football'' last week.

Well, Beamer and his Hokies got whacked on special teams in the first half at FedEx Field.

Boise State scored its first touchdown after Austin Pettis came off the left edge of the line of scrimmage and blocked Brian Saunders' first punt of his college career. Pettis recovered the ball at the Hokies' 12-yard line, and the Broncos scored on a Pettis 8-yard touchdown reception from Kellen Moore to go ahead 10-0 only 5:12 into the game.

Later in the first quarter, Tech's D.J. Coles was called for running into Boise punter Kyle Brotzman. Coles then raced down the field in coverage and committed a personal foul on the return. So in the exchange, Boise went from a fourth-and-1 at its own 48 to a first down at the Tech 32. Seven plays later, Moore found tight end Tommy Gallarda, who made a brilliant one-handed catch for a 2-yard TD pass to give the Broncos a 17-0 lead.

Tech's special teams woes continued midway in the second quarter when new starting kicker Chris Hazley pushed a 34-yard field-goal attempt -- the first try of his college career -- wide right.

Representing Timesland

Tech's 70-player travel roster included five former Timesland-area standouts.

Redshirt freshman Andrew Miller (Bassett), who has moved into the top 10 of offensive line coach Curt Newsome's rotation, was listed as the No. 3 center for the game.

A pair of redshirt sophomores -- fullback Martin Scales (Bassett) and tight end George George (Salem) -- made the trip. Quarterback Trey Gresh and redshirt freshman fullback Joey Phillips, each of whom played at Blacksburg High, also had to pack their road bags. All are walk-ons except for Miller.

Gresh figures to be a frequent traveler this season, considering he's the backup field-goal holder behind punter Saunders, plus signals in offensive plays from the sideline.

Scouts galore

Scouts from 15 NFL teams requested press box credentials for the contest. The list included Atlanta, Seattle, New Orleans, Oakland, San Francisco, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Carolina, Arizona, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Washington, and the two New York clubs, the Jets and Giants.

Scouts from the Sugar, Fiesta, Humanitarian and Eagle Bank bowls also were on hand.

Quick kicks

Tech's two-deep offensive and defensive rosters for the contest included only eight seniors, four on each side of the ball. ... Only six players on the Tech defensive roster had started two or more games in their college careers before Monday. ... Tech will play for a third time at FedEx in 2012; it faces Cincinnati.

On deck

The Hokies will play again in five days, when James Madison visits Lane Stadium for Tech's Saturday home opener. The 1:30 p.m. game can watched on the Internet at espn3.com. The Hokies weren't expected to arrive back in Blacksburg until approximately 3 a.m. today.