"I don't care who gets the ball but I want teams we play to defend our entire offense," Carroll said.
Byrd has caught 15 passes in seven games this year. Even though he missed five games with a knee injury, Byrd caught 37 passes in eight games last season.
As an example of taking whatever the opponent gives USC, Carroll pointed out the Trojans threw several passes to fullback David Kirtman late in the game against Arizona State because the Sun Devils failed to cover him. Kirtman is ahead of last year's pace with 14 receptions in seven games. Last year he had 19 in 13 games.
"We've thrown at people depending on the defense," Carroll said. "The situation dictates a lot of that stuff."
With little to separate the top teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings, degree of difficulty and style points matter when it comes to impressing college football coaches and other poll voters.
In that regard, Virginia Tech achieved partial success Thursday night. The Hokies, ranked No. 3 and stuck behind Texas and Southern California in the BCS standings, faced Boston College (No. 14 in the BCS standings) and were not seriously threatened in a 30-10 victory at Lane Stadium.
It was an occasionally dominating performance by Virginia Tech (8-0), although it was not always pretty, particularly with the Hokies wearing garish uniforms featuring a single orange shoulder. The Hokies did not put the game away until early in the fourth quarter, when they scored 10 points. The final points came via a 13-yard interception return by Vince Hall with 3 minutes 13 seconds left.
The offense did not strike at will against Boston College (6-2), which kept this one within range until the fourth quarter. The Eagles even held a 7-6 lead after scoring in the second quarter -- the first time since the season opener Sept. 4 that the Hokies trailed in a game.
But quarterback Marcus Vick, playing in front of his older brother Michael, led two touchdown drives in the second quarter, and soon the score was 20-7 and the game was under control.
The first touchdown came on a 15-yard reverse by Eddie Royal, putting Virginia Tech in front, 13-7. Then Vick carried the Hokies to another score. He had runs of 15 and 8 yards on consecutive plays to move Virginia Tech to the 3 before throwing a touchdown pass to Josh Morgan with 33 seconds left in the first half.
Vick completed 22 of 28 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown and ran for 52 yards on 13 carries. But it was the defense, which entered the game No. 1 in the country by allowing nine points a game, that dominated Boston College. The Eagles were held to 27 yards rushing and 183 yards of total offense to Virginia Tech's 492 yards.
"They beat us on both sides of the ball," Boston College coach Tom O'Brien said. "It starts in the trenches, and if you can't control the line of scrimmage, it's going to be a long night. That it was for us."
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