Cheers and Jeers: Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech played about as poorly as they could have and for much of the game the Hokies tried desperately to match that energy. Nevertheless, they persisted and the good Tech came out on top with what qualifies as a comfortable win for this squad with a 21-6 victory. 

The broadcast mentioned that there are a ton of Gosnell brothers. If there are others with remaining eligibility we will take them to help this offense. Even if they don't currently play football, I'm sure they'll figure it out naturally and take their natural place among Benji and Stephen. 

Jeers

The Virginia Tech offense kind of feels like a dry erase board that's cleaned weekly. It rarely seems like the players or coaches carry over anything learned from the previous games in terms of sticking what works. They fill the board up again each week, but it often takes a couple of quarters to get there. Sure other teams get film and adjust so you can't keep spamming the same plays like it's College Football 25, but certain concepts seem to come and go despite being effective. Even something as simple as moving the pocket to give Kyron Drones better running options and force the defense to defend him differently seems to quickly be forgotten even on a day like this when he was sacked and strip-fumbled on the first play of the game. 

It's even more noticeable given the broadcast's mention that Brent Pry discussed focusing on go to plays or concepts like the stretch run using the tight end as a blocker that was featured so effectively against Boston College. Focusing on what the Hokies are good at is absolutely the right move but it's clearly still a work in progress at this point. 

Offensive Challenges

Cheers

Standouts All Over

Guys were making plays all over the field with a couple of notable efforts particularly on defense. Keonta Jenkins led the Hokies with 10 tackles and he was absolutely all over the field throughout the afternoon. He finished with two tackles for loss with the most important coming on a key 4th and 1 at the beginning of the third quarter. Defensive lineman Wilfried Pene had a great game up front with five tackles that inlcuded a sack. I'll admit that when he brought down Zach Pyron in the backfield I yelled, "Pene! Delicious!" which is a brutal pun that I'm sure he's never heard before. 

The offense was much more of a struggle with yards tough to come by any way Tech drew it up. Kyron Drones had the fun stat line of catching, throwing, and running for a touchdown but he had a tough day overall. The passing game never quite clicked and the ground game sputtered as well. The Hokies managed just 233 total yards on the day which normally isn't nearly enough. Paired with a strong defensive outing however, Tech got the job done. 

Side note ACC Network, who is Adams? Jaylin Lane threw the pass to Drones. 

Final Thoughts

This was an odd game but ultimately a good win. It always strikes me that games on or around Halloween get a little goofy. There's just a strange energy in the air and it always seems to manifest on the football field. This game had the Hokies oddly in control of a contest where the opponent out-gained them considerably and won the time of possession battle all while the Hokies punted 10 times —for an impressive 49 yards per Peter Moore kick. It all worked out, but it wasn't the prettiest road to glory. 

Now comes one of the most fearful road trips a Hokie can take, to the former Carrier Dome now known as the JMA Wireless Dome. The name doesn't matter. Even with a renovated roof that removed the inflated charm of that house of horrors we all know what's up. The Orange look primed for their classic mid-season fade after rolling up a bunch of early wins over small northeastern colleges and the pride of the SUNY system. Despite that, Hokies know there is no safety in that Godforsaken dome. Prepare accordingly.