Cheers and Jeers: Virginia Tech vs. Marshall

On Thursday afternoon I took delivery of a new television. It wasn't entirely necessary, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything for these articles. It turned out to be the correct move as there was plenty of good stuff to watch in beautiful "High Definition" on the CW. Even my wife asked at one point, "Why is it so blurry?" The studio show in particular appeared to have been filmed with old cameras in a basement lit by Ed Wood. That's perhaps not the backdrop to break in a 4K TV, but it's what we were given. 

All part of a a wild ACC Saturday that saw the Hokies notch their first win of the season with a 31-14 outing against Marshall. 

The Tech offense is a stark contrast this season between the first and second half. They seem to make solid adjustments at the half but just can't figure out what to do during the opening quarters. There was a complete inability to go deep in the first half as well. Once that happened a couple of times in the second half things opened up, though that also was partly due to an improved run game. 

Something will have to change to nip this nasty habit, particularly with respect to the passing game which doesn't tend to rally until the Two-minute Timeout. Side note: do we really have to call it that? 

I shouldn't get Robert Irby started on which school has the legal rights to Beamerball at this point, but the Hokies were only half worthy against the Herd. Jaylin Lane was a revelation as the punt returner with a gutsy touchdown up the middle the open the scoring. 

Allowing a punt to get blocked which set up an easy touchdown certainly cancels that out though. I've always felt Peter Moore takes a little long to get his kicks off —NOTE: I have no evidence beyond truthiness and gut instinct here— and it finally got to him in this game. Credit to Marshall as well. It's really tough to block kicks these days with modern protections so it's impressive either way.

Meanwhile, John Love nailed a 42-yarder and continues to be reliable. Tech's special teams remains a promising work in progress. 

The defense was much tougher overall and gave up one of two touchdowns on a short field following a blocked punt. The unit got two sacks and created a turnover on a deflected pass that was picked off by Mansoor Delane. Tech held the Thundering Herd to 278 yards and 12 first downs. 

It's still not clear to me why Marshall stuck with Stone Earle and his 36% completion rate yesterday. He made a handful of plays and hung in there but Tech's pass defense woke up in a big way to limit his effectiveness.  

Hear me out. Only because of a bizarre set of circumstances that began with the original Nick Castellanos home run of doom, do we get a top talent like Thom Brenneman on the call. His fall from grace has ended with him landing in the ACC which feels oddly fitting. 

He made up for the "vintage" picture quality and former USC and Pittsburgh QB Max Browne was fine as the color guy. These games should be pretty good on the CW this season as many random ACC games tend to be. 

There was also a cool Johnny Cash documentary on after Tech-Marshall wrapped up. Overall, I rate the network a solid partner once again this season. 

Of course, they couldn't do anything about the menacing castle shadow that blocked half the field until the sun went down. 

While the picture quality wasn't great, the images were first rate from the helicopter cruising the gorgeous skies above Blacksburg. Lane Stadium was quite full for the home opener. That came across as the crowd and stadium looked and sounded outstanding. 

The classic home uniform combination of maroon tops and helmets with white pants looked great in the 2024 version. So far the uniforms are 2 for 2. 

The Hokies gave in to the inevitable and just started giving Bhayshul Tuten touches on Saturday. He finished with 120 yards and a score on 22 carries. He also caught four passes with little to show for it. 

Tuten also remains a threat for opponents to account or in the return game. He's an important part of Tech's offense and it was good to see him get on track in the game. Malachi Thomas had some nice runs as well and finished with 52 yards while legacy P.J. Prioleau chipped in 23 yards. Tech was able to salt the game away with good runs in the fourth quarter. A little depth behind Tuten is critical as well so great to see everything here. 

This was a solid bounce back and much-needed win for everyone's sake. There are still plenty of things to work on in all facets of the game, but the Hokies did what was needed and got a nice W in the home-opener. 

There are surprising concerns about the offense but much like last season, I think of lot of that will resolve with an improved rushing attack. There's too much talent in the Hokies' wide receiver room to continue to struggle so much in the passing game. 

Old Dominion is next up on the Brent Pry redemption tour. It shouldn't be a tall order to outdo the previous performance there. Tech returns to the somewhat infamous scene where the Pry era began with a loss. Complete with an instantly meme-worthy coaching staff stuck in the elevator moment. 

This might be a good time to use Tim Sands' new position to get a waiver and allow everyone to coach from the sideline.