Cheers and Jeers: Virginia Tech vs. Old Dominion

I tend to stay out of our running SOS group chat during games because it skews a tad reactionary for my tastes. I've seen way too many Tech games at this point to freak out too much about any particular thing —be it good or bad— or even a series of things. With this team in particular, the situation varies wildly based on the half so why freak out? 

It's a bit like when the stock market tanks on a Tuesday and everyone loses their minds, then by Friday all the losses are more than made up for and everyone is talking about record positive numbers again. 

I do like to peak in on the chat now and then though, and I enjoyed a point in the game when certain colleagues were discussing mass firings in a contest the Hokies went on to win by three touchdowns. 

Those are the spicy takes we stick around for folks. Seriously, try watching a game without social media and possibly your co-workers and see how all that chatter influences you and your opinion on the game. I'd wager dropping Mr. Musk's Hell site will lower your blood pressure at least a dozen points. 

At any rate, in the end it was a solid evening for the Hokies and even the crankiest fans with a solid 37-17 Virginia Tech road win over Old Dominion. 

That was one of the roughest broadcasts I can recall, even for ESPN+. Maybe I just had a bad stream but the audio was out of sync throughout the game. We were routinely shown bizarre camera angles and the producer seemed to drift in and our of consciousness given the number of shots that held too long and drifted from the original subject —or jerked away violently looking for the next subject.

The commentary was fine but the audio on the play-by-play was hilariously jacked up during much of the first quarter. It kept peaking and sounded a bit like our man had called in via a drive-through speaker from 1992.   

I realize these were likely student workers handling behind the scenes so I shouldn't be too harsh, but ESPN should try a little harder at the one thing they still do well which is show actual games. 

I'm always a bit reluctant to be critical of a unit that put up nearly 500 yards of total offense, dominated time of possession, and posted 37 points on the board. There were plenty of positives there but we saw some of the same, consistent issues rise up once again as well. The Hokies raced off to a 14-0 first quarter lead, but ODU adjusted and closed the gap to 14-10 when Tech failed to move the ball in the second. 

I can't be the only one baffled and concerned by this coaching staff's seeming inability to make changes on the fly. They regroup at halftime as well as any bunch that comes to mind but don't ask to fix it during the first half. 

Then there's the red zone offense, or lack thereof. Tyler Bowen has an unfortunate habit of forgetting what he's doing once the Hokies reach the opposing 20. Some of it is straight play-calling. It seems Bowen is under the impression that running Bhayshul Tuten into his linemen or doing the same with Kyron Drones is all that's allowed inside the five. We've seen more varied and effective calls from him in that part of the field, but some games he just seems to turtle at the most inopportune times. 

Still, it was nice to see a strong effort on the ground with two 100-yard rushers in Tuten and Drones. One of the top priorities is to get better at establishing the run early. It's no mistake that all of these second half offensive outbursts are keyed by rushing it effectively. 

The way Bhayshul Tuten runs combined with his stature and cool helmet visor reminds me tremendously of Shyrone Stith. Sprinkle a little Mike Imoh in there too and have a reasonable comparison for one of the best undersized backs in school history. 

Despite getting banged up and briefly leaving the game, Tuten returned to log 115 yards and two touchdowns. As much talent as Tech has on this offense, there isn't a more important player to making it all work than Tuten. He's just so dynamic and has a remarkable ability to make something out of nothing or turn utter disaster into a minor issue. The amount of yardage he saves on busted plays is almost as impressive as his recorded gains. 

Early in the second half the Hokies muffed a punt and had the good fortune to smoothly and clearly recover the football. They drove down the field and ended up with a disappointing field goal after another red zone stall, but it felt like a major turning point in the game. 

It was the kind of bounce that didn't go Tech's way in the opener. The Hokies never really looked back despite some fits and starts in the process. 

Antwaun Powell-Ryland finished the game with four sacks and Kelvin Gilliam Jr. added one of his own as the Hokies feasted on a pair of freshman quarterbacks. There's still that time-honored concern of getting gashed for big runs, but the long touchdown was because there was no safety and outside of that play the starting D held the Monarchs to three points. 

The Hokies are now 2-1 heading into a difficult match up at home next week with Rutgers. It hasn't been what folks want or expected so far but the season is still full of possibilities. I've sat through enough middling Tech games to know they don't usually end with as much breathing room as the last couple weeks. That this team has been able to grind out multi-touchdown victories two weeks in a row despite playing replacement level football is an encouraging sign. A great deal of improvement is still needed but there's time to figure it out before the still shockingly winnable —who wants it?— ACC coast-to-coast conference play begins.

Let's see how things develop from here as Tech attempts to salvage its non-conference record.