Dominant Bounce Back in Stanford as the Hokies Look Towards Midseason Rally

The Hokies mow down Stanford 31-7 in what could be the kindling to an essential mid-year explosion.

You can exhale now, Hokie nation.

Last week, the world witnessed one of the most talked-about games in Virginia Tech football history. I won’t waste your time reliving that nightmare, but the anger from the game carried over to the following week. I mentioned last week that the Hokies have an inferno brewing, which didn’t go anywhere. Part of me has to feel bad for Stanford, they didn’t warrant this level of beating. But push comes to shove in college football, and Coach Pry was on a mission to show why last week wasn’t just a spoiled Cinderella story.

Stanford had their window of opportunity to start the game. They put together a solid drive to cross midfield, but Aeneas Peebles wasn’t amused by their antics, halting the drive with his third sack on the season. The Hokies didn’t have to worry about exchanging bombs from 50 yards this week, as Stanford couldn’t convert their 53-yard attempt. From here the Hokies were off to the races.

This offense had a certain moxy to them to start. It wasn’t necessarily the difference in play calling, we saw a lot of similarities compared to the game plan for Miami. The first big play of the day was the same end around Jaylin Lane scored on except it included Takye Heath as a decoy motioning to the opposite side. Drones were set up in the red zone on his first drive for the second straight week and capitalized on a 9-yard touchdown to Stephen Gosnell, notching his first of the year.

They carried themselves with a confidence we hadn’t seen consistently. It poked its head up on the first 4 games and was prominent in the Miami game, but this time there was no doubt that confidence was going to waiver. This was in part due to the way Coach Pry carried this team into the matchup. There was no harping on what could be perceived as a bad call. Instead, he put it in the rearview mirror, something all fans desperately needed to do. We’ve seen younger coaches let losses like that take their minds over. When a team faces that level of adversity with the second-largest Friday audience since 2018, it can be difficult to not lose that mental battle with yourself. Props need to be given to how Pry handled such a sensitive situation amongst players and coaches.

Without his leadership, I truly don’t believe Kyron would’ve been able to have such a clear head on the field. When I say this version of Kyron was night and day from opening day, that may be an understatement. Kyron these last couple of weeks has been operating on a higher level. A small misconnection last week clouds the box score, but he’s passed the eye test and has looked extremely sharp. His footwork isn’t sporadic, he’s going through his progressions smoothly, and he's complimenting his ability as a passer with his legs. Their second scoring drive was purely through the trenches, with 11 of 13 plays on the ground totaling 53 yards topped off by Bhaysull Tuten getting into the endzone for the sixth straight game. The Hokies went into the half with a dominating 14-0 lead and showed no signs of slowing down.

A trend I’m sure every fan loves to see is coming out of the locker room with a bang. All year long, the Hokies have dominated in the second half. Their point differential in the first two quarters compared to the last has been substantially one-sided. It’s been two weeks now that we’ve seen the Hokies come out with an explosive play. This week it was the offense’s turn.

A connection that’s struggled to be rekindled this season for Drones has been the one with Da’Quan Fleton. Felton led to team in receiving yards and touchdowns last year but has been off to a rather quiet start. To start the second half though, it was a different story. It took four plays to drive down 75 yards, Da’Quan Felton was the reason for that. A 17-yard gash followed by a 55-yard “Drones Strike” to Felton and the Hokies led by three touchdowns. Against Stanford, he doubled his production on the year with an 84-yard showing. It was all-you-can-eat for this Hokies offense and the Cardinals were gasping for air.

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Stanford managed to find a spare oxygen tank and put together their most productive drive in a while. However, they took an interesting approach. I understand the difficulties they had entering the game at quarterback. Their starter Ashton Daniels dressed for the game but was sat for Justin Lamson due to injury. Lamson’s strength is his mobility and the overall strength of the offense that day had been on the ground. But down 21, you have to find a way to get the passing game opened up. They put together their first scoring drive, and all be it with a fun finish with running back Micah Ford passing to Elic Ayomanor, but they burnt seven minutes in the process. They’d shot themselves in the foot a couple of times on the day and continued to throughout the fourth, but Stanford failed to set themselves up to even compete in this game.

Coach Pry wasn’t complaining though. 

While the offense initially responded with a three-and-out, Keonta Jenkins got his first interception of the year to set Kyron Drones back up in enemy territory. Drones was truly exceptional on the day. He ran for his third touchdown on the day, putting the nail into the Cardinals’ coffin. He finished 14/19 through the air for 201 yards and earned his season-high QBR with an 87.8, topping last week’s 82.5 rating. One more score from last week's ACC Specialist of the Week John Love and the Hokies wrapped up a magnificent 31-7 blowout victory. 

This team progresses every single week, and fans are taking notice. You opened as two-score favorites and won by four. You withheld expectations and knocked them out of the park. It’s the first game in a month that Tuten didn’t rush for 100 yards, yet they still managed to dominate. The defense held Stanford to 258 total yards, their lowest allowed all year. When you have both units having their most efficient days in a scorching, road environment, you’ve got a recipe for success brewing. This wasn’t a fluke blowout, this was Virginia Tech getting weight off their chest. This unit is getting more efficient by the week and is going into a perfectly timed bye. They get to rest from back-to-back flights and get ready for some Thursday night action on October 17th.

Eyes are being drawn back into Virginia Tech football the more the season progresses. They’ve faced the adversity early on and now have a wide-open ACC ahead of them. Despite failed attempts to spoil undefeated seasons back-to-back, they’ve still found a way to maintain hope. The sky has always been the limit for this squad, and against Boston College, we could see the continuation of a much-needed rally for Coach Pry’s unit.