Story of the Statlines: A Promising Performance vs. Pitt

From start to finish, with the exception of a few stray plays that went the way of the Pitt Panthers, the Virginia Tech Hokies put on their best performance of the Brent Pry era. The offense was clicking on all cylinders, and the defense made big plays time after time again, which set the Hokies up for success. They jumped out to an early 21-7 lead as the game headed into halftime and increased the lead by a touchdown early in the third quarter, making the score 28-7. Pitt responded in the blink of an eye with a one-play, 61-yard drive for a touchdown and a scoop and score two plays later on defense. Despite the wild plays, the Hokies never lost hope and finished strong as they ended the night with a 38-21 win in Blacksburg. While the whole team showed what fans have been waiting to see, one man especially showed up under the bright lights of Lane Stadium, and that was Kyron Drones.

The player of the game this past Saturday went to none other than quarterback Kyron Drones. From the poise he showed in the pocket to the threat he brings on both levels of the offense, Drones seems to have hit his stride just when the Hokies needed him most. The deep ball was cooking for him as he started off the game with a 54-yard bomb down the right sideline to huge target Da’Quan Felton and later hit the crossing Jaylin Lane for a 53-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach late in the third quarter. The ability for Drones to not only use his feet at times but also launch deep balls will continue to keep opposing defenses on their toes. By only completing 12 passes, Drones made it clear that he doesn’t just have to make plays through the air to win games, but will continue to use that to his advantage.

The combo of Bhayshul Tuten and Kyron Drones worked wonders for the Hokies, as they saw a season high in rushing attempts from their team, the majority of them coming from those two players. Tuten carried the ball 24 times for 109 yards and finally was utilized the way Hokie fans have been waiting to see. Drones had just three fewer carries than Tuten and rushed for 41 yards and two touchdowns. With some of those carries on broken-down plays, Drones used his running ability to his advantage and created yardage at times when it didn’t look like much was to be had. Having Drones as an extra weapon down in the red zone was also a huge boost to the Hokies offense and will continue to be down the road. Malachi Thomas also stayed involved in the run game and added 38 yards on 10 carries. At times this season, we have seen this Tech offense stray away from the run when it hasn’t been working, but the Hokies stuck with it, and it proved to be a huge reason for their victory.

Keeping this short and sweet, the Hokies believe they have finally found their groove as they put up the highest number of points they’ve ever had under head coach Brent Pry. Kyron Drones has been given the keys to this offense and, through three starts, has begun to piece things together. It seems as if all the work that the Hokies have been putting in thus far, combined with their best week of practice last week, made for a pleasing result that Tech fans will be carrying with them into next week and for the rest of the season.