Story of the Statlines: Virginia Tech vs. NC State

In a very strange game for Virginia Tech, from being down as much as 21 points to coming up just short in the end, losing by one score, the Hokies inconsistencies rang true in the contest. It seems like just when you think the Hokies have figured out their offense and learned how to get on top of teams early, they sink right back into their early-season ways. Playing against a talented NC State defense, this game was a tough one going in, but giving up 35 points in only two and a half quarters of play to their usual lackluster offense was not supposed to be a part of the Hokies recipe for winning. Give them credit, though, as Tech didn’t give up and fought back in the remainder of the game, but ultimately fell 35-28.

Looking at the box score, you would blame Bhayshul Tuten for playing badly in this game, but realistically, the running game for the Hokies was nonexistent through all four quarters. On the first four drives for Virginia Tech, they punted four times and immediately dug themselves into a 14-0 hole. Throughout the rest of the contest, the Hokies were in pass-only mode, as Tuten didn’t see another carry for the remainder of the game. Coach Pry accredited the low carry amount to having to abandon the run because of the deficit Tech faced so early, but it is still a questionable move to not let arguably your second-best offensive player even touch the ball through three quarters of a football game.

For years, the Hokies have had Brennan Armstrong’s number, as he was 0-2 in his career before Saturday's game against Tech while playing previously for UVA. Armstrong is no longer a Cavalier anymore, as he joined the Wolfpack this season, and apparently they bite hard. He lit up the Tech defense for almost 300 total yards and also added four touchdowns to the mix. It had seemed that Virginia Tech had figured out how to contain dual-threat quarterbacks this season, limiting their ability to escape out of the pocket and find running lanes, but Armstrong had our defense duped all game long. The Hokies knew coming in the type of quarterback Armstrong was, but they just couldn’t figure out how to stop him in either facet of his game.

This is just not a winning solution for the Hokies, as NC State had possession for 40:37, while Virginia Tech only had possession for 19:23. The lack of a run game for Tech really hurt them in this matchup, and the offense for NC State was clicking on all cylinders early. The Hokies defense just could not get off the field and gave up chunk play after chunk play to the NC State offense. Credit Brennan Armstrong and Kevin Concepcion for their talented play last Saturday, but this is a tough pill for Virginia Tech to swallow going into their final game against UVA for the Commonwealth Cup and a potential bowl game berth.