Story of the Statlines: VT vs WVU

This game was a story of two halves. The Hokies were able to hold their own in the first half trailing by only a touchdown. But in the second half, the West Virginia offense took the game over and never looked back. Tech's defense couldn't contain the Mountaineer offense for long and their offense couldn't get drives going into opponent territory.

The number one problem in the game Thursday night was the amount of penalties that Virginia Tech racked up, totaling 15 overall. It’s hard to win a football game when you commit that many penalties and the Hokies proved to not have restraint in this game. Some of these penalties included 3 pass interferences, 2 personal fouls, 2 false starts, and a huge roughing the passer call. Off these penalties, the Hokies gave the Mountaineers 8 automatic first downs which included important drives where penalties were committed on 3rd and 14 as well as 4th and 6. The Hokies showed a lack of discipline this game and look to make adjustments for next week against North Carolina.

It was no secret coming into this game that the Mountaineers had a premier rushing attack with CJ Donaldson and Justin Johnson Jr. For the most part in the first half, the defense for the Hokies proved to shut down the running game for WVU and forced them to run a pass heavy offense. The second half was a different story. The rushing attack for WVU were getting big gains through the middle of our defense and were gaining substantial yardage on first and second downs which allowed them to convert many of their second half drives into points. To sum it up, the defense was just worn out.

One positive that can be taken from this game is the presence of Kaleb Smith on the field for Virginia Tech. He had a nice touchdown grab that put the Hokies up early 7-3 and overall was the top receiver for them by a big margin. Kaleb looks to stand out this year as a veteran in a wide receiver room that is filled with young guys with potential. Expect VT to continue to use him as a top receiving option down the line this season.