Hokies Drop OT Heartbreaker in Season Opener at Vanderbilt
Morale was left in question after the Hokies were upset by the Vanderbilt Commodores 34-27.
Virginia Tech went into this game with hype on a nationwide scale. They were two-score favorites and had filled up FirstBank Stadium better than the home crowd. But despite playing in what was essentially Lane Stadium West, they failed to set the tempo to start the game. This defensive unit was marketed as one of the stronger ones in the ACC with the amount of talent they had returning. This was a high-octane group that emphasized establishing a scrappy game plan to throw off opposing offenses. The Commodores had other plans in mind though.
The Hokies couldn't stay off the field on defense. Vanderbilt dominated time of possession and drained this team's energy. Virginia Tech's offense is strong and Kyron Drones can be special when everything is going according to plan. They just couldn't establish any sort of tempo to start. Now, I'm no coach, but with an offense like this, I expect us to try and attack a rather weak Commodores secondary right out the gate. Instead screens, check-downs, and blown-up run schemes were all Tyler Bowen could cook up. Nothing about how they were playing was advertised going into this matchup. The only play that had significant promise was a wide-open pass to Jaylin Lane that had touchdown written all over it. That pass was unfortunately tipped in the backfield and picked off. That play had significant damage to this team, as they continued to struggle to get themselves out of an early rut.
Don't get it wrong though, these first-half woes were mainly on the shoulders of this defense. Vanderbilt was running down the Hokies's throat with their heavy run option game plan to start. Diego Pavia and Sedrick Alexander had worked this defense to its core, inherently opening up some big plays through the air. Now I'm not one to single out players, but a reset desperately needed to be had with Mansoor Delane at halftime. The man is gifted and has incredibly impressive raw traits. He and Dorian Strong were marketed as one of the better cornerback duos out there. Strong held his own, but Delane was getting heavily targeted. You could tell this defensive staff entrusted Delane with holding his own in man coverage. The reps just weren't going his way. Whether it was a mental clog or poor scheming, something just wasn't working for him. Fans know what he can be capable of and are looking for him to brush it off heading into this week's home opener against Marshall.
In a fast first half, the Hokies had gone down 17-0 with time left in the second quarter. A drive filled with miscues saved by a big play from Jaylin Lane led to a 40-yard field goal from Josh Love. Trailing 17-3 at the half, this team was in desperate need of a flame.
One glaring omission from the first half was the presence of Bhayshul Tuten. The senior playmaker was only given a couple of touches on the ground and check-downs from broken plays. The Hokies came out of the tunnel in the second half looking for a spark, and #33 stepped up to the plate. On the day, his numbers weren't that impressive. But Tuten came out the gate with a 24-yard touchdown and the Hokies wouldn't have been the same without it. Their first two touchdowns of the day came from him and Vanderbilt made an emphasis on stopping him. Just like that, they had busted this defense wide open.
Kyron Drones needed to get going and it seemed like the coaching had finally given him the go to air it out. What resulted in it? The Gosnell brothers combined for six receptions and 126 yards in the second half. A couple of big drives from them had set Virginia Tech up to close this 17-point gap. Vanderbilt desperately needed to slow them down, but Drones wasn't done just yet. A 62-yard bomb to Ali Jennings gave the Hokies their first lead with four minutes and 21 seconds left. That comeback was poetry in motion. Shocker to none, when they let Drones cook the team ran with him to an unlikely lead. We didn't see what this offense could be, we saw what it should be.
The defense had also flipped a switch, holding the Commodores to just three points during the Hokies' offensive barrage. Pavia had zero completions throughout the third quarter and was relatively silent to start the fourth quarter as well. Delane had cleaned up, and our front seven was doing a great job containing Pavia. The tides had shifted on both sides of the ball and all signs led to Virginia Tech closing out a strong second-half burst.
But you read the title, this carousel of chaos doesn't stop here.
In the blink of an eye, the shades of that disastrous first half poked its head back up. Pavia picked apart the Hokies with chunk plays. 16-yard pass, then 19-yards, then 9, then 5. Just like that, Vanderbilt tied the game back up with just under two minutes to spare. If there was ever a time to not stall out it was now. You'd just dominated the second half 24-10, one good drive shouldn't throw everything off right? 3 and out. Another dropkick to our hearts and the Commodores were given the perfect chance to wrap it up with a field goal.
Not so fast. A shocking miss from 43 yards gave Coach Pry another shot to save his team from shock.
It was the most cursed overtime I've seen yet as a Hokie fan.
Pavia killed them all day on the ground, totaling 106 yards and the game-winning touchdown in OT. Fans were robbed of an OT "Drones Strike" when he suffered a cramp in his lower leg to finish the 4th quarter. Collin Schlee was given a shot to play Superman for the day but fell flat in the red zone. The Hokies had fallen 34-27 in what was one of the more heartbreaking losses under the Pry regime.
Good teams are expected to step up in situations like these. We see elite teams struggle against underdogs a lot. The ability to finish out the games you are expected to win, no matter what, is the deciding factor if they're capable of being true winners. Virginia Tech needed today to be their moment and didn't capitalize on it. This isn't a cry for help or a sign of the times. It's been one week. But trust is in massive question now amongst fans. The future of this season and the program as a whole is vastly unknown. However one thing is for certain, the outlook going into their home opener has completely shifted.
