In games where possessions will be limited, every opportunity counts. When 4 of those possessions are straight up wasted, and several more are not capitalized on, it makes it very hard to win games. Unfortunately, that's exactly what the Hokies did against Georgia Tech this afternoon.
The game started with disaster as Der'Woun Greene fumbled the opening kickoff, leading to a quick 3 points for the Yellow Jackets. The offense stalled on the next drive, going three and out. The next chance the Hokies got, they had a botched field goal attempt end another drive without points.
Following a good stop by the Hokie defense, Jerod Evans ended the next drive by throwing an interception in the endzone. A bad snap ended any chance of the following drive to progress, and allowed for the Yellow Jackets to go into halftime up 20-0.
Even though there was so much negative to take away from the first half, the beginning of the second half couldn't have started better. A fumble by Georgia Tech on the first play set up a quick scoring drive to bring the Hokies within 13. However, the momentum came crashing down when Evans threw yet another interception on the next drive -- again with the Hokies driving and looking to make it a 6-point game.
From there, however, it was lots of frustrating drives by the Hokies offense -- including a fumble by Bucky Hodges -- and another huge run by the Yellow Jackets for a touchdown. Once that touchdown was scored to put the Jackets ahead 30-7, the Hokies scored two late touchdowns in garbage time to bring the final score to 30-20.
There are many things to take away from this game, but panic is not one of them. For example, Isaiah Ford broke the record for career receptions tonight, surpassing Jarrett Boykin with his touchdown catch early in the 3rd quarter. The Hokies offense out-gained the Yellow Jackets offense, even though Georgia Tech ran for over 300 yards. Jerod Evans and the offense never quit on this game, even after all of the fans had -- scoring two touchdowns late in the game.
Most importantly, Virginia Tech still controls their own destiny in the ACC Coastal. No matter what else happens, as long as they win on November 26th, they will be going to Orlando to play in the ACC Championship. Take where this program was less than 12 months ago and ask yourself this question -- Would you want us to have the ability to clinch the ACC Coastal against UVA or would you want us to be fighting for bowl eligibility like we have been the past two games against UVA?
Stats that stand out from todays game:
- Jerod Evans had 316 passing yards
- Andrew Motuapuaka had 14 tackles, including 6 solo tackles
- Woody Baron had three more tackles for loss, bringing his total to 16 for the season
- Cam Phillips had a career night, bringing in 10 passes from Evans
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