Virginia Tech played their best football game of the season, but it just barely wasn't enough as they fell to No. 7 Miami 38-34 after a controversial overturning of a hail mary touchdown from Kyron Drones to Da'Quan Felton that would have won the game. There were also a couple bizarre game management decisions and mistakes from Brent Pry and Virginia Tech's special teams that created a costly six-point swing.
However, there were plenty of standout performances in this game that should have Tech fans encouraged with a pair of players doing enough to earn Hokie of the Game honors.
Offensive Hokie of the Game: Bhayshul Tuten
This was arguably Bhayshul Tuten's finest game in a Virginia Tech uniform as the standout running back from New Jersey put on a dazzling display that showed he's not only an All-ACC First Team contender, but also a potential All-American candidate.
Tuten had 19 carries for 141 yards and a touchdown plus four catches for seven yards, with his 141 rushing yards being the most in a game during his time at VT. Additionally, Tuten had 10 missed tackles and 110 yards after contact in this game, simply absurd numbers that show how good of a running back Tuten truly is.
This was Tuten's fourth-straight game over 100 rushing yards, matching the number of games where he exceeded 100 rushing yards last season. This was also his second consecutive game with at least 100 rushing yards after contact according to PFF after having 100 yards after contact last week against Rutgers.
Tuten has shown the past two weeks that he is one of the nation's best running backs, outshining two fellow elite CFB running backs in Rutgers' Kyle Monangai and Miami's Damien Martinez in the process. Don't be surprised if Tuten is an All-American as a running back after this season as he continues to be on pace to have the most rushing yards in a single season for a Hokie since David Wilson.
Kyron Drones had one of his best games of the season going 19-33 for 189 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while running for 43 yards and having a great block on the Jaylin Lane touchdown run. Lane had another strong game with four catches for 49 yards plus his 20-yard rushing touchdown while Stephen Gosnell led VT with four catches for 53 yards.
John Love became the first Hokie kicker since 1972 to have two field goal from 51+ yards, making kicks of 57 and 52 in this game.
Defensive Hokie of the Game: Mose Phillips
The defensive decision was a much tougher one given how many defensive players made a big impact on this game, but Mose Phillips earned the edge for this week's honor.
The sophomore had another very good performance this week highlighted by an interception on what was a perfectly read play by the Tennessee native, jumping the Cam Ward pass on 3rd and goal at the 13 and having a long return to near midfield. He also had five tackles in this game without a single missed tackle per PFF while also only allowing one reception for 15 yards on four targets his direction.
Phillips has made significant strides from his freshman to sophomore seasons and continues to develop into a playmaker for the Hokies' defense. Looking ahead, it's easy to see why Tech is excited about the type of safety that Phillips can develop into, especially with the strides he's made this year.
Mansoor Delane led the Hokies with seven tackles in this game while Caleb Woodson had four tackles including a big sack plus a QB hurry. Antwaun Powell-Ryland picked up his nation-leading seventh sack among his three tackles while Kaleb Spencer shined in his return to Miami with three tackles including one for loss plus an interception and a QB hurry.
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