Virginia Tech leaned on their rushing attack in the midst of a monsoon to beat now 11-3 Tulane 41-20 in the Military Bowl to achieve their first winning season since 2019 and pick up their first bowl game victory since beating Arkansas 35-24 in the 2016 Belk Bowl.
Here's a look at my offensive takeaways from this dominant, run-heavy offensive performance for the Hokies in the Annapolis monsoon.
1. The Composure of Kyron Drones
If you want to be a great quarterback, you can't just put up great numbers when things are going well, but you also have to know how to lead and respond well when adversity strikes.
Against Tulane, adversity struck for Kyron Drones as he had multiple fumbles including a fumble returned for a touchdown by the Green Wave on the Hokies' first offensive possession of the game. However, Drones was resilient through it all showing great composure on his way to a record-breaking performance.
Drones ran for a Virginia Tech bowl game record 176 yards on 20 carries while adding a rushing touchdown and also going 13-21 for 91 yards and two touchdowns in a game where he opened the game by going 2-8 through the air. In the process, Drones became the first player with at least 170 rushing yards and two passing touchdowns in a bowl game since Lamar Jackson did so in 2017.
The composure and resiliency Drones showed during the game given the fumbles and the brutal conditions was probably the most impressive part of his performance. After the game, Drones shared some insights on his resiliency.
"That type of resiliency has just been me like all my life, just being able to handle adversity, just be even-keel, and I knew I had to do that because that was first drive of the game, we still had a long game to go, so it’s a next-play mentality. That play was over with and I just knew as long as we go out there and do what we know we’re capable of, we know we can win this game," Drones said.
The composure and resiliency of Drones in this game was admirable and was critical to the Hokies' success. For Tech to not only have a quarterback with the talent that Drones has but also the composure and resiliency he has is a great sign for the future of the Hokies and one of the many reasons why it's reasonable to consider Virginia Tech a legitimate contender in the ACC going into 2024.
