Virginia Tech's run defense has been solid overall this season but vulnerable at times. However, their run defense was crucial to their 21-6 victory over Georgia Tech, as they held the Yellow Jackets to only 96 rushing yards on 33 carries.
Even when you take out Tech's lone sack on the day, they still only gave up 101 rushing yards which is an average of 3.15 yards per carry.
The numbers go beyond just the collective shut down of Georgia Tech's rushing attack to the fact that they took the Yellow Jackets' biggest offensive weapon out of the game in Jamal Haynes. The All-ACC caliber running back was held to only 47 yards on 18 carries, proving to be a non-factor for much of this game.
Meanwhile, backup Anthony Carrie did only slightly better with eight carries for 33 yards and GT's quarterbacks only combined for 21 rushing yards on six non-sack carries.
While no Haynes King for Georgia Tech likely helped VT a little, this was still a wildly successful run defense performance for this Tech team. After the game, Brent Pry credited a few different things for why the Hokies were so successful stopping the run.
"I think our fits were better today. We didn’t just bust one and allow a big explosive to get out of there. I thought we tackled better than last week. But you know, those guys, it was a good plan. I thought the kids executed. I thought we tackled well. We kept it in front of us. And when you do that, you make people earn it, you’re going to have a good day defensively," Pry said.
Run fits were a major issue for the Hokies during the 2023 season and a major focus going into the offseason.
So far in 2024...