Virginia Tech’s late season slide continued as some QB injuries plus lots of inconsistency cost the Hokies in a 31-28 loss to Duke. This was a roller coaster of a game where the Hokies had strong second and fourth quarter stretches but were inconsistent overall with another third quarter mess.
So with that in mind, let’s dive into my offensive takeaways from the Hokies’ 31-28 loss to Duke.
Pop Watson Shows Promise
He wasn’t perfect, but Pop Watson showed plenty of promise in his first time facing a first team defense in his collegiate career. His play helped keep the Hokies in this game and gave Tech a chance to win to some extent.
Watson went 12-25 for 146 yards and an interception plus 48 rushing yards on 10 non-sack carries. While these aren’t impressive numbers, he did show plenty of promise especially on a night where he was under pressure constantly and blitzed often.
Watson showed some zip on his passes while also showing some solid moments of pocket presence and feel. It wasn’t always consistent but you could see the dual-threat upside and the vision that he has that can absolutely be developed to a very high level.
Now, Watson wasn’t perfect with some dangerous throws and bad decisions including being late on an out route that led to what had a chance at being a pick 6. There was also some inconsistency including not having the best reads at times of where the pressure may arrive from first in case of the blitz.
Watson may get his first start this Saturday against Virginia given the injury questions surrounding Kyron Drones and Collin Schlee, with his performance against Duke giving reason for encouragement that Watson can do more than enough to get the job done against the Cavaliers.
