Virginia Tech has had plenty of Jekyll and Hyde moments this season with that continuing in the second half today as the Hokies went from a 16-7 halftime lead to a second half collapse on their way to defeat.
Virginia Tech lost to No. 16 Louisville 28-16 after allowing 21 unanswered points to the Cardinals. The loss drops the Hokies to 3-6 on the season including 2-3 in ACC play while the Cardinals improve to 7-1 overall including 4-1 in ACC play.
The Hokies were solid in the first half with a defense that was strong, allowing only 70 yards on 26 plays after Isaac Brown had a 2-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to open the game. Meanwhile, Tech's offense wasn't that good but they were timely, taking advantage of an Isaiah Cash INT that gifted them great field position plus a fortunate Nick Veltsistas punt rollout that pinned UL inside the 5 with the Cardinals forced to punt from deep leading to said field position. Add in a punt block by PJ Prioleau that went out the endzone for a safety and it was a pretty solid first half for the Hokies against a good Louisville team.
However, the Hokies stumbled from there with a mess of a second half that doomed them to defeat.
VT was outscored 21-0 and outgained 239-99 in the second half with the Hokies' run defense struggling mightily while Louisville was able to generate more from Miller Moss and their passing game to keep things rolling.
On the day, Louisville ran for 235 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry with both Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown running for over 7.5 yards per carry and over 90 yards on the game. The Cardinals were able to generate some large running lanes as the game progressed with the back breaker coming on Louisville's final touchdown drive where they had three double-digit runs on four carries from Keyjuan Brown after an illegal block penalty had made it 1st and 25.
Tech's offense was limited by a passing attack where there simply isn't the trust for Kyron Drones to regularly push it down the field. Drones was only 11-24 for 76 yards and one touchdown in this game, though Donavon Greene had a bad drop on what would have likely been a 75-yard touchdown that was followed by a 63-yard Caullin Lacy punt return and a Louisville touchdown two plays later.
Special teams were also maddingly inconsistent and cost the Hokies as Lacy had three punt return for 106 yards, with Tech's punt coverage playing a role in helping Lacy. Tech also had a bad unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on one kick return and a holding on a fair catch that pinned Tech deep and led to a Louisville short drive touchdown soon after. While PJ Prioleau's punt block was a great play, it was a rough day for special teams overall.
Drones didn't have a great day as a passer but he was effective with his legs, running for 85 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. However, Tech's running backs struggled to find space with Marcellous Hawkins only have 45 yards on 13 carries while Terion Stewart only had 22 yards on eight carries. Jeff Overton Jr also made his collegiate debut today and showed great quickness but finished with nine yards on four carries.
Ayden Greene led VT in receiving yards thanks to his 17-yard reception while Takye Heath and Ja'Ricous Hairston shared the receptions lead as Heath had three catches for 16 yards while Hairston had three catches for 15 yards. Cameron Seldon added two catches for 14 yards and a touchdown plus a three-yard carry.
Isaiah Cash may have been the best defensive player in this game with five tackles plus an interception and an impressive pass breakup that forced a big third down stop just outside field goal range. Caleb Woodson was one of the defensive positives in this game with a team-high seven tackles along with Kaleb Spencer who had seven tackles including one TFL. Kemari Copeland added four tackles including 1.0 for loss with 0.5 sacks while Noah Chambers had four tackles including a pass breakup.
Virginia Tech showed that they have plenty of fight left in them, but things started to go awry around the Donavon Greene dropped deep ball that was followed by a long Caullin Lacy punt return and a spiral from there. Add in the special teams and run defense issues for the Hokies and it was a case of Louisville simply being a better football team in all facets in the end. Tech's special teams continue to be way too inconsistent while their run defense will have to be cleaned up.
Maybe the biggest concern is the fact that VT has become a horizontal offense that lacks a passing attack to stretch the field or even try to stretch the field despite having some decent WR talent led by Ayden Greene. That will be something Philip Montgomery will have to seriously work on entering the second bye week.
While the fight was impressive, the bad news for the Hokies is that teams that are either more talented, better-coached, or both loom over the final three games as well.
