Virginia Tech played their best game of the year to beat NC State team on the road 23-21, winning their first one-score game since their victory over Liberty which ended the 2022 season.
Terion Stewart gets the honors of TLP Offensive Hokie of the game, rushing for 174 yards on 15 carries, including an 85 yard carry that set the Hokies up to take a 20-14 lead near the end of the third quarter.
"My linemen looked at me and said ‘I got you’ and I said ‘bet, I got you’,” Terion Stewart said about his 85 yard scamper. "Soon as he said that, snapped the ball and that just happened. You gotta know the person you're next to."
He graded out with a 75.2 overall offensive grade, but a run grade of 85.8, which marked the highest overall grade of any Virginia Tech offensive player. He also had 11 missed tackles and 153 yards after contact in what was a dominant night overall.
The Virginia Tech offense averaged 7.8 yards per carry, and that was largely thanks to Terion Stewart having a career day, including his career high in yards.
Kaleb Spencer had a strong game of his own, recording 11 tackles and 0.5 TFLs to earn TLP Defensive Hokie of the Game. He also recorded a hurry according to PFF. He graded out with a 77.3 run defense grade, which played a large part in holding NC State to just 1.8 yards per carry and keeping NC State star RB Hollywood Smothers contained.
"Just going out there and balling," Spencer said about the defensive success. "Having heart, doing our jobs and getting to the ball. That's one of our keys to victory, just fast and physical.”
Spencer was all over the field in this game and not just because of his athleticism but also by being in the right spot and the right gap again and again. For someone playing at inside linebacker for the first time in his career, that’s quite the encouraging sign to see him making plays that you expect a linebacker to make rather than making them just because he’s a great athlete.
