The story of Virginia Tech football (1-1) over the opening two weeks of the 2024 season has been the difference in play between the first and second half.
“Yeah, I thought we were sluggish, just with the execution,” said Pry on the slow first half of the home opener in which the Hokies converted just one third down and scored three offensive points. “We were moving and doing things, but we weren’t finishing the execution. At one point it was a wideout, then it’d be the offensive line - you know we just couldn't get it going.”
In the first half this season, Tech has been outscored by opponents 24-13. Including today’s 31-14 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd (1-1), the Hokies have outscored opponents 45-17 during the second half. A big reason for that has been star QB Kyron Drones being able to find his rhythm in the passing game and being given chances to make big throws down the field.
“I let Kyron settle down, and really look like himself,” said Pry.
Drones threw just five passes in the second half, completing all five for 82 of his 130 yards on the day - following a first half in which he struggled with decision making and was chased like a madman by the Marshall defensive line. Still, the Hokies would like to find a way to make their first half play consistent with their much better second half play.
“Fortunately we got the film to look at, evaluate it, and make the corrections,” Pry stated on erasing the slow starts to first halves.
A big reason as to how Virginia Tech had the 21-point second half today: the efforts of Bhayshul Tuten on the ground, opening up the deep ball and big play ability that this team showcased throughout the 2023 season.
Tuten led a ground attack that amassed 208 yards on the ground, totaling 120 and a touchdown on 22 carries himself, compared to his nine carries a week ago. This was Tuten’s fourth-straight game with at least one touchdown of some form, dating back to last season.
Tuten was just 16 yards away from his single-game career high as a Hokie, but was pulled when the game got out of hand for Marshall, in favor of backup Malachi Thomas, who carried the ball nine times for 52 yards.
“I think we came out of halftime, made some good adjustments to run the ball, you know make them stop us…I got rolling, Kyron got rolling, and [Malachi Thomas] got rolling,” said Tuten on what worked in a third quarter in which the Hokies almost eclipsed the 115 yards they collected in the first half.
Tech scored three second half touchdowns on Saturday, with Tuten running one in and Drones added two, including a three-yard rush as well as a five-yard pass to Da’Quan Felton (his 18th career touchdown reception).
The play of the second half, and the game, had to be the deep ball to Stephen Gosnell for 49 yards, on a ball that may have been slightly overthrown by Drones. Regardless, he elder Gosnell brother made a spectacular diving grab that was almost Danny Coale-esque.
While the defense stood tall throughout the game, holding the Thundering Herd to only two legitimate drives, the first half was a blunder for both the offensive line and offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen’s gameplan
There was little to no pass protection throughout the first two periods of the game, forcing the Texan quarterback to essentially run for his life across both sidelines. We also saw much of the same dink-and-dunk passing plays that limited the Hokies in Nashville.
It does beg the question of A. 'How long will it take Virginia Tech to wake up in the first half of games throughout the season?' or B. if these struggles continue, 'how long till we some more significant changes made in search of improvement?'
In addition to Tuten and Jaylin Lane - who took a punt back in the first quarter for a 58-yard score (VT's first punt return TD since Tucker Holloway did it twice in 2022), the defensive backs stood out led by Dorian Strong, Dante Lovett, Mose Phillips, and Mansoor Delane - who had quite the bounce-back performance in week 2.
In the big second half, Phillips and Delane played hot potato in the biggest moment, leading to the Hokies' first takeaway of the season and Delane’s third career interception. For Delane, this was a strong response after his struggles in Nashville, with the junior cornerback feeling some personal responsibility to step up and rectify his struggles last week.
“This game was for my brothers,” Delane said about playing for his teammates on Saturday. “In a sense, I let them down last week (in the season-opening OT loss to Vanderbilt). They had high expectations for me, and this week I told them I got y’all.”
The defense as a whole held strong - even when the offense couldn’t carry its weight. The only scoring plays the defense allowed were a two-yard rushing touchdown following a blocked punt from the Thundering Herd as well as an 18-yard back shoulder toss from Stone Earle - who looks like the clear-cut starter, to Chrisitian Fitzpatrick. The play came off the heels of a 69-yard rush from A.J. Turner, who exited the game after being tackled by Dorian Strong.
While it wasn’t entirely pretty, this win for Virginia Tech is not a bad one - as Marshall beat the breaks off of FCS Stony Brook 45-3 a week ago, and brought in one of the better Group of Five transfer classes in the nation.
The Hokies will head east to Norfolk, for a showdown against the Old Dominion Monarchs (0-2) - a familiar foe in whom Tech has split over the past two seasons and whom the Hokies have struggled against on the road in the 757. Kickoff is set for 6pm on ESPN+ next Saturday.
