Again and again, Virginia Tech has let one mistake spiral into a collapse for a section of a game. We saw it in the opener when the Hokies were "shellshocked" amidst a disastrous first 30 minutes versus Vanderbilt. We saw it again with a mess of a second quarter against Old Dominion and a third quarter disaster against Boston College.
And once again, it popped up today as Virginia Tech blew a 21-3 third quarter lead, allowing 21-straight points that flipped the game completely. However, the Hokies gave themselves chances to win this game but couldn't close out a tight, one-score game again, dropping to 1-11 in one-score games under Brent Pry.
Virginia Tech lost to Syracuse 38-31 in overtime with the Hokies dropping to 5-4 including 3-2 in ACC play while the Orange improved to 6-2 including 3-2 in ACC play. With the loss, the Hokies are essentially out of the ACC Championship game race, even if they aren't officially out of it.
Now the Hokies were without both starting QB Kyron Drones and star RB Bhayshul Tuten due to injury. However, the Hokies' offense wasn't hindered with a dominant first half on their way to a 21-3 lead earlier in the fourth quarter. This was an offensive attack that was firing on all cylinders with Collin Schlee proving more than capable in the passing game and not just being a running threat as was the concern once news broke that Drones was out.
Tech's offense had a cold stretch during that big run for Syracuse but this was still a solid performance for the Hokies offensively, averaging 6.3 yards per play while outgaining the Orange 455-410.
There were little things that weren't great including the second half fumble by Jeremiah Coney that was part of the spiral along with the fumble by Collin Schlee that sealed the game. There was also inconsistent time for Schlee in the pocket while he took a sack or two
But if you would have said that an offense without Drones and Tuten would put up 31 points and 455 total yards while averaging 6.3 yards per play, you would not only be ecstatic about the performance but also rightly feel like you should win.
However, a VT defense that had been dominant in recent weeks, bending at times but not breaking, saw the dam bust wide open in the second half, allowing four touchdowns on six drives. After the game, Brent Pry had this to say about what he felt shifted defensively from the first half to the second half.
"Honestly, we had a mental bust on the big screen play. Guy blitzed that shouldn’t have. So we were short-handed. And then we ran the zero blitz. They threw a 10-yard route, catch it and we miss the tackle and it goes the distance. So I think against a group like that, you’ve got to make them earn it. And we did it in the first half. We didn’t do it in the second half. And we didn’t garner a takeaway in that part of the game. I think, again, you can’t make enough mistakes to allow them to make opportunities. We had too many penalties and to me, too many mental errors. To me, when we look at that film, I think we’re going to be upset about several things," Pry said.
Part of the second half issues may have been due to a lack of staying focused on the tasked at hand, according to star DE Antwaun Powell-Ryland, both in regards to seeing their 21-3 lead disappear and in not being able to close out the game after they took the lead back in the fourth quarter.
"I really just feel like we have to lock in a lot more. When we’ve got the lead, we have to keep it. We’ve got to finish," Powell-Ryland said.
The first half was another gem from the Virginia Tech defense as they prevented their opponent from scoring a touchdown in the opening 30 minutes for the fourth-straight game. However, this is a team that has been too inconsistent and after a game where their defense closed things down again and again, they couldn't stop anything when it mattered in this game.
You also can't overlook the late first half moment where the Collin Schlee run was overturned and a 10-second runoff happened after VT had called their second timeout following Schlee's long run into field goal range. The situation made no sense to me given that when this situation usually happens, either a 10-second runoff happens and the timeout is given back to the coach, or the timeout is used and the 10-second runoff doesn't happen.
As such, here's what Brent Pry had to say about what happened during his discussion with the refs prior to the resumption coming with seven seconds.
"It wasn’t very clear to me, to be honest. And they were hustling to the next play. I was told there’d be 17 seconds on the clock. I look up and there’s seven. So we’re going back and forth. They said I’d get the timeout back. The scoreboard didn’t show that. And they’re on to the next play. I felt like if we had a chance to get into field goal range, great. We’ve got to shore up our field goal protection. It’s been a little leaky here lately. We want more confidence in that. But to me, the communication wasn’t very clear," Pry said.
The communication continues to be unclear about what actually happened in that situation and personally, I continue to think they got it wrong with their failure to give a timeout back or have the 10-second runoff wiped out by the timeout. However, if you're Pry, you have to make sure you get that situation fixed. Do you think that conversation would have been as short and calm if Nick Saban or Kirby Smart or anyone else would have allowed that to go by with a minimal effort? I don't think so.
And even if they don't give you that second timeout back, there's no reason why you shouldn't burn that third timeout to get the clock back to 17 seconds and the clock starting on the snap rather than letting the clock go down to seven seconds with the clock resuming on the whistle instead.
Collin Schlee was quite good in his first start at VT in Drones' place going 16-24 for 206 yards and a touchdown while running for 54 yards and a touchdown. Schlee had some impressive runs and scrambles to help boost the offense, but did hold the ball too long at times and take a sack or two he could've probably avoided by throwing it away. He also likely will want back his decision to throw it on first and goal in overtime when he had plenty of space to run it and gain several yards.
Malachi Thomas and Jeremiah Coney stepped up in Tuten's absence as Thomas had 73 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries plus two catches for 15 yards while Coney had nine carries for 96 yards. Coney showed the type of promise that should make Tech fans encouraged about his potential while Thomas was a steady keep the offense on-schedule back who grinded out yards and took advantage of holes for double-digit gains when thy were there.
Stephen Gosnell was in rhythm with Schlee throughout this game as he had five catches for a career-high 118 yards. Da'Quan Felton was a popular target as well with four catches for 36 yards while Ali Jennings had a 12-yard touchdown, his first catch of any type since the Old Dominion game.
Mansoor Delane will likely want to forget his missed tackle on the 55-yard Justus Ross-Simmons that launched Syracuse's rally, but he was quite good otherwise with six tackles including 0.5 for loss plus an interception and a forced fumble. Antwaun Powell-Ryland also shined in this game with three tackles including a sack plus a blocked extra point that was crucial in forcing overtime.
If you would have told me when I woke up this morning that VT would be without Kyron Drones and Bhayshul Tuten and keep things close, I would have likely told you that while it was disappointing given the stakes, it likely was still a solid and even slightly encouraging performance.
However, the way Virginia Tech lost this game when they had a 21-3 lead early in the third quarter and saw their defense completely collapse in the second half was frustrating. Add in the complete spiral that we've seen multiple times before this season, the 11th one-score loss in 12 one-score games under Brent Pry, and the lack of effort to get the situation fixed or then adjust and manage that situation properly.
Those things matter and while you can write it off a tad because you were without Drones and Tuten, the way this game happened was another case of deja vu that we've seen again and again and again from the Brent Pry era. That has to change and raises the same questions even more without any sign that Tech is close to having an answer.
And while Pry has shown he can perform the role of CEO that is required of a Power 4 head coach nowadays at a high level, the doubt only grows about whether he can be the gameday coach to meet Virginia Tech's standards, regardless of the talent level that should have produced a better record than 5-4 at this point in this season against this schedule.
