Going into this game, it was clear that Virginia Tech was facing an uphill task being in the second year of a rebuild and facing a Florida State team that is a legitimate national title contender. That showed early with a 22-0 deficit after the first quarter before the Hokies responded well with 10 in the second quarter and a 99-yard Bhayshul Tuten kick return touchdown to make it 22-17.
However, the talent disparity combined with Tech's run defense big play vulnerability proved too much in the end.
Virginia Tech fell 39-17 at #5 Florida State to drop to 2-4 (1-1 ACC) on the season while the Seminoles improved to 5-0 (3-0 ACC). Tech will look to bounce back next week against Wake Forest while FSU hosts a Syracuse team reeling from back-to-back losses to Clemson and #14 North Carolina.
After good starts the past couple weeks, this was a painful one from the Hokies going down 22-0 and being outgained 198-9 in the opening quarter. Even in a hostile environment against an elite team, this is an area where Tech will have some work to do after making progress the past couple weeks.
However, Tech deserves tons of credit for having the toughness to tighten up and turn it around in the second quarter outscoring FSU 10-0 and outgaining the Seminoles 126-1. That's a great sign of mental toughness from this team and coaching staff to be able to rally at the 15-minute break and get back on track in a hostile environment.
Add in a Bhayshul Tuten 99-yard kickoff return touchdown and Tech was right there in this game down only 22-17 early in the third quarter.
Things went sideways from there though with Trey Benson responding with a 62-yard rushing touchdown followed by another nice FSU drive that led to a field goal. Tech had a couple solid drives of their own after though a fumble on a 3rd and 1 QB sneak (recovered by Tech) and an almost conversion of a 4th and 22 by Kyron Drones before Trey Benson put the game on ice with an 85-yard touchdown.
There's plenty to be encouraged by in this game especially with the Hokies' rushing attack continuing to shows signs of life and doing a better job at getting guys in space especially after averaging 6 yards per carry today. Additionally, Tech's defense tightened up in a big way after getting dominated in the first quarter.
Despite that, Tech's rush defense gave up a pair of 30+ yard runs for the third time in four games with Benson's 62 and 85 yard touchdowns. Tech made progress last week and while FSU is a way more talented team, this still feels like a step back on that front including on the run fits. Meanwhile, the offensive line continues to have their struggles as a unit while Tech's passing attack didn't have much of a vertical threat for various reasons.
Overall, this game was defined by Florida State being a team that has completed its rebuild and is back to being a power while the Hokies still have a long way to go with their struggles in the trenches highlighting that. However, the Hokies showed the type of fight and flashes of what they can be that should have Tech fans encouraged even with the 22-point loss.
