When you make a midseason head coaching change, you're always hoping that fresh energy can change things inside the locker room and provide a boost to at least salvage a season to an extent. Well for Virginia Tech, the change from Brent Pry to Philip Montgomery likely included the hope that the Hokies could improve on their 1-12 record in one-score games that Pry had at the helm of the Hokies.
Montgomery was indeed able to deliver that in a stunning upset victory that gives Virginia Tech's lost season a pulse.
Virginia Tech beat NC State 23-21 for their victory in a one-score game since beating Liberty to end the 2022 season. The Hokies improve to 2-3 on the season including 1-0 in ACC play ahead of their home conference opener against Wake Forest next week while NC State falls to 3-2 including 0-2 in the ACC.
Virginia Tech's offense struggled early when they were pass-heavy, but things changed as they involved the rushing attack on what was a dominant night on the ground. Tech ran for 229 yards and 7.4 yards per carry with Terion Stewart being the engine behind it with 15 carries for 174 yards including an 85-yard run that was the seventh longest in Virginia Tech history. His 174 yards are also the 17th most by a Virginia Tech player since 1987 with Khalil Herbert, Bhayshul Tuten, and Kyron Drones being the only other Hokies to run for 170+ yards within the past decade.
Stewart had chunk play after chunk play with around half of his runs going for double-digit gains. After dealing with nagging injuries during the first few weeks of the season, Stewart looked the healthiest he's been and showed why Virginia Tech made him their top transfer portal priority this offseason.
Marcellous Hawkins also was effective on the ground with 47 yards on four carries plus an 11-yard receiving touchdown in what was a two-headed monster early on and then the Terion Stewart show in the second half.
Tech outgained NC State 406-299 including an edge of 6.2 to 4.5 in yards per play. This was a complete performance as the Hokies' defense was stout in the running game holding NC State star RB Hollywood Smothers to a pedestrian 67 yards on 16 carries. with his longest run only going for 11 yards. After the game, safety/nickelback Isaiah Cash had this to say about how the Hokies contained Smothers and made him a minor factor at most in this game.
"I think just everybody rallying to the football. We knew he's a great player and he's going to find gaps in our defense and try and hit home run plays, but we knew if we could contain him, then we'd have success against them," Cash said.
The Hokies also had five sacks against a Wolfpack team that had allowed four sacks all season prior to tonight.
Add in the special teams work of John Love and some decent kick and punt returns and this was a complete performance from VT.
Kyron Drones made some spectacular scrambles and throws at times in what was a solid night for the redshirt senior quarterback as he went 20-34 for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Cameron Seldon led the receiving corps with a team-high five catches for 42 yards and a touchdown while Ayden Greene had three catches for a team-high 44 yards.
Kaleb Spencer was the defensive star of the night with a career-high 11 tackles including 0.5 for loss as he was a force all over the field. Noah Chambers made a strong case for a significant role going forward as he had three tackles on his first three career defensive snaps on his way to having six including a sack.
Fellow freshman Sheldon Robinson made a big impact too with six tackles including one for loss while Isaiah Cash added eight tackles including a sack and Christian Ellis had two tackles and three pass breakups including the fourth down PBU to seal the game. Ben Bell made some noise with five tackles including 1.5 for loss with one sack.
John Love continues to be among the best kickers in America with a trio of field goals tonight including a game-winner from 49 yards that came after a delay of game that Love himself took responsibility for on the sidelines. VT may be on their way to a losing season, but Love could easily put himself in contention for the Lou Groza Award despite that.
Last week's win against Wofford was a nice boost to morale but this was a night of hope for Virginia Tech that showed the Hokies can still salvage something about a seemingly lost season. That was clear from the dancing of Philip Montgomery in the locker room to Kyron Drones being quite excited as he walked into the media room after the victory.
For all that this team has been through, it's clear that Montgomery has been able to rally the locker room and get them playing more up to their potential
