The Briefing: Drones injured, Hokies squander lead, fall to 0-1 after 34-27 loss to Vanderbilt
In the most bizarre fashion, ACC hopefuls Virginia Tech fell to SEC bottom dweller Vanderbilt, and there is way too much to dig into but it's worth giving it a go.
The name of the game is keeping the ball. That is what Vandy coach Clark Lea ought to have been thinking for his side's offensive scheme. Transfer QB Diego Pavia and this Commodore offense commanded the first half, totaling over 18 minutes of possession with a dink-and-dunk style offense comprised of short runs and passes to draw defenders up before launching the occasional shot that kept the Hokies honest. This recipe earned Vanderbilt a stubborn 17-3 halftime advantage.
Not only does this chew clock method force the Hokies' tiring defense to be on the field longer, but it also forces their offense to be near perfect, and in the first half, Kyron Drones and co. were nowhere near that standard. It started with an unfortunate tip drill interception while Tech was already down three, which gifted Pavia the ball at the Hokies 27-yard line. This gave ample time for Lea to marshall a four-minute drive before finally pushing the ball into the endzone on a heave to Quincy Skinner, who extended the 'Dores lead to 10.
Before you knew it, the entire first quarter was up, and Tech had tallied just eight plays in comparison to Pavia's 15 (16 after Vanderbilt's touchdown took place 12 seconds into the second quarter.)
From then on the rest of the first half saw a sputtering Tech side that was chasing the game rather then putting a foot down in controlling it. Brent Pry's team fought to even the time of posession but were sloppy in execution and ended up gifting the Tennesse side another near flawless drive which was capped off by a strong seven yard run from Sedrick Alexander.
This shell-shock 17-0 scoreline was hardly fixed when John Love was able to nail a 40-yard kick to end the first half scoring, leaving the Hokies fighting for life heading into the second half.
With the Hokies receiving the ball to start the second half, the tone across the team looked to have sharpened, an effortless three-minute drive that was finished by an elegant 24-yard run from Tuten that sliced the Vanderbilt defense and shrunk the deficit to seven.
With momentum swinging clearly in favor of the Hokies and with what looked like a revitalized defense, the Hokies held Vanderbilt to a punt with 7:12 to go in the third quarter. Yet, two flags were quickly thrown on the punt, pointing out that two Hokies on the field were wearing number zero. A five-yard penalty was granted, allowing iron leg Vandy kicker Brock Taylor to muscle a 53-yarder in his first collegiate game.
While this looked a minor nuisance, any addition to the Vanderbilt lead was a punch in the Hokie gut.
For now though, Tech was relatively able to shake the remaining cobwebs and ended up adding another three points at the end of the third quarter shrink the Vanderbilt lead to seven.
Defensive Coordinator Chris Marve and his defense had appeared to awaken from their slumber and held Pavia to his second consecutive stop. However, the drive was led by a drone-dominated drive that included a 44-yard pass to Stephen Gosnell before a well-executed screen pass allowed Bhayshul Tuten to be escorted into the endzone by an entourage of Tech offensive linemen.
Fortunes had finally flipped and the Hokies were squared at 20 a piece, with just over 10 mintues to play.
After another faltering drive for the Black and Gold coded Vanderbilt, Drones found a wide-open Ali Jennings on a go route that sent the Tech portion of FirstBank Stadium wild, as after a tumultuous afternoon, Tech had their first lead with 4:24 to play in regulation.
A common theme in the Hokies' faults last season was their inability to string together multiple drives of solid play. It typically felt that when one side of the ball was clicking, the other was lagging well behind. With just one stop needed to secure a 1-0 start on Saturday evening, the formerly high-flying defense was shredded on a 6-play, 70-yard drive to tie the game back up.
Tyler Bowen's offense then lost its footing and was forced to hand the ball back to Vanderbilt after a quick three-and-out. That left Drones shaken up and a hefty 1:24 to play, and three timeouts for Vanderbilt to deal with. After a nice return, a piercing 18-yard drive ensued, which ended up leaving the previously mentioned Brock Taylor with what, to him, was a chip-shot 43-yard field goal for the game.
With Tech fans ' faces squarely in their hands, Taylor confidently stepped up and booted the kick, this time however the ball had scooted just to the right of the field goal post granting a temporary stay of execution for Tech fan's hopes of an undefeated start.
With the Hokies counting their blessing and opting for defense to start the first overtime period, Vanderbilt picked up right where they left off and drove the required 25 yards in just four plays reinstating their lost lead.
Next in the chart was senior Collin Schlee, who was called up to the helm after Drones' departure, the Maryland native never quite looked comfortable in a drive that was interrupted by a brief Drones reappearance. Just like that, it was a third and six at the 'Dores seven, where Schlee was collapsed on and forced to make a miracle on a fourth and long play.
Despite being offered plenty of time from the Tech front, Schlee was unable to acquire a target and was left beaming a high ball out of bounds that ended the night in a 34-27 Tech loss.
Brent Pry on the night and day second half performance. "Yeah, I thought we looked more like ourselves. That looked like the offense that we're capable of being. We're spreading it around, different guys getting the ball and misdirections."
Pry on the costly flag on the punt "You know, obviously with “J Lane” not able to return punts, you know we went to Ali and you know Keli’s been on and off in those situations and you know, we don't have a lot of scenarios where that comes up and Stu’s a great job of managing that. You know the double number of things is always tough. I put it on me. I should have called a timeout. I saw it right at the end and you know, didn't get, just didn't get it done. You know, it's bad, bad management by me."
Up next for the Hokies is a chance to even the score at 1-1 as they host Marshall next Saturday for the home opener in this so-far disappointing season.
CONNOR MARDIAN