Three Things Virginia Tech Must Fix Ahead of It's Matchup With Miami

After a tough loss last week against Rutgers, the Hokies have much to fix, let's dive into what must change for the team this week.

Sep 21, 2024; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies running back Bhayshul Tuten (33) celebrates with tight end Benji Gosnell (82) after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

1. Turnovers

In the first quarter against Rutgers, the Hokies had a costly fumble on a punt return that led to a rushing touchdown on a short field and then went for it on 4th and 4 at Rutgers' 34-yard line where they were stopped. These costly turnovers added up, as Virginia Tech finished with 2 lost fumbles and an interception to end the game where they could've gone on to win down 3 with a little under a minute and a half left in the 4th quarter. With these turnovers, Rutgers was able to capitalize and go up by as much as 16 even with a safety sack they had on Kyron Drones who seemed to have tweaked his ankle.

2. Slow Starts

The Hokies once again struggled with getting off to a strong start, going down 14-0 in the first quarter and both sides of the ball couldn't get it going. The offense had back-to-back drives of turnovers and struggled to move the football throughout the first quarter being held scoreless for the second time this season in the first quarter. We saw the defense struggle again with stopping the run, giving up 3 rushing touchdowns but this week, also struggled with stopping the pass compared to the last two games, having held opponents under 200 yards passing and this game saw Rutgers throw for 269 yards.

3. The Passing Game

In the last few games, we have seen the Hokies passing game struggle, giving up 8 sacks and throwing 3 interceptions with an average of 191.2 pass yards a game. This week the same issues continued as the team threw for 137 yards, with no touchdowns, and an interception, along with 2 lost fumbles. This kind of effort will not ball games, and the more one-dimensional you are the easier you are going to be to stop as teams will key in on the run as the passing games won't be much to worry about.