Virginia Tech vs Stanford: 5 Big Takeaways From Hokies win vs the Cardinal

5 takeaways from Virginia Tech vs Stanford

Oct 5, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies tight end Benji Gosnell (82) and wide receiver Stephen Gosnell (12) celebrate after scoring a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

1. Kyron Drones Continued to Play Well

Kyron Drones had the Hokie offense playing well today, and on the first drive to start the game he led the team to an opening drive touchdown on 4/5 passing. Drones also had his first 3 touchdown game of this season, scoring 2 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, and 201 yards passing, completing 73% of his passes.

2. The Defense

The Hokie defense did a good job at holding the Stanford offense to just one touchdown and held Stanford to under 150 yards passing on the day. Out of all the games played this season, this was the best showing the defense had overall, all while forcing 2 fumbles, and an interception, which was the worst performance that Stanford had all season. Stanford has scored at least two or more touchdowns in every game this season, and today's game was the second time they were held under 300 total yards.

3. The Run Game

Bhayshul Tuten's streak of games that he ran for at least 100 yards ended today, but he was still able to get 1 touchdown this game and rush for 73 yards. Jaylin Lane had a rush for 25 yards, and quarterback Kyron Drones had 17 yards rushing with a touchdown. The run game wasn't pure domination as in games in the past, but it still was effective in putting the game away in the closing moments.

4. 3rd Down Was Rough

Compared to last week, the Hokies struggled with converting on 3rd down which is interesting considering that they completed over 50% on that down against one of the best teams in the country in Miami. I thought after last week, that the Hokies had the 3rd down woes figured out but it could just be a matchup thing, as they are 45% on the season on 3rd down.

5. Consistency

The Hokies offense and defense both showed consistency from start to finish. Consistency is something that is a weekly question for this Hokie team and today they showed what they could be if they do what they're capable of. Holding Stanford to under 20 3rd downs in this game is very hard to do against any team and the Hokie offense put up over 30 points, which is above average for them.