It was easily Tech’s worst game of the year, which is probably a cause for concern now that the season is two-thirds of the way through.
“There’s still a lot of season left, but we’ve got to be able to fix these issues and move forward,” said Brent Key, who currently has a 4-5 record in nonconference games as Tech’s coach. the coach said. “What I specifically want to say is not to move on, because moving on means not worrying about it. No, you have to move on. I We must be able to move forward.”
Tech’s final four games will be against teams with a combined record of 21 wins and 8 losses. All four games are against opponents above .500, and two of the opponents, Miami and Georgia, are ranked in the top six of the Associated Press Top 25.
The game begins at Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech is definitely a team with all the intangible advantages heading into this matchup. The Hokies have won two straight by a combined score of 73-28 and are off since defeating Boston College on Thursday. Lane Stadium has traditionally been one of the most difficult venues in the ACC for road teams to conquer.
In Thursday’s win over BC, Virginia Tech scored a season-high 42 points, had 532 yards of total offense, 368 yards rushing (9.2 yards per carry), and had seven tackles for loss.
The Hokies, in his third season in Blacksburg under coach Brent Pry, posted a losing record in early October. But Virginia Tech’s three losses were by a combined 14 points, including one in overtime against Vanderbilt (currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25) and one in a controversial on-field game. The match against 6th place Miami ended in an overturned decision. He caught what would have been the game-clinching touchdown in the end zone.
Quarterback Kyron Drones is the straw that gives Virginia Tech’s offense momentum. The junior has 1,319 passing yards and averaged 4 yards per carry on 79 rushing attempts this season. Running back Beischl Tuten has 871 yards on the ground, 266 of which (a school record) came in Thursday’s win over Boston College.
Saturday’s matchup will be the second straight week in which the Jackets will face a quarterback who can do it with his arms and legs — Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard threw 209 times at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, threw 51 times (and 2 points).
“I’m sure we can evaluate the quarterback more. (Leonard) has come up a number of times to our liking, and that’s definitely something we’ll work on this week,” Tech defensive tackle Zeke Biggers said. said Saturday. “We need another quarterback (Don Reth) who is pretty good and can throw the ball and can run. So definitely tackle the cage, put him in the pocket and obviously beat him.”
The Jackets are 8-11 against Virginia Tech and will be making their ninth trip to Lane Stadium. In fact, they’ve won four straight there, including in 2022 when Pyron started and led Tech to a 28-27 come-from-behind victory.
Saturday’s matchup will be televised by the ACC Network.
