Coming off a heartbreaking loss to Pittsburgh last Friday night, the Virginia Tech football team faced a major trap game, flying cross-country to California and facing a banged-up Golden Bears team. They say that a wounded team is a dangerous one, and the Hokies found that out.
The Hokies led 14-10 at halftime, trailed 19-14 late in the game when Ethan Grunkemeyer scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper for a 20-19 lead, then Cal drove the length of the field for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown with 18 seconds left. However, Virginia Tech marched inside the 10-yard line and had one last chance to win the game, but Grunkemeyer's pass fell incomplete in the end zone. Here is one winner and four losers after the Hokies fell to 4-2 on the season.
Winner: Ayden Greene
As you should expect, the winners from the Virginia Tech side are few and far between. However, for an offense that struggled early in the game, senior wide receiver Ayden Greene made the two biggest plays of the day. On a third-and-long, he made a catch and raced 32 yards for a first down. Then, two plays later, he caught a Grunkemeyer pass and found his way into the end zone for a touchdown when he stretched the ball inside the pylon before going out of bounds. Other than that, it was a disappointing day for the Hokies offense.
Loser: John Love
If you thought that last week was a nightmare for kicker John Love, then what was Saturday? James Franklin trotted Love out for a 55-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, and he missed it badly to the left. It had no chance. In the fourth quarter, he missed a 39-yard attempt, wide to the left. He has no confidence, and there might be a kicking competition in practice this week.
Loser: Brent Pry
There were signs that the Virginia Tech defense was breaking. Well, it has been completely busted for the last two weeks, and this one was by a backup quarterback. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was ruled out right before the game, and the Hokies were torched by a backup signal caller. To make matters worse, there was no pressure on Jackson Brousseau, who had all day to throw; tackling was suspect, and the pass defense is a major hole. Does Pry make it through this season in Blacksburg?
Loser: Ty Howle
My goodness, what a rough afternoon for Ty Howle. He has quietly flown under the radar compared to Pry, but it was a painful day watching the offense operate. Sure, there are injuries to the offensive line that you can factor in, but failing to throw the ball much downfield until the fourth quarter against a team missing some key defensive backs was certainly a decision. It would have been nice to see some aggressive play calling like there was in the fourth quarter earlier in the game.
Loser: James Franklin
It's not easy to pick up your team after a gut-wrenching loss like the Hokies suffered last week, and they have to fly cross-country, but man, Virginia Tech's coaching staff was outcoached at every level, and Virginia Tech was flat from the opening kickoff. They were torched for a fake punt in the third quarter that changed the momentum, and they never recovered. There is no excuse for losing this game.
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