It was a wild Saturday in Blacksburg. The Virginia Tech football team had the start of their non-conference game against Purdue delayed by 21 minutes because of weather. Then with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter, the game was delayed once again by weather.
This time, the delay lasted nearly five hours with torrential rain and wind that hit the Blacksburg area. At the time, the Boilermakers, who marched down the field on the game’s opening possession held a 7-0 lead.
The news was not good in terms of injuries for the Hokies both before the game and during the first quarter. Cornerback Nasir Peoples did not come out for injuries and missed the game, which was a blow to the secondary against an offense and quarterback Hudson Card who likes to throw the ball.
Then on the Hokies’ opening possession, senior wide receiver Ali Jennings was lost with a left ankle injury and the offense missed their top receiver. After the pay resumed, the Hokies fell behind 17-0, then rallied to tie the game at 17-17 at halftime. In the second half, the Boilermakers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 24-17 win at Lane Stadium.
Here are three takeaways after Virginia Tech fell to 1-1, while it was a big bounce-back win for Purdue to even their record at 1-1 after losing last week at home to Fresno State.
Virginia Tech cornerbacks tested and failed
Earlier this week, coach Brent Pry spoke about how his cornerbacks were not tested in Week 1 against Old Dominion. Well, there was a good reason for that as his defensive line gave up a whopping 201 yards to their Sun Belt Conference opponent.
This week he knew that Card and the Purdue offense was going to test them and without Peoples, they failed the test, which should come as no surprise. Card, who transferred from Texas to West Lafayette over the offseason, threw for 248 yards and completed 23 of his 34 attempts. A lot of the completions were downfield. In the second half, he carved up the Hokies blitz and completed multiple third-and-longs.
Going into the game, it was clear what Purdue was going to do on offense, and as the game went along, they wore down the Hokies. Like Old Dominion quarterback Grant Wilson, Card also hurt Tech with his scrambling ability at different times which played a big factor, especially in the second half.
Injuries on offense caught up with Virginia Tech
Last week against Old Dominion, transfers Jennings and Jaylin Lane played a big part in the win and gave quarterback Grant Wells more options than he had all of 2022. That changed before and after the weather delays on Saturday.
First Jennings went down, then Lane, who had a very productive first half in place of Jennings, went down with a hamstring injury and did not return. Then the third transfer, Da’Quan Wright also left with an injury. Not good. As the second half went along, no Jennings and no Lane became more evident as Wells and the offense struggled to move the ball.
To make matters worse, the Hokies running game was non-existent, literally. They finished the game minus 2 yards rushing before backup quarterback Kyron Drones entered the game for the final drive and he scrambled for 13 yards.
Going forward, injuries are going to happen, but this early in the season can be devastating for the Hokies, especially if they can’t run the ball. Going on the road to Rutgers and Marshall the next two weeks with injuries are not going to be easy games.
Virginia Tech outplayed in the second half
What a difference a week makes. Last week against Old Dominion, the Hokies outplayed the Monarchs in the final 30 minutes, created three turnovers, and pulled away on offense. This week was different because of multiple factors.
Defensively, they were not able to stop the Boilermakers in the fourth quarter, mainly on third down, with the biggest completion by Card coming on third-and-11 from the Virginia Tech 14 when he connected with Devin Mockobee for 12 yards to the 2. One play later, Card scored the game-winning touchdown on a 2-yard run. What was missing this week from last week? No turnovers were created by the defense.
Offensively, yes, they dealt with multiple injuries to their receivers and possibly even Wells, but with no running game, they became predictable on offense and made it easier for Purdue, which was lit up for 371 passing yards last week by Fresno State, easier to defend them.
It’s going to be a long week in Blacksburg when it comes to injury news and how healthy they will be when they head to Rutgers next weekend.