Virginia Tech Football: 3 takeaways from dominating win over Pittsburgh

To say that the first four weeks of the season were frustrating for the Virginia Tech football team would be a major understatement. After beating Old Dominion in the season-opener, they had three consecutive losses to Purdue, Rutgers, and Marshall to sit at a frustrating 1-3.

They returned home to Lane Stadium Saturday night to open up ACC play against the Pittsburgh Panthers and put together a strong 60 minutes and at times dominating performance for a 38-21 win.

Quarterback Kyron Drones was good all night, running the ball, throwing the ball, and having a hand in all five touchdowns, three passing and two running. It was his third start of the season and it was by far the most comfortable he has looked. After coming under a lot of criticism, offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen had his best game mixing things up and keeping Pittsburgh guessing on defense.

Virginia Tech showed glimpses of the team they can be and it was a complete performance on both sides of the ball in a game where they needed it. Here are three takeaways from the Hokies second win of the season.

Virginia Tech played a complete first-half

Last week against Marshall, the Hokies put together a 75-yard game-opening touchdown drive with 62 yards coming on the ground. After that, mistakes and questionable playcalling allowed the Thundering Hurd to take over. Saturday night was different.

For the second straight game, Virginia Tech scored on their first possession with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Drones to Da’Quan Felton, but after the Panthers answered on the first play on their next possession, the Hokies finished the final 25 minutes of the quarter strong. In fact, it was their best 30 minutes of the season, without a doubt.

Offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen called a terrific first half, mixing things up running the ball with Bhayshul Tuten and Drones, while also going deep into his playbook by calling a flea-flicker. Late in the first half, and Virginia Tech facing a 4th-and-2 at the Panthers 28, Drones rolled to his right and connected with Stephen Gosnell for 16 yards and a first down that set up Tech’s third touchdown of the half, which gave them a 21-7 halftime lead and the 21 points is the most points scored by them in a half in the Brent Pry era.

Defensively, the Virginia Tech defense bent a couple of times but never broke. They forced a 4th-and-3 at the Hokies 33-yard line, which forced a 51-yard field goal attempt that Pittsburgh missed. All of the momentum in the first half was with the Hokies and that’s the first time you could say that this season.

Virginia Tech responds well to adversity in the second half

After punting the ball on the first possession of the second half, the Virginia Tech defense forced a fumble and recovered it at the Pittsburgh 9-yard line when Mario Kendricks wrapped up Pittsburgh quarterback Phil Jurkovec and Antwaun Powell-Ryland punched the ball out and was awarded the recovery.

Drones ended up scoring on a 10-yard run for a 28-7 lead. The Panthers responded with a touchdown of their own to cut the deficit to 14 points before disaster struck. Drones fumbled the ball on the ensuing Hokies possession which the Panthers returned for a touchdown to make it 28-21 with just 10 minutes remaining in the quarter.

With 25 minutes left in the game, it was going to be a big moment to see how the sophomore quarterback would respond to adversity. Well, he responded very well.

He settled down and managed the rest of the game very well for just his third career start. He stood in the pocket and threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jaylin Lane. After the Virginia Tech defense got a stop and forced a punt to end the third quarter, Drones led a drive that led to a field goal for a three-score lead. The drive used up more than half the clock in the final quarter. Big test passed by Drones.

Virginia Tech continues to give up big plays

This did not end up costing the Hokies in the game, but another week of giving up big plays at key moments. In the first quarter after Virginia Tech grabbed an early lead on Felton’s touchdown reception, that lead lasted just one play.

Jurkovec, who was announced the starter Saturday morning, dropped back on the Panthers’ ensuing possession and found Bub Means behind the Virginia Tech secondary for a 75-yard touchdown. Fortunately, the offense responded with two more touchdowns before the half.

In the third quarter after Drones’ second touchdown of the game following a Pittsburgh turnover for a 28-7 lead, Jurkovec threw a short pass to C’Bo Flemister who broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown on the first play after the kickoff.

Allowing big plays on defense has been an issue through the first four weeks and it was costly. It wasn’t costly against the Panthers, but they need to do a better job when the offense gets them momentum.

In the end, it was a good 60-minute effort for Pry and his team, now they pick up and get ready for a trip to Florida State next week. Nobody said it would be easy.