Virginia Tech Football: 3 takeaways from a statement win over Syracuse

Virginia Tech’s first-half dominance set the tone

It’s safe to say that the first-half dominance from Virginia Tech set the tone for the game. Both sides of the ball.

Offensively, consider how good the offense was. Talk about ball control, they ran 45 plays to 27 for Syracuse. The Hokies racked up 341 yards, compared to 62 for the Orange, Tech rushed for 166 yards to minus-3 for the visitors, and Tech held a 16-4 advantage in first downs and a 20-6 advantage in plays in the opponent’s territory.

Drones had some good passes, but also some ugly-looking ones, especially early. He did connect with Da’Quan Felton for a 62-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. He also had a big chunk play of 41 yards with Jaylin Lane later in the quarter to set up a first-and-goal at the 10-yard line.

What allowed the Hokies to open up the playbook in the opening half was the success they had on second down. It allowed Bowen to throw the ball downfield, and take some shots, which also opened up the running game for Drones, Tuten who left for a brief time with an injury, and Thomas.