Virginia Tech Football: Instant reaction from frustrating loss to Louisville

Heading into their ACC showdown against Louisville Saturday afternoon, there were a lot of questions facing the Virginia Tech football team. One of the biggest questions was whether or not the Hokies were ready for the big moment on the road in a key game in November.

As it turned out, they were not.

After having three dominating games at home, the Hokies reverted to the struggling road team they were at Rutgers, Marshall, and Florida State in a 34-3 loss to Louisville, who takes firm control of second place in the ACC and the inside track to the ACC Championship game on Dec. 2 in Charlotte.

Instant thoughts on a frustrating Virginia Tech loss

• After limiting the big plays in the last month, the Hokies’ defense allowed too many of them against the Cardinals and they were burned and burned big time.
• The Hokies did themselves no favors on offense, especially in the first half by committing penalties and allowing sacks to be playing well behind the sticks.
• It’s safe to say that Virginia Tech looked confused on both sides of the ball, something that was an issue in their three previous road games.
• The defense played well in the second quarter and on the first drive of the third, but they failed to force a takeaway when it was clear that the offense was struggling against a very good Cardinals defense. They needed to provide a spark and didn’t do it.
• The Hokies turned the ball over once in the second half and Louisville turned that into a touchdown. It wasn’t a factor in the outcome, but it was another game where Virginia Tech lost the turnover battle and on the scoreboard.
• The Hokies turned the ball over on downs in the fourth quarter and Louisville made them pay with a….. big play touchdown run. It was that kind of day.
• In the overall big picture, Louisville is a team built for the moment and the Hokies are not and still in a rebuild. Now it’s time to pick up the pieces and figure out how to get two wins and become bowl-eligible.
• The good news, there were no major injuries for the Hokies and even Grant Wells made an appearance in the fourth quarter with Louisville up 31 points.

It’s going to be a long week in Blacksburg for Brent Pry and his staff who now must pick up the pieces and get ready for another road game next Saturday at Boston College. The Eagles beat Syracuse, 17-10, Friday night on the road and became bowl-eligible.