Virginia Tech Football: 3 takeaways from disappointing loss at Louisville

What an opportunity the Virginia Tech football team had in front of them Saturday afternoon. Playing 13th-ranked Louisville on the road, the Hokies entered the game tied in the loss column with the Cardinals and a win would put them in the driver’s seat to the ACC Championship game in December.

As it turned out, using the ACC Championship game and Virginia Tech in the same sentence are words grouped too soon.

After starting the season losing three out of their first four games in the non-conference, the Hokies righted the ship in ACC play and were winners in three out of their first four games. The problem against Louisville is that they are head and shoulders better than Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, and Syracuse.

The Hokies got a first-hand look at why the Cardinals are ranked 13th as they dominated both sides of the ball, took the momentum right from the start and never looked back in rolling to a 34-3 rout of Virginia Tech.

Louisville did what they wanted, when they wanted on both sides of the ball and it makes you wonder just how in the world they lost to Pittsburgh. Seriously, how did they lose to the Panthers?

Second-year coach Brent Pry is now left with having to get his team ready for next weekend and a trip to Chestnut Hill, Mass., and play Boston College, a team that has won five straight and is already bowl-eligible. Before we get there, here are three takeaways from Tech’s loss to Louisville.

Louisville’s running game was too much for Virginia Tech

Coming into the game, Louisville’s big-play running back Jawhar Jordan was questionable and a game-time decision. He ended up playing, but he didn’t have the game that everyone expected him to have. He finished with 60 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, but it was another back who hurt the Hokies all afternoon.

Isaac Guerendo picked up the slack and had an afternoon against Virginia Tech’s defense. He rushed for 147 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns. He had touchdown runs of 39, 12, and 36 yards, and his last one was way too easy.

One week after allowing zero rushing yards to Syracuse, Virginia Tech’s defense allowed 231 yards on the ground to the Cardinals and they were gashed from the beginning. Again, Louisville isn’t Pittsburgh, Wake Forst, or the Orange and is a legit Top 15 team in the country, but as the game went on, the Cardinals’ offensive line wore down the Hokies.

Things are not going to get any easier next week as Boston College has a very good running game and a dual-threat quarterback. It only gets harder from here on out.

Virginia Tech’s offense struggled from the opening drive

The signs were there that it was going to be a long day for the offense. On the game’s first drive, they went sack, penalty, and a loss on an attempted screen. They were forced to punt and Louisville got the ball at the Hokies’ 49 and found the endzone with Jordan.

The Cardinals’ defense was too much for the offensive line as Drones was scrambling when he wasn’t sacked and everything that offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen tried failed. The best drive of the game came in the second quarter after a missed Louisville field goal.

Virginia Tech went 53 yards, helped by a pass interference penalty, and got into the red zone, but a questionable offensive pass interference penalty set them back and forced them to settle for a 44-yard John Love field goal and those turned out to be the only points on the afternoon for the Hokies.

Louisville’s defense is legit and they brought pressure on nearly every play. If there was one victory for the offense it’s that Drones was not injured in the game. He was flushed out of the pocket too many times and forced to throw the ball away. With things out of hand in the fourth quarter, senior Grant Wells made an appearance.

Virginia Tech was not ready for the moment

Let’s be honest, Virginia Tech was playing with house money in this game, and a lot of it. Who saw this game having so much meaning after the first four games of the season?

Pry and his staff still have a ways to go with the program and if there was anything to come out of the game, it’s that even though it was a disappointing result, it was a good experience for a team that was never expected to be in this position on the first Saturday in November.

Louisville was ready for the moment despite their loss to Pittsburgh which could very well come back to haunt them in terms of getting to the College Football Playoff. However, they are more than likely headed to the ACC Championship game against Florida State and will have an opportunity to make their case. They shut out Duke last weekend and that was no fluke.

Virginia Tech needs to turn their attention to Boston College and despite losing this game, getting two wins in their final three games to become bowl-eligible is going to be key for the future at this point.