Virginia Tech Football: Instant reaction from loss to NC State

Coming into Saturday afternoon’s game against North Carolina State, there was plenty at stake for the Virginia Tech football team.

Not only was it Senior Day for 21 Hokies’ seniors, but it was their first chance to get win No. 6 and officially become bowl-eligible. In the end, the Wolfpack offense was clicking on all cylinders after a scoreless first quarter and Virginia Tech was not able to get stops when they needed to in a 35-28 Wolfpack victory at Lane Stadium.

Instant reaction from Virginia Tech dropping to 5-6

• North Carolina State put up 21 second-quarter points and pulled old double score on the Hokies. KC Concepcion’s second touchdown of the game with 18 seconds left in the quarter gave the Wolfpack a two-touchdown lead, then used up the first six minutes on the first drive of the third quarter and finished it off with a Brennan Armstrong touchdown run.
• Speaking of Concepcion, he caught two touchdowns, and then in the third quarter, NC State had him throw a touchdown pass when the defense focused on him and he found a wide-open Trent Pennix in the end zone for a three-touchdown lead at 35-14.
• Offensively, the Hokies struggled in the first half against a very stout NC State defense, but after they fell behind 14-0, Bhayshul Tuten took a kickoff back 50 yards to the Wolfpack 42-yard line. Offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen went into his bag of tricks and called for a trick play and Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw took a pitch on a reverse and sprinted into the end zone from 42 yards out to give the Hokies hope.
• Virginia Tech’s third-quarter touchdown was another quick-strike drive, needing just two plays when Kyron Drones connected with Da’Quan Felton for a 42-yard touchdown. Like the two previous Hokies scores when they had a chance to flip momentum, the Wolfpack answered.

• Virginia Tech’s offense did a nice job in the second half of moving the ball after racking up just 95 yards in the first half. They put up 254 yards in the second half and three touchdowns, but they ran out of possessions. Certainly, something to build on for next weekend against the Cavaliers.
• Virginia Tech’s season comes down to next weekend in Charlottesville against Virginia on Saturday. The time will be announced on Sunday, but after starting the season 1-3, having the opportunity to reach win No. 6 shows how they have come along this season in ACC play. If they play like they did at Boston College last weekend, then there is no reason why they can’t go get their sixth win.

A team that is built to run the ball and gets behind by multiple scores, it makes it a tough hill to climb. Now the focus shifts to Virginia and getting to win No. 6 to get those valuable extra practices and bowl game to build momentum towards 2024.