After losing a heartbreaker to Pittsburgh last Friday night at Lane Stadium, the Virginia Tech football team had to fly cross-country to play a banged-up and wounded California Golden Bears team that was missing starting quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who was ruled out before the game.
Missing some key players on the defensive side as well, Cal rallied from a 14-7 deficit to hand the Hokies an embarrassing loss in a game where they looked completely flat and not ready to play from the opening kickoff. Virginia Tech took a 20-19 lead with just over a minute left, but a Hokies defense allowed a game-winning drive for another gut-wrenching loss. Here are four observations after Virginia Tech fell to 4-2.
Giving away points before halftime is concerning
Last week, the Hokies had a 21-10 lead on Pitt at home late in the second quarter when an interception by Ethan Grunkemeyer led to a game-changing touchdown, cutting the deficit to 21-17 at the break. For the second straight game, they allowed points on the final drive of the half.
Cal had the ball deep in their own territory and was able to drive the ball downfield with some explosive plays and kick a field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10 at halftime. A backup quarterback lighting you up in the two-minute drill was less than ideal.
Brent Pry's secondary gets torched again by a backup QB
For the second week in a row, a backup quarterback exposes a weakness in the defense of the ball, Brent Pry's secondary. This week, it was Jackson Brousseau and the Golden Bears. After the Hokies grabbed a 7-0 lead, Cal marched down the field behind Brousseau with some big plays and throws.
The last thing that the Hokies wanted to do was let Cal hang around, and they did, and were burned by the Colorado State transfer. Last week was Holden Geriner and Pitt. He was a very efficient 8-for-12 in the second half and threw a touchdown pass that turned into the game-winning points early in the fourth quarter. As for Brousseau, he went 29-for-43 for 321 yards and a touchdown pass to Carson Perry-Smith on third-and-goal in the fourth quarter that was basically a jump ball to the end zone. You can't make it up.
John Love's confidence is long gone
By now, you know the backstory of John Love's missed field goal last week at Pittsburgh as time expired that cost the Hokies the game, 35-33. A chip shot that the senior generally makes, and he hooked it left. So what did Franklin do? He got him out there early, and he again missed badly.
Love tried a 55-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, and it hooked left again. It's safe to say that his confidence has been shot, and he is not someone you can count on right now or going forward. I understand what Franklin was trying to do by getting him an early opportunity, but 55 yards was too far. Then, in the fourth quarter, he missed from 39 yards to the left.
The offensive line is a problem again
I know, I'm not breaking any news here, I know, but the offensive line is becoming a bigger issue by the week. Montavious Cunningham went out with an injury in the first half, but it feels like every team sees a wounded group. Ethan Grunkemeyer was under pressure all afternoon; the running game was nonexistent again. Health is a big key, but man, there is less and less time for Grunkemeyer to go through his progressions before he's getting hit.
There are so many more things to break down from this game, and it will be. However, are you really surprised by a flat effort after losing to Pitt and having to fly cross-country? You shouldn't be.
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