Coming off a bye, the Virginia Tech football team faced a pivotal game on Friday in Dallas against SMU in what was a de facto elimination game for the loser in terms of the opportunity to play in Charlotte in the ACC Championship Game.
SMU started fast and set the tone on the game's opening drive, and took a 23-14 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, they scored on their first possession for a 30-14 lead and never looked back, dropping the Hokies to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the ACC. Here are five takeaways from Virginia Tech's first loss in almost a month.
SMU sends an early message with an impressive opening drive
Usually, when a team wins the coin toss, they defer their choice to the second half. Not Rhett Lashlee on Friday night. After a loss to Syracuse with 17 seconds left in the game last Saturday, 30-27, at the JMA Wireless Dome, Lashlee took the ball and sent an early statement with an eight-play, 75-yard opening drive that took just 2:38 for a 7-0 lead.
SMU used tempo, had some big plays, and had the Hokies' defense on their heels on the first drive. How efficient were the Mustangs? It was the first time this season that the Virginia Tech defense allowed points on an opponent's first drive of the game. It had to end sometime, but SMU ended it quickly on Friday night. It was a less-than-ideal start for the Hokies and one they couldn't afford on the road.
Tyson Flowers ejected on a questionable targeting call
Late in the first half, the Hokies were trying to get their first stop of the game when a 2nd-and-15 pass by QB Kevin Jennings was dropped. However, Hokies' safetyTyson Flowers hit the Mustangs' wide receiver Yannick Smith and was called for targeting.
The play went to review and was confirmed. I don't know; it seems like it was a tough call. He didn't hit him in the head; he turned his head away and led with his shoulder. Seems like they are taking some football plays out of the game with some of these calls.
Virginia Tech's defense gets torched again
I mean, nine games into the season, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Virginia Tech defense was torched once again. It's becoming comical at this point. After the first drive of the game, SMU scored on not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, but eight straight possessions. They did what they wanted when they wanted. There were no answers from Brent Pry whatsoever.
Look, it's easy to want to fire Pry after one year, but he isn't going anywhere and will have a big say in what happens on the defensive side of the ball in terms of roster overhaul. There needs to be a lot of it. Christian Rhodes picked up the Mustangs' longest run of the season for 59 yards in the third quarter in just his third game of the season. Who didn't see that coming? If SMU did this to the Hokies, what is Miami going to do in two weeks?
Virginia Tech's offensive line was not good again
It was good to see Montavious Cunningham back, but man, it did little to change the narrative of the Hokies' offensive line. It's still bad. SMU blitzed and took advantage of all the moving parts and pressured Grunkemeyer, got some timely sacks, stops, and a fumble recovery in the first half that the Mustangs turned into a touchdown strike on the next play for a 20-7 second-quarter lead.
In the second quarter after the Grunkemeyer fumble, Brody Meadows came in for Michael Troutman at left guard, but it didn't really matter. There are a couple of areas that need to be addressed this offseason: the offensive line and the secondary.
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