Trailing 10-5 late in the first half, the Virginia Tech football team took over possession at its own 25-yard line with 3:42 left until halftime. It was going to be interesting to see how the Hokies were going to handle the possession as they were getting the ball to begin the second half and had an opportunity for a double-score, one at the end of the first half and one to open the second half.
However, if you have followed Virginia Tech closely, you know that Brent Pry and clock management don't always mix well together. That was the case again on the final drive of the first half.
Brent Pry explains Virginia Tech's clock management at the end of the first half
Starting 75 yards away from the South Carolina end zone, the Hokies moved the ball to the Gamecocks' 38-yard line. They got there with 10 seconds remaining in the half, and after an incomplete pass on first down, they had to settle for a John Love 54-yard field goal.
It's not that they settled for a field goal, it's that there was no sense of executing quickly and taking shots down field. It was almost like they were playing for a field goal instead of a touchdown, something that seems to be a theme under Pry, but he rebuked that notion after the game.
"We were trying to score a touchdown, don't get me wrong,'' said Pry. "As the clock went down, we were fortunate we got to huddle up on the side twice as they reviewed calls. We took a shot; we wanted to score a touchdown, but we also didn't want to put us in a situation where we didn't have an opportunity for a field goal. You're playing both sides of the fence.''
I get it, but there was no urgency in the drive, really, at all, with all the run plays that were called. It was a golden opportunity for Virginia Tech to be aggressive and take a lead into halftime and get the ball to begin the second half. Instead, as they have too often, they played it more conservatively and settled for three instead of seven. Field goals instead of touchdowns were not going to be South Carolina.