Looking for a second straight road win after rallying to beat Clemson on the road two weeks ago, 20-16, the Virginia Tech football team faced a daunting task against SMU in Dallas. What was built up to a primetime showdown turned into a primetime letdown.
SMU took the ball after winning the coin toss, marched down the field, and set the tone en route to a 51-28 blowout of the Hokies, who looked completely overmatched. Let's hand out a report after the Hokies fell to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the ACC.
Virginia Tech football report card from loss at SMU
Virginia Tech offense report card
If anyone had any questions, and you shouldn't have, about Ethan Grunkemeyer's toughness, that was answered against the Mustangs. He was under pressure nearly every time he dropped back and went 28-for-38 for 291 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked four times, had an interception and a costly fumble, but he did everything he could to give his offense a chance without much help from his offensive line.
This grade is what it is because of sophomore running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. He rushed for 123 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. He also had four catches for 33 yards. Marcellous Hawkins Jr. has seen his usage drop off, and it might be time to give true freshman Messiah Mickens a shot against Stanford next weekend.
The Hokies' wide receivers caught 28 passes for 291 yards, but it didn't feel like they played that well, as they had some tough drops as a unit. Tight end Luke Reynolds had six receptions for 67 yards, while Que'Sean Brown caught the lone touchdown pass, but he managed just 37 yards on nine catches.
Where would you like to start? I mean, it is what it is. Montavious Cunningham coming back was nice, but the offensive line was again not great. Grunkemeyer was sacked four times; there were seven tackles for a loss, and there were just too many times when SMU's defense got a clean path to Grunkemeyer. This is a position that needs a major overhaul this upcoming offseason.
Virginia Tech defense report card
There was a lot of hype surrounding the matchup between the Hokies' defensive line and the Mustangs' offensive line. However, it was SMU's offensive line that won the battle, and Brent Pry's defense recorded just one sack and seven tackles for a loss. When your linebackers and secondary are at the top of tackles, when they make them, it's not a good sign.
It wasn't a bad game from the Hokies' linebackers. Noah Chambers finished with 11 tackles, Kaleb Spencer had 10, and Keon Wylie had seven, including a team-high five solo. If we're being honest, that's just too many names at the top of the leaderboard for leading the defense in tackles, but hey, at least one unit on the defensive side of the ball showed up.
This unit was torched by SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings from the opening drive through the final drive he played in. There were so many open receivers for the Mustangs on what felt like every drive; there were two touchdown passes where there were no defenders in the area of a wide-open receiver. You want to blame miscommunication as a reason. Go ahead, but this group is getting worse by the week, and there are no signs of things turning around anywhere. Stanford offense could put up some numbers next Saturday night at Lane Stadium. This is another unit that needs an overhaul this offseason.
Virginia Tech special teams report card
This wasn't a great showing for certain special team members. Punter Nathan Totten had just 147 yards on three punts, and maybe the biggest gaffe was by Cole Byrd, who had a kickoff out of bounds following a Hokies score that set up SMU on their 35-yard line. It wasn't hard for the Mustangs to move the ball downfield, but setting them up 15 yards from midfield to begin a drive was less than ideal.
Virginia Tech coaching report card
First off, Virginia Tech looked unprepared from the opening kickoff. Second, there were very few adjustments made during the game or at halftime. They were outscored again in the third quarter, this time 14-0, and James Franklin, after the game took the blame for the loss. Coming off a bye week, and with how big the game was, it was a disappointing 60-minute performance from the coaching staff.
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