It's never easy to rebound from a loss, especially a gut-wrenching loss like the Virginia Tech football team suffered on Friday night at Lane Stadium.
Virginia Tech dominated most statistical categories, but when the dust settled, four turnovers, penalties, and a missed 36-yard game-winning field goal attempt from John Love that sailed left as time expired allowed Pittsburgh to escape with a 35-33 victory.
Now, the Hokies must flip the page and look ahead to a cross-country flight to Northern California to face Cal in Berkeley on Saturday afternoon. However, James Franklin and his staff are going to have a long week to prepare for the Golden Bears' offense, in terms of which quarterback to prepare for.
Virginia Tech must prepare for multiple Cal quarterbacks
When the season started, it was Jaron-Keawe Sagapoluutele that everyone figured would be lining up under center, and he still may, but he was injured in Saturday's loss at UNLV, and despite being cleared to return to the game, he was held out. Franklin is preparing for the unknown.
"A lot of moving parts, a lot of things to be prepared for, a lot of things to consider, but all we can do is watch the film, evaluate the film, and read every report that's out there," said Franklin.
Virginia Tech fans and ACC fans got a glimpse of Sagapolutele last season as a true freshman. Last season, he threw for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. In a 42-34 double-overtime loss to Virginia Tech last season, Sagapolutele threw for 286 yards and one touchdown. If he plays, look for him to test Brent Pry's defense through the air early and often.
If Sagapolutele was cleared to come back into the game at UNLV on Saturday, you have to think that he'll likely be ready to go this weekend. Don't expect Cal to tip their hand until game time. We'll see what the injury reports look like for California beginning on Wednesday and the days leading into the game as to where JKS is and whether he has a shot at playing.
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