Trailing Pittsburgh 35-33 at Lane Stadium on Friday night, the Virginia Tech football team had one last drive to try to win the game. As the drive was going, you knew that with the way things were looking, it was going to come down to the leg of John Love.
The senior, who is expected to be kicking on Sundays as soon as next season, had a chance to give the Hokies a win against all odds. Virginia Tech turned the ball over four times, committed too many penalties, and struggled to make adjustments on the fly after the first quarter.
Penn State transfer quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer led the Hokies down the field, including a huge fourth-down completion to Luke Reynolds to move the ball deep into Pitt territory. Virginia Tech had the ball lined up for Love to attempt a game-winning 36-yard field goal in what should have been a chip shot. Instead, he hooked the kick as time expired to the left, and the Hokies were left with heartbreak and a two-point loss.
You can debate whether the kick was good or not. You can debate why the ball was on the right hash mark and not down the middle. After the game, first-year head coach James Franklin defended his kicker after missing it.
James Franklin defends John Love after missing the game-winning field goal against Pitt
According to Andy Bitter of Tech Sideline, Love likes the ball on the right side or right-middle, which is why the ball was set up there. However, as expected, Franklin defended his kicker as the debate rages on over whether it was good or not.
"I had so much confidence that that thing was going to go through,'' said Franklin. "I'd put him back out there for the same situation every single time."
This is going to be a loss that is going to be tough to rebound from. Next week, the Hokies have to travel to Northern California for a battle with Cal, who will be looking for revenge against the Hokies after an overtime loss last season in Blacksburg. If it is a close game at the end of it and Virginia Tech needs a field goal, Franklin won't hesitate to run Love back out there for another pressure-packed kick.
The debate over whether the kick was good will rage on, but the bottom line is that the Hokies didn't do enough to win. In the end, they didn't deserve to win.
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