After a week off, the Virginia Tech football team came out of the break in Week 9 with a primetime showdown at SMU in a matchup of a pair of two-loss ACC schools in conference play. It was a de facto elimination game from the ACC Championship Game race.
The Mustangs were nearly a touchdown favorite going into the game, and from the first drive of the game, they proved that they were an easy bet. SMU coach Rhett Lashlee won the coin toss and, going against what nearly all coaches do, he took the ball, and it set the tone for a 51-28 rout of the Hokies. After the game, Virginia Tech coach James Franklin didn't mince words about his team.
James Franklin drops blunt quote after loss to SMU
SMU took the first possession and went 75 yards on eight plays in just 2:38 to open the scoring. They did what they wanted on the drive and punched Virginia Tech in the mouth. Their defense got a stop on Tech's first possession, and it was go-time from there. Franklin was blunt after the loss.
"I don't know if we were drinking the Kool-Aid -- or, as some people say, rat poison -- but we got humbled,'' Franklin said, per Andy Bitter of Tech Sideline.
Understatement of the year, so far, for Franklin and Virginia Tech. It was spot on. They were humbled, and humbled big time, on ESPN in what was a standalone game for a while before the Nebraska/Illinois game kicked off a little later on Friday night.
Virginia Tech's defense was torched, and Brent Pry literally had no answers. SMU racked up 569 yards of total offense, 350 through the air for Jennings with four touchdown passes, while the Hokies rushed for 219 yards. They scored on their first eight possessions, and the Mustangs' punter didn't need to punt until the final minute. It was eye-opening. It was a beatdown. It was humbling.
On the flip side, Virginia Tech had 417 yards of total offense, but it seems high if you actually watched the game. A good chunk of those came late in the game when Tech scored a couple of garbage-time touchdowns. The offensive line was destroyed again as SMU had four sacks, seven tackles for loss, and created separation late in the first half when they stripped Grunkemeyer near midfield, recovered it, and Jennings turned it into a touchdown pass on SMU's first play on offense.
This took a lot of the juice away from the win at Clemson before the bye week. Now, at 6-3, Virginia Tech had three regular-season games remaining, at home against Stanford and Virginia, and at No. 1 Miami. Seven wins, and even eight, are still very possible, with a bowl game in December. Sure, it was an embarrassing loss, but it's Year 1 for Franklin, and he needs time to get his guys in Blacksburg on the roster. It's back to the drawing board, and it's going to be a long week leading up to Stanford coming to town next Saturday night.
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