It was a late bye week for the Virginia Tech football team this season. In James Franklin's first season in Blacksburg, the Hokies played their first eight games, going 6-2, before getting their break. It came on the heels of a fourth-quarter rally against Clemson that led to a 20-16 victory with a late-game touchdown.
It was a well-timed bye week, if we're being honest. Injuries along the offensive line were piling up, but it was also a well-timed bye to give quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer a break from the number of hits he had taken through the first eight weeks.
However, coming out of the break, the Hokies had a massive game at SMU in terms of keeping their slim ACC Championship Game hopes intact. Virginia Tech looked unprepared and unmotivated from the opening kickoff and was blown out, 51-28, by the Mustangs, who were coming off a stunning 30-27 loss to Syracuse the previous week in the JMA Wireless Dome. On Monday, Franklin met with the media and basically admitted a mistake that his staff made during the bye week.
"Looking back, we didn't spend enough time on getting things fixed and becoming masters on more things during bye week and maybe eliminating some things that we're not doing as well," Franklin said, per Virginia Tech athletics YouTube page.
James Franklin admits the bye week wasn't spent well enough for Virginia Tech
If we're being honest, there are a lot of things that Franklin and his staff could have tried to address during the bye week. Oh, where to start? It's not like some of the things haven't already been tried to be addressed by the coaching staff.
However, some of the biggest issues the Hokies have are not easily fixed during a bye week. The defense was torched once again, this time by SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings, from the opening drive until the final play. Pass defense continues to be a major problem, and if Jennings did what he did to the defense, what is Miami doing to do in a couple of weeks? It could end up being video game numbers when all is said and done.
How about the offensive line, which has been battered by injuries? Fixing that, along with the defense, is something that will have to be done over the offseason and likely needs to be addressed through the Transfer Portal. Well, some of it. Are there going to be coaching changes at the end of the season? Ohio State and Ryan Day, along with Brent Key and Georgia Tech, are already making staff changes.
Finally, addressing the third-quarter struggles is something else that is not easily fixed. Sure, adjustment plays a part in it, and maybe a bigger part than some want to think, but again, how is that an easy fix?
When Virginia Tech got back very early Saturday morning from Dallas, there was a staff meeting before any coaches went home. It was a long reflecting period, and we'll see this weekend against Stanford if it was worth the extra time in the office.
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