Be careful what you wish for. While watching the second Aflac Kickoff between No. 13 South Carolina and unranked Virginia Tech, it became readily apparent that so many coordinator changes for both teams caused the pace of the game to be restricted, at least for a good chunk of it... South Carolina had a new offensive coordinator calling plays, as Virginia Tech had new ones on both sides of the ball.
In the end, South Carolina was able to out-execute Virginia Tech down the stretch en route to a 24-11 victory on Sunday evening. While some may argue that SEC speed ended up being the difference in the game, that was not really the case. Self-inflicted wounds throughout is what largely did the Hokies in. Everything flipped when Beamer Ball backfired in the worst way possible against Virginia Tech late.
Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones had an interesting comment regarding South Carolina's defense.
Kyron Drones said there is no difference between ACC and SEC speed
During his post-game interview, Drones was asked if SEC speed was the issue, but he said it was not.
"No, it wasn't faster. Defense is defense. Football is football. College football is college football. SEC, ACC, same thing. It wasn't faster. It prepared us to know what we got to look at and see what we got to be better at for next week. We play another SEC opponent, but defense is defense."
While the SEC may be able to recruit more physically imposing athletes more readily, it did not look like a non-conference game between the Gamecocks and the Hokies. An unbiased observer could have said it had the feel of a conference game when it came to the overall speed on display. Again, the biggest issue from the game was Virginia Tech's inability to execute in crucial spots throughout.
With another SEC opponent coming up next week, the Hokies cannot overlook Vanderbilt one bit.
Virginia Tech must back up Kyron Drones' comment vs. feisty Vanderbilt
Although it will be a short week for the Hokies, at least they get the Vanderbilt Commodores at home in primetime on Saturday. Lane Stadium will be rocking, hoping to keep the Brent Pry dream alive for as long as humanly possible. Vanderbilt may historically be a bottom-feeder in the SEC, but the 'Dores have found new life under head coach Clark Lea with the ageless Diego Pavia under center.
While the Commodores waxed the floor with Charleston Southern in Week 1, keep in mind that was a bowl-caliber SEC team going up against an FCS opponent in the non-conference at home. It should be noted that Vanderbilt got the Week 1 win over Virginia Tech over in Nashville last season 34-27 in overtime. Drones put up his numbers, but Pavia proved to be the more consistent player in that game.
Overall, it really does not matter with which the pace of a game is played. It is all about execution. Drones is not a spring chicken anymore. This is his fifth season of college football at a Power Four school. South Carolina was always going to be a tough draw in Week 1, but Drones and the rest of the Hokies must glean something positive from this loss before Vanderbilt comes to town on Saturday.
Simply put, Virginia Tech cannot afford for Drones' erratic nature to beat them twice in a row to start.