A win is a win and the Virginia Tech football team will take it, but they'll take it with a lot more work to do. Offensively, it was another dismal first half before they put up three second-half touchdowns on Marshall for a 31-14 victory at Lane Stadium.
In the end, head coach Brent Pry and his team will take the win and move on to play at Old Dominion next weekend, but there are still more questions than answers for the Hokies right now after two bad first halves in their first two games of the 2024 season.
With that said, let's dive into the win over the Thundering Hurd with the latest Virginia Tech football report card.
Again, a loyal fanbase showed up, but they were correct in booing the offense in the first half. Another dud by the offense from play-calling to execution to the offensive line. We'll dive deeper below, trust me.
Ok, so this grade is low because of Pry and offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen. This week, we were told that they needed to start faster, attack down the field, and do it early. Instead, what we got was another rough first 30 minutes for the offense with no real adjustments. Chris Marve had his defensive unit ready to go, but you can't say the same about the offense and that falls again on Pry and Bowen. They can't survive many more first-halfs like this in the future.
Jaylin Lane returned a punt for the game's first touchdown, John Love was perfect, but the only blemish was a second-quarter blocked punt that led the Marshall's first touchdown of the game. Other than that, it was another good week for the Hokies' special teams.
Virginia Tech offensive report card in win over Marshall
Kyron Drones spent the first half running for his life, which limited him to being able to get into his reads. He was 14-for-21 passing for 130 yards and a touchdown while rushing for just 15 yards, but a key second-half touchdown.
It was a good day for the running backs with Bhayshul Tuten leading the way offensively with 120 yards and a touchdown in 22 carries with a 5.5 average. Malachi Thomas had 52 yards on nine carries and P.J. Prioleau had 23 yards on five carries. Again, the Hokies offense is better when they can run the ball with any number of backs and Drones.
Stephen Gosnell had just two catches but he had a 49-yard diving highlight reel catch in the third quarter that led to a Virginia Tech touchdown. Lane had 41 yards receiving on four catches and Da'Quan Felton caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass in the end zone. Again, doing what they do in the second half needs to be done in the first half.
It was a quiet day for the most part for the tight ends, but Virginia Tech picked up one first down in the opening 30 minutes and that was thanks to a diving catch by Benji Gosnell.
I mean, yikes. If this continues, it's hard to envision Drones on the field healthy by the end of the season. Pass protection was brutal in the first half, it wasn't really much better in the second half, however, Tech was better at running the ball. A lot, and I mean a lot of work needs to be done here.
Virginia Tech defense report card in win over Marshall
It was a good afternoon for the Hokies defensive line. Aside from one big third quarter run by Marshall, they kept the Thundering Hurd in check and a lot of pressure on QB Stone Earle. Keyshawn Burgos, Kelvin Gilliam, Josh Fuga, and Antwaun Powell-Ryland all made an impact.
It was another good day for the linebackers for the Hokies against Marshall. Keli Lawson, Keonta Jenkins, and Sam Brumfield each had five tackles and were in on several pressures. Again, the only reason the Hokies took a 10-7 lead into halftime was because of how well the defense played. Again, Marve had his unit ready to go from the first possession of the game.
No Jalen Stroman this week and he is likely for more going forward, how well was the Hokies' secondary going to play in his absence? The answer, is very good. Once again Mose Phillips was very good with five tackles and a sack, Mansoor Delane had a better game than last week at Vanderbilt and Donate Lovett had a good fourth quarter helping Tech get a couple of turnovers on downs.