Through their first ACC games, despite winning just out of three, the Virginia Tech football team has played some of their best football of the season against Miami, Stanford, and Boston College. Game No. 4 against Georgia Tech was ugly at times, but they got the job done.
At 5-3 following a 21-6 win over the Yellow Jackets, Virginia Tech will now hold their breath as they await injury news on running back Bhayshul Tuten and offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin, here are two truths and a lie from their win over Georgia Tech.
Truth: Virginia Tech's running is in trouble if Tuten is out
Judging by Tuten's reaction, it was a painful injury. They were looking at his ankle and several scenarios are in play with what type of injury he has and we're not going to speculate. However, if he's out for any amount of time, it will hamper the Hokies' running game.
Virginia Tech is already without P.J. Prioleau who was injured against Stanford on Oct. 5 and that leaves Malachi Thomas and Jeremiah Coney as the next backs up on th depth chart. Exposing quarterback Kyron Drones to a lot of carries is not a recipe for success.
Truth: Virginia Tech'e defense was dominant in the second half
In the first half, the Hokies' defense bent a few times but didn't really break holding the Yellow Jackets to a pair of field goals. In the second half, they bent a couple of times deep into their territory, but when they needed a big play, they made it.
In the final 30 minutes alone, the Hokies had three turnovers on downs, forced three punts, and had two interceptions. Kenota Jenkins had a huge fourth down stop on a 4th-and-1 and Keli Lawson had a third-quarter interception that set up Virginia Tech's third touchdown of the game.
Lie: Virginia Tech has an easy path to becoming bowl-eligible
This could get dicey if Tuten is out for any amount of time, but the win over Georgia Tech was massive on several fronts with the biggest inching them closer to becoming bowl-eligible. Next weekend, they head to New York to play Syracuse, who is 5-2, and coming off a blowout loss at Pittsburgh Thursday night.
A home game in tow weeks against Clemson is a daunting task, then after a bye week, a game at Duke on the Saturday before Thanksgiving is going to be tough and then Virginia at home Thanksgiving Weekend might be their best shot on paper. Time will tell.