On Tuesday night, the first official 12-team College Football Playoff rankings were released. At the beginning of the season, it was thought that Virginia Tech would see their names pop up somewhere in the Top 25. That wasn’t the case and just Miami coming in at No. 4 was the only ACC team in the Top 12. In the Top 25 was SMU at No. 13, Pittsburgh at No. 18, Louisville at No. 22, and Clemson at No. 23, Virginia Tech’s opponent this week.
Virginia Tech sits at 5-4 through their first nine games, which is a disappointment considering all the preseason hype. Last Saturday afternoon at Syracuse, and playing without quarterback Kyron Drones and running back Bhayshul Tuten, the Hokies held a 21-3 lead midway through the third quarter. Then, as what has become an all too common theme in 2024 for Tech, a second-half meltdown led to a 38-31 overtime loss. Several reasons can be pointed at for why they are in the position they’re in and Brent Pry pointed the finger as to who is to blame.
Brent Pry points the blame for his team’s lack of finishing
Finishing games has been a major problem for the Hokies this season. It started in Week 1 at Vanderbilt, then carried over to Week 4 against Rutgers. It happened again against Miami in Week 5 and Saturday at the JMA Wireless Done against the Orange. If, and that’s a big if, Virginia Tech had closed out those games in 58 minutes, they’d be 8-0-1. In the final two minutes of all four losses, the opposing team has scored to either win the game or force overtime.
"Obviously disappointed in the outcome of the game,'' said Pry. "We weren't able to finish, which is something we're addressing, I'm reflecting on. We need to be better there, and it starts with me."
Normally when a coach says that, he’s trying to deflect the blame off of his players and onto him. That’s not the case here. It is on Pry and his assistant coaches too. Whether it has been play-calling, clock management at the end of half or games, and questionable decisions when it comes to taking points at key times or leaving some off the board. Let’s not forget the penalty at Vanderbilt for having the same number on the field during a punt that led to a Commodores field goal.
Pry’s 1-11 record in one-score games in Blacksburg is what it is. You can’t deny the numbers, but a lot of those losses have been avoidable and yes, it does fall on the coach. He pointed the finger at the right person and it’s something that must change or Virginia Tech will never continue to move in the right direction in the rebuild under the former Penn State defensive coordinator.