It should have never happened. Leading 21-3 midway through the third quarter, Virginia Tech was outscored 28-10, the rest of regulation, which forced overtime. In the extra session, the Hokies allowed a touchdown on Syracuse's first possession and then they fumbled on theirs to lose, 38-31, at the JMA Wireless Dome.
It's going to be a long trip back to Blacksburg for the Hokies who are banged up and now must get ready for Clemson to come to Lane Stadium next Saturday. After falling to 5-4 with an inexcusable loss, here is the latest Virginia Tech football report card.
Virginia Tech football report card following OT loss at Syracuse
This was a coaching failure across the board. It's very, very difficult to do what the Hokies did in the final half of the third quarter, fourth quarter and overtime. Defensively, Chris Marve has had better days and offensively, Tyler Bowen had a good first two quarters-plus, but things went awry after that. Brent Pry didn't have the killer instinct and until he does, these results are going to become more common.
Playing without Kyron Drones made the challenge in New York more difficult, but UCLA transfer Collin Schlee was more than up for the challenge. He finished 16-for-24 for 206 yards through the air, including a dart of a pass for a touchdown in the third quarter to Ali Jennings.
The throw 👏 The catch 👏#ThisIsHome | 📺 on @TheCW | @RJXIII pic.twitter.com/DkdBf6tk7n
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) November 2, 2024
He had 19 carries for 54 yards and he kept the Orange defense guessing most of the game. He was injured in the fourth quarter and in overtime, he had a chance to run for the tying touchdown, instead throwing an incomplete pass. You have to think his injury wouldn't allow him to tuck the ball and run.
No Bhayshul Tuten made it just as difficult as it did without Drones, but Malachi Thomas and Jeremiah Coney ran the ball more than well enough to win the game. Coney had 96 yards on nine carries (one big fumble) while Thomas had 73 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. They did their job.
Has there been a more clutch receiver this season than Stephen Gosnell? He didn't have a touchdown catch, but he set up a couple with some key catches, finishing with 118 yards on five catches. Jennings had one catch, a 12-yard touchdown reception.
It was a quiet day for the tight ends in terms of receptions, but they were effective in the blocking game. Benji Gosnell had just two catches for 20 yards and Harrison Saint Germain had one for 4 yards.
For a change, it wasn't a bad game for the offensive line. They opened up holes for the running game and established the line of scrimmage in the first half. The running game was better than expected without Tuten and that had to do with the offensive line. They were not the reason for this loss.
For two and a half quarters, they frustrated Kyle McCord, but once Syracuse's offensive line began blocking better, their offense took off. They were just not able to get enough pressure late in the game to come up with key tackles to get the win.
The second level was led by Keonta Jenkins and his 10 tackles while Jaden Keller continues to impress with nine, seven solo. In the end, like the other units on the defensive side, they were one stop short when the dust settled.
The Orange comeback started with a blown tackle on a 55-yard touchdown pass. Things just went south from there. Two more touchdown passes from McCord and one when Mose Phillips picked Mansoor Delane. It was a bad second half for a group that played so well in the first half, including a Delane interception in the end zone.