If you watched the 45-26 beatdown that the Virginia Tech football team suffered at the hands of Old Dominion, it was tought to stomach. The loss dropped the Hokies to 0-3, and the season is spiraling out of control quickly, just three weeks into a pivotal season for fourth-year head coach Brent Pry.
Now, Virginia Tech has to pick up the pieces and look ahead to another non-conference game next weekend at home against Wofford. Before we all look ahead, let's take a look back at the loss to the Monarchs inside Lane Stadium with our weekly report card.
Virginia Tech football report card from Old Dominion loss
When the Hokies threw the ball in the first half, they struggled, and when they ran the ball, they had success. The problem was, they turned it over twice inside the ODU red zone, a Kyron Drones fumble and interception (a bad throw into double coverage), and both were turned into touchdowns with long drives. Don't let the 26-point second half fool you. The outcome was already decided by halftime, and it was another week of questionable play-calling.
In the opening half, the Hokies' defense allowed four scoring drives of 77 yards or more in one half of football inside Lane Stadium, which was incredible to see. ODU quarterback Colton Joseph carved up the defense, and the Monarchs had several big plays. The secondary coverage wasn't good, and undisciplined penalties prevented the defense from getting off the field. The last six quarters of football on the defensive side of the ball have not been good, to say the least.
I mean, the Hokies didn't get beat in "Beamer Ball", they didn't have a punt blocked, they didn't turn the ball over on a punt or a kickoff, so it was a successful night for that unit. Looking for any positives from the game.
I mean, yeah, this probably should be an "F", but trying to stay positive. The problem is, as mentioned above, the play-calling on offense was suspect at best; Virginia Tech didn't look like a team that was prepared or even motivated to play. Defensively, they had no answers for Joseph or the ODU offense. Not sure where anyone goes from here.
Ok, so here is the "F". After losses to South Carolina and Vanderbilt, you expected Virginia Tech to show up and play with urgency and bounce back with a win. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was the perfect opportunity to quiet the noise and look to get back to .500 next week against Wofford. Instead, they played the worst football for 60 minutes of the Pry era, and you could make the case that the players quit. This was embarrassing on so many levels. Time for big changes.