It was a tale of two halves for the Virginia Tech football team on Friday night. After opening the game scoring 10 points on their first two drives, the Hokies' offense stalled while California's offense cooked to the tune of 20 straight points for a 20-10 halftime lead.
The Hokies came out and dominated the third quarter and half of the fourth to take a 27-20 lead. Cal tied the game on a horrendous roughing the passer call. After the two teams exchanged missed field goals at the end of regulation, the Hokies outlasted the Golden Bears, 42-34, to win in double overtime. Virginia Tech needed that win, and after improving to 3-5, let's fire up the latest Virginia Tech football report card.
Virginia Tech football report card from win over California
Offense: A
Aside from some drives in the second quarter, the Hokies' offense was cooking. They racked up 476 total yards of offense, 357 on the ground. Marcellous Hawkins rushed for 167 yards, and Kyron Drones 137. Drones also threw for 119 and three touchdown passes, two to Takye Heath and one to Ayden Greene. Virginia Tech's offensive line was big in the second half and overtime. The second half and overtime were the best the offense looked all season long without question.
Defense: A-
Aside from a rough stretch in the first half, the Hokies' defense kept Cal's offense in check, allowing just seven points in the second half after 20 in the first. There were some bad penalties, and they were not able to get off the field on third down at times, but Kemari Copeland was a beast with seven tackles and three sacks. Kaleb Spencer had a team-high nine. Thomas Williams had a good game in the secondary, defending three passes. Sam Siefkes made some big adjustments in the second half.
Special Teams: C-
It was a bad night for the special teams. It started with Cameron Seldon catching a kickoff at the 1-yard line and going out of bounds, giving the offense the ball against their goal line. You never see that. Then, California blocked the ensuing Hokies punt, setting up a shot at the VT 21. Then, at the end of regulation, John Love doinked what would have been a go-ahead field goal. Some of this will be forgotten by the result, but it was a bad night for the special teams.
Coaching: B+
You have to give the staff credit for making adjustments at halftime. Offensively, the running game took over and Drones got involved, while he made some big throws in the second half and overtime to complete the comeback.
Defensively, Virginia Tech held the Golden Bears to 39 yards rushing in the game, and they got more pressure on Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Adjustments were made, something that hasn't always been made over the last couple of seasons.
Overall: A
This was a huge win on a Friday night for a program looking for a new coach on national TV, and to win that way with a lot of eyes on may pay dividends down the line. It would have been easy for the Hokies to roll over in the second half, and then after the roughing the passer call, but they were determined to win the game, which is what they did. This season won't end with a bowl game, but it's games like this that can set the tone for a daunting month of November schedule-wise.