Six days after a 13-point loss to South Carolina in Atlanta to open the 2025 season, the Virginia Tech football team opened the home portion of its 2025 schedule on Saturday night at Lane Stadium against Vanderbilt in a must-win game.
When the dust settled, it didn't look like a must-win game for the Hokies were totally dominated in the second half to the tune of being outscored 34-0 on their way to a brutal 44-20 loss that put Brent Pry's job security on notice, as if it wasn't before. Here is the report card from Virginia Tech's loss to the Commodores.
Virginia Tech football report card from Vanderbilt loss
It was a good opening first half for the Hokies' offense, but the second half? What a complete disaster. Literally. After finding the red zone on four of their first five drives, the Hokies managed just 21 yards of total offense in the final 30 minutes and didn't pick up a first down without the benefit of a penalty until the end of the game when the outcome was decided. Whether it was injuries, play-calling, execution, whatever you want to point to, it was bad and, frankly, embarrassing.
So, when the Hokies took a 20-10 lead into halftime, did it really feel like a 10-point lead? Not ot me. Vanderbilt hurt itself with two turnovers, but other than that, the Hokies had a very hard time stopping them in the first half. In the second half, things got much worse, and the Commodores and Diego Pavia did what they wanted, when they wanted, and Virginia Tech and first-year defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes had no answer for anything. Nothing. Bad doesn't begin to describe what happened.
John Love was perfect on his two field goals and extra points, but other than that, it wasn't much. Vanderbilt never punted the ball, which was rather eye-opening, and if there is a silver lining, the Hokies were not beaten in "Beamer Ball" this week. Progress, right?
You knew that Vanderbilt was going to make adjustments, but Virginia Tech? Who are you kidding? Clark Lea and his staff put on a clinic in the second half and regrouped his team to send a loud message to everyone with a dominating performance. Another game where there were no adjustments from the Hokies' coaching staff, and Siefkes was totally overmatched in the second half. If you're surprised, you shouldn't be. It was a bad look.
The only thing keeping this from an "F" is Virginia Tech's offense turning two Vanderbilt first-half turnovers into two touchdowns. Hey, looking for any positives at this point. I don't know how you recover from this going into next week's home game with Old Dominion, but somehow, someway, they have to. Good luck.