Coming off a bye week, the Virginia Tech football team began the second half of the 2024 season at home Thursday night against Boston College. After a dominating first half that saw them build a 28-0 halftime lead, only to see the Eagles rally with 21 third-quarter points, but in the end, a dominating fourth quarter ended up leading to a 42-21 win at Lane Stadium. Following the win, let's fire up the latest Virginia Tech Football Report Card against the Eagles.
Virginia Tech vs. Boston College Report Card
Virginia Tech fans have been waiting for the Hokies to play at home as it's been since Sept. 21 since Virginia Tech was at Lane Stadium. From the live ESPN SportsCenter in the afternoon to the Thursday night game, Hokies fans once again showed that they were the best fanbase in the country with another sellout.
Brent Pry and his coaches had the Hokies ready to go. They played a near flawless first half, struggled mightly in the third then played a dominating fourth quarter to win. Chris Marve's defense came up with a huge fourth down stop at the beginning of the fourth quarter that gave momentum back to Virginia Tech.
It was somewhat of a quiet night for the Hokies' special teams, but there was one questionable decision in the third quarter when instead of letting the ball for a touchback off a BC kickoff, Tech started deep in their territory. After a penalty, Virginia Tech turned the ball over and the Eagles scored. Other than that, BC missed a field goal in the fourth quarter and a roughing of the kicker penalty on the punt gave Tech a first down late in the fourth quarter to run the clock out.
Virginia Tech Offensive Report Card vs. Boston College
Kyron Drones had a great first half, aside from a fumble, and finished the game 14-for-18 through the air with an interception and a touchdown pass. His INT in the third quarter gave BC a lot of momentum and was a throw that he shouldn't have made. He finished with 40 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
It was a record-setting night for Bhayshul Tuten. He finished with 266 yards rushing on 18 carries and three touchdowns on the ground and one through the air. His 266 yards are an all-time single game rushing record. He scored on runs of 83, 6 and 61 yards on the ground and hauled in a 20-yard pass for a touchdown late in the second quarter. What a night for Tuten.
Da'Quan Felton had a drop in the first half, but other than that, the wide receivers made plays whether it was with a catch or running the ball. Ayden Greene had a nice 25-yard run in the fourth quarter on a reverse and he had a key 14-yard catch on a late second quarter scoring drive. Mr. Reliable Stephen Gosnell had three catches for 40 yards.
Speaking of a Gosnell, Benji led Virginia Tech in receptions with four and yards with 49, which included a nifty catch along the BC sideline. He is turning into a nice pass catcher and option for offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen and Drones.
They did a nice job opening holes for Tuten and were a big part of his record-breaking night, but they also did show some signs of their struggles early in the season in the third quarter. In the end, they got the job done against a very good Eagles defensive line.
Virginia Tech Defensive Report Card vs. Boston College
Antwaun Powell-Ryland led the unit with four sacks and for the most part, they did a good job against the Eagles running backs and quarterback Thomas Castellanos. They forced a pair of first half fumbles which were recovered by Powell-Ryland and Keyshawn Burgos.
Without a doubt, the play of the game was early in the fourth quarter when Jaden Keller busted through and stopped BC short of a first down at midfield, which the offense turned into points. At that point in the game, the Eagles had scored 21 straight points and were driving to tie the game. Momentum was all on the side of the visitors and Keller flipped it which ended up allowing the Hokies to pull away late.
This unit had a key third-down penalty in the third quarter on a hold that allowed the Eagles to cut into the deficit and they allowed a couple of big plays down the field. Along with that, they were lucky that Castellanos missed some open receivers. In the end, they made enough plays and got enough stops.
At 4-3, it's onto Georgia Tech next Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium, but without a doubt, there are still some things that Virginia Tech needs to clean up over the next eight days.