Virginia Tech Football Report Card From Unimpressive Win Over Georgia Tech

Going into their ACC battle at home against Georgia Tech, the Virginia Tech football team knew early in the morning that quarterback Haynes King was not going to play. That left backup Zach Pyron as the starter and by the second half, the Hokies had him out of the game for true freshman Aaron Philo. In the end, it didn't matter who was under center with the performance of Virginia Tech's defense.

After a shaking performance from the offense, it's time to grade Virginia Tech after they improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the ACC with a 21-6 victory.

Virginia Tech report card vs. Georgia Tech

Again, what else grade would the Virginia Tech fans get? It was another sell-out and this time, the student section hung around in the second half and they were needed for the noise when the Yellow Jackets had the ball.

Chris Marve had his defense ready to go and Brent Pry made some good decisions that might have flown under the radar, but it wasn't a great afternoon from Tyler Bowen. Yes, he made a great call with the Philly Special and a couple of plays, but too much conservative play-calling in the second half kept the Yellow Jackets in the game.

It wouldn't be a Virginia Tech football game without some type of special teams mistake, would it? No. In the third quarter after a punt return from Jaylin Lane set the Hokies up at the Yellow Jackets' 28, they ended up having to settle for a long John Love field goal and it was blocked. On the flip side, Peter Moore had a great day with 10 punts for a whopping 490 yards. Not a stat you want to see, the 10 punts.

Kyron Drones accounted for all three Hokies' touchdowns, one receiving, one passing, and one rushing. He connected with Benji Gosnell for a second-quarter touchdown pass, then he hauled in a pass from Lane on the Philly Special. In the third quarter, he added a rushing touchdown. He finished 16-for-27 for 128 yards through the air.

Georgia Tech did a good job holding the Hokies to just 99 yards rushing with Bhayshul Tuten rushing for 79 of those. However, his injury late in the game is something to keep an eye on going forward with a trip to Syracuse next weekend.

It was a rough day for the wide receivers. Da'Quan Felton had three catches for 25 yards, including a third-down reception inside the one in the third quarter that set up Drones' third touchdown of the game. After Felton, there were just two other catches by a wide receiver and both of those were by Lane for a total of 6 yards.

The best receiver on the day was hands down Benji Gosnell. While his brother, Stephen, did not have one, but his younger brother finished with five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown reception was one of the easier ones he'll have as he was wide open up the seam.

From the first snap of the game, it was a rough day for the offensive line. Parker Clements allowed a strip sack on the game's first play, but Drones was able to get the ball back. Xavier Chaplin left the game in the third quarter with an injury and they can't afford to lose him any length of time.

It was a highly-graded defensive unit for the Hokies. Winfried Pene had five solo tackles and was a major factor. Antwaun Powell-Ryland did not record a sack after finishing with four last week against Boston College, they did a good job of getting off the ball and they were a big part of the unit that head coach Brent Pry said pushed back all game long.

This unit was great all day long. Keli Lawson had a big third-quarter interception and then in the fourth quarter, Kenota Jenkins had a big tackle on a Yellow Jackets 4th-and-1. He finished with a team-high 10 tackles, including eight solo. Jaden Keller had eight tackles and was active all day long and Caleb Woodson and Sam Brumfield each had seven tackles. They did a very good job of not allowing yards after catch in the game.

Aside from allowing one big play, the Virginia Tech secondary had another good day. Mansoor Delane had eight tackles and Jaylen Jones had an interception late in the game to seal the win. This is a group that will be tested big-time next weekend by Kyle McCord and the Orange offense.

Again, it wasn't always pretty on the offensive side of the ball, but a win is a win and Virginia Tech is now just one game from becoming bowl-eligible.