Two straight wins after firing Brent Pry had everyone feeling good about the direction the Virginia Tech football team was heading under interim coach Philip Montgomery, wins over Wofford and North Carolina State. They returned home to play Wake Forest on Saturday and quickly reverted to the old ways of the first three weeks of the season.
Self-inflicted wounds, turnovers, and unnecessary penalties all added up to a 30-23 loss at Lane Stadium to the Demon Deacons. After falling to 2-4, here is the latest Virginia Tech football report card at the halfway point of the 2025 season.
Virginia Tech report card from Wake Forest loss
Offense: B-
Wake Forest blitzed Kyron Drones and got him at key times, but the Hokies' inability to score in the third quarter from the 4-yard line on a first-and-goal was huge. Three straight runs only got the ball to the 2-yard line, and Donavon Greene picked up a personal foul penalty, which moved the ball back to the 17-yard line. They had to settle for a John Love field goal.
The offense moved the ball, but had to settle for field goals instead of finding the end zone. Takye Heath and Marcellous Hawkins scored touchdowns, but kicking field goals was not going to win the game. When the Demon Deacons had to come up with a third-down stop, they did.
Defense: C+
Where to start? The defense actually played well in the first half; just two dumb personal foul penalties on third downs kept drives alive for the Demon Deacons, and they turned them into touchdowns. A Ben Bell late hit on quarter Robby Ashford gave Wake a first down on what should have been a punt. Then on the next drive, Ashford gave himself up on third down and was hit late out of bounds. Undisciplined football.
In the second half, they played well until Wake Forest's drive that led to a field goal and took six minutes off the clock. The Hokies were missing some players, but it wasn't the same performance they had last week at NC State.
Special Teams: A-
Trailing 27-23 with over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Love lined up and had a rare miss of a 49-yard field goal attempt. They pinned the Demon Deacons at the 2-yard line with a punt in the third quarter, which led to an interception, but the offense couldn't cash in.
Coaching: B
Virginia Tech never adjusted to the Wake Forest blitz, which got to Drones multiple times, but Montgomery's decision to kick a field goal in plus territory rather than go for it, 4th-and-short, was a head-scratching decision. You're an interim coach with nothing really to lose. There, you needed to go for it.
Overall: B-
Take away the two personal foul penalties that led to touchdowns, and the Hokies likely win the game. Aside from those mistakes, they played well enough to win. It feels like a game that they handed to Wake Forest rather than Wake Forest winning it themselves. Who knows how the rest of the season plays out, but you got Brent Pry-like vibes from this game with some of the mistakes.