Tech's Embarrassing 17-13 Loss to Pitt Prompts Frank Beamer to Promise Change

After a bad loss, Frank Beamer is normally the first person to tout the virtues of his team and its promising future.

But the Hokies' disheartening, embarrassing 17-13 home loss to Pittsburgh seems to have Beamer finally ready to start talking tough.

"We're not going to stay where we are right now," Beamer said after the game. "We're going to look closely at personnel and we're going to look carefully at how we do some coaching, this program's not going to stay the way it is right now."

With the Hokies only totalling 100 yards of total offense — the fewest for a Beamer-led squad since 1987 — fans surely hope things change. The Panthers managed only 276 yards of offense themselves, and Tech's defense overcame a sloppy start to keep the Hokies in the game, yet the offense just couldn't seem to get out of its own way.

"They beat us up front, they beat us as a unit," said offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler. "That's the synopsis."

Pat Narduzzi's defensive front thrashed the Hokies' offensive line for a total of seven sacks and a total of 57 yards lost. Left tackles Jonathan McLaughlin and Yosuah Nijman rotated in and out of the game, but neither found any success stopping the Panthers.

"I told you at the start of the year that I wished our offensive line was a little more experienced, I wish we were more experienced right now," Beamer said. "But it is what it is, and we need to execute better, block better and play better."

That failure to protect sapped Tech's ability to throw the ball, with QB Brenden Motley completing just 9 of his 20 passes for 91 yards and three interceptions in what was his easily his worst game as a starter since taking the reins of the offense.

"It was simple, you didn't run the ball well and got your quarterback hit, and next thing you know your quarterback's not making great decisions," Loeffler said.

The running game was inept as well. The Hokies gained 80 yards overall, losing 71 yards to negative plays for a net total in the single digits.

It's part of what has Beamer vowing considering change, where he normally just endorses the status quo.

"We've got a freshman over there that's not ready to play, but he's a talented guy, so we'll look at that," Beamer said, seemingly referring to the left tackle spot. "We're not staying where we are right now. Where we are right now is not good."

But it was Tech's defense that got off to a shaky start. After a three and out by the Hokies' offense, Pitt quickly marched to VT's 27-yard line. Panthers QB Chad Voytik terrorized the defense with his legs once more, contributing a 26-yard rush to the drive, and Pitt took a quick 3-0 lead on a 45-yard field goal.

Disaster nearly struck for the Hokies on their next drive, with Motley recovering his own fumble before Tech punted it away. Tyler Boyd nearly had a huge fumble of his own, muffing the A.J. Hughes punt, but the Panthers fell on it to retain possession.

That proved fortuitous for Pitt. After a Tech holding penalty on the kickoff, followed by an offsides call on Luther Maddy, the Panthers started on their own 36-yard line. A 12-yard rush by QB Nate Peterman extended the drive on a key third down, and on the very next play, Peterman took advantage of a busted coverage in the secondary to find TE J.P. Holtz for a 23-yard score.

The Hokies gained just one first down on their next drive, and ended the first quarter looking lifeless. The Panthers outgained the Hokies 95 yards to just 32, and a 10-0 Pitt score looked foreboding for Tech.

But Tech's offense answered with a drive that might not have gone the way Loeffler drew it up, yet still ended in points. After pass interference penalty against Pitt as the secondary tried to defend Bucky Hodges, a miscommunication on the offensive line set up a 2nd and 19 for the offense.

Yet Motley scrambled for 22 yards to convert. But then another OL screwup led to a sack and loss of seven yards. Motley then managed to find Hodges on a crossing pattern and, after a nifty run by the TE, the Hokies managed to convert a 3rd and 17 on a 28 yard gain. Motley then used a convincing play fake to deliver an 11-yard strike to Cam Phillips in the end zone. The Hokies had life, down just 10-7.

The remainder of the quarter was quiet. Motley threw an ugly interception to set up the Panthers at the VT 46, but the defense came alive. A sack by Chuck Clark and a big hit by Luther Maddy forced the Panthers into a quick punt and a kneel down by Motley ended the half.

Pitt wasted no time getting back on the board. The Panthers needed just two plays and 45 seconds to find the end zone, with RB Qadree Ollison reeling off a 43-yard run and a 25-run to find paydirt and give Pitt a commanding 17-7 lead.

"If you're happy to see a team go down two plays and score after halftime..." Beamer said before trailing off. "I'm not happy."

It would end up being the last score of the game for the Panthers, yet it was the only one they'd need to win.

Another quick punt had the Hokies teetering. Yet Donovan Riley was able to make a big play on special teams, batting the ball out of the end zone to down it on Pitt's 2-yard line.

The defense allowed a couple quick first downs, but Andrew Motuapuaka redeemed the unit by forcing a fumble on Ollison to give the offense excellent field position on Pitt's 23-yard line.

The unit promptly went backwards, thanks to another sack on Motley. Joey Slye added a 43-yard field goal to get the Hokies within 17-10, but it was hardly what Tech needed in the situation.

Tech's defense managed a quick stop on Pitt's next possession, and the offense managed to then subsequently look inept, yet move the ball.

As the fourth quarter opened, Motley found Isaiah Ford on a low ball to the sideline to convert a 3rd and 12, and a questionable roughing the passer penalty on Pitt gave Tech an extra 15 yards.

Loeffler kept on calling outside runs, getting Travon McMillian crushed for a loss of six to lead off the new set of downs. The Hokies couldn't get any more yards thanks to the aforementioned abysmal pass protection, and lined up to attempt a 53-yard field goal. But the Panthers committed a poorly timed substitution infraction, giving Slye a chance to nail a 48-yarder and cut the lead to 17-13.

Pitt rushed seven times to get to Tech's 36-yard line, but the Hokies' defense stiffened. Motley and company got the ball back on Tech's 20, and promptly shot themselves in the foot, as the QB threw a lame duck interception to set up Pitt on Tech's 24-yard line.

When he returned to the sideline, trainers seemingly examined both his shoulder and his hand on the play, and backup Dwayne Lawson started warming up.

He didn't have long to prepare. Once more, the defense came up big, with Brandon Facyson breaking up a near TD to Boyd.

Deon Clarke then managed to block Pitt's field goal attempt, but it was all for naught.

Motley re-entered the game, but looked completely overwhelmed.

The Hokies managed an incomplete pass, a one-yard run and a 10-yard loss on a sack. Hughes had to punt once more, with time slipping away.

"All we can control is our side of the defense and our side of the ball and keep cheering on the offense and keeping having their back, that's all we can do," Motuapuaka said.

A Luther Maddy sack ended Pitt's drive quickly, but once more, it didn't matter.

Motley proceeded to have one of the worst offensive series likely ever experienced by a Tech player. He led things off with two straight sacks, then managed an incomplete pass on a very near sack and ended the game with an interception.

Motley insisted he was prepared to come back in the game after the series of big hits he took previously, despite the less-than-ideal results.

"I was a little banged up on that last drive, but when you take the field, we have the opportunity to make plays, at the end of the day it comes down to execution," Motley said.

Beamer also said he believed he was ready to come back, while Loeffler insisted that the team has "every safeguard known to man" to prevent a player from coming into the game if he wasn't ready.

"They said he could throw, looked like he was OK," Beamer said of the team doctors. "We wanted a healthy guy in there, but Motley said he was OK enough, at least that's what they told me."

Pitt finished off the game by kneeling the ball, and the result, combined with Motley's injury scare, surely has the staff wondering when starter Michael Brewer will be ready to return.

"He's been throwing, but he hasn't had any contact yet," Loeffler said. "We'll see where he goes."

With a short week approaching, the Hokies won't have long to evaluate either QBs' health. But that will hardly be the only evaluation taking place.

Losing to the Panthers may seem routine for the Hokies at this point, but hearing Beamer so sharply criticize his squad after a loss must surely strike fans as something out of the ordinary.

"Both sides of the ball, it's lapses, it's not consistent play," Beamer said. "It's not what we normally have around here. And we're not going to stay where we are."