Slept On It: Hokies Open Strong, Limp Home After Frustrating Battle at Bristol

When I was six-years-old, my parents signed me up for my first race. My young brain determined my best chance to win was to simply run faster than everyone else. The gun went off and I sprinted out in front of the field. By the end of the first of four laps, I was comfortably ahead, but halfway through the second, the wheels started to come off.

A stitch in my lower abdomen slowed my sprint to a shuffle, and the other runners flew by me. Panicked, I chased after the other kids, and labored around the course. I eventually limped across the finish line far behind the winner with a sore ankle and a bruised ego.

Saturday's loss to Tennessee at the Battle at Bristol wasn't all that different. After an electric first quarter put the Hokies ahead 14-0, the momentum came to a screeching halt when the Hokies fumbled in the shadow of their own end zone on the first play of the second quarter. The Vols scored on their next snap and never let off the gas.

With each passing drive, you could sense the Hokies' frustration as they fought to re-discover the clinical efficiency of their first quarter offense. Ill-timed penalties and fumbles became commonplace as the Vols rattled off 31 consecutive points en route to a 45-24 victory. It was a frustrating evening for Hokies everywhere.

During the long walk back to our tailgate at The Landing, my friends and I tried to wrap our heads around what had just taken place. We attempted to put the performance in perspective, probably more as an emotional defense mechanism than an objective analysis. After riding so high for the first 15 minutes, the final 45 felt like an eternity; at times as humiliating and painful to watch as a Michael Scott motivational speech.

When Tennessee's run began, I sensed the Hokies began to press a little. It was as though they already felt the game slipping away. As the lead evaporated, the Hokies fought harder and harder to gain that extra yard or physical advantage. But in doing so, they made back-breaking, careless mistakes that caused them to sink deeper into the quicksand.

A few days removed from the loss, the final score hardly feels indicative of the on-field matchup. Despite burying my face in my hands on countless occasions Saturday night, I can't recall ever feeling like there was a talent gap between the two teams.

Travon McMillian raced past the much-hyped Tennessee secondary on his touchdown scamper. Ken Ekanem bullied the Vols offensive line all night. And when it was clicking, the Hokies' offense looked dangerously efficient.

Two games into the season and one thing is certain: The Hokies have a ton of potential, but it will never be fully realized if they can't stop getting in their own way.

It's tough to win football games when you turn the ball over five times and rack up 101 penalty yards. The margin for error decreases exponentially when your opponent is a Top 25 team and you continually gift them a short field to work with.

The silver lining is that all of these mistakes are correctable; the fear is that these issues are endemic. New faces, new coaches, new system — it has been discussed ad nauseam. Whereas the miscues against Liberty were chalked up to teaching moments in a season opener, Saturday's issues cut a little deeper because of how horrifically they snowballed. Yet against Tennessee, there were far too many well executed drives and gutsy third down conversions to cause panic.

The offense was creative and dynamic, highlighting a few of the ways they will look to exploit matchups. The secondary played a solid game in coverage and the defensive line created pressure from the outset.

If you were to only look at the final score, you would have little understanding of just how competitive the Battle at Bristol could have been. In front of a record crowd, the Hokies proved they have the ability to make some serious noise in the ACC. But at the very least, they will have to get out of their own way to do so.