Virginia Tech crossed the halfway point of the season already, and standing with a 2-4 record and coming off a 39-17 drubbing at Florida State, it's time we ask a few big picture questions about the current state of the Hokies football team.
Who's to blame for the slow starts?
In week two, Purdue was up 17-0 while the Hokies not only looked helpless, but seemed as if they felt bad about the rain delay, and gave Ryan Walters the game script for the first quarter. The Boilermakers destroyed Tech on both ends, and only cracked when the defense started stopping the Purdue run and Bhayshul Tuten broke off a 14-yard scamper in the second frame to give the Hokies a touch of momentum. They scored on a 30-yard catch-and-run to the transfer running back six plays later, and tied the game at 17 before the half.
In week three, Rutgers bolted out to a 21-3 lead, in large part due to two critical Kyron Drones turnovers and Tech's inability to consistently fit gaps against quarterback powers. Things turned around in the second half as they scored on consecutive third quarter drives. Drones ran for 29 yards on three carries before dropping a dime to Da'Quan Felton on the first score. On the second touchdown drive, runs by Tuten and Drones made up five of seven plays — not counting a Rutgers pass interference penalty — and the Hokies cut it to 21-16 at the beginning of the fourth.
In week four, Marshall separated with a 24-10 advantage in a game plan that, for some godforsaken reason, had Drones throw 35 times (the defense giving up 174 yards to Rasheen Ali didn't help either.) Want to take a guess how the Hokies cut it to a one-score game? Seven plays, 65 yards, 49 of which came on runs from Drones, Tuten and Jaylin Lane.
In week five, there was peace.
In week six, Florida State thrashed Tech with 22 straight points. The Hokies defense did a decent job sealing a few leaks, and the offense got going with carries and swings to Tuten and a few solid chunk runs from Drones. A lovely special teams touchdown from Tuten (noticing a theme here?) had Tech claw all the way back to make things a one-score game... at least momentarily.
A quick positive before we start reading this coaching staff for filth:
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