Wide Open Spaces for Tugboat Tuten

With an off week to prepare and get healthy, Virginia Tech's marketing team really went out of its way to restore some of the magic of the Hokies' tradition of playing as part of ESPN's Thursday Night Football. After the NFL's encroachment on Thursday evenings, it feels like the ESPN platform has lost some of its luster. Tech's mediocrity over the last decade hasn't helped either, even though they have been a staple for the Four-Letter network since it launched the weeknight concept. But this week, the pageantry was matched by a clinically dominating effort by the Hokies' offense. Often running untouched well into Boston College's secondary, Bhayshul "Tugboat" Tuten chugged his way to a school-record 266-yard rushing performance. Kyron Drones looked comfortable most of the night, and while the defense was shaky, they forced a plethora of turnovers and pressured quarterback Thomas Castellanos into sack after sack, just as the Eagles climbed back into contention.

Hold Onto Your Butts, the Offensive Line Woke Up

The Virginia Tech offense finally looked like the dynamic unit we saw at the end of last season. Tyler Bowen's design caused the defense to play slow, and often run away from the intended path of the football. Early in the game, the Hokies used all the window dressing to great effect, as they deployed the Rutgers-style split zone, triple option to create easy completions to Benji Gosnell and running lanes for Drones to keep the football, as he did on Tech's first touchdown. Bowen also added additional elements using motion that further confounded the defense.

The Hokies aligned in a 2×2 receiver set, and then Jaylin Lane (No. 83) motioned from the field-side to an alignment behind Drones. After Drones took the snap, he took a step to the boundary and that action mimicked a speed option with Tuten.

As Drones stepped to his right, right guard Kaden Moore (No. 68) and right tackle Parker Clements (No. 70) pulled back to the left side. Drones planted and then followed Moore and Clements into the hole. The added twist was Lane. To defensive back Khari Johnson (No. 3) Lane looked like a pitch man on a triple option. So Johnson stayed outside with the pitch, not accounting for the two lead pullers in front of Drones to outnumber the Eagles at the point of attack.