The Virginia Tech Hokies had a golden opportunity to put their first loss behind them, last week's 35-33 heartbreaker to Pitt. On Saturday, after traveling across the country, they were facing the California Golden Bears, who were without their starting quarterback, running back and top defensive player.
By now, you know how the Hokies responded: they lost, falling 25-20 to the Golden Bears. There were many reasons why Virginia Tech lost this game. Now 4-2 and 1-2 in ACC play, the Hokies must travel back across the country and forget this one. Next up: the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who just took down the previously undefeated Duke Blue Devils on Saturday.
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Here are six takeaways from Tech's second loss.
Hokies had no answer for the blitz
For over three quarters, once Virginia Tech faced third down, you could count on Cal to blitz. It worked like a charm: the Hokies finished 4 of 11 on third down. VT quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer was sacked three times and forced to vacate the pocket several other times. Grunkemeyer also had to get rid of the ball much quicker than he wanted on more than one occasion. All because Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Ty Howle and offensive line coach Matt Moore couldn't adjust to the blitz. Where were the hot routes for Grunkemeyer?
It seems like the Hokies finally figured it out late. Imagine what could've happened if they had adjusted much sooner?
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VT couldn't run the ball against the 121st-ranked run defense
Heading into this game, we focused a lot on how the Hokies should've been able to get the running game going. Jeff Overton has been fantastic, but that's often because he's making spectacular moves. There haven't been many openings for him or Marcellous Hawkins. Ideally, Tech would get the running game going early and then set up the Golden Bears with big plays over the top. It didn't happen that way. Far too often, the Hokies were in third-and-long situations. The run wasn't working on early downs, putting VT behind the sticks. For the day, the Hokies carried the ball 32 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Tech averaged only 3.5 yards per attempt.
How is this possible? Virginia Tech has one of the ACC's better backfields with Overton and Hawkins, yet it can't establish the run. Part of the problem is injuries on the offensive line. We know the Hokies lost projected starting tackle Johnny Garrett before the season. That hurt. Since then, left tackle Justin Terry has missed multiple weeks, though he should return. Right guard Montavious Cunningham has been in and out of the lineup. He was injured again on Saturday. Guard Brody Meadows has also missed time.
The program has several promising young offensive linemen. They aren't ready yet. The Hokies couldn't afford multiple offensive line injuries this season, and that's what has transpired. At this point, this team should be a pass-first offense. It works. Sometimes you must adjust to your personnel and what you do best. That doesn't mean the Hokies should stop running, but they're wasting a lot of early downs trying to establish something that's not working.
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Defensive issues
Where do we begin? The Hokies were facing a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator. Yet, quarterback Jackson Brousseau had all day to throw. He was sacked only once. Far too many times, he had all day to throw. Pry was choosing to rush three or four, and it wasn't working. Where was the aggression we were promised? Why not come after Brousseau? Why not get him off his spot? The lack of pressure made life difficult for Virginia Tech's secondary. When a quarterback has all day to throw, it's much harder to cover for five seconds or longer.
Speaking of this secondary, this could be Virginia Tech's worst cornerback room in years. We've seen some bad ones recently, but there was always at least one player you could count on. We were led to believe Jaquez White would be the guy. He's beaten every week. He had a couple of nice breakups on Saturday, but he was also beaten multiple times. He's far from the only culprit. Cal's best play was throwing back shoulder fades to their receivers because they knew the Hokies could do nothing. It worked almost every time.
This secondary can't tackle either. How many missed tackles have we seen in recent weeks? How do you clean up all these areas for the final six games? Pry will need to make some adjustments. Can he do it? We are about to find out.
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Lack of turnovers
Get this: Virginia Tech hasn't forced a turnover since the Week 2 win over Old Dominion. So much for havoc and chaos. In last week's loss to Pitt, the Hokies turned it over four times. The defense didn't get one of those turnovers back to help the offense. The problem here traces back to the previous takeaway. Pry needs to be more aggressive. These defensive backs aren't making plays on the ball. Where are the strip sacks? Can the Hokies' front four get pressure against a good offensive line?
When you can't count on your defense to get off the field, occasional turnovers make all the difference. Right now, Virginia Tech's defense has nothing to hang its hat on. The Hokies couldn't even force a turnover against a Cal team that entered Saturday's game on the brink of falling apart under first-year coach Tosh Lupoi. Now, Cal has new life thanks to the Hokies and their defense.
Hokies have a kicking problem
Let's start with kicker John Love. One of the best kickers in the country coming into the season, Love seems to be in his own head now. He pushed last week's game-winning kick left against Pitt. That's a kick he almost never missed before. On Saturday, he missed a 55-yard field goal. No big deal; those are toss-ups, though Love has proven he can make them. However, he later missed a 39-yarder; if he had made it, the Hokies would have been in position to kick a short, game-winning field goal at the end of Saturday's game.
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Love has now missed three straight kicks. Had he made them, the Hokies would be 6-0. Look, that's not blaming Love for VT's last two losses, but it is saying those could've been the difference in two games. Virginia Tech did plenty enough to lose each game, but Love is supposed to be one of the best at his position. He is supposed to help be the difference in close games. Right now, how do you move forward with Love? How do you trust him in a close game?
Speaking of kicker problems, punter Nathan Totten hasn't been good all season. In six games, Totten is averaging 41.9 yards per punt. Not good. He gets almost no hang time on any of his punts. When you kick low line drives, the other team has a better chance to return them. An untrustworthy punter combined with a struggling defense is a bad combination. Punters can often punt teams out of a bad spot. Not Totten.
Penalties and officiating
Let's just combine this into one. We've established how bad ACC officials are. It's not just against Virginia Tech. It's league-wide, although the Hokies have been significantly burned by ACC officials more than a few times, including last week. On Saturday, a few fourth-quarter calls proved costly for the Hokies. On back-to-back plays on Cal's game-winning drive, the Hokies were called for roughing the passer and defensive pass interference. By the rules, the roughing-the-passer call was correct, if a little ticky-tack. Still, more often than not, they call it.
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The defensive pass interference was more offensive pass interference than anything. Honestly, at that point, it shouldn't have been called either way. Let them play. Remarkably, with under 20 seconds remaining, Grunkemeyer got the Hokies all the way down to the Cal 7-yard line. They'd have one shot to win the game. Of course, Luke Reynolds was the target, as he should have been. Unfortunately, the pass fell incomplete despite heavy contact. The Hokies wanted a flag. The officials didn't budge.
See for yourself.
How was that not called? If you're going to call it one way, you better call it the same way for the other side. They didn't. It was costly. Another egregious error by ACC officiating.
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But let's close on this: the Hokies didn't lose because of officiating. All three coordinators were outcoached. Players were outplayed and outhustled. The lack of discipline this deep into the season is an issue. Aycen Stevens getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after making a tackle for a 5-yard loss was inexcusable. Two plays later, Cal scored its first touchdown. There's too much of this. That's not on officiating. That's on the coaching staff.
