Virginia Bests Virginia Tech for its First Win in the Series in Sixteen Years

Well… this is not the fairy tale ending we were hoping for this season. There is simply no way around it. As has been said, all things come to an end and we had to suffer that reality this afternoon. UVA simply wanted it more and was the better team in the times that mattered. While the Hokies had a heck of a run that should not be ignored, it feels incomplete. Let’s take a quick look before our Hokie-football-watching hiatus for a few weeks as we wait for whatever bowl game the team is selected for:

Defense-

What happened?

            First, having the top corner out hurt… a lot. Caleb Farley was unable to play today because of back spasms. The Hokies sure missed his speed and coverage abilities in the secondary. During the second quarter and the start of the third quarter, the LPD looked Budsian-like with five consecutive three-and-outs for UVA. Like the bigger streak, this came to an end from Perkins’ in-game-found ability to throw the ball. The Hokies had pretty much bottled up the UVA quarterback after his two long TD runs in the first quarter but were unable to readjust against the passing attack.

            UVA ended up with 492 total yards. Perkins was responsible for 475 of them. He threw for 311 yards and one TD. He ran for 164 with 2 endzone trips. While UVA’s defense was formidable in parts and looked better than they should have on the final drive, Bryce Perkins is what beat the Hokies today and what ended the streak.

Offense-

            After a pitiful start, the offense looked like it had for this latter part of the season- that is, efficient and confident. Hooker was money for much of the game and the receivers made some great catches and showed off the speed that separates them from other wideouts in the conference. One that particularly stood out for me was true freshman Tayvion Robinson. He only had 3 catches for 45 yards but, me being from Michigan, he reminds me of a young Calvin Johnson. Robinson also returned 3 punts for a total of 65 yards. He gave the Hokies great field position throughout the day and made some nice blocks along with Damon Hazelton.

            The best receiver on the field today, statistically, was Tre Turner. On 7 catches, the sophomore had 134 yards and a touchdown. He also had 25 yards rushing and had another touchdown brought back with a false start penalty on the other side of the field. Yah, this flag bites.

            In total Tech was right with UVA as they had a total of 483 yards and 3 total touchdowns. What led them to not match Perkins’ production were turnovers and penalties. Hooker had 2 interceptions (including the Hail Mary attempt at the end of the half if that counts) and he finds himself in the fumble category with Turner at one a piece. As for penalties, the team finished with 8 flags for a negative 67 yards.

            The O-line stood tall for most of the game when it came to pass protection but was nonexistent the last couple drives. UVA finished the day with 6 sacks compared with Tech’s 2.

            UVA head coach Bronco Mendenhall said it himself at the half, UVA’s game plan was to take away the running option for Hooker. Most who watched, I imagine, knew this after the first couple drives of the game. I say most because I’m not sure Tech OC Brad Cornelsen had enough awareness to notice. The play calling was void of reason for much of the game in my opinion. But I will have to leave it at that or else I may write for days. 

We, as Hokie fans, and the team need to shake this one off and get ready for the bowl game. It looks like the Belk Bowl is in store for Tech this year and among the possible opponents include border state rival the Tennessee Volunteers with the likely opponent being Mississippi State. Either would be a fun one for sure. 

Yes, it really hurts to lose. Yes, it really hurts to lose to this team. Yes, the offseason will be extra-long this year. But the team is young, and we have these guys at our place on Saturday, November 28^th, 2020 (yup, on my calendar already).

Commonwealth Cup, we hope you enjoyed your stay here. We will see you

in 365 days…