Virginia Tech 24, Virginia 10: Game Grades

Quoting from last week’s Absolutes and Desirables, “Virginia cannot turn the ball over. It cannot obliterate drives or help sustain Tech drives with penalties, especially stupid ones involving personal fouls. Tech has shown a more diverse offense than in years past, so maintaining containment on Randall and playing good assignment football is a must. And finally, Virginia must avoid the special-teams breakdowns and turnovers that have driven Frank Beamer’s teams for years. A short field is the Hokies’ friend and a recipe for getting beat.”

The ‘Hoos turned the ball over twice at critical junctures of the game. An ill-timed pass interference call and a subsequent personal foul on Kwakou Robinson led to Virginia Tech’s first points of the game. Another personal foul on Marquis Weeks helped set up a later touchdown. Missed assignments were culpable for a 37-yard touchdown run and both Bryan Randall touchdown passes. A short field after a poor punt led to Tech’s first touchdown. Result: Loss.

Offense (C-)

Overly conservative and, frankly, poor play-calling hindered the Virginia offense. That said, when given an opportunity to execute, the offense did so only once. The ‘Hoos were 15% below their normal third-down conversion rate. Twice Virginia had a possession inside the 10-yard line and managed only three points. The Cavaliers opened the game from the Virginia Tech 46 and could not score.

The running game was woeful, other than one long Alvin Pearman run, and the passing game was worse. The offense had one sustained drive in the second half. The lack of virtually any offense in the fourth quarter put significant pressure on the defense, especially Virginia’s young corners. Ultimately, the defense couldn’t hold up under that pressure.

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