There was a whole lot of hope and enthusiasm going into this game, the GC Staff included, and there were some interesting moments in the game, and it was never out of hand, but the Hokies just could never get a handle on things, either.
It was Homecoming and Orange Effect, and the Orange Uniform curse seems to have crept back and pounced on the Hokies for this contest. The color of uniforms really doesn’t bear on the reality of the outcome, but the average fan in Hokie Nation would like to find something
to blame for the continuous groans of one score disappointments.
We’ll talk about the specifics, a bit later, but for now, the reality was that Tech lost the game in the latter half of the 2nd quarter. The reality of the first drive for the Deacs’ was that the Hokie defense finally managed to slow them down and force them to punt. The ominous sign for the offense showed up when the Hokies lost contain on a heavy rush and forced a tip drill interception inside the red zone. Wake went 4 and out from the Tech 13 for a grand total of -3 yards and the Hokies salvaged a field goal, but the very next series the Hokies lost yardage on an all to common three-and-out, when they really needed to drive.
The Hokie D forced a punt and Wake’s punter shanked it. Tech drove the ball for a TD, but there were some stumbles, and odd play calls along the way. It was good to see the Hokies up by 7-3 on the scoreboard, but there were signs that things weren’t quite settled, and the defense gave up a 75-yard drive aided by some inopportune mistakes. Wake took the lead back at 7-10, and the Hokies needed to answer.
The Hokies Lost the Game Late in the 2nd Quarter
The second quarter looked like we might see a back-and-forth contest like the NC State game, with Tech driving the ball in really good order to score a touchdown and retake the lead 14-10. With more than half the quarter gone, it looked like maybe Tech was going to get a handle on things, but the Hokie offense somehow developed a flat tire. Wake would score two touchdowns inside of the final 4 minutes, and the Hokie defense looked like it had folded, and also began to lose emotional control. There were two critical penalties that kept Wake alive on those two drives.
And that would be the telling mark of the game. The Hokies made too many mistakes and ate too many penalties that kept the Wake Forest offense on the field, or stuffed any sort of promising drive for the Hokie O.
The second half started with the Hokies behind by 2 scores. Their opening drive (they won the toss and received the ball at the beginning of the second half) was promising, and moved at an impressive pace, only to completely stall out with poor play calling and stiff opposition from the Demon Deacons. It ended in a field goal, but the Hokies would get no closer because they couldn’t get the ball across the goal line for the entire half.
You Can’t Win When You Can’t Score in Close
There is no real way to win when you are behind and rely on John Love’s leg to salvage 3 points on stalled drives. Eventually even Love’s 40+ yard 2nd last kick looked like it was quacking and sailed wide to the right of the goalposts. Love would put the final Tech points on the board with a bit over 2 minutes left, but by then they needed a touchdown.
The bright spot was that the Tech defense managed to get stops or limit the damage to three pointers – one in each quarter for Wake, but since the Hokie offense couldn’t manage to do better, the final whistle blew with the Hokies still behind, they’d only made up three points from the 10-point Wake lead from those two killer drives in the last four minutes of the 2nd quarter.
This is a game that the Hokies truly just gave away as the offense just couldn’t manage to score touchdowns, even deep in the red zone. Analysts will probably remember the last decade’s Hokies for that particular negative statistic.
Next, Virginia Tech travels to Atlanta, again.
This time the Hokies take on the high-flying Yellow Jackets from the ACC’s other Tech. We could be surprised. But probably not.
