Virginia Tech is looking for a bowl game against Virginia, which has lost 17 of the last 18 meetings.
After last year’s game was canceled due to three fatal shootings at Virginia, two second-year coaches meet for the first time in the state rivalry. The Hokies need a win to advance to a bowl game, and they have history on their side. They’ve won 17 of their last 18 games. Following a 0-5 start, the Cavaliers have split their last six games this season.
MATCHUP KEY
Virginia freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea takes on the Hokies’ defense. Colandrea has demonstrated a fearlessness that both benefits and reveals his inexperience. The Hokies’ pass rush can be crippling, but it can also be exposed by a QB who escapes and finds plenty of running room and open receivers.
RB, Virginia Tech Tuten, Bhayshul. In a 35-28 loss to N.C. State, the Hokies’ leading rusher had only two carries for minus-3 yards, but he figures to get more this week.
Malik Washington, Virginia. He’s already broken Virginia records for receiving yards and receptions in a season, and he’d probably break yards after the catch records if they existed. The Cavaliers move him constantly to make him harder to track, and the Hokies would be wise to shadow him.
Fontel Mines, the wide receivers coach at Virginia Tech, played at Virginia from 2003 to 2006. He had 68 receptions for 737 yards and five touchdowns in 42 career games… With 32 sacks, the Hokies are tied for 10th in the country. Virginia ranks fifth in the ACC in passing offense, averaging 251.5 yards per game. Virginia Tech’s passing defense is the best in the ACC and the seventh best in the FBS, allowing only 166.5 yards per game. This season, seven of the Cavaliers’ 11 games have been decided by a single point. Virginia is 2-5 in those contests. Washington has at least 100 receiving yards in nine games, including the last six. He needs nine receptions to break the ACC record for single-season receptions per game.
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A disappointing season suddenly appears brighter with the possibility of finishing with two wins. After starting 0-5 (which wasn’t a huge surprise), the Virginia Cavaliers finishing with four wins would be solid, especially with a win over the Virginia Tech Hokies.
A loss would not be devastating because there have been noticeable improvements on the field this season. And Anthony Colandrea, a promising young quarterback. A win over Tech, on the other hand, might help motivate the fans for next season.
The Hokies are 5-6 overall and 4-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (tied for fifth). They are coming off a 35-28 loss to NC State at home. The Wolfpack led 35-14 in the fourth quarter and never looked back. The Hokies led by 81 yards at halftime and gained nearly 200 of their 349 yards in the fourth quarter. Previously, they were simply outclassed by Brennan Armstrong and company.
At Baylor, Drones was a top-ten dual-threat quarterback prospect. He didn’t play much in his two seasons there before transferring. He was named the starter in Blacksburg right away and has had a solid season.
He’s completed 59% of his passes and averaged slightly more than 7 yards per attempt. He’s also run 139 times for 592 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Those rush yards include sacks; on actual runs, he averages more than 4.3 yards per carry.
Drones is still a better runner than passer right now. Despite being behind in many games, the Hokies have run the ball far more than they have thrown it. Drones is not a dynamic runner who can go the distance every time he touches the ball. He is, however, a big, physical man with good straight-line speed. This is a very physical run that demonstrates the desire to get into the endzone.
To no one’s surprise, the Hokies prioritize defense. They are ranked 72nd in total offense while ranking 27th in total defense. They rank 12th in sacks per game and 17th in total field goals. They are solely concerned with disrupting the flow of the offense. They rank 111th in turnovers created, but they attack the offense and force negative plays.
Powell-Ryland is a Florida transfer who leads the team in both sacks and TFLs. He also has a team-high 6 hits and 24 hurries, according to PFF.
The Hokies, as previously stated, want to run. Teams have had success running the football against Virginia. We’ve also seen a number of teams avoid the ground game by getting pass happy against Virginia.
Duke’s running back tandem, for example, averaged 6.9 yards per carry on the day. Grayson Loftis, on the other hand, averaged six yards per pass. So, why did Duke throw 45 passes against only 28 runs? It’s illogical. Not as drastic, but UNC had 48 passes (7.2 ypa) compared to only 19 handoffs (5.9), while Miami had 30 passes (5.4) compared to 22 handoffs (5.2).
Hopefully, no one on the Virginia Tech coaching staff notices, but they should run the ball. A lot. Because Virginia is still bad at stopping the run. The Wahoos are ranked second to last in FBS football in run defense (and seventh worst in total defense) by PFF. However, pass coverage ranks 95th, which isn’t great but much better than 132nd.
Last week, the Hokies ran the ball 16 times while throwing 30 times. They were indeed down early. They did, however, average 7.8 yards per rush and 7.5 yards per pass. Hopefully, this trend will continue. Starting running back Bhayshul Tuten, a transfer from North Carolina A&T, had two carries for -3 yards against the Pack. Despite this, he leads the team in yardage with 610 and averages 4.4 yards per carry. Tuten did have a game-changing kick return.
This is an additional aspect of the Hokie run game. The Wolfpack defense is completely fooled by the misdirection. Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw, Ahmad Bradshaw’s son, scored that touchdown. The elder Bradshaw played for Virginia Football under Al Groh for a short time. He got to Marshall and then the NFL.
The Hokies have an excellent pass rush. Despite counting sacks as rush yards, they are ranked 81st in run defense. You can get past them for big plays because they are so intent on getting into the backfield.
The Hokies immediately get a player into the backfield. The running back avoids that one guy, and the race is on. That was the first of two long touchdown runs for the Seminoles in the fourth quarter. It enabled them to put the game away. Virginia could certainly use some big plays, as long drives are unlikely to succeed against this defense.
Virginia will almost certainly win this game. Both of these teams have played games in which they looked good and games in which they looked bad.
I’ve been a UVA fan for nearly 30 years, and I’ve seen four victories in this matchup. Predicting one just seems silly.
