Virginia Tech wasted no time setting the tone against Old Dominion, jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the opening quarter and rolling to a 44-21 win on Saturday.
The night’s strangest moment came early, and it had everything: a sack, a scoop-and-score, and then a turnover on the touchdown itself. Aycen Stevens got to Old Dominion quarterback Quinn Henicle, Keon Wylie picked up the loose ball and raced 46 yards for what looked like a Virginia Tech touchdown. But as Wylie crossed the goal line, he lost control of the ball, and an Old Dominion player recovered it in the end zone.
That gave the Monarchs the ball at the 20-yard line, but the chaos didn’t stop there. On the very next snap, Henicle was hit again, coughed it up again, and Tyson Flowers scooped it up and took it 14 yards for another Virginia Tech score, pushing the Hokies ahead 17-0.
It was one of three first-half turnovers for Virginia Tech, and Ethan Grunkemeyer made the most of the extra chances. The Hokies quarterback was sharp before halftime, going 21 of 27 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, with Luke Reynolds hauling in both scores. Virginia Tech carried a 34-6 lead into the break.
Right before halftime, Grunkemeyer was sacked and fumbled, which gave Old Dominion one last play before the horn. The Monarchs opted for a field goal, trimming the margin to 34-6.
The second half was messier for Virginia Tech. Penalties and mistakes slowed things down, and Old Dominion made the final score look more manageable by outscoring the Hokies 15-10 after halftime.
Even with the uneven stretch, Grunkemeyer finished with a big stat line: 31 completions on 42 attempts for 327 yards, two passing touchdowns and one rushing score. Reynolds was his top target, finishing with eight catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Grunkemeyer also spread the ball around, connecting with 11 different receivers.
There was one area that will draw attention heading into next week’s road game at Maryland: the ground game. Virginia Tech played without starting center Kyle Altuner and still managed only 89 yards on 42 carries.
Sack yardage factored into that number, but Marcellous Hawkins and Jeffrey Overton Jr., the Hokies’ top backs, combined for 90 yards on 25 carries. That’s something Franklin and his staff will have to sort through.
Virginia Tech also forced three turnovers, and Que’Sean Brown nearly added a special teams spark with a punt return that was stopped at the 1-yard line. Brown finished with seven catches for 41 yards after going over 100 yards in his Virginia Tech debut last week.
Old Dominion’s biggest second-half punch came on Henicle’s 76-yard touchdown run. The Monarchs ended with 115 rushing yards, but 76 of them came on that one play, and it came against Virginia Tech backups.
For Franklin and the Hokies, it was a strong way to open the season: plenty of explosive plays, a quarterback who looked the part, and a few coaching points to clean up before the schedule gets tougher.
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A week after opening the season with a win, Virginia Tech followed it up with a more convincing statement, rolling past Old Dominion 44-21 and moving to 2-0 for the first time since 2021. The Hokies got the kind of balanced effort that travels well in September, with the offense staying ahead of the sticks and the defense making life miserable for an Old Dominion attack that never found much rhythm.
Ethan Grunkemeyer was sharp throughout the afternoon, pushing the ball downfield and keeping the Hokies on schedule, while Virginia Techs front dictated the game with constant pressure on Quinn Henicle. Old Dominion managed a couple of scoring drives, but the bigger story was how often the Hokies disrupted things behind the line of scrimmage, a sign this team may be building an edge that has been missing in recent seasons. [Read more 🡒]