Virginia Tech came out of Dallas with a lopsided loss and a pile of problems, falling 51-28 to SMU after the Mustangs ripped off 21 unanswered points in the third quarter and turned a competitive game into a runaway.
For a while, it looked like the Hokies might at least keep it respectable. SMU opened with a touchdown on its first possession, but Virginia Tech answered by holding the Mustangs to a field goal on the next drive.
The Hokies also put together two solid touchdown marches in the second quarter, mixing passes and runs to stay in range. Even then, SMU kept finding holes in the secondary and added 13 more points before halftime, leaving the game within reach as the teams headed to the break.
That window slammed shut fast after halftime.
Virginia Tech’s offense went three and out on its first series of the third quarter, wasting a chance to settle things down. The play selection never helped much, with slow-developing runs and a rushed final pass that came up short of the sticks.
SMU took over and kept doing what it had done all night: attack through the air, avoid mistakes, and keep the clock moving. The Mustangs never punted.
The biggest blow came when James Franklin gambled deep in the red zone on fourth-and-1, but Howle called an ineffective slow developing run to Marcellous Hawkins off the left side of the ‘A’/‘B’ boundary. Hawkins was keyed and trapped in the backfield. Tech turned it over on downs, and then SMU marched down the field to score another touchdown.
The Hokies did finally show some life after SMU reached 44 points. With a little more than seven minutes left, Ethan Grunkemeyer hit Ayden Greene twice on a quick-strike drive, and SMU was flagged for pass interference at the 2-yard line. That set up Jeffery Overton, Jr. to punch in a short touchdown, and Grunkemeyer added the 2-point conversion to make it 44-22.
Virginia Tech’s defense then produced one of its few bright moments, with Brennan Johnson intercepting a pass and returning the ball to the SMU 38. The Hokies went back to a pass-first approach in the two-minute drill and finished with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Que’Sean Brown. The two-point try failed, and the score sat at 51-28 after SMU answered with another touchdown of its own.
SMU also picked off Grunkemeyer late, ending Virginia Tech’s chance to push past 30 points.
The final minutes played out with little drama. Tech did force a punt after the 2:00 warning, but the drive went nowhere and the clock expired.
The defensive secondary was the glaring issue all night. SMU kept finding space underneath the loose zone coverage, and the Hokies had no real answer for intermediate throws or yards after the catch.
The line and linebackers didn’t do enough to help, either. Pry would not blitz, and too often lined up with an empty “A” gap line.
When it was necessary he also didn’t manage to get a bear front in place enough to put fast pressure on the quarterback. Tech finished with just one sack.
The offense had its own problems, especially when the play-calling leaned on slow-developing runs and inside attempts behind an offensive line that couldn’t hold up. The third quarter was a mess on both sides of the ball, and the team never found a rhythm there.
There were some positives on offense. Jeffery Overton, Jr. was dangerous when he got space and tough when he had to fight through traffic.
Ethan Grunkemeyer had only one major mistake, and it came so late that it didn’t change much. Ayden Greene, Que’Sean Brown, and Luke Reynolds continued to stand out.
Virginia Tech had only a slim shot to beat SMU to begin with, and the defensive collapse made the final margin look even worse. Stanford is next, and the Hokies will need to put this road trip behind them quickly.
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