Virginia Tech’s record says one thing. The third quarter says another.
The Hokies keep showing up at halftime with a lead in ACC play, and then the game flips. That’s the central problem of the season, and James Franklin didn’t dance around it after the Georgia Tech win. Two days later, he said Virginia Tech has to “be better in the third quarter on offense, defense, and special teams.”
That message lands with extra force during a bye week that arrives with Virginia Tech at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, already bowl-eligible in Franklin’s first season. The Hokies reached that point with a 20-16 win at Clemson, their first over the Tigers since 2007, but the schedule is far from finished: a Friday night trip to SMU on Nov. 6, Stanford at home, a visit to unbeaten Miami and Virginia to close out the regular season.
If Virginia Tech wants the next month to look different, the fixes have to start with a handful of stubborn problems. The secondary.
The offensive line. And, above all, finding a way to play 60 complete minutes.
The defensive backfield has been the most obvious weak spot. Brent Pry’s defense has been split in two, strong against the run and far shakier against the pass. Virginia Tech ranks 13th nationally in run defense, but sits tied for 83rd in pass defense.
That mismatch has already shown up in painful fashion. Maryland, Cal and Georgia Tech all topped 300 passing yards against the Hokies.
Cal is the one that stands out most. Jackson Brousseau didn’t even expect to start until Cal’s starter was ruled out with a concussion after warmups, and he still threw for 321 yards in Virginia Tech’s 25-20 loss.
A week later, Georgia Tech’s Alberto Mendoza had a career-high 335.
Before the Clemson game, Pry put it plainly: “We obviously weren’t winning enough one-on-ones,” he said. Franklin, meanwhile, pointed to the communication piece, especially against motion and shifts, “making sure that we’re getting all 11 on the same page.”
Holding Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds to 153 passing yards didn’t tell the whole story. The Tigers are dead last in FBS in passing touchdowns, so that game is not the true test. Dallas and Miami Gardens are the real exam.
There is at least some reason to think the pass defense can get a little healthier over the next two weeks. Cornerback Thomas Williams, who missed Clemson with an injury, was back in individual drills this week.
And the pass rush has shown it can help shorten the burden on the back end. Against Clemson, Virginia Tech posted four sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
Pry can’t rebuild a secondary in a bye week, but he can make the coverage job less brutal.
The offensive line might be the more urgent fix. Clemson got to quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer six times, a season high, and held Virginia Tech to 70 rushing yards on 37 carries and a season-low 234 total yards. It was the third straight game the Hokies allowed at least three sacks: three at Cal, five against Georgia Tech and six at Clemson.
The personnel churn helps explain why. Virginia Tech has started nine different offensive linemen in its first six games.
Left tackle Justin Terry and Johnny Garrett were out at Clemson, right guard Montavious Cunningham has missed the last two games, and Brody Meadows only returned at left guard in Death Valley after missing three straight. A true freshman, Benjamin Eziuka, was in the starting five.
That makes the bye especially important up front. Franklin said the open week is a chance to “get some guys back on the offensive line,” and Cunningham was back in individual drills this week.
Franklin has already tried to spark better late-game execution by moving some first-team offense-and-defense periods later in practice so the hardest reps come when players are already tired. The hope is obvious. The results against Clemson were not.
The Tigers owned the third quarter, outscoring Virginia Tech 13-0 and outgaining the Hokies 146-13. Virginia Tech’s first two possessions after halftime lost 14 yards on six plays, and Clemson scored on all three of its third-quarter drives.
That third-quarter collapse has been the ACC story all season. Against Pitt, a six-drive stretch around halftime produced seven yards and four turnovers, turning a 24-21 halftime lead into a 35-33 loss.
At Cal, Virginia Tech was shut out in the third quarter and lost after taking a 14-10 lead into halftime. Against Georgia Tech, a 24-3 halftime cushion shrank to 24-17, and the Hokies managed only 102 yards after the break.
The third quarter keeps exposing the same two flaws. Clemson’s burst included two sacks on one drive.
Georgia Tech’s rally started with a 33-yard touchdown pass. Cal closed the game with two fourth-quarter touchdown drives against a defense that surrendered 321 passing yards.
In other words, the third quarter isn’t its own mystery. It’s where Virginia Tech’s other issues catch up with it.
Franklin’s first Virginia Tech team is bowl-eligible. What happens next depends on how much can change in the next two weeks - and whether the Hokies can finally stop losing that 15-minute stretch after halftime.
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