Ethan Grunkemeyer absorbed one last hit Saturday night, with a chunk of Memorial Stadium turf stuck in his helmet, and still found a way to finish the job.
Virginia Tech’s quarterback got up, checked the final result and watched his last pass from scrimmage land where it needed to go in the Hokies’ 20-16 win at Clemson. By the end of the night, the physical toll told part of the story. The bigger picture told the rest: Virginia Tech found enough answers in a hard-nosed road victory to leave Clemson with a result that had looked unlikely earlier in the game.
Here are three takeaways from the Hokies’ win.
First, Grunkemeyer kept standing in and kept delivering.
The final stat line was not flashy - 133 yards passing on 20-of-31 attempts, plus 13 rushing yards on 14 carries - but the plays that mattered came when Clemson was trying to squeeze the life out of the offense. Grunkemeyer’s two touchdown throws made the difference in Virginia Tech’s first big-time road win under Frank Franklin.
“I think, especially with a win like that on the road, going into a bye week I think will be good for our team,” Grunkemeyer said. “Just to carry that momentum and give us a great week of practice.”
He also put the performance in the most direct terms possible when asked what it meant to deliver in the kind of game quarterbacks dream about.
“You can say whatever you want about Grunkemeyer,” Franklin said. “Kept getting hit, kept getting up, kept finding ways to make plays, protected the football. That was a gutsy, gritty win across the board, but you’ve got to give Grunk a ton of credit, too.”
Virginia Tech’s second takeaway was its ability to keep adjusting on offense.
There was a stretch in the third quarter when Grunkemeyer grabbed at his right hamstring coming off the field. Clemson defensive end Will Heldt also had him under pressure on a later play, but the quarterback stayed in control enough to keep the Hokies moving.
The offense opened with a different look from what Clemson had seen on film. Franklin said the Tigers were zoned off on the front side and then worked back into coverage, which created confusion. He thought his team did a strong job finding open space and making the most of it.
“I think there’s kind of a couple elements to that. Obviously kind of a progression read, right going to the left,” Grunkemeyer said.
“They zoned us off on the front side and then kind of progressing back on. Kind of just a lot of confusion down in that tight of the area.
I think he did a great job finding open space and allowing me to place it back there.”
The final takeaway was what the win means for Virginia Tech’s broader outlook, even if Franklin kept the discussion grounded in the week-to-week reality of the sport.
He called this a chance for the offense to grow, get healthy and use the bye week well.
“Bye week after a win, there’s nothing better. There’s nothing worse than a bye week after a loss,” Franklin said. “So we’ve got a chance to get some guys healthy and back.”
He also pointed to the open week as a chance for some fresh bodies to get more work. Running backs Keyshaun Flowers and Montavious Cunningham could be closer to returning after missing three straight games and the last two games, respectively. Franklin said the extra time should give the staff a chance to rotate in more players.
“Then also some rest and recovery. The players will get more time off than the coaches will,” Franklin said. “Bye week after a win, there’s nothing better.”
For a Virginia Tech team that has already been through plenty, the result at Clemson gave it something else: a road win, a cleaner reset and a little belief heading into the break.
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Ethan Grunkemeyer took a beating behind the line, going down six times, yet he delivered when the game tightened up and Virginia Tech needed him most. Brent Prys aggressive defensive approach helped keep Clemson uncomfortable throughout the night, and James Franklin added to the edge by trusting his offense in a key late situation, a call that fit the tone of a team willing to live with some ugliness if it means walking out with the win. [Read more 🡒]