Timely Success Pushes Virginia Tech Past Georgia Tech 21-6
Virginia Tech's win over the Yellow Jackets wasn't impressive, but the Hokies played winning football when it mattered most.
What if I told you Virginia Tech would be outgained in total yards by their polytechnical colleagues from Atlanta 356-to-233, and still find a way to win?
You’d take it and run away as fast as you can.
That’s exactly what happened on Saturday, as the Hokies showed up in critical situations from start to finish en route to a 21-6 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
When the chips were pushed in to the middle of the table, Virginia Tech found a way to get it done, both on offense and defense.
The Hokies had just three redzone possessions, but scored touchdowns in each of those opportunities…
Tech utilized an odd formation to lineup Benji Gosnell as an eligible receiver in the tackle position, and he went uncovered on a 20-yard touchdown.
The next possession, Tyler Bowen called his rendition of the “Philly Special”, having Jaylin Lane take the ball on a reverse before throwing a touchdown pass to a wide-open Kyron Drones.
Following an interception by Keli Lawson, the Hokies drove the remaining 42 yards in five plays to take a two-score lead.
Virginia Tech’s redzone efficiency covered up some glaring issues — namely a lackluster rushing attack and a 2-of-15 third-down conversion rate. The Hokies averaged just 3.8 yards per play on Saturday.
Defensively, Virginia Tech allowed zero touchdowns and just two field goals when Georgia Tech marched inside the Hokies’ 30-yard-line. Check out some of these Yellow Jackets drives…
12 plays, 59 yards, field goal
9 plays, 36 yards, field goal
8 plays, 34 yards, punt
5 plays, 65 yards, turnover on downs
14 plays, 69 yards, turnover on downs
While the Hokies played situational football for much of the day, the Jackets did not. Georgia Tech dominated the time of possession category by four-plus minutes, but went 5-of-19 on third down and 1-of-5 on fourth down. The Jackets also turned it over twice, as veteran backup Zach Pyron and freshman gunslinger Aaron Philo both threw interceptions.
Saturday’s win offers the Virginia Tech coaching staff plenty of film to review and teach from while not suffering a loss to do so. The Hokies are now 5-3 and winners of three straight, the program’s first three-game win streak since 2019. Tech is alone in fifth place in the ACC at 3-1. Despite a rocky start to the season, the Hokies’ season goals are still directly ahead of them.
No team travels the road to success without some ugly wins along the way. That’s exactly what Saturday was for the Hokies — a game they found a way to win despite delivering a subpar performance in multiple areas.
The successful teams usually find ways to win by playing situational, complimentary football. Virginia Tech did that on Saturday, inspiring hope that maybe, just maybe, the Hokies can find a way to win more of these games in the future.