By THOMAS HOWLETT
Patriot Publishing
For the first time since 2010 the Virginia Tech Hokies have started the season 0-2 after a numbing 44-20 blowout loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores. The loss has brought up quite a few questions from fans and media alike about the future of the program.
The game started well for the Hokies as on the first two drives of the day they walked away with points. The first drive ended with a John Love field goal and the second drive ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Kyron Drones to Ja’Ricious Hairston.
The Hokies led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter and dominated the second quarter as well, heading to the locker room with a 20-10 lead.
“We felt good about how we played in the first half,” said Head Coach Brent Pry in his opening statement. “The good things we were doing, the drives, the takeaways, converting in the red zone.”
However, as soon as the second half started, the pendulum fell as if it swayed the other way.
Not only did Vanderbilt ramp up their attack, but the Commodores went on to obliterate the Hokies in the half, outscoring them 34-0 throughout the third and fourth quarters to ensure their victory.
It was such a lopsided affair that with about five minutes left in the game Lane Stadium looked like a ghost town.
Vanderbilt kneeled out the clock and for a second straight season got the best of the Hokies.
Diego Pavia lit up the Hokies once again, this time showing off his arm. Pavia finished 12-of-18 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Running backs Makhilyn Young and Sedrick Alexander combined for 168 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
“You know we got to look at what we did in the second half and clearly, you know, there’s some things there that are very correctable,” said Coach Pry.
However, right after the conclusion of the game, many fans were upset with the outcome. It seems that with the losses continuing to pile up members of the Virginia Tech fanbase have begun to lose their patience.
Not only has the fanbase started to demand more results from the program, but many media outlets from all over the country have started to speculate the Brent Pry tenure may be coming to a close, or at least it has a high chance of that happening.
Pry has been named a coach on the hot seat with other coaches such as Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State, Billy Napier of Florida, and even Hugh Freeze of Auburn.
“I tell the players to ignore the noise. You know, I learned that a long time ago. This is not the first time that we’ve been in situations like this,” said Coach Pry. “ I’m not happy with where we’re at right now. Not from a win standpoint, but I like this team.”
Coach Pry will get his chance of getting the fans back on his side as the Hokies will face Old Dominion Saturday night. The Monarchs are 1-1 entering the weekend and even went toe-to-toe with Indiana in week one even though they didn’t exit with a win.
“It’s scary. They challenged Indiana and hung around and stayed in the game,” said Coach Pry.
Colton Joseph is the man to watch out for on Saturday. The signal caller not only leads his team with 353 passing yards, but he is also ODU’s leading rusher with 228 yards on the ground. Joseph also has six total touchdowns on the season, three passing and three rushing. It will be pivotal for the Hokies to contain him in their matchup.
“The quarterback took two to the house, so he’s proven that he can do that,” said Coach Pry in his Tuesday presser. “They spread you out. They make it hard to have depth to your defense.”
It will be an interesting showdown Saturday night at 7:30. Pry and his Hokie squad don’t only need a win, but a drubbing of the Monarchs to prove that he is the answer to Virginia Tech fans.
