West Virginia Football: 5 overreactions from loss to Virginia Tech

West Virginia football came up short by seven points to the Virginia Tech Hokies on the final drive of a Labor Day weekend season opener.

Sunday, Sept. 3, was a great day to watch college football. The UCLA Bruins pulled off a comeback of 34 points vs. the Texas A&M Aggies. Also, the No. 22 West Virginia Mountaineers fought hard against the No. 21-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies.

Some of the biggest storylines to follow in those two games included the probable last season opener for Josh Rosen with UCLA, coaches on the hot seat, and Will Grier’s first game with West Virginia. Two of the up and coming coaches in college football, Dana Holgorsen and Justin Fuente, bumped heads in what was quite the entertaining matchup.

West Virginia was the underdog, by four points, entering the game. Virginia Tech made a run to the ACC Championship Game last year, falling just short of the eventual National Champion Clemson Tigers. The Mountaineers reached 10-wins for the first time under Holgorsen.

Both programs had a lot on the line as they try to improve even more from successful campaigns in 2016. Virginia Tech controlled the pace of play for most of the game. Yet, Will Grier never seemed to let the Mountaineers get too far behind.

Virginia Tech outscored West Virginia in the first and third quarters. The score was tied in the second and fourth. It came down to the final drive and the Mountaineers had a chance to win. Wide receiver David Sills had the chance to catch the tying touchdown but it was too low and he could not come up with it.

The loss gives West Virginia motivation and something to improve on entering Big 12 play in a few weeks. The Mountaineers have it easy the next three weeks. East Carolina and Kansas are the only two FBS teams that WVU faces. Delaware State, out of the FCS, is the other opponent. It should be easy for the Mountaineers to win three straight before facing TCU on Oct. 7.