West Virginia Football vs Virginia Tech: 3 things we learned from Hokies’ win
2. The Virginia Tech defense started strong, but lack of depth showed
The Virginia Tech Hokies didn’t play a terrible game. After all, they forced the lone turnover of the game when defensive end picked off Mountaineers quarterback Will Grier on a crucial fourth down play.
However, the Hokies gave up 371 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. The West Virginia offense did whatever they wanted in the second half, constantly catching the Hokies defensive backs in poor coverage.
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Their lack of depth showed by the end of the game as fatigue kept the defense playing more conservative than aggressive looks. The Mountaineers did well to push the pace by running quick plays, earning 592 total yards of offense and 29 first downs in the process.
The Virginia Tech Hokies won this go round but they may not be so lucky on September 30 if they give that many yards up to the Clemson Tigers.
They have some time to work the kinks in the secondary out. A lot of times, guys were in perfect positions on defense to make a play on the ball, they just need to be aware of the ball’s location as well.
Next week the Virginia Tech defense face the Delaware Blue Hens so they should get plenty of reps in for their second and third-string guys.
This is a young defense so building their experience is key. They won in Week One when things got close against the Mountaineers, but against better ACC offenses, things could get ugly.
Increasing pressure on the pass rush was evident in the first half but fizzled in the second. They’ll need other guys to step in sooner or later if they want to continue to win.