Hokies Grind Out Tough Techmo Bowl Victory
In 2021 and 2022 the two ACC Techs traded road wins - VT winning in Atlanta in 2021 and the Yellow Jackets taking the win in Blacksburg in 2022. Fast forward two years to another Hokie home game, this time on Homecoming. Let's take a peek at our evolvement since the 2022 matchup in Pry's first year as Head Coach and dissect the latest matchup.
Yes, it was a much different roster on both sides of the ball; notably, Grant Wells was under center in 2022 and there was no King Tuten among some standouts on D. The Hokies would go on to lose a very close one 28-27 with the aforementioned Wells fumbling the ball in a final one-minute drill.
VT Stats on the day in 2022:
Wells: 14/25 164 yards, 1 INT, 1 rush TD
Keyshawn King: 13 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD
Virginia Tech had just 138 yards on the ground versus Georgia Tech’s 210 and we were not particularly effective through the air: 166 yards against GT’s 253 with Zach Pyron quarterbacking the Yellow Jackets.
Fast Forward to 2024
Just 24 hours prior to kickoff it was announced that starting quarterback Haynes King would be sidelined due to injury and Zach Pyron would get the nod; a familiar foe to Pry and his staff from the 2022 clash. Blacksburg would see a Pyron vs. Kyron and battle of the Brents (Key and Pry).
Kyron threw, rushed, and caught a ball all for three scores. The QB threw for just 128 yards all day. Not quite a banner day, but when the defense is playing hungry, you’re afforded some breathing room. The VT defense had 2 interceptions and held GT to zero touchdowns (first time since September 17, 2022).
Offensively, our numbers look a little precarious in some columns. We were just 2/15 on 3rd down which is obviously concerning. Poor offensive line play had a big hand in that. VT averaged just 3.8 yards/play, but we were able to move the ball enough to secure the victory 21-6.
Running back Bhayshul Tuten amassed 79 yards on the ground, which seems low for the stud, but really ALL the kudos to him as 78 of those yards were after contact, per Tim Thomas of The Tech Lunch Pail.
Tuten would go on to exit game with an ankle injury, one that thankfully does not appear to be serious per Brent Pry. The Head Coach designated him as a probable for Saturday’s game in the dreaded JMA Dome at Syracuse where the Hokies are 4 point road favorites.
