BLACKSBURG, Va. — It started raining heavily during my drive from a Roanoke, Va., hotel to Blacksburg on Saturday. My first thought was how it would affect the punting between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The programs ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in punt quantity among Power Five programs.
As expected, goofiness was as prominent at Lane Stadium as autumn leaves in Piedmont Park. The final score – 28-27 in Georgia Tech’s favor – doesn’t paint the picture of the afternoon. It was a good game, though not because of coordinated play.
Twice Georgia Tech missed interceptions because defenders leaped into each other. Virginia Tech twice fumbled in the backfield on discombobulated plays. It also fumbled away a chance to ice the game in the fourth quarter when it lost the ball in the red zone.
There was a blocked extra-point attempt, a missed field-goal attempt, a backward two-point attempt, 12 men on the field during a punt and plenty of blown punt coverage. There were eight sacks and 10 tackles for loss. There were 13 punts. The game lasted almost four hours.
Georgia Tech freshman quarterback Zach Pyron, in his first start, threw a pick-six from his own 5 when he failed to anticipate a defender (he was otherwise pretty good). The teams went a combined 9-for-28 on third downs. Georgia Tech was 1-for-2 on fourth downs, missing its second attempt in the fourth quarter when stuffed on fourth-and-1.
The game’s ending was only appropriate: Georgia Tech, up one, punted with a minute remaining. Poor tackling allowed Tucker Holloway, Virginia Tech’s returner who had 188 yards, to position the Hokies at the 42. (“We’ll go back and look at the tape,” interim coach Brent Key said when asked about punt coverage issues.)
But it didn’t matter. On the first play, Hokies quarterback Grant Wells was hit and lost the fumble. Final: Georgia Tech 28, Virginia Tech 27.
It was a call back to the great games between these teams, even if this was something of a parody. There was a time this wasn’t a game of gaffes and laughs. Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech used to matter. It used to be met with some degree of national interest instead of being relegated to a 12:30 regional broadcast. (At least it wasn’t stashed on a Friday night.)
Virginia Tech, once an ACC power, entered Saturday with a worse record than Georgia Tech (2-6 compared with 3-5, if you wanted the ugly evidence). It ended the afternoon an additional game worse. Like the Yellow Jackets before their sudden revival Saturday, the Hokies completely lack an offensive punch. Their defense is meh. There’s not any rousing individual talent on any of the three phases.
The Hokies lost five in a row coming in, most recently a one-point defeat to N.C. State in their last game. Georgia Tech gave up over 600 yards in a 41-16 loss to Florida State last week. The Jackets rebounded nicely Saturday, while the Hokies continued their spiral.
It reminded this writer that Georgia Tech’s and Virginia Tech’s declines have hurt the ACC. No, they don’t have the brand power of Clemson, Florida State and Miami, but they were important contributors in the conference who helped maintain its quality.
Since 2005, when the ACC Championship game was created, Virginia Tech has three titles – though none since 2010 – and six appearances, which ranks behind only Clemson (eight). Georgia Tech has one title – 2009 – and qualified three other times. They last went in 2014.
These two current cellar dwellers have combined for four ACC Championship game victories and 10 title-game appearances. But each has been there once since 2013, and while that’s largely attributed to Clemson and Florida State’s dominance over that period, it says a lot about how Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech sank into irrelevancy.
The ACC had five teams ranked in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. Clemson was the only top-15 team, followed by North Carolina (17), Syracuse (20), Wake Forest (21) and N.C. State (22). The latter three were 6-2; there simply shouldn’t be an excuse for Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech failing to be anywhere close to Syracuse and N.C. State.
Frank Beamer turned Virginia Tech into a consistent power. The Hokies had a winning record each season from 1993 to 2017. The team won nine or more games in 17 of those seasons. Since his retirement? The Hokies have a losing record in four of the past five years.
The Jackets didn’t have the same peaks after their 1990 championship, but they were generally reputable. They earned a bowl berth each season from 1997-2014. Since the 2016 championship-game appearance, Georgia Tech has had one winning season in five tries, excluding whatever this campaign becomes (they’re 4-5 with a remaining schedule of Miami, North Carolina and Georgia. The odds aren’t in their favor.)
Both schools missed the mark with coaching hirings. Geoff Collins went 10-28 at Georgia Tech. His replacement, Key, has mustered a 3-2 mark, but he won’t likely be the long-term solution. This hire is pivotal for Georgia Tech to reach acceptability again.
Justin Fuente looked like a rising star at Memphis, earning him the opportunity to replace Beamer. He went 43-31 in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech didn’t feel comfortable further committing to Fuente, which led to the sides parting ways last November.
Brent Pry, who’d overseen some excellent Penn State defenses, was the replacement. He’s off to a bad start. Virginia Tech has lost six consecutive for the first time since 1987. They’re a conference doormat, losing five consecutive ACC contests.
Pittsburgh won the ACC a year ago, defeating Wake Forest in the title game. If Clemson has an off year, and FSU and Miami still haven’t figured it out, that should’ve been where a Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech capitalizes. Clemson, FSU, Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech have been important cogs in this conference. The only one carrying its load now is Clemson, which was toppled by Notre Dame on Saturday night. (FSU has improved and Miami is recruiting well, so we’ll see).
Watching Saturday’s contest in Virginia, while entertaining in a sick way, was somewhat a bummer for college football. Parity is greater this season than other recent years but seeing some of these schools that comprised the middle class, if not higher tier at points, in shambles is a shame.
The Alabamas and Ohio States will always be near the top, but Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech should have high floors, be respectable bowl-eligible programs that occasionally pop off a 10-win season. That shouldn’t be an unreasonable ask, even in the NIL era.
Here’s to better days for both these programs and their fervent fan bases. Your glory days are missed even by some neutral parties.
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