The Virginia Tech Hokies’ 2024 football season is in jeopardy, as a loss at home to Rutgers on Saturday will see Tech finish September with a 2-3 record.
Slow starts have been an issue for the Hokies since Brent Pry took over as head coach for 2022. They’ve especially hurt Tech this season, as they got off to slow starts in wins over Marshall and Old Dominion. The Hokies rallied to take a 17-0 lead against Vanderbilt in the season opener but couldn’t finish.
Last week against Rutgers, Virginia Tech was down 14-0 but stormed back in the fourth quarter to tie the game late. The Hokies were in position to tie or potentially win with two minutes left until quarterback Kyron Draughns was intercepted.
Now, Virginia Tech will face off against arguably the best team on their schedule, the Miami Hurricanes. Miami is ranked seventh and has dominated all four of their opponents. You could argue that the Hurricanes have never played against any team other than the Florida Gators, but this Miami team is the real deal.
The Hurricanes are led by a Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback in Cam Ward and are loaded with elite high school talent and impact transfers on both the defensive and defensive lines, including Ward and running back Damien Martinez.
Here’s a preview of Friday’s match.
Miami players to watch
QB Cam Ward: Ward spent the past two seasons at Washington State University and was considering going pro after making a big impact with the Cougars. Ward’s addition has transformed the Hurricanes from a top 25 team to a national championship contender. This season, Ward has completed over 72% of his passes for 1,439 yards, 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He is arguably the best quarterback Virginia Tech has faced this season.
WR Xavier Restrepo: The senior wide receiver had a breakout year in 2023, catching 85 passes for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns. He’s off to a strong start this season with 20 catches for 361 yards receiving and five touchdowns. Restrepo is averaging over 18 yards per reception. He’s an experienced big-play threat and will pose a tough challenge against Virginia Tech’s talented cornerbacks on Friday.
DE Tyler Barron: Does this name sound familiar? Of course it does. The Tennessee transfer is the younger brother of former Hokies standout Woody Barron. Woody was an All-ACC defensive tackle for the Hokies in 2016 and went on to have a successful career in the CFL. After four seasons with Tennessee, Barron transferred multiple times last offseason, first to Ole Miss, then Louisville and finally Miami. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Barron proved to be a force for the Hurricanes, totaling 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss in four games. He’ll be a nuisance for the Virginia Tech offensive line.
Virginia Tech players to watch
QB Kyron Drones: It hasn’t been a good year for Drones. His struggles reflect the struggles of the whole team. That’s not to say that Drones is the reason Virginia Tech lost two games. It’s not. He didn’t play particularly well, but the pass protection struggles and the play calling remains inconsistent. The Hokies are loaded with wide receivers, but this team should emphasize the run with Beischl-Teuten and Drones, because that will open up more downfield opportunities in the passing game. But Drones has to make the pass. He missed two passes last week, which could have changed the outcome against Rutgers.
RB Beischul Tuten: Tuten is now Virginia Tech’s MVP and it’s here to stay. He was on the fence until last week, but he played his best game of the season, rushing for over 100 yards and scoring three times. Will he play against Miami on a short week? If he doesn’t, it will be a big loss for the Hokies. This offense should start with Tuten.
DE Antwuan Powell Ryland: APR is currently the leader in college football in sacks, and for the Hokies to have a chance to beat the Hurricanes on Friday, APR will need to make an impact. That doesn’t necessarily mean taking sacks, but creating chaos in the backfield, forcing Ward to make quick passes and creating opportunities for his fellow linemen to get closer to the quarterback.
Series History
This used to be one of the most entertaining rivalries in college football. It hasn’t been as exciting lately with both teams struggling. Miami looks set to bounce back, but who knows about the Hokies. Still, this game is always exciting for fans.
Miami leads the series 25-15 all-time, winning by one point twice in the past three meetings. The teams did not meet last season, due to the incompetence of the ACC leadership. The Hokies-Hurricanes rivalry really began in 1995 when Virginia Tech rose to national prominence. Before becoming ACC rivals, the Hokies and Hurricanes were Big East rivals. Miami holds a slight lead with a 10-9 record since both teams entered the ACC.
Keys to victory
Avoid another slow start: If the Hokies get off to a slow start against Miami, they will lose by 30+ points. We shouldn’t be talking about a slow start yet, but we are now. This is a coaching issue. Pass to Teuthen — if he plays: If Teuthen can’t play, the Hokies are in trouble. If he does play, he should have 25 touches. As mentioned earlier, Tech’s offense should run through Teuthen to set up everything else. You’ll want to use a lot of zone reads as well, because the Drones are a threat to run. Some teams use that element when the quarterback isn’t a threat. The Drones can score from anywhere on the field. To beat Miami, Bowen will need to get creative. Use the run to set up the passing game. But the biggest thing is to keep the ball out of Ward’s hands. That’s why a strong running game is important. Make good tackles and play smart on defense: This sounds easy, right? But it’s not. The Hokies have struggled with gap consistency since Coach Pry took over. This year was supposed to be an improvement, but did you see how Rutgers blew the Hokies out of the park on the same play last week? Tech has to tackle well in the 4th quarter. Cut down on the big plays and let Miami run down the field. If the Hokies allow too many big plays, they’re not going to win.
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