Virginia Tech loss at Pitt was encouraging in parts, but raises new questions: 5 thoughts

PITTSBURGH — When Virginia Tech heads up to Pitt, somebody usually puts on a show for the home team.

Four years ago, Pitt rolled up a school-record 654 yards in a 52-22 rout, with Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall combining to run for 421 yards. Two years ago, Kenny Pickett threw for 404 yards and DJ Turner caught 15 passes in a 47-14 victory, despite the Panthers missing 16 players to COVID-19 protocols.

Saturday, it was Israel Abanikanda who ran into the record books, rushing for a school-record 320 yards in the Panthers’ 45-29 victory over the Hokies.

It left Virginia Tech (2-4, 1-2 ACC) reeling to its third consecutive loss and facing a whole new set of questions to answer after the epic defensive collapse.

Here are five thoughts the day after the Hokies’ loss at Pitt:

1. There was almost a cruel nature to that outcome.

Hokies fans have waited for their offense to show any kind of a pulse for weeks. Three sub-300-yard games against Power 5 competition and hardly impressive showings against Old Dominion and Wofford left Tech backers in a familiar spot, leaning on defense and special teams and hoping to get whatever they could from a stagnant offensive unit.

Well, the offense finally showed up Saturday — right as the defense and special teams dropped the ball. This can be a fickle sport.

Brent Pry has spoken at length about the Hokies’ need to play complementary football in order to win, noting that this team isn’t good enough to overcome a poor performance in any one phase of the game.

He’s absolutely correct in that regard. To illustrate it, here’s a chart I made that grades each phase of the game using the highly scientific terms “good,” “bad” or “pass,” the last meaning that it didn’t actively hurt the team that day.

Notice how if there’s any red during a game, that ends up a loss. That’s just where the Hokies are right now as a team. They can’t have a subpar showing in any one facet, because they’re not good enough in other phases to make up for it.

Maybe someday Pry will get this defense or special teams playing at a level where that isn’t the case. Frank Beamer and Bud Foster did that with great success for a long time. But for now, Tech needs contributions from all three phases. If it doesn’t, it’s probably going to end with an L.

2. There’s no excuse for how poorly the Hokies played against the run.

Pry opened his postgame news conference by detailing all the issues the Hokies had stopping the run, pointing out Tech’s inability to set the edge, its poor tackling and bad fits.

Oh, is that all?

The Hokies weren’t sharp in any regard against the run, an odd departure for a team that was so good at it the first few weeks. Playing ODU, Boston College and Wofford certainly helped build that narrative, but even if it was an inflated reputation against bad competition, what happened Saturday was inexcusable.

Abanikanda ran all over the Hokies’ defense to the tune of 320 yards. That was 58 more than anyone had ever run for against Tech. He became the seventh player in ACC history to top 300 yards in a game, and his total was the fourth-most ever in the league.

How bad was it? Abanikanda ran for 282 yards before contact, according to TruMedia, averaging 6.44 yards per rush before getting touched. As a team, Pitt averaged 5.6 yards before contact, the most allowed by the Hokies in the past four seasons.

Pry said afterward that there was no mystery to the coaching staff why Pitt was running for so many yards, which brings up a larger issue — they couldn’t make adjustments to stop it.

Sure, talent is down a bit on defense. And the Hokies were playing without their best defensive end in TyJuan Garbutt. But that doesn’t explain a futile defensive effort like this. Pry was hired for his defensive prowess. It’s moments like this where he needs to live up to that reputation and figure out how to stop the bleeding.

3. Despite all that, I came out of the game, dare I say … encouraged?

Yes, it’s an odd thing to say after the team you cover lost its third consecutive game by two or more scores, failing to cover even the 14.5-point spread. (Never bet on the Hokies in that stadium, folks.)

But for once, this offense showed some life. It moved the ball. Not as consistently as it would have hoped, but it moved it nonetheless.

Kaleb Smith made plays downfield, Malachi Thomas looked just like the piece in the running game the Hokies needed (more on that in a second) and Grant Wells threw some good balls. Add in Keshawn King’s explosive ability, tight end Dae’Quan Wright’s continued emergence (five catches, 47 yards) and Da’Wain Lofton’s big touchdown catch and that was a decent offensive effort.

Loft it to Da'Wain Lofton 🙌 @DawainL | @HokiesFB pic.twitter.com/ieczdExuT6

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 8, 2022

It didn’t feel like the Hokies had that capability in the first five games. And while there is still plenty to work on — like the soul-crushing penalties and ill-timed sacks that derailed a couple of drives — we’re not sitting here today looking up futility stats that last happened in the 1970s and ’80s.

That’s progress, I suppose.

The point is, Tech had shown an ability to play well on defense and special teams prior to Saturday. And now the offense finally has a game that it can hang its hat on, despite it being a fairly low bar to clear. The Hokies still averaged just 5.2 yards per play, a figure they hit six times with last year’s struggling offense, so that’s hardly grounds for a parade.

But pair that offensive effort with some of the defensive games the Hokies had earlier this season, and this season doesn’t feel like a lost cause anymore.

Malachi Thomas rushes for 84 yards in his 2022 debut. (Charles LeClaire / USA Today)

4. Malachi Thomas is more of a difference-maker than I thought.

I knew Thomas was pretty good. His three-game stretch last year when he first burst on the scene was evidence of that. But I wondered what difference he could really make. Tech’s offensive line hasn’t pushed many defenses off the ball, and even a good running back can only do so much without holes to run through.

Well, it turns out he can make a pretty big difference. And while it seemed like the Hokies also blocked better than they have been lately, adding the 6-foot, 198-pound sophomore to the running back stable was a big lift.

Thomas ran 15 times, not easing back into action, for 84 yards.

“He’s a workhorse to me,” Pry said. “You can feed him that ball a bunch.”

If there was any question about if his injured foot was ready for the physicality needed, he quashed it on his very first carry, bulldozing his way into the end zone on a 5-yard run after first getting hit around the 4.

Malachi Thomas' FIRST CARRY of the season is a TD 💪@The__MT1 | @HokiesFB pic.twitter.com/YfjoH5XEpD

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 8, 2022

Thomas averaged 5.6 yards per carry, with King again showing his burst by adding a 19-yard touchdown run. Combined, the two tailbacks went for 109 yards on 20 carries, a 5.45-yard average. And that was against a Pitt defense that typically throws everything it has at stopping the run.

Maybe that was the offensive line having one of its better games, but you can’t ignore having Thomas out there for the first time. A backfield of him and King could do some things to perhaps balance out an offense that’s been overreliant on the pass.

5. Special teams were anything but Saturday.

You can’t totally fail this group, certainly not after it blocked a punt that resulted in a touchdown for the first time since 2018. Yes, Pitt’s punter gifted the Hokies that block with his bobbled snap, but P.J. Prioleau was Johnny-on-the-spot, making the most of the situation and making a play that nearly turned the game back in Tech’s favor.

But that was kind of like acing an exam after failing the first three of the semester.

Virginia Tech was uncharacteristically sloppy on special teams all day. The Hokies didn’t get lined up quickly enough for long field goal attempt early on, getting a delay of game that pushed them out of range. They had an extra point blocked up the middle and Will Ross missed a 36-yard field goal late in the game, his first misfire of the season. Even good kicks weren’t easy. A mishandled snap on an extra point led to a pretty ugly (though still good) kick.

Punter Peter Moore, meanwhile, was just off. The sophomore had non-short-field punts that went 27, 32, 31 and 29 yards. He also had one that was blocked and still managed to roll 27 yards. It was his worst single-game average in the past two seasons.

“Our operation in the kicking game today was just sloppy,” Pry said.

On top of that, the punt return game continued to be stuck in the mud. Jadan Blue handled the first few punts and had a near disaster when he lost the ball on one return, fortunate that the officials ruled his knee down. Overall, the Hokies had just two yards on four returns. Tech now ranks 126th nationally in punt returns, averaging 2.43 yards.

That’s not how Virginia Tech typically rolls. It needs those special teams to even the playing field, especially with such a small margin for error offensively. The kicking issues might have just been a one-off. Outside of the bad snap at ODU, those units have been pretty good this year. But the punt return issues have been a season-long problem.

With the Hokies’ limitations on offense and defense, they’ll need any edge they can get. Special teams typically offers that, though it abandoned them at Pitt. Virginia Tech won’t win many games kicking the ball the way it did Saturday.

(Top photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)