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Raza Umerani
Editor-in-Chief
September 7, 2024
Virginia Tech overcame a slow start to race past Marshall on Saturday afternoon. (Virginia Tech Athletics)
BLACKSBURG — It wasn’t pretty. Not all wins are.
But, through gritty defense and a second-half offensive awakening, Virginia Tech found itself back on track, getting in the 2024 win column with a 31-14 win over an overmatched Marshall squad.
The Hokies’ (1-1) defense surrendered points on just two of the Thundering Herd’s (1-1) 14 drives — forcing seven three-and-outs along the way — while their offense strung together three consecutive touchdown drives to open the second half after failing to find the endzone in the first two quarters.
“To be honest, we had some moments in the first half, and for various reasons, we couldn't run [the ball] consistently enough,” Tech head coach Brent Pry said to media after the game. “I thought the offensive staff did a nice job at halftime, and the players had a great determination from the onset, I thought. It felt different. I thought there was some good energy, good mentality.”
Tech had just 3.3 yards per play in the first half, struggling to find a rhythm both on the ground and through the air resulting in three sacks, six punts and a turnover on downs. Like the season opener against Vanderbilt, it only scored three points on offense in the opening 30 minutes.
Neither team was able to get going, as they were a combined 2-for-18 on third down with 13 total punts. The Hokies, in particular, continued to get in their own way, with a touchdown pass from Kyron Drones to Benji Gosnell being brought back due to an illegal blindside block and no shortage of free rushers getting to the quarterback with no resistance.
“I thought we were sluggish, just with with the execution,” Pry said. “The guys were moving around and doing things, but we weren't finishing in the execution piece. At one time, it was a wideout, then it'd be the offensive line. We just couldn't get it going.”
Still, the Hokies took a slim 10-7 lead into the break thanks to the stellar defensive effort and a much-needed spark in the form of 58-yard punt return touchdown from Jaylin Lane on the final play of the first quarter. Despite being crowded by defenders, the receiver elected to field and return the kick, and after making some quick moves to elude would-be tacklers, burst through the middle to house it, even despite having his facemask pulled on the tail end of the run.
“We talked about making a play to change the game on special teams, whether it’s kickoff, kickoff coverage, punt return, whatever,” Lane said. “We always have that in our mind and that was just the opportunity, and I feel like we took advantage of it as a whole unit.”
The Thundering Herd would punch back with a quick one-play, two-yard touchdown run from Ethan Payne after Marshall blocked a Tech punt inside the 10-yard line. But, from there, it was the Hokies who would assert their dominance for the remainder of the game.
After forcing a three-and-out on the first drive of the second half, Tech marched the ball downfield for a methodical 12-play, 50-yard drive that ate up 6:33 of game time, capped off by a one-yard touchdown plunge from Bhayshul Tuten. 11 of the 12 plays on the drive were rushes, with the one throw being a quick lateral swing pass from Drones to Lane.
“To make that statement to start the second [half] — we went three-and-out on defense, it's 10-7, they got a chance to do something, the defense snuffs them, and then we have that type of drive and finish it with a touchdown,” Pry said. “That set the tone for the half.”
Tuten was arguably Tech’s most impactful offensive catalyst, racking up 120 yards and the score on the ground on 22 carries — the second-highest tally he’s had as a Hokie. When it could ride him on the ground, Tech was able to run the offense it wanted to, resulting in better drives and trips to the endzone.
“He ran hard, and he outran some folks, he broke some tackles,” Pry said. “I think we got him in his stride right there. We got his A-game today. … We’ve got to get him going, and we know that. That was a mindset coming out of the half. We’ve got to feed this guy and be patient enough to do it.”
Marshall didn’t go down quietly, responding immediately with a 69-yard sprint from AJ Turner and an 18-yard touchdown toss from Stone Earle to Christian Fitzpatrick, momentarily quieting the Lane Stadium crowd.
But, once again, the Hokies had a counter. The catalyst this time was Stephen Gosnell, who made a tremendous diving grab on a beautiful Drones deep ball up the sideline, going for 49 yards and setting Tech up in the redzone. Four plays later, Drones took a zone read to the left side and snuck inside the pylon to bump the lead back up to two scores.
“That was a big answer,” Pry said. “We talked about that all week as a team, starting in the locker room in Nashville, that you got to respond. That's part of it as a play-caller and as a player. I thought we did a nice job today. That was the difference in the game.”
Five plays later, the Hokies got the ball right back via their first turnover of the young season: a tip-drill interception from Mansoor Delane on the sideline after a deflection from Mose Phillips III.
Delane, one of the anchors of the Tech defense, stood out with two pass breakups and the pick after arguably the worst game of his career a week ago, when Vanderbilt got whatever they wanted against him. Against Marshall, the junior was able to flip the script.
“I feel like this game was for my brothers, you know,” Delane said. “I feel like, in a sense, I let them down last week. They had high expectations for me. And this week, I just told them, 'I got y'all this week.'”
Six plays later, Tech put the game’s final score on the board: a five-yard toss from Drones to Da’Quan Felton early in the fourth quarter. From that point on, Marshall embarked on a pair of long, but ultimately empty drives while the Hokies ran out the clock to put the finishing touches on their first win of the year — one highlighted by defense and finding their identity in the second half to look like the offense they’re accustomed to being.
Tech will look to get above .500 when they visit Old Dominion (0-2) on Saturday in Norfolk (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+). It’s potentially a more difficult challenge than it might appear, as Tech is 0-2 all-time at S.B. Ballard Stadium, a proverbial house of horrors for the program — including Pry’s first game as head coach.
“I think we're much closer this week than we were last,” Pry said. “But, I think there's a lot to build on in the second half that we can lean into and grow from.”
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