Virginia Tech collapses late against Syracuse, drops third straight home game

Jack Brizendine

Staff Writer

October 24, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech was putting on a show in its “throwback game” against Syracuse, sporting retro threads and even displaying a nostalgic style of play, one similar to Virginia Tech of the past, not the present.

Returning a blocked kick and dropping a punt inside the two-yard line showed shades of the “Beamerball” style that became so renowned decades ago.

It was a reminder of the past — the glory days of Virginia Tech football, if you will — when former head coach Frank Beamer was at the helm. A run at the National Championship at the end of the century. A mainstay in towards the top of the weekly rankings. A legitimate chance to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game year after year.

When freshman running back Malachi Thomas sprinted up the middle of the field for a touchdown, giving the Hokies a nine-point lead with under six minutes left in the game, it seemingly secured a VT victory. It could have given the Hokies their first win in three weeks. And it could have silenced — at least for the week — the questions and uncertainty surrounding the head coaching position.

Then it all came crashing down in a matter of seconds.

A desperate heave from Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader led to a leaping grab, over the head of defensive back Dorian Strong by SU wideout Damien Alford, sealing the victory for the Orange instead with 19 seconds to go.

In the blink of an eye, everything went from looking bright to bleak for the Hokies, echoing a heartbreaking sentiment that’s been all-too-familiar to Virginia Tech this season.

“It’s a heartbreaker,” wide receiver Kaleb Smith said. “This week we talked about all the work we put in during the offseason to get to this point and just to take advantage of this opportunity we had.”

Virginia Tech (3-4, 1-2 ACC) squandered that opportunity in its 41-36 loss to Syracuse (3-4, 1-3 ACC) on Saturday, dropping the team below .500 for the first time this season.

“[I’m] hurt for our players, just because of the effort, the exertion they put out there today to find a way to be up towards the end,” head coach Justin Fuente said. “[They] fought all the way until the last play of the game trying to find a way to win it.”

It’s the second time in three weeks that the Hokies have blown a lead of eight points or more with under two and a half minutes to play. Tech squandered an eight-point lead in the last three minutes of regulation to Notre Dame two weeks ago — it had a 96% chance to win before the Irish marched down the field to tie the score with three minutes left, according to ESPN.

And on Saturday, it was more of the same. The Hokies had a 95.2% win probability when Thomas scored his team’s final touchdown.

“[The players] have to believe that they’re gonna get paid off for the effort they’re putting in,” Fuente said on the recent late-game losses. “They have to believe it’s a test to see how long they can hold the rope and how long they can continue to put that effort out there. Believing that they're doing it for the right reasons and they’re going to find a way to get rewarded. We desperately want them to get rewarded and we’ve been really close three separate times.”

Offensively, the Hokies played more than well enough to win the game, racking up 300 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Thomas accounted for over half of those totals, amassing 151 yards and three scores on 21 carries.

“He just continues to get better,” Fuente said. “He’s shown up in fall camp and he’s shown up in the early part of the season.”

Thomas was a spark plug for VT’s offense while the passing game struggled to get going, popping off two runs over 40 yards in the fourth quarter, one being the late touchdown.

“That kid’s a stud,” Smith echoed. “I saw it in [fall] camp when he first touched the field with us, he was a baller. [He’s a] humble kid, great athlete, just a great all-around kid.”

But it was all for naught. Garrett Shrader’s 410 yards of total offense and five touchdowns — two of them through the air, the other three on the ground — and Sean Tucker’s 112 yards and his score stole the spotlight from Thomas’s coming out party.

“[Shrader] made a bunch of plays with his feet,” Fuente said. “I don’t know what his rushing yards were, but he seemed to have really timely plays [on] third and fourth down.”

The loss adds another level of heat to Fuente’s seat, but that’s not what he’s focusing on moving forward.

“I’m worried about giving these guys a chance to win,” Fuente said in response to a question about the team running out of time to show that it’s progressed from last year. “We [aren’t] going down that road. Everybody up and down that hallway is selling out to go give these kids a chance to win.”

“I’m not worried about any of that.”