Overturned Hail Mary Touchdown Sends Hokies To 38-34 Loss At No. 7 Miami

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1. Lot of frustration here but we should recognize what a great game tech played. They almost executed the needed game plan to win: 1. Win the turnover battle and concert, 2. Run the ball and tuten over 100 yards, 3. Eliminate the big mistakes, especially on special teams. Again, I said “almost”. I also don’t have a huge problem with the fake kick. I think most would agree we really did need another td to separate us more as defense was tiring.

   I do agree on all the talk on some poor decisions and time management. Besides the overturned call we should have won this game with just a few corrections.

   I hope the “progress” of our best of season performance can propel us going forward. Beat Stanford!

2. After watching that Hail Mary repeatedly, I’m convinced that the UM player #43 Tyler Rowe popped the ball out with his right hand when he was out of bounds. Felton clearly had it before that so it should have been dead ball/TD on his touch. You can only see Rowe’s arm after the ball is loose.

   That being said, Pry’s poor decisions put us in that position. Gave Miami a FG to end the half and the fake. 6 pts, that was huge!

3. Andy, you got the headline wrong. It should have been:
   “Pair of Pry Terrible Calls Loses Game for Hokies”
   He left 6 points on the board, and that was the difference.

   This coaching staff has been directly responsible for two losses. With a competent coaching staff, we would be 4-1, and in the Top 25.

   These players deserve better.

   P. S. I had to listen to the Miami broadcast, and when APR went into the medical tent, they said something to the effect of, “I hope that he’s not seriously injured, but I hope he’s injured enough to not return.” I freely admit that I have thought that same thing, but to actually say it on a live radio broadcast, is the epitome of classlessness!

   1. Miami’s broadcasters are low-class homers. Perfect fit for their fan base

4. I haven’t read every post relative to the fake field goal but it’s clear to me that most here don’t understand the statistical theory that’s important to this play. When you leave an opposing team to start deep in their territory, the Miami 11 in this case, it’s equivalent to putting a negative point or two on the scoreboard for them depending on exactly where they are forced to start from. I suspect that starting at the 11 yard line is approximately a score reduction of (a statistical) negative one point for Miami. That makes the fake field goal play better than it appears. My only complaint is not that this play was made, but why it isn’t done more often.

5. So much to say… First I’d like to say it was a great effort all the way around. I think the players gave a hell of an effort, and I think the coaches gave it their best also. We came into a rivalry game against a ranked opponent and gave maximum effort. Unfortunately, maximum effort alone is unsustainable.

   Regardless of the outcome, this team isn’t very good. Certain factors we must consider, this team is poorly coached. Some of the clear issues are, we lack offensive identity, we lack pre-game preparation, we lack in game adjustment, we lack the ability to identify our strenghts and create mismatches to capitalize on them consistently. If these issues are true, then expecting to win against quality teams is faith based mission; and the data reflects this. So either we make significant coaching changes or wait for our current staff to develop key competencies. I think this is a calculation that has many folks upset.

   As Hokies, we seem to have a culture clash. Some folks hold themselves to higher regard and want more accountability from Hokies leadership, and some folks more conservative and believe in patience and unconditional support. I see the merits to both sides, however until we get that figured out, we will have a hard time charting a formidable path forward.

   Solution for me: Hire Brennan Marion

6. Really classy comments in here guys – we lost – it is extremely disappointing – but its football not a world war – grow up.

7. LB’s Brumfield 0 tackles 3 assist, Jenkins 1 tackle. Most inept LB’s group in league. Yet Andy used the word inexplicable” to describe one of Pry’s decisions. There were at least 4 with worst being the fake FG. Take the points on the road plus clock mgt is a disaster. Pry’s year #3 has been horrible and players deserve better. Pay that Pry is getting he should refund back and for the 5th game in a row special teams mistakes coaching decisions by Holt are unacceptable

   1. You can blame Pry for the clock management, but the fake field was not a bad call. In fact I thought it was a good call, would have been us up by 3 scores. It just didn’t work. A young player missed a block and the play was blown up, should we kick him off the team?. I’m sure he wasn’t coached to miss that block. That’s just football. I am so tired of reading from the armchair coaches on here who think that it is so easy to win football games at this level. All we have to do is find different coaches and we’d win every game. Some of the folks on here would change coaches after every loss. The coaches should be evaluated at the end of the season based on the total body of work. Until then, just shut up.

      1. Yes, the fake FG was a good call — you should be bold as a big road underdog, The play seemed to have been well-designed, with a good running lane having been created by one good kick-out block and one good edge-sealing block…but the problem came up the middle. OL confusion on who was to block whom?
         I hope that the Charlotte replay people had a camera angle unavailable to the TV replay people, because, otherwise, I believe that that game was stolen.

      2. Still don’t like it. Kick the field goal and take the points, points add up.

         1. I agree. In a situation like, you just can’t afford to get “cute”. Not against a top 10 team on the road.

         2. Agreed. Fuente did a similar thing in one of the Military Bowls that we lost to Cincy. In FG range, would have put us up 10 points, but went for it on 4th down and didn’t make it. I say take the points on the table every time.

      3. Well said. The incessant whining is wearing thin.

8. That fake FG was the dumbest call of the night. Jesus, take the points.

   1. I agree based on the circumstances, you just created a takeaway in their red zone don’t waste that, becomes a 6 to 10 point swing (and still like up 30-17 at that point) Yes would have loved for it to have worked but just think circumstances dictated take the points then

   2. Agreed.

9. Should have played the Miami Dolphins

10. I got it figured out. You guys sit around having a beer, playing with your pud while you play some college football game which leads you to believe you know you could have done a better job coaching tonight. Miami made enough mistakes to have lost the game tonight. You guys need to get a life. Sit back and enjoy the season.

    BTW, as you guys pump up your anger, you pump up your blood pressure, doing that pushes blood into the heart muscle, then turning to scar tissue, thus weakening and enlarging the heart muscle. One day you are walking down the side walk and you drop dead . Your left ventricle has exploded.

    1. Yeah, I usually have to DVR the game and then watch it later after I already know what the final score is. So I don’t get to feel the excitement of the game but rather just try and figure out what happened. That way my blood pressure doesn’t ramp up. However, even if I did watch the game in real-time, I don’t think I could get as riled up as so many of these posters. I remember when Va Tech couldn’t even get a bowl invite with an 8 or 9 win season, so I don’t feel that we’re entitled to great teams as some people seem to think. I actually like the ying and yang of the game, how coaches adjust and so forth. I certainly don’t bet on these games, as I suspect some people do. This was certainly an amazing game to watch, with all of the amazing plays made by both teams. If the last play was not reversed, I wonder how all of these posters would have reacted.

       1. Regardless of the outcome, there is no question in everyone’s mind (including our fellow hokies) that Miami is the better team.

    2. You may be right but look at decisions that hurt us:
       1) Squib kick and run back resulted in Miami starting at the 45 yd line for a few seconds run off…field goal is good
       2) The fake field goal was a big momentum swing…no points and Miami pumped up, drives for TD
       3) Not putting a spy on Ward in the 2nd half when playing man to man coverage…Ward made us pay
       4) Clock management during the last 1:10 seconds with 2 timeouts in our pocket. Yes, you learn this playing video games if you don’t understand it.
       5) We got away with it but we had (2) #17s on the field when Love made his long field goal…Nelson and of course Love. Can you imagine the melt down on the board if the refs had called this penalty. This is at least the 2nd time (2) players with the same number have been on the field this year.

       We are 1 – 10 in close/one score games during the past 3 seasons. These type decisions are critical to the outcome of games. I will not even start on the previous slow start games and particularly against Vanderbilt and Rutgers…coaches game plans were terrible. Need to adjust prior to the start of a 2nd half.

       It’s hard to enjoy a season as you state, with a 2 – 3 record and expect more. If you can enjoy it and not have to worry about your left ventricle exploding God bless you. Most of us are going to die an early death.

       1. I agree with everything you pointed out AND our head coach is making $4.5 million this year! I can easily see this team losing every remaining game this season!

       2. Pry called that timeout too quickly with 25 seconds left. Should have let the clock run down to .02. Gifted 3 points right there. Gifted 3 on the fake, which by the way, Miami, and anyone watching saw coming. How could you tell? Simple. On the other FG attempts which were both from far hash marks, the alignment moved it a little closer to the center of the field. But on that fake, it was right on the hash mark. Simple to see and detect. Gifted another 3 there. Plus an option on a fake FG to the short side of the field with Miami’s team speed? Really dumb!

          So, it should have been 37-35 VT. Then, even after the gift, if we had just taken the 3 points instead of the fake, then we are in position at the end for a very makeable FG to win 40-38.

          Pry is a buffoon. He is no game coach. Law of averages says a team would win half of their 1 score games. But not BP. Do you realize how hard it is to go 1-10 in close games?

          1. Considering your user name I would have called this game a “Bungle in the jungle”

       3. Thank you for highlighting the squib kick. Put the damn ball in the end zone and Miami likely runs out the clock. Instead you invited them to try to score and they did. Take away those three points from Miami and add the three we should have gotten from the fake field goal, and the abysmal clock management and ref decision on the last drive don’t matter.
          Side note: bad clock management isn’t new. Fuente regularly squandered opportunities by using too much time. Why don’t coaches recognize that the first minute of a two minute drill matters too? You can’t start conserving the clock with :30 left.

          1. Couldn’t agree with you more DonQuiHokie. Pry’s in game coaching, or lack thereof, is why he is 1-9 in one score games. If our HOKIES had been properly coached it would have never gotten down to the hail mary pass having to be completed for the win. I do want to give kudos to Coach Pry on his post game comments regarding the reversal. A little classier than what Cristobal had to say on the matter. And regarding the reply crew’s reversal, I would be willing to wager a million dollars to a dollar that if it was Miami that had done the hail mary it would have been ruled a touchdown. The ACC higher ups definitely wanted Miami to stay in the hunt for the CFP. Their statement released this morning was more than pathetic. So sad in so many ways for HOKIE fans.

             1. 1-10 actually

       4. I agree. In a situation like that, you just can’t afford to get “cute”. Not against a top 10 team on the road.

       5. Your Item #5 strongly suggests that a disturbing and persistent degree of coaching incompetence remains with this staff even after 3 years.

       6. I am 80, and have been living and dying by Hokie 🏈, since the 60’s – over 50 years of seasons tix and attending every VT ACCCG and most every bowl game since the Claiborne era. My wife usually leaves when I watch a game on TV. And I believe the stimuli from Hokie 🏈 and 🏀 games help kerp my heart healthy!!

    3. That would be a welcome respite to this miserable life

11. Screw the U and their trashy idiot thug fans, the ACC and incompetence officiating crew. They all suck.

12. Very bad political decision by the refs, overturning the final touchdown, but we suffer these endings because we do not play and coach well enough to keep control of the outcome. When my players used to complain about a bad call that cost them the game, my reply was that they should have played better so that they don’t put themselves in a position where one bad call makes you a loser. Play hard and play smart.

    1. Exactly. Poor coaching and the defense being non-existent (except red-zone interception) in 2nd half killed VT. The coaching errors are innumerable – clock management being the biggest issue yet again. And, because of that, we are in the same situation as we were when Justin left. Outside of his first year, Justin couldn’t win a close game and, hence, his no vote of confidence and his decision to leave, 3 years later, no change whatsoever.

13. Biggest screw job ever by the ACC on VT since they finally gave us membership. I can not remember any other conference team losing on an overturned TD call after time expired. Andy, might be worth researching.

    If it’s a first then the obvious question is what did the COMMAND CENTER see to overturn the call from two officials on the ground?

    The guy who slapped the ball away (after possession and ground contact) was out of bounds. Check out the rules on that senario.

    They won’t answer media questions but the media should ask the ACC office what their rationale was. I’ll bet it has something to do with national rankings, playoff contention, conference reputation, you know stuff that has nothing to do with what happened on the field.

    I am convinced that VT hired the wrong people for coaches but I feel very much for the players who left it all on the field.

    1. No, he lost control on way down. Illegal to regain control when out of bounds. Hard loss to swallow but correct call. On the positive side, a 57 yard fg.

       1. I didn’t see anything that definitely showed he lost control on the way down. Certainly not enough to overturn the call on the field.

       2. Felton wasn’t out of bounds; Lane was.

          1. Your right

       3. He had the ball when he was down, seated on leg/back

    2. It was all a political decision.

14. Once again our special team blunders cost us the game. Exceptionally poor coaching decisions. That’s all 5 games this season where our special teams have cost us.

    1. 100% agree. Give the coaches credit for rallying the team having them prepared. HOWEVER, tech coachres failed in critical decision-making moments. Unreal to see it play out. Unreal.

       1. Pry has no concept of clock management, tries the cuties (fake field goal) at the worst possible time – a field goal would have meant we did not need a td to win, another field goal would have done it.

    2. Still scratching my head over the squib.

       1. Yep and the fake FG. That’s 6 points we gave away. Beamer must be rolling over in his grave

          1. Beamer is very much alive and well

15. Regardless of the call, Tech deserved to lose this game. Why break precedent at this point? Some players and coaches just have the “it” factor. Pry just isn’t him. Sucks that Whit couldn’t get this hire right. I’ve been rooting for Pry; but not anymore. I think we’re going to see a massive portal exodus after this season. Pry was gifted a team full of returning players. You can’t make excuses anymore.

    1. The players won the game. The coaches tried to lose it. You are conflating coaching incompetency with the players efforts.

       That was the best effort by a VT team since we went to the shoe and beat OSU. We was robbed.

       1. you too tallahasseehokie, blow it out your ass

       2. We had it stolen from us.

    2. nordstrom72 … blow it out your ass

       1. Reston seems upset

16. Coaching is bad, poor game management. 1st half, run the clock down and then kick. 3 less points for Miami. Kick the field goal and don’t fake it, 3 more points for tech. Kick field goal to go up by 5 and end the game or win the game by 2 with kneel downs. Team looked good today. Held back by Coaches and Officiating. Hopefully can bring the same intensity the rest of season.

    1. Not that I’m longing for him back, but every time we lose a game like this I wonder if Fuente would have managed to get the win. He had his own coaching malpractice moments (Notre Dame 2021 and icing the Liberty kicker), but I at least remember him pulling out one or two close games a season.

       1. ND 2021 was not on coaching it was on players not making key plays to close them out

17. Even if the Hail Mary worked and the Hokies won … Coach Pry needs to make staff changes at the end of this season. Beamer had to make staff changes early in his career … otherwise the head coach who will be gone sooner rather than later

    1. Pry is no Frank Beamer, not even close. We need a new AD and then a new coaching staff.

       1. Correctamundo!

       2. Beamer didn’t exactly light it up against top opponents. 10th Miami and eventual national champions Ohio St are two signature wins but record against top 25 was under 20%.

       3. Maybe, but we will have Pry the rest of the season at least. And he almost pulled it out last night. At this point last year we were all saying the same thing too, and things turned around. Let’s wait until the end of the season for the coaching decision.

    2. His changes will be about a dozen players hitting the portal. This was the year to succeed based on returning team. Next year is going to be worse…guaranteed.

18. Shouldn’t have needed a Hail Mary in the first place. And I dont want to hear about getting screwed by the officials/ACC. THIS WAS POOR COACHING – plain and simple.
    I seldom post anything…..but somebody needs to knock some sense into this coaching staff.
    UM tried to basically give us the game.
    This was like watching a bad circus.

    1. And to be clear – the players are for the most part blameless in this whole thing.

       1. Some poor coaching – yes. But Drones threw behind receivers on at least three that I remember – one that lead to the tipped INT.

          Overall he played a decent game – but his accuracy needs improving.

          1. Yup…saw the same thing. His ego is way too inflated. Been hanging out with guys telling him he is great.

             1. Low and behind the receivers, the worst example was the int. Which was way behind receiver. This has been his MO this year. Very evident in Rutgers game as well. Drones is one tough dude, and best running QB since Thomas and Evans, and he can inspire confidence in other players but he’s just not accurate at this point. The players gave it their all last night. Did they make mistakes… sure; did the Canes players make mistakes… sure. But when they were in a hole, the Miami coaches made some really good calls including some “trick” misdirection plays that really were great calls and caught us flat footed. Our trick FG… not so much. Our clock mismanagement was pretty much on Pry himself. He just does not seem comfortable in tight time situations. Take the FG points and in the final seconds we are kicking a mid-range FG for the win vs. having to rely on a Hail Mary miracle which nonetheless looked good to me (but Tech has that Danny Coale effect). If the players play with the intensity we saw last night, we will win more games but the coaching (especially special teams) needs to match the players efforts.

                1. Nice summary. I agree that the coaching is the biggest issue, but another complete overhaul isn’t going to solve anything. Have to weigh the pros and cons and it seems like what is needed is additional coaching experience. Maybe the “consultant” route is the right way to go. Fuente did that and it seemed to help.

                   The good news is that the ACC is a second tier league and still wide open in my opinion. Hokies still have a shot and the coaches simply need to believe in the players. We don’t need a bunch of gadget crap, just get out there and play fundamental football. My biggest issue with the Miami game was that the coaches called the plays like they were expecting to lose.

                2. INT was a drop; receiver had both hands on it. Yes it was behind him but he had both hands on it

    2. Except, we WERE screwed by the officials/ACC

       1. For sure.

19. Andy, you can tell it like it is, ACC can’t fine YOU!
    We got f****d and didn’t even get kissed…
    I’m like some others now, goddamn the ACC, I hope it folds.

    1. After this, it deserves to fold for corruption alone

20. Too many things to mention could have changed the outcome of this game. Feel sorry for the players that gave it their all against a really talented team.

    1. The coaching staff is failing the players … and Hokie Nation

    2. Yeah the main thing that could have changed the outcome would be letting the correct call stand at the end

       1. Officials on the field got it right. It’s those damned replay officials again. Just like the crooks on Danny Coale’s catch. Danny and Quan made those catches.

21. Dagger!

22. Could not come up with a more frustrating way to lose 3 games if I tried.

    1. Well said.

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