For the first time since 2012, Virginia Tech handled business against Georgia Tech in Lane Stadium in a 21-6 victory.
It was a slow, dull game in many ways, but the Hokies (5-3, 3-1 ACC) got up early on the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-3), extended their cushion in the second half and got stops when needed.
The Hokies started off on the wrong foot, though, when quarterback Kyron Drones fumbled on the first play from scrimmage as Yellow Jackets defensive end Romello Height flew around the right side of the line. Drones recovered the ball, but Virginia Tech had to punt on its opening possession for just the second time this season (Rutgers).
On its first opportunity, Georgia Tech ripped off a 12-play, 59-yard drive in 5:52 that culminated in a 24-yard field goal from Aidan Birr to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
The Hokies eventually responded with a four-play, 72-yard drive centered around tight end Benji Gosnell. Drones found him up the sideline for a 31-yard pickup that put the offense in the red zone. Using an unbalanced formation on the next play, Gosnell was wide open over the middle on the next play for a 20-yard strike.
We got action 😎#ThisIsHome | 📺 on @accnetwork | @GosnellBenjamin pic.twitter.com/BvER5Z6OZA
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) October 26, 2024
Georgia Tech cut the lead to 7-6 when Birr knocked through a career-long 50-yard field goal. Virginia Tech redshirt freshman defensive end Aycen Stevens had a tackle in the backfield for a three-yard loss on the 30-yard line that forced the Yellow Jackets to stall.
The Hokies extended their lead quickly when running back Bhayshul Tuten ripped off a 41-yard run that set them up in Georgia Tech territory. After burning some clock, they pulled out some trickery on second-and-goal from the 6-yard line, running the ‘Philly Special’ to perfection. Drones pitched the ball to Tuten, who gave it back to Lane on a reverse, and he hit Drones in the corner of the end zone for the score.
At intermission, Virginia Tech led Georgia Tech 14-6.
Hokies kicker John Love had a 55-yard field goal attempt blocked on the team’s second possession of the third quarter. Since 2013, the Yellow Jackets have blocked an incredible 36 kicks, tied with Army for the most in the country.
However, Virginia Tech linebacker Keli Lawson provided a spark soon after. He appeared to disguise his coverage and bait GT quarterback Zach Pyron into a throw toward the sideline for an interception, setting the home team up with great field position. It was the third career pick for Lawson and the second against Pyron, the first of which came in the 2022 meeting in Blacksburg.
The Hokies whipped out a flea flicker on the first play after the turnover, and Drones connected with Stephen Gosnell for a 28-yard gain. On the third down that followed, Drones found veteran wideout Da’Quan Felton for the conversion. On the next play, the quarterback kept it for a 1-yard score, making it 21-6 with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter.
It was a monotonous contest from there, though. Virginia Tech punted on its final four possessions while Georgia Tech turned the ball over on downs on its last three tries — which included some big stops from VT linebackers Keonta Jenkins and Jaden Keller. Safety Jaylen Jones put the cherry on top for the Hokies with an interception in the final two minutes, the first of his career.
It’s VT’s first three-game winning streak since 2019. Up next is a road trip to Syracuse (5-2, 2-2) and the JMA Wireless Dome, a place the Hokies haven’t won at since 2000.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 21, Georgia Tech 6
I forgot how bad our streak was in Lane against the Jackets, lately. Good to see a turnaround.
I also read that “the win marks the first game since 2019 that the Hokies didn’t allow a touchdown.” That’s a heck of a stat!
Articles are always a great read! The Gosnell boys are underrated, in my opinion, and if they were looked at more as targets the field would certainly be stretched for more positive yards and TDs!
Our D was great, but remember GT lost both their starting QB (all game) and star RB (most of game). But, regardless, was fun to watch the D look fast and nasty. I’ve learned to enjoy the victories as-is.
Good job David🙌🏻Thank you so much for including the stats in with your well written article. You are awesome! Go Hokies🏈
As always, David, your article was well-written and informative. Factual, but also putting in your informed opinion where appropriate. It surely was an ugly victory for VT, but sometimes, that’s what it takes. Defense played lights out! Go Hokies (now come have some chili and cornbread)!
I don’t think ( as always ) there is much difference in talent between Va Tech and Ga Tech…today it came down to turnovers and our defense …great punting …looked like old school Beamer / Foster football ….I watched the game with 2 Ga Tech friends/Alums and we all agreed that both coaches were run blitzing and were not allowing the other team to beat them with the run ….both teams had good tailbacks but both offensive lines were overwhelmed and qbs had limited time to throw ….Droans did a great job of not forcing throws and knowing punting was ok….tough gritty win against an equal team ✌️🍺
Ugly game for our offense for sure. Play calling was horrible. Drones appeared to have regressed back to the guy from the first 2-3 games and it was not a real fun one to watch. Leaving Tuten in and having him get injured is squarely on the coaching staff. I don’t understnd it at all.
2 of 15 on 3rd down amd 235 total yards is usually not going to win many games and certainly won’t against Cuse, Duke, and Clemson.
235 will absolutely get the job done against Duke. Pitt also had very few yards against Syracuse but we can’t count on three pick 6s.
W R O N G
it was still a game and 3mins left having Tuten in made complete sense. We needed first downs to ice the game, and GT had proved the last couple drives they could move it down the field throwing it around.
It is also possible that we may need Tuten in the next 3 games. We had a 15 point lead. Our D playing against their 3rd string QB.
agree. Drones looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. I don’t get it. everything he wants is right in front of him. If he plays bad, he’s not going to the NFL this year and in my opinion he will transfer. He has a big head right now for some reason.
Drones NFL? He needs to continue to develop. There are a lot of issues that need work. Please don’t let him make the same mistake that Evans made.
Drones will never properly develop into an NFL prospect under Bowen.
Bowen is incompetent.
Drones won’t make the NFL. Drones and the rest of the team are playing for VT
HokieTC…you’re saying there are no pro prospects at VT?
There are a number of NFL prospects on the VT roster. I’m not sure Drones is one of them. But I think if they don’t pretend he is, they’re afraid they’ll lose him to the portal. I guess that’s all part of roster management these days.
But Drones should be showing run 5-10 times a game. It loosens up the defense by making them have to worry about Drones AND Tuten on the ground – and makes Tuten even more effective by not putting a bulleye on him on every running down. Which is what GT did when it was clear they were going to minimally use Drones as a running weapon.
When was the last time a Hokie had a passing, rushing, and receiving TD in the same game?
Sam Rogers vs. UVA, baby! Good stuff.
👏🏻💪🏻 Good ol Sam!
Oops, not quite. But he did throw, catch and run for touchdowns in season.
No gamescast on ESPN was a head scratcher – are they going back to 2002 technology?
I only started watching in the second half. Boy what a snooze fest! 🤮
Feel like it would’ve been a different game if King was playing. We caught a lot of breaks today but it’s 3 W’s in a row so I’ll take it. Onto Syracuse.
Aa a Hokie fan, I thought it was a very unsatisfying game. I don’t understand why our offensive coordinator couldn’t figure out that GT was keying on Tuten which should have left something else open. I was unhappy with the offensive line’s pass blocking. I felt that the defense didn’t pressure the GT QB very much. I thought the offensive plan was unimaginative. I thought the defensive secondary gave up too many medium to long passes. That said, an ugly W beats a pretty L any time. Glad for the win.
Our OL was getting handled, wrs couldn’t get separation most of the day. Drones and Tuten were our only options. Luckily the defense played well enough to win it today.
Defense bent but didn’t break.
If you watch the game, GT was forcing us to beat them with Drones arm. 8 guys in the box all night. Not going to be successful running the ball
VT didn’t change their game plan to accommodate and the passing game is not there
Explains why the trick plays work.
GT’s O line is a strength. Had only given up 3 sacks all year coming in. We got one, so better than average against their line.
When will Pry realize the Tyler Bowen is incompetent and needs to be fired? (I know…I know…Pry will never change his OC in the middle of a season, blah, blah, blah). But my point is that after 3 years of failure, isn’t it obvious by now that Bowen should never have been hired as the OC to begin with. Enough already!
@dobrohokie…agree. Secondary struggled against their 3rd string QB. If Drones could hit a long pass it would really open things up for Tuten.
Thanks for prompt write-up. With no tv or LiveStats or ESPN play-by-play working, it was very confusing to figure out what was going on with the stats so much favoring GT.
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