Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente could not have asked for a better time to have a bye week. We have witnessed three rough games so far this season, and hitting the reset button is exactly what was needed before heading into ACC play. 

Although there are some concerns, we have also seen a few positives we can look forward to this season and beyond. Overall, I see a defensive unit that is progressing each game. The defense has improved to 40th in the country, which is encouraging knowing they were ranked in the 70s after the opener. Meanwhile, the offense seems to be regressing, particularly in the running game, with an offensive ranking of 81st in the country, which is completely unacceptable for a program run by an offensive-minded head coach.

In recent years, the offense was ranked 39th in 2016, 53rd in 2017, and 39th last year.  There is something off with the offense this season, and you have to imagine Coach Fuente has to be disgusted with what he’s putting out there on the field. After the Furman game, I noticed a few issues that seem concerning while also highlighting several promising signs.

Decision Making in the Read-Option

I’m still seeing some questionable reads by quarterback Ryan Willis (5). First and foremost, we do not know the actual calls on the field, so we can only make assumptions as we watch these games. With that said, the coaching staff seemed to make a few adjustments to the read-option plays against Furman. There seemed to be an emphasis against Furman to negate those run options for Willis since he seemed reluctant to run the ball himself. Instead of the run-run, there were more run-pass options. As I mentioned in the first two games, Willis’ decision making may be contributing to the offense’s lack of a running game. 

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