The Hokies knew they’d have to throw the ball and at least threaten the perimeter with the running/screen game if they were going to have any success on offense, and that’s what we ended up seeing. I expected screens to be part of the deal, along with a little counter, and maybe some jet/rocket stuff. Instead, the Hokies trotted out plays we haven’t seen in the Pry era.

On paper, the offense’s plan for this game made sense, though ultimately it was unlikely to succeed because of factors beyond X’s and O’s. I’m not sure how much I can blame the Hokies for trying, though. It was a high-risk/high-reward move. If it worked well, they would be busting plays free on an unprepared defense. If it crashed and burned, we’d see unblocked defenders running wild, bad reads, and fumbles. I guess it ended up in the “the running was bad, but it protected the passing game” range.

Tech was determined to throw the ball. Wells (who went out of the game before desperation time) threw the ball thirty-two* times compared to seventeen non-scramble rushes. About six of those runs went off-tackle or wider, as the Hokies worked to avoid Purdue’s stacked interior defense and keep the edge defenders from teeing off on the QB. With five defenders on the line, one safety super deep, and the corners turning and running in man, it’s hard for a scheme like Purdue’s to rally wide. Check out this Counter GT to the B-gap:

The motion pulls the alley player out of the play, eliminating a risky block. Xavier Chaplin (#65) has a nice base block to get things started. The two pullers (Bob Schick (#75) and Parker Clements (#70)) fit like puzzle pieces on their blocks. Purdue has a numbers advantage in the box, but the unblocked defender is wide enough that it’s hard for him to him get to the play, and Tuten makes him miss. That leaves the bailing corner and safety as the last guys in the fit, and they only get there after a good gain.

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