Five takeaways from Virginia Tech football win over Middle Tennessee

The Hokies start 2-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons

Football
9/12/2018 6:32:00 PM

BLACKSBURG Starting 2-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons, Virginia Tech football turned strong in the second half to beat Middle Tennessee at 35-14 Lane Stadium on Saturday. Below are the main shots that took the team to victory.

1. The technical land of the game shone. The Hokies accounted for 224 busy yards on Saturday, with many players stepping in front of it, with four players owning more than 30 rush yards. Redshirt junior Raheem Blackshear led the back room with a team-tall 53 rush yard and two touches, averaging 5.3 yards per stump, while the redshirt junior Jalen Holston he had a 29-yard scam for a touch to get him to a total of 31 rush yards. The quarterback room also did its part with the Indigenous people of California Braxton Burmeister having 52 rush yards and native to Texas Connor Blumrick owns 38 rush yards and paint. The group had moments of explosive plays, including Blumrick’s 33-yard, Holston’s aforementioned cheater, and Burmeister’s 18-yard run. The 224 busy yards against the Blue Raiders were nearly 100 yards more than Tech’s last race (127, UNC).

2. The backup game was strong.In the middle of the first quarter, Burmeister made a half-slide / dive right in front of the Middle Tennessee defender and hit his head / neck in the game. Burmeister walked off the field gently, red shirt Knox Kadum stepped in and did a great job of continuing to drive and getting the Hokies close to the finish line before Burmeister came back and threw quite a fade into the receiver Tayvion Robinson for touchdown. Kadum, who played one game last season (Clemson, Dec. 5), would end up 3-4 and 17 yards in the air. Another backup that got some time on Saturday was Blumrick, who typically gets into running situations in a la Wildcat-type games. A Texas A&M move would drive it three times and end up at 38 yards in the country. He had almost two goals and got into the one-yard line for the longest run of his technical career (33 yards). His first to pay for the dirt was a two-yard QB power game from a shotgun when he lied a shower towel to Robinson.

3. Corner piece Jermaine Waller plays at the elite level.After battling injuries last season and not seeing the field as much as he would have liked, Waller has certainly made his presence felt this year, as he already has two fights and 12 fights (7 alone). A Washington DC native chose the then No. last week. 10 in North Carolina and one Saturday when he became the first Hokie to be abducted in consecutive games after safety Divine Deablo (Clemson, Virginia; 2019).

4. Special teams are coming.Head coach Justin Font mentioned at his weekly press conference leading MTSU last week that he wasn’t very happy with how small Special Teams were doing pace-changing plays a season ago, as well as tar shoes. So he expected it to change compared to the Blue Riders, and his assessment was correct. Of the special teams, the biggest moments came in the second quarter, when Robinson grabbed the pound back on Tech’s own six-yard line and took it 59 yards before he was repulsed. Ironically, the Hokies had only 66 pound feedback rounds (11 games) last season. Then Keshawn King there was also a long return, this was a starting return, but it was called back because of the hold. So when Robinson and King show glimpses of what’s coming back in the return game, it should promise a good future for that kingdom.

5. The defense does not allow big plays.Typically, when shocks occur in relation to classified enemies, there are some crucial plays from the undervalued who are the haystacks to overthrow Goliath. But on Saturday, the Blue Raiders failed to hold the pieces because the Hokies kept everything in front of them, and the longest game of the day for MTSU was no more than 27 meters. Against Tar Heels, Tech handed over just one game over 30 yards, a 37-yard pass from ACC’s Player of the Year Sam Howell. So through two games under the defense coordinator Justin Hamilton in 2021 the Hokies have not given great plays to persecute them.

Statistics SALAS

TheMore Merrier

The 67 players who took the field in Middle Tennessee were the second-most in the Fuente era at the East Carolina game in 2017. Seventy players saw action against William & Mary in 2018.

Miscues Quite rare

So far in 2021, the Hokies have sentenced only five penalties. This is the least penalty for starting the season since 2016.

2016: 12-128 yards
2017: 7-44 yards
2018: 7-75 yards
2019: 10-85 yards
2020: 8-60 yards
2021: 5-55 yards