By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Minutes after Virginia Tech's heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame on Saturday, Hokies head coach Justin Fuente expressed pride in how his team had played.
Two days later, he holds that same opinion.
"Still, after looking at the film, awfully proud of our guys and the way they battled," Fuente said Monday morning at his weekly news conference. "We had a great workout yesterday, talked about it, and we've got to turn the page and get ready for Wake Forest."
Tech ended the first half of its game with the No. 16 Irish by getting a huge play from Rayshard Ashby and Divine Deablo. Ashby forced a fumble, and Deablo returned it 98 yards for a touchdown with 9 seconds left in the first half that tied the game at 14. On Monday, both players received ACC accolades.
Tech then controlled much of the second half, though its inability to push the ball into the end zone came back to haunt it. On a drive spanning the third and fourth quarters, the Hokies drove to the Notre Dame 12, but settled for a short Brian Johnson field goal and a 20-14 lead.
Tech's defense held on the Irish's next possession, with Notre Dame missing a field goal. But the Hokies' ensuing possession ended with a punt, giving the Irish a final chance. Notre Dame won the game in the waning moments, finishing an 87-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ian Book with 29 seconds remaining.
There were many big plays in the game and certainly some questionable calls. In the end, the Hokies needed one more big play to pull the upset and came up short.
"There's plays on both sides of the ball that we analyze and talk about and would of, could of, should have done differently, or better," Fuente said. "We hash all those things out. The bottom line is we went into the game 17.5-point underdogs trying to get it to the last five minutes to try and win the game. That's what our team was talking about. That's what we were preaching. We knew that if we did that, we'd find a way to pull it off because that's what we've done before, and we came up short."
The Hokies now finish the regular season with four straight conference games, including two games against teams ahead of them in the Coastal Division standings. Tech actually controls its own destiny, as it stands as one of three teams – Pittsburgh and Virginia being the others – to have just two losses in league play.
The Hokies close the season with a home game against the Panthers and a road tilt in Charlottesville.
"I tell them [his players] that you guys will handle all the distractions for us. You'll talk about all that other stuff," Fuente said. "I mean that sincerely and out of respect of your all's jobs that that's what you guys do. Our job is to take care of us, and we have more than we can say grace over this week in terms of Wake coming in here.
"Our guys understand. They can feel the confidence rising, the ability in each other, the feeling of trust in each other continuing to build. We've got to go out and focus on what we can control and get ready for this one."
Here are some other notes from Monday's news conference:
PATTERSON GETS ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
Against Notre Dame, Quincy Patterson made his first collegiate start – 90 minutes from his hometown – and he was a little up and down. He rushed for a team-best 77 yards on 19 carries, but he completed just 9 of 28 for 139 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
"The moment wasn't too big for him," Fuente said. "He didn't get rattled. We've got to make some plays, and the execution level has got to continue to increase, but he got in there and was tough and competed in a tough environment versus a very good defense, so I'm encouraged by that part of it. We've got plenty to work on moving forward."
SPEAKING OF QUARTERBACKS …
Many expected Hendon Hooker to get the nod at quarterback after Fuente said last Monday that Hooker looked good in practice. But Hooker, who suffered a leg injury in Tech's six-overtime win over North Carolina, wasn't able to get as many practice reps as Fuente would have liked, so he held Hooker out as a precaution. Fuente refused to commit to Hooker playing Saturday against Wake Forest.
"We'll see," Fuente said. "I stepped out there twice so far on the injury deal and been wrong on both of them, with Damon Hazelton [in September] and Hendon. I don't know. We'll see. If he practices all week and does well, then Hendon will be the starter. I don't know if that's going to happen or not."
ROMO GETS THE JOB DONE
Filling in for an injured Oscar Bradburn (groin), John Parker Romo made the most of his opportunity Saturday against the Irish. He punted eight times and averaged 44.2 yards per punt, with a long of 58 yards. Two of his punts were downed inside the Irish 20.
"I was incredibly proud of him," Fuente said. "It's not even a deal where he had all week to prepare. Now, he has taken reps with the two punt squad throughout the year, but I mean, it [Bradburn's injury] literally happened Thursday right before practice. Our perfect Thursday, practice, our starting punter tweaks his groin, and he [Romo] jumped in there and had a good Thursday … I was really proud and happy for his performance.
DB'S UNDER SCRUTINY
Jermaine Waller, one of the Hokies' starting cornerbacks, will sit out the first half of the Wake Forest after receiving a targeting call in the second half of the Notre Dame game. Armani Chatman came into the game after Waller's ejection and he played well, but he went out briefly with an injury, which led to defensive coordinator Bud Foster playing Jovonn Quillen some. Also, Caleb Farley missed some plays with an undisclosed injury.
The Hokies need for their defensive backfield, specifically the corners, to get healthy this week, especially considering Waller's absence. Plus, Wake Forest leads the ACC with 323.6 yards passing per game.
"It's going to be a challenge," Fuente said. "We've got to get them ready. I've really been pleased with how Armani has continued to come along. Just continues to get better. Made special mention of him yesterday in the meeting. He just continues to work and get better, and Jovonn's played in a bunch of games. Jermaine is definitely kind of coming into his own, and he's going to be missed, but that's part of the job of a team – the next guy up has got to step up and play at a high level."Gallery: (11/2/2019) 2019 FOOTBALL AT NOTRE DAME
