By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Roughly 30 minutes following the Virginia Tech-Boston College football games Saturday night, Justin Fuente looked a combination of tired, hoarse, relieved, and satisfied.
After three weeks of personnel maneuvering because of COVID-19 and injuries, and the juggling of responsibilities among his staff for essentially the same reasons, Fuente nearly put out the team that he expected to put on the field when the Hokies opened fall practices in August.
The end results? The No. 23 Hokies played their best all-around game of the season, throttling Boston College 40-14 at Lane Stadium and moving to 3-1 in spite of a rather tumultuous 10 weeks.
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"Just awfully proud of our players and coaches bouncing back," Fuente said. "It was kind of cool to have all our coaches on the sideline and in the booth today for the first time. Hopefully, we'll continue to get some of our guys back as we go through this season."
Fuente received probably more than he expected. Finally at full strength, Hendon Hooker started and played outstanding at quarterback, rushing for 164 yards and three scores and throwing for a touchdown. Tech's defense, also nearly at full strength, forced five turnovers. The special teams were solid again.
The Hokies grabbed an early lead and then continued to expand on it. BC had owned the fourth quarter and overtime this season – a big reason why it entered the game with a 3-1 record – but Hokies outscored the Eagles 13-0 in the fourth and scored the final 24 points of the game.
There is much to dissect from Saturday night's win. So let's get to it. Here are several takeaways:
• Tech's defense was outstanding – The Hokies' defense had allowed at least 24 points against their first three opponents, and without its starting safeties, it played poorly against North Carolina in a 56-45 defeat. But the Hokies attacked the ball relentlessly against the Eagles, and after forcing just three turnovers all season – no fumbles – they forced five Saturday night.
Of course, it helps to play with a full complement of players. Jermaine Waller sat out with an injury, and Keonta Jenkins – while cleared to play – also sat out because of a lack of practice time over the past week. But the unit went into the game with most of its starters, and most of its backups, too.
Forcing turnovers, particularly fumbles, is a sign of aggressiveness. Tech's defense attacked Saturday night and gave the offense additional opportunities to put this one away.
"Creating turnovers, that's what we work for all week, and I'm just glad we got the ball out," Tech safety Divine Deablo said.
This was the Hokies' best performance of the season on defense – by far.
• Tech's in-game response to adversity was noteworthy – Games rarely go smoothly, particularly conference games, but mature teams find ways to overcome difficult moments throughout a game. Tech exhibited this important trait against BC.
Twice after BC scored touchdowns, the Hokies responded with touchdown of their own.
In the second quarter, BC scored to take a 7-3 lead, but Hooker led the Hokies on a 49-yard march – shout out to Keshawn King for the 29-yard kickoff return – and scored on Hooker's 7-yard run. The response time: less than 2 minutes.
Then, in the third quarter, BC cut the lead to 17-14 with a touchdown. But Tech again answered, going 79 yards in just six plays, with Hooker scoring on a 5-yard run.
Two answers – both with authority.
"Momentum is a very real thing," Fuente said. "Recapturing it can be sometimes difficult, and we've talked about that at times during fall camp and previous springs about how when you're out there and one side of the ball is getting the best of the other side of the ball and having the discipline to strain and focus in and try to respond to that to regain that momentum is an important part of football. It was nice for us to kind of answer the bell, so to speak, when they did grab some momentum and have some things going."
• Devin Taylor filled the void – Taylor played mostly cornerback during his career at Illinois State before transferring to Virginia Tech, but he certainly made the most of his opportunity at free safety Saturday night.
Taylor made his collegiate debut the previous game at North Carolina, but got the start against BC with Jenkins out, as Tech's staff moved Deablo to boundary safety. Taylor finished with two tackles, but arguably made the most important play of the game when he intercepted a terribly thrown pass by BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec right before halftime. The Hokies scored a touchdown off that turnover, turning that interception into a 17-7 halftime lead.
"He's really anxious to contribute to this football team," Fuente said of Taylor. "When he was thinking about coming here, I talked to his dad and Dev, and they were anxious to play defensive back, whether that was playing some corner, or playing some nickel, or whatever it was, they just wanted this opportunity to come play and play DB. He's been a big contributor. He continues to get better. I'm just proud of him."
• Hooker looked at ease – Hooker's undisclosed health-related issues basically resulted him in missing the first two games of the season, though he was cleared to play against Duke. He came off the bench against North Carolina and accounted for three touchdowns, and Fuente decided to move him into the starting lineup. The decision was a no-brainer, and it certainly paid off handsomely.
Hooker looked like the quarterback who went 6-2 in his eight starts last season. He made smart decisions in the running game, he took care of the football (no turnovers), and he was efficient in the passing game, completing 11 of 15 on a night when the Hokies rarely need to throw.
Hooker takes care of the ball – just two interceptions in 190 career attempts – and this offense just seems more comfortable with him in control. The other quarterbacks can be effective, but this offense hums at peak precision with Hooker at the helm.
"I wouldn't say I was surprised by it," Tech center Brock Hoffman said of Hooker's performance. "Obviously, he's been modified in certain things, but I think he's been prepared pretty well. Even when he was out, he was always locked in mentally. I think that's really helped him over his weeks being out, and then coming back and being ready to go."
"I have been impressed with him," Fuente said. "There are some things that we need to clean up, that we can do better, but he had a really good fall camp. He's worked hard, and he's got a chance to reap the benefits of that. I am impressed and pleased and feel supremely confident in him and the other guys, quite honestly, to go out there and do the job."