No Hokie fan, in their wildest dreams, could have predicted Virginia Tech's offensive stats at halftime. The Hokies rolled up 49 points, 426 yards (147 rushing, 279 passing), were 7-for-8 on third down and scored touchdowns on all six trips to the red zone.
The defense, with the exception of three long touchdown plays, was equally dominant. The Demon Deacons averaged 66 yards per play on their three scores and 3.8 yards on their other 39 plays. The Hokies almost completely shut down Wake's passing attack, holding Tanner Price to 3-for-16 through the air.
It was probably a perfect game for the Hokies' staff, which got to see everything this team was capable of, but also provided some very key coaching moments.
The breakdowns that led to the three Wake Forest touchdowns can be fixed. The defense is still giving up big plays, but while the big plays against the Deacs were more spectacular, they weren't nearly as frequent as we've seen this year. If the defense continues to learn from them, it can achieve the consistency we need to see from it.
The same goes for the offense. It did exactly what it was supposed to do against a bad defense - exploit it's primary weaknesses. The Hokies were going to be able to throw the ball against Wake's weak pass defense and they did. Tyrod Taylor was more accurate on deep balls than we've probably seen all year and the wide receivers were getting open and making plays.
We have now seen the Hokies at their worst against James Madison and at their best against Wake Forest. The key now for the coaches are getting consistency out of both sides of the ball. Just because the offense finally exploded doesn't mean it will do it the rest of the year and just because the defense gave up long touchdowns against Wake doesn't mean it will keep doing it.
Consistency is the key and always will be. This game against Wake showed us the Hokies are capable of playing to their potential. Now it's up to the players and coaches to make sure it happens consistently.