Virginia Tech football: Hokies fall to Miami 25-24

The Virginia Tech Hokies fell to the No. 9 Miami Hurricanes 25-24 on Saturday in Blacksburg.

The Hokies led the entire game until the fourth quarter when Miami scored a touchdown to go ahead 25-24. The Hurricanes missed the two-point conversion.

Tech had multiple opportunities to get the lead back, though. Quarterback Hendon Hooker was picked off on one drive and took a sack on another. Finally, the Hokies get the ball inside their own five-yard line with 1:45 remaining and no timeouts.

The Hokies, showing no clue on clock management, didn’t even make it to midfield before time ran out and Miami won the football game.

This is another ugly loss for head coach Justin Fuente and the Hokies.

And don’t blame this one on the defense. Defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton did a good job of mixing up coverages and sending pressures at different points in the game. The Hokies got off the field with a sack on multiple occasions in this game.

Hooker played well for the first three quarters. However, in the fourth quarter he held onto the ball too long and made some bad reads. Offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen didn’t help his quarterback, though.

Hooker finished the game 19 of 29 for 201 yards and an interception. He also led the Hokies with 59 yards rushing and a touchdown. Khalil Herbert played, but was visibly still bothered by the hamstring injury he suffered last week. He carried the ball eight times for 49 yards.

Jalen Holston received his first extensive playing time of the season on Saturday and was outstanding. Holston carried the ball four times for 36 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a key block on one scoring drive and kept another drive alive with a third-down reception.

The Hokies drop to 4-4 on the season and 4-3 in ACC play. This loss hurts in the sense the Hokies led for much of the day and could not finish. Also, the struggling defense played well.