West Virginia holds off Virginia Tech, 27-21

The West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the No. 15 Virginia Tech Hokies, 27-21, on Saturday in Morgantown.

WVU got off to a fast start after Leddie Brown took his first carry 80 yards on WVU’s second play from scrimmage. The Mountaineers got the ball and scored again, and suddenly the Hokies were in a 14-0 hole.

However, Virginia Tech quarterback Braxton Burmeister brought the Hokies back. He found Tayvion Robinson in the end zone to cut WVU’s lead to 14-7. VT got the ball back and was on West Virginia’s side of the field and faced a 4th & 1. The Hokies go for it and come up short, killing all of their momentum.

The Mountaineers would build the lead back up to 24-7 at halftime.

In the second half, WVU dominated the ball in the third quarter, going up 27-7.

Mistakes and horrible playcalling continued to plague the Hokies. Offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen was Virginia Tech’s biggest issue on Saturday. More on him in a later column.

Tech’s offense kept fighting, as Raheem Blackshear scored from 20 yards out to cut it to 27-14. Virginia Tech forced a fumble around midfield and came up empty.

WVU got the ball back deep in its own territory and faced a 3rd and 10 after a false start. Virginia Tech cornerback Jermaine Waller picks off West Virginia QB Jarret Doege in WVU territory, setting up the Hokies for the perfect comeback.

Unfortunately, the Hokies were more worried about the clock on their first two plays after a first and goal and were forced to throw the football on their final two plays. It was an epic failure by the coaching staff to not score on that final possession after battling all the way back.

It’s a tough loss for the Hokies who overcame everything, yet still fall short.

Now, the Hokies are 2-1 on the season and face Richmond in Blacksburg next week.