Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry spent much reviewing the film from Saturday’s puzzling second-half collapse against Vanderbilt. By the time he reached the final snap, his notepad was overflowing with observations.
Pry’s focus was figuring out how the Commodores managed to dominate after halftime and shut down the Hokies’ response. Speaking Tuesday, he explained it wasn’t just one breakdown, but several different issues that piled up and allowed Vanderbilt to exploit the defense that had looked so promising in Week 1.
“When I went through the film, I wrote down 11 different things that gave us problems,” Pry said. “It wasn’t just one issue in the second half defensively.”
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia consistently made the right reads on option plays, fueling an explosive surge where the Commodores poured in 34 second-half points. They outgained the Hokies 307-21 after the break, scoring touchdowns on five consecutive drives before running out the clock on their final possession to secure a 44-20 win.
Pry emphasized that Virginia Tech’s struggles weren’t due to a single mistake but rather a collection of issues.
“When you look at the film, you ask, ‘What went wrong? What were the problems?’” Pry explained. “You write them down, review them with the players, and fix them. Then you ask: are we asking too much? Is it unrealistic? Do we need to execute better? Teach it better? You go through all of that to make improvements. And I’m not discounting their quarterback or their team — that’s a good football team we lost to.
“But we’ve got to be the team that showed up against South Carolina and the team we were in the first half against Vanderbilt. That’s the standard we’re aiming for. There are positives to build on and corrections we must make — and we need to do it by this weekend.”
Pry highlighted missed opportunities where the Hokies put Vanderbilt in difficult positions but couldn’t close the door. The Commodores overcame second-and-16 and second-and-18 on one third-quarter drive, which ended in a go-ahead touchdown. Later, they converted a third-and-13 and a fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line during their final scoring series. Vanderbilt went 4-of-5 on third down and 1-for-1 on fourth down in the second half.
“When you’ve got them in second-and-long or third-and-long, you have to get off the field,” Pry said. “Those plays can change the course of a half.”
Virginia Tech had limited South Carolina to 4-of-12 on third downs in Week 1, and even Vanderbilt went just 1-of-2 on third down in the first half.
Pry stressed that effort wasn’t the issue after reviewing the film, though fatigue may have been. “I didn’t question effort. I did question whether the guys were tired, or if I overworked them last week,” Pry admitted. “The performance staff doesn’t think so, but I didn’t see the same burst on film. The defense may have worn down with all the three-and-outs on offense and Vanderbilt’s long drives. The first half looked more explosive than the second.”
The Hokies had been on a short week, playing South Carolina in Atlanta on August 31 before facing Vanderbilt at home. Pry said he consulted strength coach Jarrett Ferguson and sports science director Kelsey Vinson about whether the workload was too heavy, and they agreed the approach was appropriate.
The team has since returned to a normal routine heading into Saturday night’s matchup with Old Dominion (1-1). “That’s just what I saw on film, what I felt a little bit,” Pry said. “Having an off day Monday was important. We didn’t have one last week, so it was good to give the players that rest.”