Virginia Tech averaged 6.4 yards per play, didn’t turn the ball over, and took the lead with 1:15 left Saturday in Berkeley, Calif. It lost anyway.
Cal went 75 yards in 57 seconds, Ashten Emory scored from 2 yards out with 18 seconds left, and the Hokies’ last pass fell incomplete from the Cal 7 in a 25–20 loss. Tech (4–2, 1–2 ACC) has lost two straight by a combined seven points, both on the final play, and this one came against a backup quarterback making his first start for the Golden Bears.
“There’s critical moments and critical plays that we’re not maximizing, and ultimately that’s my responsibility to get it fixed,” Hokies coach James Franklin said.
Quarterback: B
Ethan Grunkemeyer went 21-of-31 for 288 yards and a touchdown, averaged 9.3 yards per attempt, and didn’t throw an interception. Twice in the final four minutes, he did what Tech needed. He led a nine-play, 73-yard drive and finished it with a 1-yard sneak for a 20–19 lead. Then he hit Marlion Jackson for 18 and 20 yards to reach the Cal 7 with time for one more snap.
He wasn’t clean. A first-quarter interception was erased by a Cal pass interference flag, and replay turned a third-quarter sack-fumble into an incompletion. Tech also finished 4-of-11 on third down.
Running Backs: B-
Jeffrey Overton Jr. ran 12 times for 73 yards, with gains of 19 and 22, and caught four passes for 40 more. Marcellous Hawkins Jr. had 45 yards and a 3-yard touchdown on 12 carries, plus a 9-yard run to the Cal 2 that set up the go-ahead score.
The odd part: Overton’s last carry came with 14:22 left in the third quarter. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: B
Ayden Greene had two catches, and both mattered: a 32-yarder on third-and-16 and a 30-yard touchdown two plays later. Que’Sean Brown led Tech with seven catches for 63 yards. Luke Reynolds caught four passes for 58 yards on nine targets, two of them 14-yard gains on the go-ahead drive.
Solid, not explosive. Tech’s longest play covered 32 yards.
Offensive Line: D
Cal sacked Grunkemeyer three times and got to him twice more on plays wiped out by a facemask and a targeting call. The Golden Bears finished with nine tackles for loss.
The costliest mistake was five yards. On fourth-and-1 at the Cal 16 with Tech up 14–13, left guard Michael Troutman III was flagged for a false start. Tech sent out the field goal unit and missed from 39.
Defensive Line: C
The run defense was the best thing Tech did all day. Emory needed 19 carries to get 46 yards, and outside of a fake punt, Cal ran 25 times for 53 yards.
The pass rush didn’t show. Kemari Copeland’s sack on the game’s third play was Tech’s only one in 44 dropbacks. And Aycen Stevens turned his own 5-yard tackle for loss into a Cal first down at the Tech 12 with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Emory scored two plays later.
Linebackers: C+
Keon Wylie had a career-high nine tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. Noah Chambers added six stops.
But Cal went 5-for-5 on third down in the fourth quarter. And Kaleb Spencer’s roughing the passer penalty with 42 seconds left turned a 2nd-down incompletion into 15 free yards.
Secondary: D
Jackson Brousseau, starting in place of the injured Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, went 29-of-43 for 321 yards without an interception. Five of his completions went for 20 yards or more. Tech was flagged for pass interference four times, and the two that were accepted both came on fourth-quarter touchdown drives.
Jaquez White broke up two passes, one in the end zone. It wasn’t enough. Tech hasn’t forced a turnover in four straight games.
Special Teams: F
John Love missed from 55 yards in the first quarter and 39 in the fourth. Add last week’s 36-yarder at the gun against Pitt, and he has missed three in a row for the first time in his career.
He made his first seven attempts of the season.
“We’re going to have to create some more competition,” Franklin said when the kicking came up. “There’s no doubt about that.”
That wasn’t all. Cal snapped the ball to tight end Dorian Thomas on fourth-and-7 from its own 34, he ran 29 yards and the Bears turned a punt into a field goal.
Virginia Tech returns to Blacksburg to host Georgia Tech on Oct. 17. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET, and coverage for the game will be on the ACC Network.
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