Virginia Tech football: 5 takeaways from Hokies’ ugly loss at SMU

The Virginia Tech Hokies’ two-game winning streak came to a halt on Friday as the SMU Mustangs steamrolled them 51-28 in Dallas. Virginia Tech falls to 6-3 on the season, including 3-3 in ACC play, after the loss. SMU rolled up over 500 total yards against Tech, with quarterback Kevin Jennings throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns. The Mustangs ran the ball well, too, racking up 219 rushing yards. Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 28 of 38 passes for 291 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Tight end Luke Reynolds led VT’s pass catchers with six receptions for 67 yards. Freshman running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. carried the ball 13 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Here are five takeaways from Tech’s loss. Measuring stick game These teams entered the game with identical 6-2 records. The Mustangs were coming off a disappointing road loss. On Friday night, SMU showed where they are under head coach Rhett Lashlee and where the Hokies currently are in the first year of James Franklin. Make no mistake: Virginia Tech is headed in the right direction, but this was the kind of butt-kicking that makes you re-evaluate everything. When you allow over 500 yards to a conference foe, there are problems. I expect the Hokies to be even better in 2027. But for everyone wanting to see where they stood heading into the final month of the regular season, now you know. Virginia Tech is good. The Hokies are a much-improved team. However, they’re a step below SMU and Louisville right now, and a couple of steps below Miami. That’s how you respond after a bye? Heading into the game, we saw the matchup concerns. Everyone saw where SMU’s passing game could be a problem for Virginia Tech’s struggling secondary. That’s how it played out, too. The Mustangs had open receivers all night. Tech’s defense offered no resistance. The pass rush? What pass rush? It’s remarkable to lose this badly coming off a bye week. Losing to SMU isn’t alarming. That’s a solid program every year. The Mustangs can score on anyone. The alarming part is that’s how you look coming off a bye? We can crush defensive coordinator Brent Pry and his players, and deservedly so. Ty Howle’s offense didn’t light it up either. There were issues there all night. Some questionable playcalling. When Franklin promised to fix things after the game, you know he was embarrassed about the loss. He was even more embarrassed that this was how his team looked after a much-needed week off. Has Brent Pry ever seen an RPO? Better yet, has Pry or any of his players even seen an RPO? Kevin Jennings completed 24 passes and it felt like everyone came off an RPO. The Hokies had no answer for SMU’s RPOs. Didn’t they see it on tape? Whether the Mustangs needed a play on third down or second-and-long, it didn’t matter; they ran an RPO and succeeded. It’s like watching your favorite team, knowing the opponent is going to run and you can do nothing to stop it. That’s how it felt watching the Hokies on Friday night. Everyone knew what was coming; there were no surprises, and Tech’s defense couldn’t adjust. You can bet Virginia Tech’s final three opponents will study that film intently. Jeff Overton shines again The Hokies’ offensive line struggled again to open holes in the running game and protect Ethan Grunkemeyer. But freshman running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. had himself another big day. Overton was VT’s offense, carrying the ball 13 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Overton is a star. It would be amazing to see what he could accomplish if the offensive line could run block consistently. Sure, some of that is due to injury, but regardless, it’s simply not good enough. As for Overton, with three games remaining, he has 762 rushing yards, 6 rushing touchdowns and averages 6 yards per attempt. He has also caught 27 passes and two touchdowns. Overton has a good chance of surpassing 1,000 yards in a part-time role, sharing the backfield with Marcellous Hawkins. The future is indeed bright. 8-4 still very possible If you had asked most Hokie fans before the season if they would be happy with an 8-4 record in Franklin’s first year, almost all would’ve answered yes. That’s still on the table. The Hokies must win two of their final three games. Now, is it fair to adjust your expectations and ask how Virginia Tech lost to Cal? Is it fair to ask why the Hokies handed Pitt a win? Sure. And it’s also fair to want to reassess after such a thorough butt-kicking. Virginia Tech fans shouldn’t be discouraged about the overall outlook for the future, though. Friday night sucked. But the Hokies remain headed in the right direction.