No. 19 Virginia Tech Hokies had its second win of the 2021 football season on Saturday after taking on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg.
The Hokies (2-0) beat the Blue Raiders, 35-14, playing host to Middle Tennessee for its first-ever meeting in school history.
At the start of the game, the Hokies didn’t waste time with Virginia Tech QB Braxton Burmeister completing a left pass to Tayvion Robinson for 6 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
During the second quarter, Connor Blumrick rushed the middle for two yards, earning the team yet another touchdown.
“I do feel like when we got up 14-0, there was a little lull there not only because they scored but it was just a little relaxation,” said head coach Justin Fuente. “But we went and recaptured that in the second half and took care of business.”
But the Blue Raiders weren’t going out without a fight. In the second quarter, Bailey Hockman passed to CJ Windham for 5 yards, scoring the team’s first touchdown.
Nevertheless, the Hokies led the game at halftime with 14-7.
In the third and fourth quarters, we saw touchdowns from both Virginia Tech players Jalen Holston and Raheem Blackshear.
“Second half though I felt like when we were spreading the ball out to different receivers, like it gave the defense different looks so they didn’t know how to adjust to it,” said Hokies wide receiver Tre Turner.
Virginia Tech had a big game on the ground racking up over 200 yards while the Blue Raiders were held to just 66 rushing yards.
“I think we did a good job defending the run,” said Hokies defensive back Nasir Peoples. “As always, I believe, you have to start with stopping the run and that’s what we tried to do this time.
“Basically, we just have to execute what we executed all week in practice,” said Hokies defensive tackle Jordan Williams. “There’s definitely that confidence out there. We know what we have to do now we just have to go out there and get it done.”
With just seconds left in the fourth quarter, Chase Cunningham completed a right pass to Marquel Tinsley for six yards getting the Blue Raiders its second touchdown.
This game marks the second one in the 2021 season, with the Virginia Tech Hokies beating the No. 10 Tarheels, 17-10, last week.
Now, the Hokies will play in West Virginia on Saturday.