BLACKSBURG, Va. – After the loss to Vanderbilt last Saturday, the Hokies are optimistic in righting their wrongs. “You either win or you learn,” said tight end Benji Gosnell. “That was the message Saturday into Sunday. Set the corrections, correct what we need to correct, make sure we never come out like that again, play all four quarters, and then move on, because you have to have a short memory.”
The Hokies are now turning their attention to Marshall, a team they lost to last year in Huntington. This time, both teams bring some new elements to the table. As Marshall head coach Charles Huff noted, “I know from a fan perspective and the human eye perspective, ‘Oh yeah, same team, a year apart.’ The way college football is now, it’s totally different. I would beg to differ when they say it’s the same because I bet you Virginia Tech is looking at us and is saying, ‘Well, that ain’t the same team.’”
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Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry and his team have been preparing for Marshall’s quarterback system, which is still being fine-tuned. “We broke down both quarterbacks,” said Pry. “We looked at their film, they both played a couple games at their prior institution, we looked at those. We looked at what they did in their game against Stony Brook, it was a little bit different with each guy, but there were similarities as well.”
The Hokies are also bracing for a physical contest on the defensive side of the ball. Benji Gosnell highlighted the aggressive nature of Marshall’s defense: “The thing that stands out, they’re very aggressive, their defensive line play is aggressive, if the tackle is going away, they love to get in the hip pocket and be really aggressive.”
Despite the challenges, the Hokies are committed to maintaining their resilience, even if they find themselves in a tough spot as they did last weekend. Coach Pry praised the team’s fight: “It’s not easy for a team to battle back, it’s 17-3, to come out to not only tie the game, but take the lead. Obviously we have to finish better, but we were able to do that, and I’m proud of that.”
Virginia Tech and Marshall kick off at 4:30 p.m. in Lane Stadium.