For the second time in four years, Virginia Tech lost on the road to Old Dominion, falling 20-17 on Friday night.
Old Dominion fans took to the field to celebrate their second win over a Power 5 team. The first came in 2018 in a 49-35 win against the Hokies.
This was not the way first-year Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry wanted to start his season. The Hokies had five turnovers that led to 17 Old Dominion points. The decisive one came with 2:58 left in the game. Leading 17-13, quarterback Grant Wells threw the interception that set up the game-winning score, a 1-yard touchdown from Blake Watson with 33 seconds left.
The Hokies also committed 15 penalties for 121 yards. Wells started the first game for Virginia Tech, throwing four interceptions and going 21-of-36 for 197 yards.
“They wanted to make plays, they wanted to play hard, but I think they were definitely pressured and stupid,” Pry said. “You want to make people find it, and we haven’t done that.”
Added linebacker Dax Holyfield: “It’s a shame. It’s a shame.”
Playing road games against teams of 5 has not worked out particularly well for ACC teams that finish on the schedule. With this loss, the league now has 20 road losses against 5 teams in the College Football Playoff era.
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1⃣-0⃣#State pic.twitter.com/OE5mRznZb6
— ODU Football (@ODUFootball) September 3, 2022
The game was a slog from the start as both offenses couldn’t find much of a rhythm. Old Dominion led 10-7 at halftime. Then the start of the second half was delayed 15 minutes because members of the Virginia Tech coaching staff were stuck in an elevator between floors. In the end, the coaches were able to get off the elevator, but had to run up the six flights of stairs to the coaches’ box.
It could be a good example of what happened in the second half. But it won’t be the last time the schools meet. They are currently scheduled to play each year through 2031, with four of those games being played at Old Dominion.
