ATLANTA 鈥 There were plenty of reasons for Virginia Tech to have an opportunistic outlook about the upcoming season following Sunday鈥檚 performance against No. 13 South Carolina.
The Hokies鈥 defense didn鈥檛 bend much against LaNorris Sellers and the Gamecocks. John Love was automatic kicking field goals. And Tech entered the fourth quarter trailing by two points.
Except, there were no pats on the back, according to Hokies coach Brent Pry. No atta-boys or way to hang tough against a top-15 opponent. The feeling was one of a lost opportunity after a stout defensive effort was not enough in a 24-11 setback in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Vicari Swain weaved his way through tacklers and scored on an 80-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just hungry to be a good team and we know Virginia Tech, the legacy that Virginia Tech has, so no one was happy in the locker room,鈥 defensive tackle Kemari Copeland said. 鈥淣o one wanted the pat on the back. We have to come in and work. We have a great team. I just feel like we have to go to the drawing board and get better and that鈥檚 it.鈥
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The loss harkened back to the Hokies鈥 glory years when these types of games usually ended in victories. The defense might start slow but quickly transformed into a fortress with the right adjustments and play calls making opposing quarterbacks question pre-snap looks and hesitant to make throws. And the offense did just enough to make that effort hold up.
The offense didn鈥檛 hold up its end of the deal Sunday. The Hokies (0-1) finished with more yards of total offense than the Gamecocks (336 to 328) but did not find the end zone in two red zone trips.
鈥淒isappointed in the outcome and there鈥檚 no pats on the back,鈥 Pry said. 鈥淭oo many self-inflicts errors, untimely penalties, drops, dropped balls at the same time. Not good enough in the red zone. You got to have touchdowns down there,鈥
Tech salvaged one red zone trip with a Love field goal. The first trip resulted in Kyron Drones鈥 first interception of the game. (Though, that interception led to the Hokies recording a safety two plays later.)
South Carolina linebacker Fred Johnson (center) is tackled by Virginia Tech wide receiver Ayden Greene after making an interception in the end zone in the first quarter of Sunday鈥檚 game in Atlanta.
鈥淛ust self-inflicted wounds. We鈥檙e shooting ourselves in the foot.鈥 Drones said. 鈥溾 We were moving the ball up and down the field the whole game and you can鈥檛 do that. You can鈥檛 shoot yourselves in the foot against a good opponent like that. We got to be better and next week we will be.鈥
The Gamecocks (1-0) made it difficult for Drones and the Tech offense to muster much after crossing midfield.
Drones completed 1 of 13 passes for 9 yards and two interceptions and was sacked once on 14 dropbacks in South Carolina territory.
He was 14 of 22 for 212 yards with one sack on dropbacks in Tech territory.
It marked Drones鈥 first multi-interception game in a Tech uniform.
鈥淗onestly the throw in the red zone I was really disappointed. That stuff that he鈥檚 moved past, I haven鈥檛 seen that necessarily in camp. We can鈥檛 make that play,鈥 Pry said of Drones鈥 interception in the end zone. 鈥淲e need those points down there. We got to be smarter than that. We had three drops out there that we got to have. I thought there was a couple down the stretch in the fourth quarter that need to be on the money right there. He鈥檚 got a chance to keep the chains going and make that thing a one-score game again and we were misfiring there but we鈥檒l look at the film.
鈥淗e鈥檒l own it more than anybody but he did some good things with his feet. He made some nice throws. I thought he showed poise. First game back, certainly something we can grow from.鈥
Virginia Tech wide receiver Isaiah Spencer (bottom) makes a contested catch against South Carolina defensive back Damarcus Leach during the second half of Sunday鈥檚 game in Atlanta.
That鈥檚 not to say there weren鈥檛 spectacular plays made by the offense. Marcellous Hawkins totaled 58 rushing yards on 15 carries. Ayden and Donavon Greene and Isaiah Spencer each had highlight-reel catches that moved the Hokies into South Carolina territory.
Those types of plays didn鈥檛 happen when the Gamecocks were backed against the wall.
鈥淥ur defense definitely came out and played good, put us in situations that we could have capitalized on,鈥 Donavon Greene said, 鈥渂ut obviously, like we said before, we had some self-inflicted mistakes that we got to clean up.鈥
Virginia Tech wide receiver Donavon Greene (front) makes a catch in front of South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse during Sunday鈥檚 game in Atlanta.
Tech鈥檚 defense allowed South Carolina to march 75 yards in five plays on the game鈥檚 initial drive and take a 7-0 lead on Sellers鈥 15-yard touchdown run.
The Gamecocks didn鈥檛 score a second offensive touchdown until the midway point of the fourth quarter.
Plus notes on the Hokies' defensive line depth, John Love's big kicks and domed stadiums in Atlanta not being kind to Virginia Tech quarterbacks.
South Carolina averaged 3.9 yards per play on its eight drives that did not end with a touchdown.
Part of the stingy defensive play was limiting what Sellers did in both the passing and running games. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 25 yards and a score on 13 carries. He also was sacked four times and had one fumble.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we did a good job. I think we got to do more,鈥 Copeland said when asked to assess the defense鈥檚 performance in caging Sellers. 鈥淲e, in the first two quarters, I would say we did good there, but the score was too high. I think we have to be more as a D-line. We鈥檒l go and watch the film and see what we got to do.鈥
The Hokies鈥 defense did its part. The offense showed it had opportunities to move the ball down the field.
The pats on the back will come when Tech is able to get both working at the same time.
