Amid Hokies’ frustration with blowout, Fuente still defends play-caller
PITTSBURGH — Fresh off yet another performance that saw his offense fail in short-yardage situations, and his defense struggle to stop an opponent from picking it apart, Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente flat-out bristled after his team’s 47-14 loss at Pittsburgh.
He had a lot to process, and very little of it was encouraging, but Fuente is nothing if not loyal.
After 13 years of working on the same coaching staffs with offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen, who has been persistently criticized by
Tech fans more during the team’s current three-game skid than at any other time in Fuente’s five-year tenure in Blacksburg, Fuente was defensive Saturday night when he was asked if he’d pondered taking over play-calling duties from Cornelsen.
“That’s the most ludicrous crap
I’ve ever heard,” Fuente said. “Next question.”
Yes, the suggestion was forward and, in fairness, it was posed in the heat of the moment after Tech’s second straight horrific result at Heinz Field, including a 52-22 loss in 2018. Still, it might have offered Fuente food for thought.
Fuente had just finished watching his team’s failures to convert in two of three situations when it faced third-and-1 or third-and-2, once when it was looking at fourth-and-2 and again when it had fourth-and-4. Tech (4-5, 4-4 ACC) tried running the ball four times in the five plays, including twice with Hooker, who also gained just 3 yards on a thirdand-6 run.
As if those issues weren’t enough to trouble Fuente, his offense also couldn’t get in the end zone on three chances from the 1-yard line. Tech turned the ball over on downs after three straight failed running plays, including two by Hooker — the last run coming on fourth-and-goal.
“On fourth-and-1, that’s a play we’ve been running for four years, and it’s been pretty good for us,” said Fuente, whose team posted 434 yards, but was just 3 of 11 converting on third downs and failed to convert on all three of its fourth downs. “I mean, it worked pretty good every time we’ve run it through the history of time for us, and then (Saturday night), we got stuffed. Yeah, I mean, I guess it would be easy to sit here and say you should have called something else. You’ve got a whole category or whole log of that play in crucial situations being successful. It’s pretty hard to go away from it.”
After Tech was stonewalled at the 1 — a satisfying result for Pitt players who were on the roster in 2017 when Tech beat Pitt 20-14 in Blacksburg with help from a goalline stand in the final seconds — the Panthers (5-4, 4-4) answered with a 99-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Kenny Pickett, who passed for 404 yards, capped the drive with a 64-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DJ Turner, putting Pitt up 33-14 with 8:43 left in the third quarter and essentially sealing Tech’s fate.
Pitt, which was without 16 players, including three starters on the offensive line, because of coronavirus quarantining, finished with 556 yards and scored the game’s final 31 points. As painful as those numbers had to be for Fuente to swallow, his team’s offensive struggles have to be equally troubling.
“Do we expect to play and win?” Fuente said. “Yes, absolutely. I mean, the notion it’s something terrible, wrong or whatever is just ridiculous. I don’t think anybody has any concept what these kids’ lives are like every single day trying to handle this (pandemic and football season). Does that mean we should still play better? Sure, absolutely.”
Tech has been successful
getting pressure on quarterbacks with three- and four-man rushes, and it’s also liberally used blitzes to its advantage, amassing 30 sacks entering the weekend — tied for third in the nation.
Against Pitt’s battered offensive line, Tech’s blitz wasn’t nearly as effective. Pickett wasn’t sacked in the first half, and Tech gave Pitt’s receivers big cushions, resulting in Pickett completing 24 of 40 passes for 259 yards in the half. He was only sacked twice for the game.
How open were Pitt’s receivers? Ask Turner. He had 15 catches — the most against Tech since at least the start of the 1987 season — for 184 yards and a touchdown to bolster Pitt’s passing attack. The absences of cornerbacks Jermaine Waller and Dorian Strong, both of whomhave been part-time starters, didn’t help Tech’s secondary.
With No. 4 Clemson and suddenly .500 Virginia still on the schedule, Tech is in serious danger of finishing with a losing record in the regular season for the first time since 1992.
The current three-game losing streak has dropped Tech under .500 (15-17) in the last three seasons against Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
Normally measured and rather vanilla with his postgame comments, Hooker couldn’t help but reveal his honest thoughts when asked how he felt regarding fans griping about Tech’s struggles.
“If they’re real fans, then they’ll be on our side win, lose or draw,” said Hooker, who was without left tackle Christian Darrisaw for the entire game and receiver Tré Turner (three catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns) in the second half because of an injury. “So, whoever is doubting us, then they’re not true fans, and kick rocks.”
Norm Wood, nwood@dailypress.com