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Notre Dame football: Kyren Williams should run wild against Virginia Tech

By Daniel Morrison

BLACKSBURG, VA - NOVEMBER 23: Linebacker Dax Hollifield #4 of the Virginia Tech Hokies is surrounded by teammates as he celebrates the victory against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Lane Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images)
BLACKSBURG, VA - NOVEMBER 23: Linebacker Dax Hollifield #4 of the Virginia Tech Hokies is surrounded by teammates as he celebrates the victory against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Lane Stadium on November 23, 2019 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – NOVEMBER 29: Head coach Justin Fuente of the Virginia Tech Hokies watches his team warm up before the start of a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – NOVEMBER 29: Head coach Justin Fuente of the Virginia Tech Hokies watches his team warm up before the start of a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: Kyren Williams should run wild against Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech in 2020

2020 hit Virginia Tech hard. Several opt outs, a long list of cancellations and postponements, plus outbreaks of COVID-19 made it hard for the Hokies to get any momentum going. Still, at 4-2 halfway through the season, Virginia Tech had a ton of potential.

Then they crashed.

Virginia Tech beat Liberty, blocking what would be a game-winning kick and returning it for a touchdown. Kicking was an odd move, as it was out of the Liberty kicker’s range. There was just one issue. Justin Fuente and Virginia Tech called a timeout.

Hugh Freeze and Liberty thought about it some more and went for it on fourth down. Virginia Tech played extreme prevent defense, despite the game being tied and Liberty already in Hokies’ territory. They gave Liberty ten yards. The Flames took it, sent out the kicking team, and won.

It was as bad as a coach could possibly manage that last ten seconds of a game. An absolute disaster that both sent Virginia Tech spiraling and raised even more questions about Fuente’s job security.

Including the Liberty game, the Hokies would lose four straight games. Fans were in an uproar, even if three of those losses were to ranked teams. Blowout losses to Pitt and Clemson made it clear they were just trying to get through the season.

In the end, a surprise win over rival Virginia, and to an extent the aesthetic of paying a buyout in the pandemic, is probably what saved Fuente’s job. Still, 5-6 is just not good enough in Blacksburg, especially since they have consistently been beaten down by better opponents.

If it feels surprising that Fuente still has a job, that’s because it is to an extent. The program that Frank Beamer built has fallen off over the course of Fuente’s time there. Though, until 2020 he hadn’t had a losing season, he had only won 10 games in his first season, when he inherited Beamer’s roster.

Missing a bowl game in 2020 marked the first time Virginia Tech didn’t go bowling since 1992. Add in reported cultural issues in the program, and the writing is on the wall that something is seriously wrong in the program.

Still, like a pulsating headache, Fuente just won’t go away for a Virginia Tech team that has potential but can’t put anything together.

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