Penalties and self-inflicted mistakes meant that Brent Pry's injury-ridden squad once again fell just short of evening its record to .500 as the Marshall Thundering Herd took down the Hokies 24-17.

Participate in our postgame commiseration thread • Watch the Virginia Tech-Marshall game highlights • Photos from Virginia Tech's loss at Marshall • See Hokies individual stats • Hokies snap counts and grades from PFF

Not a HokieHaven.com subscriber? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community. Already INSIDE? Join the conversation on The Gobbler!

Headed into Saturday afternoon it was all-but guaranteed that the Hokies' starting quarterback would be former Baylor Bear Kyron Drones, following former Herd QB Grant Wells's sustained injury in the Hokies 24-17 loss against Purdue two weeks prior.

Drones did snatch the number one spot and his first drive was as smooth as anyone could have wished for as he dominated the Herd with 50 of the Hokies' 75 opening yards to his name, as he cruised to the endzone on a 31-yard dash.

Things only got better for the Hokies as Herd QB Cam Fancher lobbed a ball straight into the sprawling arms of linebacker Keli Lawson. Leaving the Hokies with just 48 yards away from the paydirt. However, after missing a golden fourth and three opportunity, The Hokies could not further their lead.

Marshall added their first of 24 at the beginning of the second quarter, with a Cam Fancher 12-yard ball that found DeMarcus Harris who was sitting in a pocket left open by the Hokies secondary.

Bhayshul Tuten was able to respond by himself as a 49-yard run from the NC A&T product brought Tech to the Marshall five. Yet, Drones and Co. could not muster enough to push the ball into the endzone, and John Love was forced to chip shot a 21-yard field goal that reclaimed a Hokie 10-7 lead leaving just under 12 minutes for the Herd to respond before heading into the break.

Rasheen Ali who had previously been shut down by the Hokies, was able to assert a dominant drive as he tallied 71 yards alone as a 56-yard touchdown sprint left the trailing Hokie defenders in the dust.

Cracks began to show for the Hokies as a Drones muffed ball gifted Marshall great field position as they sat at the Hokie 45, just seconds after erupting Joan C. Edwards Stadium with that Ali touchdown. Marshall kicker Rece Verhoff then nailed a 21-yard field goal, that only pushed the Hokies further out of reach as they faced a seven-point deficit, with Charles Huff's side primed to receive the second-half kick, as the Herd lead 17-10.

Both offenses sputtered out of the gates to begin the third, as just eight yards were compiled over five plays for either side.

Ali Rasheen though once again gashed the Hokies for a 61-yard run which would set up his second touchdown of the day which in turn meant the Hokies were faced with an improbable 14-point comeback necessary to make it out of Huntington with a victory, With just under half of the third left.

Much like we have seen a lot through the early segments of the season, from the Hokies complementary football was not up for show Saturday afternoon, as between the Hokies two touchdowns sat a whopping 10 drives. And when that second of the two touchdowns did arrive, it was too little too late. While a well-engineered 65-yard drive gave the Hokies life as the fourth quarter winded down. They were then forced to have to make a stop in order to keep their hopes alive. Fortunately, they were awarded that stop and Virginia Tech was granted about three full minutes to take this game into overtime.

Three solid Drones throws advanced the Hokies to the Marshall 32, and with two yards and three plays to get there, Hokie fans were gathering a once-lost hope. To kill the game though came another Hokie penalty (more on the penalties in a second) that forced what looked like a manageable fourth and two, to a long fourth and six. Drones's ball could not find the hands of slanted Jaylin Lane as Josh Moten's swat iced the afternoon affair and granted Marshall their third win on the year.

Now back to the aforementioned penalties, with everything going on in the early stretch of Tech's campaign, a under the radar presence was the Hokies penalties. And there is good reason it was forgotten, while Pry's squad was often dismantled by their own wrongdoing last fall, this year it looked like a squad reimagined in that sense. That image was torn to shreds today though. Virginia Tech committed three false starts on the day, with six more sprinkled during the day's action.

A tough pill to swallow as coach Pry has lost his sixth one-possession game in his 15 total outings as Hokie head. Up next is the Pittsburgh Panthers at Worsham field for the Hokies, as they continue to try and find a way to right there ever present wrongs.

----

Chat about this story and all things Hokies and Hokie recruiting on our premium message board, The Gobbler!

Follow on Twitter: @Hokie_Haven @sullivti @realtbannerman @connormardian10

Like us on Facebook, support the site by following our YouTube channel and Instagram account @Hokie_Haven.

Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail publisher Tim Sullivan here.

Not a HokieHaven.com subscriber? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.

---