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Published Nov 4, 2023
Hokies pounded by Guerendo, Louisville
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Tim Sullivan  •  HokieHaven
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Throughout a stretch of three wins in four games, the one thing Virginia Tech was able to do was control gamestate.

That plays to the advantage of a team that has improved over the course of the season, but still possesses deep flaws. Virginia Tech can't protect well or execute in the midrange passing game, and has difficulty stopping the run on the other side of the ball.

Louisville marched down the field on its opening drive, and repeated the feat on a second drive. With the Hokies' three-and-out and first-down-and-out sequence on offense, it was the Cards that controlled the gamestate, and they rode that advantage to a 35-3 victory in Derby City.

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Louisville's opening drive saw seven carries for star running back Jawhar Jordan, including the one-yard plunge to open the scoring. He would get just seven more carries through the entirety of the game as the Cards wanted to keep the workload down for their talisman, who was a game-time decision to even see action. Those 14 carries went for 57 yards, but it was Jordan's backup, Isaac Guerendo, who proved to be the star of the show.

The fifth-year senior Wisconsin transfer carried just 11 times, but gained 146 yards, including touchdowns of 39, 12, and 36 yards. He had a 60-yarder called back for a penalty, or it could have been an even more explosive statistical day.

Meanwhile, the Hokies benefitted from a missed Louisville field goal and one of their own on the final drive of the second quarter - with the first half featuring just three Card drives and four for VT - to go into the half down just 14-3, despite a 213-72 disadvantage in total yardage. An offensive pass interference call and a bogged-down approach in the red zone prevented it from getting within a single score, even.

That was as close as the Orange and Maroon would get, though. After forcing a stop on the 'Ville's opening drive of the third quarter, thanks to a Cole Nelson sack, the offense could muster nothing, and Louisville went on to score back-to-back TDs that effectively ended the game.

Kyron Drones passed for just 69 yards and was sacked four times, and while he ran seven times for 46 yards, he netted just six on the ground. Running back Bhayshul Tuten ran for 57 yards on 5.2 per carry, and the offense as a whole put up just 140 total yards. The fourth quarter did see the return of injured QB Grant Wells, who was the starter to begin the season but has been out since an injury suffered late in week two's loss to Purdue.

With the loss, Virginia Tech's hopes of a berth in the ACC title game are all-but dashed (two more Louisville losses, an undefeated Hokies finish, and an improbable combination of tiebreaker scenarios would have to break in their favor), and at 4-5, earning two more wins against Boston College, NC State, and Virginia two close the regular season with bowl eligibility is the goal. Next Saturday's trip to Boston will kick at noon on the ACC Network.

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