Instant Takeaways From Virginia Tech's 25-20 Loss to Cal

Virginia Tech took a 20–19 lead with 1:15 left Saturday in Berkeley. It lasted about a minute. Cal went 75 yards for the winning touchdown, and the Hokies lost 25–20, falling to 4–2 and 1–2 in the ACC.

Cal did it without quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and running back Adam Mohammed, against a Tech team that opened as a 10.5-point favorite. Total yardage was nearly even, 403 for Cal and 401 for Tech.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

1. John Love couldn't shake off last week's miss

Love’s 36-yard try as time expired against Pitt went wide left. Eight days later, he missed twice more, both wide left: from 55 yards in the first quarter and from 39 yards early in the fourth with Tech ahead 14–13.

Before the Pitt kick, Love had made all six of his attempts this season. He’s missed three straight since.

The second one Saturday, hurt most. Tech had fourth-and-1 at the Cal 17 and kept its offense on the field until a false start pushed it back five yards. Love came on, missed, and Cal drove 78 yards the other way to take its first lead.

Tech lost by five. Its last snap came from the Cal 7 with three seconds left, needing a touchdown. Games don’t replay that cleanly, but make either kick, and that snap is a short field goal to win.

Love is a fifth-year kicker with a career long of 60 yards. He’s earned patience. But Tech’s last two losses have both run through his kicks.

2. Tech's defense couldn't get off the field when it counted

Cal had 27 yards on its first 13 plays. It had 376 on its next 56. Jackson Brousseau, in for Sagapolutele, finished 29-of-43 for 321 yards and a touchdown without an interception. He did it against a defense that came in allowing 187 passing yards a game.

The fourth quarter was the problem. Cal was 3-for-11 on third down through three quarters and 5-for-5 in the fourth. Tech sacked Brousseau on Cal’s third snap of the game and didn’t get him again.

Then came the flags. On the winning drive, Kaleb Spencer was called for roughing the passer and Cam Chadwick Jr. for pass interference on back-to-back snaps. That’s 30 free yards. Ian Strong caught a 31-yarder to the Tech 2 on the next play, and Ashten Emory took a direct snap in from there.

Tech ranked 23rd nationally in total defense. It just gave up 403 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to a backup quarterback.

3. The offense showed up for one quarter

Ethan Grunkemeyer was 9-of-11 for 139 yards in the fourth quarter. He led a go-ahead touchdown drive that took 2:45, then got Tech from its own 40 to the Cal 7 in the final 15 seconds. He finished 21-of-31 for 288 yards and didn’t turn it over, a week after he had a hand in all four Tech giveaways against Pitt.

That’s the good part. Tech didn’t score in the third quarter, went 4-for-11 on third down, and scored on two of four red-zone trips. Grunkemeyer was sacked three times, and two more sacks were wiped out by penalties. Twenty points is a season low for an offense that came in averaging 41.2.

Cal helped, too. The Golden Bears were flagged 10 times for 99 yards, and two facemask calls gave Tech 25 yards on its second touchdown drive.

Tech has lost two straight by a combined seven points. Both ended with the Hokies inside the opponent’s 20 as the clock ran out. Georgia Tech visits Lane Stadium on Oct. 17, with a trip to Clemson a week later. A team that was one kick from 5–0 eight days ago gets there at 4–2 and under .500 in the ACC.

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