Three Biggest Takeaways From Virginia Tech's 34-24 Win Against Georgia Tech

The Hokies move to 2-2 in conference play following the win.

Virginia Tech Athletics

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech football pulled out the 34-24 win to snap a two-game losing streak and bring them back to a .500 record in conference play. An encouraging effort from the Hokies consisted of two forced turnovers — the first time since ODU in Week 2 — a stellar performance from quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and a monstrous game from senior receiver Que'Sean Brown.

After leading 24-3 at halftime, Virginia Tech quickly gave up two touchdowns in the first three minutes of the second half, and Georgia Tech had the ball down by seven. But a three-and-out stalled the Yellow Jackets' drive, and the Hokies followed with a Jeffrey Overton Jr. catch-and-run 26-yard touchdown to give them a comfortable lead from there.

Here are my three takeaways immediately following the win:

No. 1: WR Que'Sean Brown produced a career performance.

Brown had a career-best performance in the win, representing 73% of the team's total 250 receiving yards. Brown put up an impressive line of six catches, 182 yards and a touchdown. He added 57 punt-return yards, including a long of 63. That 182-yard receiving effort marks Brown's career high, just slightly edging his previous best of 178 yards while at Duke in 2025.

Brown's 251 all-purpose yards rank eighth in Virginia Tech program history since at least 1987. Perhaps the most impressive feat of Brown's performance is that he did nearly all of it in the first half. He only amassed one catch for two yards in the final two quarters.

No. 2: The offensive line's inexperience showed.

The Hokies have had a long list of injuries on the offensive line through the midway point of the season and today they started an offensive line (left-to-right) consisting of Layth Ghannam, Michael Troutman III, Kyle Altuner, Gavin Crawford and Aidan Lynch. Guards Troutman III and Crawford came into today's game with three total starts, All three starts were from Troutman III earlier this season.

Against a Georgia Tech defense that came into today's contest averaging 1.20 sacks per game (No. 16 in ACC, No. 117 nationally), the Hokies' offensive line allowed five sacks of quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer for a loss of 40 yards. The run blocking also served as an issue; Virginia Tech had just 4.0 yards per carry on 40 rush attempts.

No. 3: The defense was a mixed bag.

Virginia Tech's defense managed to force two turnovers (one interception, one fumble recovery) in the win. The Hokies' defense had not forced a turnover since Week 2 over Old Dominion, and the interception marked the first pick since the season opener against VMI.

The pass rush and rushing defense looked as good as it has all season, with five tackles for loss, three sacks and four forced fumbles. Virginia Tech's defensive front held the Yellow Jackets' running room to 4.4 yards per carry.

The secondary seemed marginally better than in previous games, though there are still numerous questions surrounding the position group. Safety Quentin Reddish had two defensive pass interference calls accessed to him in the first half, though he intercepted a pass across the middle shortly after.

The Hokies' secondary allowed junior quarterback Alberto Mendoza to throw for a career-high 335 yards and two touchdowns — a non-ideal note, but not consequential since Virginia Tech's offense produced enough in the first half to even its conference record at .500.