Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech's 27-7 Loss To UVA

Josh Poslusny breaks down three takeaways from Virginia Tech's blowout Commonwealth Clash loss.

Nov 29, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones (1) passes the ball under pressure form Virginia Cavaliers defensive end Mitchell Melton (17) in the third quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech's gruesome season finally comes to a close as they lose their second Commonwealth Clash in the last 20 years to UVA. UVA dominated from start to finish, and Virginia Tech just narrowly held onto their scoring streak that has survived for over 30 years.

There's some good and some bad from this game. Let's get into some takeaways.

Jeff Overton is the future in Blacksburg.

Despite his ranking on 247 Sports, Jeff Overton was widely considered one of the nation's top high school running backs last year. I considered him to be a top 50 player in the country, even. He has shown why I and many others shared that idea in the last few weeks.

UVA's run defense was stout, especially down the stretch, where the Hokies were unable to move the football. Jeff Overton seemed like the only person who could consistently carry the ball successfully.

Overton led the team in carries with 11 total, going for 53 yards at 4.8 yards per carry, building on a strong performance against Miami a week ago. The season now, Overton had 25 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown.

He missed a bulk of the season due to injury, but has burst onto the scene in the last few weeks. While Hawkins is another great back, Overton showed a lot as a true freshman. To me, he's got the early nod for RB1 next season.

Virginia Tech passing struggles continue

Nov 29, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones (1) passes the ball from his own end zone against the Virginia Cavaliers in the third quarter at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Kyron Drones threw the ball just 16 times and completed four of them, a sour end to his college career. Up until the last 5 or so minutes, Drones has just 21 yards on three completions. His stat line doesn't look *as terrible* due to a 57-yard touchdown pass caught by Snook Peterkin - just his second career catch.

James Franklin will need to put together a mass overhaul of the passing game next year. I expect 2-3 new receivers and an almost entirely new offensive line. Quarterback in TBD, some fans love Pop Watson, but I think that he may look in a different direction, at least to create competition.

This season is not the fault of Kyron Drones; there wasn't much that he could do given the weapons that he had and the offensive line around him. Philip Montgomery's offensive system is also far from a fit for him.

This game felt mailed in

Early on, Virginia Tech seemed to have life with a will and want to win this football game. After the first quarter, it seemed like all of that went away, and the same sentiment is shared by the fanbase.

A lot of fans have called for Interim Head Coach Phillip Montgomery. Why didn't he give Pop Watson a chance? Why was he keeping Takye Heath on the field after a lot of drops? I don't think this was at fault, I think the players ran out of gas. They had been playing with the mindset of making this into as good a situation as it could be for two months, but that can run out when the team continues to face adverse situations one after the other, including a 0-4 run in the month of November.

This season was rough, and the game felt like everybody had mailed it in, but I don't agree with the idea that Monty was to blame for it. He kept a sinking ship from capsizing for two months, and there is only so much damage control that can be done.