Virginia Tech Football Supplanted by Miami In 34-17 Whistle-to-Whistle Victory

Virginia Tech finishes its home campaign 2-5 in 2025, ending its Lane slate with a loss to Miami.

Nov 22, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies cornerback Thomas Williams (23) breaks a pass up that is intended for Miami (FL) Hurricanes tight end Alex Bauman (87) during the second quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

On Saturday, the Virginia Tech Hokies fielded Lane Stadium for the final time in 2025 against the No.14 Miami Hurricanes. Miami commanded the game start to finish, defeating Tech 34-17.

HOKIE STONE READY. pic.twitter.com/SeEGyi1LIQ

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) November 22, 2025

With the Hokies (3-8, 2-5 ACC) winning the coin toss and choosing to defer, it was the sixth-year redshirt-senior Carson Beck possessing the chance to drive the Hurricanes (9-2, 5-2 ACC) downfield for an opening drive statement. And that, he did.

Beck completed all four of his passes on the first march downfield for 62 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown completion to his 6-foot-3 tight end Elija Lofton before five minutes of clock had elapsed.

As such, Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones, in his final start in Lane Stadium, now had to command his team back from a deficit, a tough task against one of the ACC's best defenses, as Miami allowed the fewest rushing yards (818 entering the contest) in the conference.

"Well, I think we play physically. I think we play on edges. I think we create some problems for guys," Montgomery said.

Marcellous Hawkins kick-started the rushing attack for the offense with an opening-play 33-yard rush down to the Hurricanes' 28-yard line.

"We take a lot of pride in that [running the ball] and that's the strength of our team," Montgomery said.

Tech would even overcome a first-down holding call that forced a long first-and-20 mere seconds after the field-flipping rush. However, the Hurricanes' defensive front seven in the box took over, fforcing the Hokies to settle for a John Love field goal that put them on the board, 7-3.

With Tech emphasizing the run, the Hurricanes unleashed their balanced spread offense against the Hokies, with Beck leading the charge. Miami got standout freshman wide receiver, Malachi Toney, more action with the ball on this drive as well, an early sign of his impact,

Of the six passes Beck completed on his second drive, five of which were to Toney for 46 yards. The only pass Beck didn't find Toney on was his second touchdown of the contest, instead looking for his junior tailback Mark Fletcher Jr., allowing him to trot three yards into the end zone, bringing Miami ahead, 14-3.

"When you go against a guy with that much experience that has played in the SEC, played in the ACC, he's seen a lot of football," Hokies safety Tyson Flowers said of Beck. "When you go against those guys, you have to make sure you're all on the same page as a defense; he's going to know what coverage it is."

With the Hokies unable to stop the Hurricanes' offense again, their offense needed to survive against the red-hot Miami squad. A few chunk plays from the backfield got Tech back within deep Hurricane territory, yet a gutsy fourth-down attempt left the Hokies stranded as Beck took back over on the field.

As if Toney's first-half presence on the receiving end wasn't enough, he completed a 15-yard pass on this drive to Keelan Marion before Miami's drive ultimately fizzled out when a first-down pass from Beck was broken up by Thomas Williams, his first incompletion. The fourth-down desire was not the same for the Hurricanes, so Carter Davis only extended the lead, 17-3.

Davis would sneak one final field goal in the first half, after getting the ball back. Miami, up 14, could have gone into halftime confident, yet the 1:40 on the clock was too enticing for Beck, who unleashed on the first play for a 56-yard connection to Toney, putting the Hurricanes in position to take the 20-3 lead to the break.

Freshman Jeffrey Overton, who only accumulated three carries for 12 yards in the first half, saw more playing time in the second half. He took his first carry of the third quarter for a mere three yards, getting an extra 15 tacked on with a facemask penalty. One play and a shifty juke later, Overton was off 38 yards for the Hokies' first touchdown and his first career collegiate touchdown.

"It was a well-called play," Overton said. "It was just a perfectly executed play, with me hitting the hole and the lineman blocking good, [it was] just getting to the open space and scoring."

The dominance of Beck continued into the second half, only becoming more comfortable in the pocket. He responded to Tech's touchdown with his own 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, where he completed passes to five unique targets, keeping the Hokies' defense scrambling to cover the whole field.

"They got a lot of weapons," Montgomery said. "So, our guys, I thought, did a really nice job of continuing to try to get guys on the ground, try to limit some of the explosive plays. They've been explosive all year. I don't think that's any different."

In 60 minutes of battle that produced 577 yards of total offense, an unlikely, near-13-minute defensive battle spewed into the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

With the deficit staying at 17 points, the Hokies' defense forced Dylan Joyce, the Hurricanes' punter, onto the field for his only two times on back-to-back drives. With seven minutes left after the second punt, the game was not totally out of reach; the biggest problem: Drones staring down 92 yards of green grass ahead of him.

A nifty sideline grab by Ayden Greene brought the Hokies 39 yards downfield before Drones faced the brunt of a few heavy hits on consecutive plays, forcing the offense to turn to William 'Pop' Watson at the helm, to the amusement of the Hokie faithful.

For coming off the bench against a defense like Miami, Watson made two serendipitous plays to open his short-lived end of the contest. First, unleashing Greene downfield for his second 39-yard reception in a row. Then, Watson powered his way into the endzone, celebrating so hard that he earned himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Pop Watson’s first pass attempt of the year https://t.co/U6x5ZKFZ0O pic.twitter.com/ji7E9EIrMG

— Kolby Crawford (@kolby_crawford) November 22, 2025

"I thought Pop came in and made a couple of good throws," Montgomery said. "Made a good run in there. Did some nice things. And so, Pop's been working all year. We all have faith in Pop and what he can bring to the table."

The Hokies even went as far as nabbing the onside kick following the late touchdown. The stout Hurricanes defense forced itself onto Watson in the backfield, with Akheem Mesidor swiping down Watson's arm for the fumble.

One last touchdown pass from Beck, this time to Toney from 20 yards out, extended Miami's lead to 34-17 with just 20 seconds left. This completion propelled Toney to a new career-high 146 receiving yards.

"Proud of our football team. It was a battle today. We played a good football team," Montgomery said. "That being said, I don't think the score is really reflective of the game itself."

Tech's done with playing in Lane Stadium in 2025, but the Commonwealth isn't done with the Hokies yet. On Saturday, November 29, Tech will end its season on the road in Charlottesville for the Commonwealth Clash against the Virginia Cavaliers. The start time and TV channel is yet to be announcement.