The Hokies scored 21 points in the third quarter at NC State. How do they bottle that up and do it again? (Ivan Morozov)[/caption]
In the third quarter at then-No. 24 NC State on Thursday
Most of the yardage (204 of 251 yards) came through the air, which is the second-most passing yards all-time for Tech in a quarter. It fell 29 yards shy of the fourth quarter effort (233 yards) at Syracuse in Nov. 2002, led by Bryan Randall. The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Famer completed 23-of-35 passes for 504 yards and five scores in the Carrier Dome in the 50-42 double overtime loss.
Up to that night in Raleigh, the most points scored in a quarter this year for Tech against a FBS opponent was 14. That came in the fourth quarter vs. Miami on Oct. 15. So when the Hokies lit up the scoreboard in Carter-Finley Stadium, it was a fun experience.
Left guard Jesse Hanson called it "adrenaline-pumping." Wide receiver Stephen Gosnell said they just came out fast and kept the Wolfpack on their toes.
"We needed this all year," tight end Drake De Iuliis said on Wednesday. "It was the spark that we had. Everybody was engaged, no matter where they were on the sidelines. The energy was unbelievable."
Outside of that 15-minute span, however, the Hokies struggled. They combined for just 42 yards in the other 45 minutes.
1st quarter: 35 yards
2nd quarter: 11 yards
3rd quarter: 251 yards
4th quarter: -4 yards
That came less than two weeks after a frustrating performance against the Hurricanes where Virginia Tech put up fewer yards in the first three quarters than the fourth. Both touchdowns came in the final 15 minutes.
1st Q: 70 yards
2nd Q: 36 yards
3rd Q: 12 yards
4th Q: 139 yards
"I think anybody that was doubting it, anybody that had questions, it’s an inspiration," De Iuliis said of the third quarter in Raleigh. "You watch that one quarter of football, and we can be as good as we want to be. We have to put a whole game together, obviously, but we keep that, we watch that, our motivation’s going to be there."
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Grant Wells only completed 5-of-12 passes in the third quarter, but they were for 204 yards. (Ivan Morozov)
The Hokies ran 21 plays - nine rushing, 12 passing - in that quarter. Quarterback Grant Wells was only 5-of-12, but his completions went for 10, 23, 36, 50 and 85 yards. The latter two are the program's longest two pass plays of the year, and both were to veteran wide receiver Kaleb Smith.
"We all know what he’s capable of," Gosnell said of Smith. "He’s probably the best deep ball receiver I’ve ever been around, so seeing his success come to fruition has really been exciting. He creates big sparks for us on offense, and definitely we’re going to keep leaning on him."
That opened up some things for the run game that was so limited (50 yards on 26 carries; 1.9 avg) over the course of the evening. On nine rush plays on four separate drives in the quarter, the Hokies picked up 47 yards (5.2 avg). Two of the possessions were capped off by rushing touchdowns from Wells - of four and 20 yards - while five attempts garnered at least five yards.
In 28 quarters vs. FBS opponents, Virginia Tech has averaged 5.0 yards per play both rushing and passing just four times. It's no surprise the third quarter at NC State is at the top of the list.
First quarter at ODU: 5.4 rush, 7.3 pass, 6.3 total
Third quarter at ODU: 5.1 rush, 5.4 pass, 5.2 total
First quarter at Pitt: 5.3 rush, 9.1 pass, 7.4 total
Third quarter at NC State: 5.2 rush, 17.0 pass, 12.0 total
"I think the pace of the way the plays were rolling off," Pry said of what helped them in the explosive quarter in Raleigh. "And we went a little faster click and some misdirection and some two backs and some unbalanced. I think they got a sense right there of what it’s like to get a defense off balance, when you feel like you kind of get them yinging and yanging. That’s what’s fun about it, and that’s why there’s some success."
It's also important to note that the Hokies had their best offensive quarter of the year and their worst offensive quarter of the year back-to-back against the Wolfpack.
Third quarter: 5.2 rush, 17.0 pass, 12.0 total
Fourth quarter: -2.0 rush, 2.0 pass, -0.5 total
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Virginia Tech showed what it's capable of in that explosive 15-minute span. And the Hokies believe that one more dangerous quarter like that could ultimately be the thing that helps them turn the corner.
"I think it’s going to be a domino effect, to be honest with you," De Iuliis said. "I thought that last week was going to be that game. Didn’t go our way, but there’s still so much opportunity for the same thing to happen."