Hokies comfortable on Thursday night
Virginia Tech heads into the home stretch of its schedule with a Thursday night home game against Georgia Tech.
If that sounds familiar, it should. The Hokies and Yellow Jackets are tied for the most Thursday night appearances among FBS teams with 32.
Virginia Tech is 23-9 on Thursday night, including 6-0 against Georgia Tech. The most recent meeting came on Nov. 12, 2015, when the Hokies won 23-21 in Atlanta in Frank Beamer’s final season as Virginia Tech’s head coach.
Both teams are coming off a bye. Georgia Tech (3-4, 1-3 ACC) lost to Duke 28-14 in its most recent game.
The Hokies (4-2, 3-0 ACC) lead the Coastal Division and will need quarterback Ryan Willis to play well in the final five games to hold that position. Willis, who stepped in for an injured Josh Jackson, has made three starts and has completed 81 of 140 passes (57.9 percent) for 1,057 yards, with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
“I think the biggest things is, and some of you who have been with me through a couple of quarterback competitions have heard me say this before, it’s about expected outcomes,” coach Justin Fuente said of expectations for Willis, a junior transfer from Kansas.
“It’s not always about the completion, it’s not always about the touchdown, it’s about when the play is called, did we deliver the ball to the person that the ball should be delivered to? Did we get an expected outcome? Did we make the average play, the mundane play on a consistent basis?
“You don’t have to be Joe Montana and Tom Brady all rolled into one; just can we go do those things and be consistent? The reason Josh was the starter was because he could do those things more consistently than anybody else we had and Ryan’s challenge now is to do that.
“We know he can make some plays down the field, he can run, he’s got a big arm, but can he make those average plays on a consistent basis?”
Willis looked good in his last performance, as the Hokies won 22-19 at North Carolina. He completed 20 of 36 passes and had 309 total yards, including a 33-yard rushing touchdown. He threw for 309 yards in a loss to Notre Dame earlier this month.
“I love this game,” Willis said this week.
“I get excited every opportunity I have to play. I need to calm down a little so it doesn’t cloud up my judgment on the field. Never too high, never too low. I need that happy medium.”
