Grier will go toe-to-toe with Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph (Oct. West Virginia and Virginia Tech may not have the horses to crash the playoff discussion themselves this year, but on Sunday night it became clear that they are almost definitely going to get in the way of a contender that had been en route to the final four. After a few early misfires, Grier finally locked in with speedy junior Gary Jennings and began to gash the Virginia Tech secondary for big gains-Jennings finished with 13 catches, 189 yards and a touchdown of his own to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech’s running back trio of Steven Peoples, Travon McMillian and Deshawn McClease all found room to run, and senior receiver Cam Phillips terrorized the Mountaineers with several big-boy catches downfield on his way to 138 yards and a touchdown. The Heisman Five: Saquon Barkley Tops 2017's Candidates After Week 1 Actionīoth have some enviable weapons around them. Grier rose to the occasion one last time on his final chance to respond, leading the Mountaineers down to the Virginia Tech 15 in the final two minutes with a 14-play, 65-yard drive that he extended with a fourth-down scamper of his own, but his final heaves for the end zone just missed their mark. Midway through the fourth quarter, Jackson set up the go-ahead touchdown with a 46-yard keeper straight up the middle after fooling the defense by pulling the ball out of a jet sweep read play. Jackson, who became the first redshirt freshman QB to start a Virginia Tech season opener since Michael Vick, finished with 256 yards and a touchdown through the air and another 101 yards and a score on the ground Grier went 31-of-53 for 371 yards and three touchdowns (with one interception) and added 52 rushing yards of his own. What started as a testy defensive slugfest turned into a succession of home run swings taken by the two newcomer quarterbacks, as both offenses started stringing together big plays and productive drives. On Sunday night, Will Grier and Josh Jackson answered that question emphatically in the affirmative, as Jackson led the Hokies through four quarters of recurring gut-checks to a 31–24 win over Grier’s Mountaineers at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
The offseason unknown was the same for both sides of the West Virginia–Virginia Tech rivalry, renewed this season for the first time since 2005: Could the newcomer under center settle in fast enough to lead an offense effective enough to back up a preseason top 25 ranking?