Hendon Hooker dominates Boston College in his first start of 2020 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Quarterback Hendon Hooker got his first start of 2020 and made up for lost time with an incredible performance leading Virginia Tech to a 40-14 win over Boston College on Saturday. The Hokies improve to 3-1 on the season with the win to keep pace in the ACC.
The good: Hendon Hooker
Hooker missed the first two games of the season due to COVID issues and an unspecified illness. He came on in relief of Braxton Burmeister last week against North Carolina and showed the kind of gamechanger he can be for the offense on Saturday against Boston College.
For the game, Hooker threw for 111 yards, rushed for 164 and scored four total touchdowns. He had only one single incompletion in the first half and four for the game.
There should be no doubt going forward who the starter under center should be.
The bad: The pass defense
The Hokies may have held Boston College to 14 points, but they were gashed through the air. The Eagles threw for 345 yards for the game. Yes, some of that was due to the fact that they were losing by a wide margin in the second half, but the Eagles wracked up 84 just in the first quarter. The saving grace for the Hokies defensively was the turnovers.
Virginia Tech forced five turnovers on Saturday including three fumble recoveries. The Hokies managed only five fumble recoveries for the entire 2019 season. Two fumbles in the first quarter really changed the trajectory of this game.
The crazy: Virginia Tech's rush offense
Hooker was a one-man show, but he wasn't the only one with a big game on the ground. Khalil Herbert rushed for 143 yards on 18 carries. This marks the first time since 2010 that the Hokies had two 100-yard rushers in one game. Who were the two players in 2010? Tyrod Taylor and Darren Evans.
When your rush attack is on the same level of the Taylor, Evans days, then you are having a pretty special game.
