Grunkemeyer’s career day leads Virginia Tech to 44-21 victory over Old Dominion

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Virginia Tech to a 44-21 victory over Old Dominion on Saturday.

Grunkemeyer set career highs for yards, completions (31) and attempts (42) for the Hokies (2-0), who finished with 416 yards in registering a second consecutive easy win over an in-state foe to start the season. Virginia Tech, which beat VMI 73-3 in the season opener, is now 2-0 for the first time since 2021.

“We talk about the most important stats in football – turnovers, explosive plays, third- and fourth-down conversions, sacks, starting field position and penalties,” Virginia Tech coach James Franklin said. “We won all those. Usually when you do that, good things happen. A lot of cool stuff to build on, and a lot of cool stuff to learn from.”

Virginia Tech scored on its first five possessions to open the game and all but put the game out of reach when Grunkemeyer threw touchdown passes of 10 and 16 yards to tight end Luke Jackson in span of less than two minutes midway through the second quarter. Those two scores gave the Hokies a 31-3 lead.

Reynolds also enjoyed a career game for the Hokies, setting career highs in receptions (8), yards (108), and touchdowns (2).

“I think the combination of Grunk (Grunkemeyer), Q (Que’Sean Brown, who had seven catches), and Luke is problematic,” Franklin said. “When you’ve got a tight end on one side and a slot reliever on the other, that’s difficult for a defense to stop. When you’ve got one guy, there’s ways schematically to take that guy out, but when you’ve got a guy on either side of the formation, that’s challenging.”

Old Dominion (1-1) struggled for most of the game against Virginia Tech’s defense, which sacked Monarchs’ quarterback Quinn Henicle seven times. Henicle led the Monarchs with 187 yards passing and a touchdown and scored late in the game on a 76-yard run.

“I don’t think anyone in our whole organization performed the way we needed to perform in that first half,” Old Dominion coach Ricky Rahne said. “We obviously put ourselves behind the eight-ball. … I know we’re a better football team than that. I think we showed that in the second half, but obviously it’s a 60-minute game and we put ourselves way, way, way too far behind in order to come back against a well-coached team.”

Takeaways

Old Dominion: The Monarchs, picked to finish second in the Sun Belt’s East Division, were competitive in the second half against the Hokies, but started the game terribly. They trailed 34-6 at halftime, only had 109 yards, and lost three fumbles. The rough beginning prevented them from winning in Blacksburg for the second consecutive season.

Virginia Tech: James Franklin’s rebuilding job in Blacksburg is off to a solid start, with an offense that has registered 117 points and 1,125 yards and a defense that has registered 12 sacks and 32 tackles for a loss in the first two games. But after playing two softies at home, the Hokies will find stiffer competition on the horizon, starting with a road game at Maryland on Saturday.

Grunkemeyer just shy of school record

Grunkemeyer’s 31 completions were tied for the third most in school history. He was three short of tying the school record of 34 held by Don Strock, who set the mark in 1972.

“Statistically, when your quarterback throws that many completions, that’s a good thing,” Franklin said. “Not only that, decision making. Didn’t turn the ball over. That’s a positive, too.”

Up next

Old Dominion: Hosts East Carolina on Saturday.

Virginia Tech: Plays at Maryland on Saturday.

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