Another loss to East Carolina shows Virginia Tech D could be in trouble

Shane Carden isn't walking through that door, and Justin Hardy isn't walking through that door. But try telling Virginia Tech that any of that mattered.

Those record-breaking pieces of East Carolina's offense that helped fuel a win over the Hokies in Blacksburg a year ago are long gone and the Pirates had been nowhere near as explosive in 2015, going into Saturday's clash with the Hokies ranked 101st in scoring offense.

East Carolina found a spark in backup quarterback James Summers, beating Virginia Tech again 35-28 Saturday, as the converted wide receiver ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw for 118 yards and another score.

Summers became the first Pirates QB to run for over 100 yards since David Garrard did it in 2000 against Tulane, and added further frustration for a Hokies defense that hasn't lived up to its billing.

Granted, Virginia Tech was without All-American-caliber cornerback Kendall Fuller, who sat out with a pre-existing knee injury, but Bud Foster's D has had its hands full against the run, allowing 213 yards per game (105th).

That comes despite All-ACC preseason picks in end Dadi Nicolas and tackle Luther Maddy, and fellow tackle Ken Ekanem. That front has struggled, going without a sack through the first four games and that has led to four of the Hokies' top seven tacklers coming from outside of their front seven.

Against a Pirates team that averaged 86.3 ypg on the ground, Virginia Tech allowed 182.

None of this is to take anything away from East Carolina, which has won five straight against the ACC, and despite a slow start figures to be a tough out in the AAC. For the Hokies, though, it signals an especially tough road ahead in the pursuit of a Coastal Division crown.

They would seem to get a reprieve next week against Pitt, a team that is running for 169 per -- that ranks 41 spots higher than the 125th-ranked Pirates' ground game -- but in five of the next seven games will face the ACC's top five rushing attacks in Georgia Tech (Nov. 12), NC State (Oct. 9), Boston College (Oct. 31), North Carolina (Nov. 21) and Duke (Oct. 24).

A year ago, when the Pirates left Blacksburg with a 28-21 win, it was the start of a slide in which the then-No. 17 Hokies dropped five of their next seven en route to a 6-6 regular season.

Losing to East Carolina again only underscored the biggest defensive deficiency for this year's team. Now, they'll have to stop that defeat from leading to a similar free fall.

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney