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The stands nearly empty well before the game’s conclusion. A visiting team having its way on both sides of the ball. No energy coming from the home sideline.

Sure, it’s happened from time to time over the years. It’s natural to trip up every once in a while and deliver a dud.

But what took place Saturday night was the last thing Brent Pry and Virginia Tech needed. An opportunity for a marquee win didn’t just slip through the Hokies’ grasp. It was emphatically snatched away, and there was no chance to grab it back.

The Commodores’ 44-20 shellacking of the Hokies featured an outright dominating performance by the visitors after halftime. Tech never had an answer, and it has led to national college football writers and even oddsmakers in Las Vegas speculating if Pry is on the hot seat and set to remain in charge of the program for much longer.

What does the Hokies coach think about the speculation?

“I’m not,� Pry said when asked if he’s paying attention to the chatter of him being on the hot seat. “I tell the players to ignore the noise, and I learned that a long time ago. It’s not the first time that we’ve been in a situation like this.

“The expectations here are to win. I get that. That’s why I wanted to be here,� he added. “I’m not happy with where we’re at right now, not from a win standpoint, but I like this team, and we’ll regroup and there’s a lot of season left and I’m still excited about what we can do.�

The Hokies are at 0-2 for only the third time since 1995. The previous two instances of losing consecutive games to open a season (1995 and 2010) ended with a share of the Big East title in 1995 and the ACC title in 2010.

Does this season’s team — one that opened the season with so much promise in a loss to then-No. 13 South Carolina — have the recipe to duplicate those previous performances?

“Absolutely. I like this team,� Pry said. “I don’t like how we played in the second half, but I like this team. There’s a lot of season left. The beauty of it is you wake up and have six days to play the next one. And you’ve got to fix things, you’ve got to get a plan together, and this is a good group of kids. They’ll stick together, they’ll wake up and they’ll own it, and they’ll look to be a better team come Saturday.�

Pry’s message after the 24-point loss to the Commodores (2-0) was to drown out the outside noise that is naturally going to flood in over the course of the week.

There were high hopes for the Hokies to help the ACC notch a marquee win against an SEC program Saturday night. League commissioner Jim Phillips was on hand and even filmed the team’s entrance onto the field with his phone, but it ended up being another loss for the ACC against another power conference foe.

“We can’t drink the Kool-Aid,� defensive tackle Immanuel Hickman said. “Everybody’s going to tell us how bad we are. Last week, everybody was telling us how good the defense was and how bad the offense was. We can’t respond to it. … It’s critical this week. We can’t pay attention to it.�

Why is Pry’s seat presumably hot so early in his fourth season?

The Hokies, now 16-23 under his watch, weren’t able to replicate the first half over the following 30 minutes Saturday.

The offense that methodically moved the ball throughout the first half lost rhythm. A defense that showed so much promise in the season opener and for most of the opening 30 minutes was exploited on every drive.

“It just goes back to being disciplined,� safety Quentin Reddish said. “… Everybody saw flashes of what Virginia Tech can be in the first half. If we put together four quarters, I feel like we’ll like the results.�

The Hokies led 20-10 at halftime thanks to an offense that showed promise with quarterback Kyron Drones leading the way, and a defense that was making stops.

Drones was key to the first-half success by accounting for 182 yards of total offense in the opening 30 minutes. He threw for 113 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 69 yards and a score.

“We came out fighting hard, we swung hard, we were doing all the right things in the first half, but we did not carry it over in the second half,� tight end Ja’Ricous Hairston said. “We got a bit complacent, and it ended up screwing us over a bit.�

The complacency led to the good vibes quickly deteriorating after halftime.

The Commodores scored on five straight possessions to open the half. Tech’s five second-half drives ended with three punts, a turnover on downs and a lost fumble.

Vanderbilt gained 307 yards of offense in the second half. Tech had 21 yards.

“We’ve got to find that team that we trotted out there for the first half. That’s who we need to be,� Pry said. “The team that battled down in Atlanta for four quarters, it’s there. As coaches and players, we’ve got to make the corrections from the second half. There’s just way too much season left. Stick together, make sure you look at this tape before you come over here tomorrow.

“It’s a gut-check for everybody.�

Tech needs to find the team that had chances to seize control over the first three quarters against South Carolina and the one that showed up in the first half against Vanderbilt.

The alternative is a coach’s seat that inevitably will get warmer by the week.

“Go back to what we know, come in with the necessary mentality every single day to work, to get better,� Hickman said of what it will take to turn the season around. “You can’t be the guy that’s not doing your job. You can’t be the guy that’s not going out there competing. You can’t be the guy that’s messing up. I can’t be that guy.

“So everybody has to come in with the necessary mentality to realize that we’re not living up to the Virginia Tech standard. Point blank. Period. Virginia Tech has won a lot of games, they have a lot of success, we have a lot of people who have succeeded from here. We’re not living up to the standard right now, and we must get that fixed, ASAP.�