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Game Preview
In the past 6 years, the Miami-Virginia Tech game has produced the very best and the very worst emotional swings that the team and the fans have witnessed. In the 2006 version, the game is rife with psychological overtones, so the team who manages their emotions the best will win. First, let's take a look back:
2000 – Miami 41-21 – Michael Vick’s one missed game that season showed the heart of back-up QB Dave Meyer, but he fell short. Had Vick played, the Hokies would have been playing in back-to-back national title games. This one hurt, but it wasn’t a shocker.
2001- Miami 26-24 – This game was BY FAR the closest any team game to beating Miami that year they won the national championship. Yes the drop by Ernest Wilford on the two-point conversion was like a knife in my heart, but in retrospect, that was one of the best “Hokie” performances of all-time. And while that point is debatable, what isn’t debatable is that Grant Noel had the worst big-game performance by a quarterback of all-time (Grant Noel, 4-16, 71 yards with 4 INT’s and a fumble) and the defense and the special teams nearly overcame that performance. The crowd was in it to the end, and it was just a day filled with mixed emotions.
2002- Miami 56-45 – Brutal lack of defense by both teams, but the Hokies wouldn’t give up, coming back time and time again before finally losing to Willis McGahee’s 6 TD performance. It just sucked losing this game, but Miami was the better team.
2003- Virginia Tech 31-7 – One of the highlights in Hokie history, they beat 2nd ranked Miami on Saturday night in Lane Stadium the week after being embarrassed in a Thursday night loss to West Virginia. This was another overall team performance and it’s a shame the team couldn’t build on this win later in the year as it splintered into factions and fell apart at the end of the season.
2004 – Virginia Tech 16-10 – This win in the Orange Bowl for the Hokies clinched the ACC Championship for the team the first year they were in the league. It was even sweeter to do it on Miami’s turf. This is probably as happy after a win as I have ever been (VT beating Syracuse 62-0 for Michael Vick’s coming out party and victory over West Virginia the weekend the Blonde and I got engaged down in Blacksburg are the other candidates).
2005 – Miami 27-7 – Interesting that the happiest-after-a-win-high of 2004 would be followed by the most-shocked-and-devastated-low of last season. Miami came into town and crushed the 3rd ranked Hokies’ dreams of a national title. VT got beat up in every phase of the game and Marcus Vick showed the country that no, he definitely was different from his brother. His turnover-fest was a main culprit behind the loss.
And so, the stage is set for 2006. The talent on both teams is evident and very comparable. Again, I could go into matchups but in this contest it’s all about the mind game.
Let’s look at Virginia Tech first. They find themselves in almost the identical position to Clemson last Thursday night. They are coming off of a huge emotional win in front of their home crowd and have to go on the road against a tough, talented and psychologically wounded opponent. Can the team get down to business or will they get sucked into all of the trash talking that always happens when you play Miami.
Offensively, this is the one game where I think Sean Glennon has an edge over Ike Whitaker early on in the game. Glennon is not a trash talker, he’s a mature kid and I can see him keeping the offense on an even keel. If he can avoid making mistakes he will set a very good tone for the rest of the offense at the critical early stages. Branden Ore talks some and he could get pulled into some sort of “discussion” that would lead to personal fouls.
On the defensive side of the ball, I am worried. Both Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall at linebacker jabber a lot at their opponents. Write it down, there will be some pushing and shoving after the whistle by these two, with some Miami players but hopefully not enough to get flagged. Brandon Flowers is from Florida and he says he knows some of the Hurricanes so you know he is going to get sucked into some jawing back and forth. The defense HAS to remain disciplined in their play. They must continue to trust each other and build from their performance against Clemson. If their emotions get too out of check they will commit stupid penalties that can cost them dearly against Miami. I am nervous about the defense staying focused, and I think the critical thing for Bud Foster to do is to curtail any extracurricular activities he sees by immediately pulling the player involved for a snap or two.
Now let’s take a peek inside the basket-case that is Miami football. They are a team on the verge of anarchy. It’s got to be difficult for the players to play for someone that they probably view as a lame-duck coach on his way out at the end of the season. The team is hurt and frustrated knowing they can’t win the ACC this year and all of the fallout from the on-field brawl with FIU earlier in the season hasn’t completely blown over. Based on this, I believe this game will be decided in the early going. If the Hurricanes come out and get a lead and start feeling confident, they can get Virginia Tech involved in verbal contests and distract the Hokies from playing up to their capabilities. Yes, Miami got out to a 10-0 lead on Georgia Tech, but that was on the road and now the only thing they have left to play for is pride and their crowd. Don’t forget that this is still Miami in terms of player ability. These players can fly and break big plays all over the field. However, if Tech can score first, I think Miami falls apart.
Virginia Tech isn’t mathematically eliminated from the ACC Championship, but Georgia Tech would have to lose two more games for the Hokies to have a chance. So the motivation for the Hokies is going to be based around building on what they did last week. Playing as a team and winning games becomes a habit that can carry over for these players for next season. And who knows, Georgia Tech is the type of team that can lose two of their next three games no matter who the opponent is.
Either way, I expect to see a big dose of Kenny Lewis (Elan Lewis didn’t make the trip) at RB and Ike Whitaker at QB later in this game so that they get much-needed big game experience in preparation for 2007. That will tell me if the coaching staff has their heads on right and has this team focused on winning the “right way” as Coach Beamer calls it while still preparing the entire team for next year. The players can’t be thinking about 2007 at all, but the coaches better be.
GO HOKIES!!!!
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