Thursday, November 19, 2009

Senior Day - Hokies take on NC State

NC State needs two wins to become bowl eligible and it's not looking good. The Wolfpack have to travel to Virginia Tech and then face North Carolina at home.

Meanwhile, the Hokies are looking to pick up the pieces and build on its two consecutive wins. The Hokies are one of two teams that come into this season with a five straight ten-win season streak -- So. Cal. is the other -- and both are in danger of ending those streaks this year.

As for the game, in both the previous ACC meetings between the two teams, the winner has won by a combined five points. In 2004, the Hokies lost 17-16 at home in a shocker. The Hokies would go on and win the ACC. In 2005, the Hokies won in Raleigh by a score of 20-16 in the season opener.

This Saturday is Senior Day, and as the seniors take Worsham Field for the last time, they'll want to go out with the bang. The matchups are all in the Hokies favor. Offensively NC State may be averaging better in total yards, but the Hokies are dominant on the ground. Thanks mostly to the work of Ryan Williams. Williams has 1235 yards rushing on the year.

NC State sophomore quarterback, Russell Wilson, returns to his home state for his first game in his native Virginia with NC State. Wilson has had a mixed year with 26 touchdowns but 10 interceptions. He's also been sacked 23 times. Expect the Hokie defense to send tremendous pressure to knock him off his game early.

On defense, the Wolfpack are giving up an average of almost 31 points. Last week, Clemson was able to manhandle them 43-23. Duke and Boston College both were able to pummel them as well, scoring 49 and 52 points respectively.

Offensive success, for the Hokies, will depend on which Bryan Stinespring and which Tyrod Taylor shows up. A consistent run game will be important to set up a successful pass game from Taylor and the receiver corp.

In honor of Senior Day, here are the seniors as they step on to Worsham Field for the last time:

Nekos Brown
Kam Chancellor
Kenny Lewis, Jr. *
Sergio Render
Stephan Virgil
Jeff Beyer
Greg Boone
Brent Bowden
Brandon Dillard
Richard Graham
Cody Grimm
Kenny Jefferson
Cam Martin
Mark Muncey
Dorian Porch
Matt Reidy
Demetrius Taylor
Cordarrow Thompson
Matt Tuttle
Matt Waldron
Ed Wang
Sam Wheeler


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