Saturday, November 19, 2011

3 Key Plays - VT vs. North Carolina

1) At the 2:28 mark of the first quarter, things were looking TERRIBLE for the Hokies. Trailing 7-0, they saw the Tarheels taking a snap on first and goal from the 5 yard line. UNC RB Ryan Houston got the carry, Luther Maddy grabbed his legs and Antone Exum playing from the rover spot for the first time this season, came in high and hit Houston. The ball popped out and Derrick Hopkins fell on it, causing a GINORMOUS swing in momentum which carried the Hokies on the best drive they've had all season - a 95 yard TD drive to tie up the game 7-7. Basically it was a 14 point swing on the fumble and transformed the game.

2) WIth 4:49 left in the 2nd quarter, UNC RB Giovani Bernard took the carry off the left side and ran 11 yards for a first down. It gave him 10 carries for 45 yards at that point and he was badly hurting the Hokies throughout the first half. But this time there was unintentional helmet-to-helmet contact on the play and Bernard left the game with a concussion. The UNC offense would go dormant until the 4th quarter, not scoring a point until there were 7 minutes left in the game.

3) This play is the very definition of the 3 Key Plays segment. One of those plays that you just don't realize at the time how huge it is. With 12:10 left in the game, the Hokies were ahead 24-7, but UNC was driving. The Heels had 2nd and 9 from the Hokie 13 yard line. Kyle Fuller came off the right side on a blitz and popped UNC QB Bryn Renner for a 7 yard loss on the play. The subsequent play on 3rd down was incomplete and UNC kicker Thomas Moore came in to try and 37 yard FG. It fell 2 yards short. If Kyle Fuller doesn't get that sack, the FG would have been long enough. And what was the final margin of victory for Virginia Tech? 3 points. It could very well have been a game-winning sack and it came with 12 minutes left in the game.

1 comment:

TrumpetplayerAB said...

Looks like you were wrong about a couple things again. Lol! Good post, though. Anxious to hear your perspective of the BooVgAy game.