Game Preview - Orange Bowl

After week two's loss James Madison, no college football fan could make a strong case for Virginia Tech's appearance in a BCS bowl. In fact, even some Hokie faithful began to have chills of a bowl ineligible season, but here we are about to watch our Hokies compete against Stanford for the Orange Bowl title. I can't claim to have had full confidence in the Hokies running the table in their ACC schedule, but as frustrated as the loss to JMU made me, I didn't see the Hokies dropping too many more contests. Part of me even had a sense of relief that our worst losses lay behind us. And as we've seen thus far, the recurring theme has been that of a late start, for both many individual games and the season as a whole. Our Hokies have had more than just a few poor first quarter performances followed by playing great football thereafter. This theme and the level of play Virginia Tech football has exhibited has me optimistic about the upcoming contest on January 3. I fully expect the Hokies to keep the opposition fans on edge throughout the night.

Let's take a look at the Hokies' opponent, the Stanford Cardinal. Wake Forest is the only common opponent shared between the two teams this season. Each team slaughtered the Deamon Deacons, doubling their score in each respective game. The Cardinals play in the Pac 10 conference, soon to don the name Pac 12 with newcomer teams. To establish the caliber of the Stanford team, I start with analyzing their conference. Their conference includes the likes of the USC Trojans, Oregon Ducks, and UCLA Bruins. Historically, fans of the Pac 10 have griped of the college football commentary world consistently under-rating their conference, and this claim has some ground on which to stand. For example, in the 2008-09 bowl season, the Pac 10 cleaned up with a 5-0 record. But then in the 2009-10 bowl season, the Pac 10 went 2-5. If you trace back over the inter-conference play, you'll notice that the pendulum swings. This year, the Pac 10 has gone 11-9 in their inter-conference play. Considering their win percentage, they place fourth amongst conferences that had some team in the top 25 sometime this season. The ACC ranks seventh in this way. This year, Oregon is all the rage, earning a number two ranking and some weeks holding the number one spot. Oregon has handed Stanford their only loss. In all comparison, the Pac 10 stacks up as a tougher conference this season than the ACC. By that barometer, Stanford placing second in the conference while losing only to a team headed to the National Championship Game makes them a formidable opponent and the favorite to win on Jan 3.

Let's take a top-down look at the Cardinal. Stanford head Coach Jim Harbaugh took over the team in December of 2006 and has since steadily improved the program to reach their current BCS bowl bid. In his first season as head coach, his squad defeated a number one ranked USC, the favorite by 41 points. This season, Sanford has won most of its games by a definitive margin. Only Arizona State and USC handed them a win margin of less than a touchdown. In each of these games the Cardinal scored their winning points in the fourth quarter, which shows they can finish strong in a close game. Stanford exemplifies the West Coast offense by ranking second the Pac 10 in passing with 3076 yards on the season. They've put up 2532 rushing yards and also ranked second in the conference in that category. The Stanford defense ranks first in the Pac 10 allowing 2404 passing yards, 1515 rushing yards, ~18 points per game, and ~327 yards per game. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, doesn't have numbers quite as good. The Hokies have allowed 2591 yards and 1936 yards in passing and rushing respectively. On offense, the Hokies have generated 2628 and 2716 yards in passing and rushing respectively. And those numbers come from contests within a weaker conference. One caveat: the Hokies' contest against Boise State does make their non-conference schedule notably more challenging.

Now, let's turn to some individual elements within the Cardinal. Heisman candidate and quarterback Andrew Luck finished second to Cam Newton of Auburn for the trophy. Luck has broken the school's season record of touchdown passes with 28. He has completed ~70% of his passes this season, while throwing for 3051 yards. Standing at 6'4" and weighing in at 235 lbs., the Junior quarterback is no picnic to tackle. His offense has allowed only five sacks (of him) on the season. Luck has a lot of depth in his receiver core, but one clearly stands out from the rest. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin has caught for 824 yards and nine touchdowns this season. The Senior receiver will surely give trouble to Virginia Tech's corners. Other receivers, Ryan Whalen, Chris Owusu, Coby Fleener, Stepfan Taylor, and Griff Whalen each have 200+ yards in receiving, so Luck has other options if the Hokies can cover Baldwin. On the ground, Stanford really only has one go-to guy in Stephan Taylor. Taylor has amassed an 1023 yards in rushing this season. Luck himself holds the next most rushing yardage with 438. Anthony Wilkerson, the Freshman second string running back, has 409 yards on the season.

(Side Note--Here are some horrendous Andrew Luck puns from which I restrained myself from using in this post: "With Luck on their side", "When the Hokie defense blitzes, Luck will run out", "a quarterback standing 6'4" gives them all the Luck they need", "If the quarterback gets injured, they will be out of Luck." Well, I guess I didn't really restrain myself if I just used them, but you had fair warning to skip this part!)

On the Hokie injury front, Linebacker Lyndell Gibson injured his shoulder during the ACC championship game against Florida State. He underwent surgery and will take the next 6-8 months to recover. Redshirt fresham Tariq Edwards will take his place. This will add inexperience to the defensive squad that has spent most of this year maturing, and maturing quite well I might add. However, this could add a weak link to the chain, but I can only roughly speculate.

Overall, I think the biggest determining factors will lie in how well the Hokies defend the secondary. Standford's offense hasn't seen a ground defense quite like that of Bud Foster's, and I think they'll stop the Stanford run for the most part. But Stanford has a very deep and experienced receiver core that will probably have a few tricks up its sleeve for the Virginia Tech corners and safeties. Going the other direction, the only running game Stanford has faced that could measure up to that of Virginia Tech is Oregon, who rushed for 388 yards against the Cardinal. One or more of Ryan Williams, Darren Eveans, and David Wilson will in all likelihood make big gains on the ground. As for the Hokies' passing game, the Cardinal have also not faced anything like Tyrod Taylor combined with the Virginia Tech receiving core, with lots of experience of its own. While the Stanford defense without question will have strategized and drilled on how to contain Taylor, planning to do so makes for one thing while actually executing it with success makes for another. Taylor's passing game is not gong to go quietly in his last game in a Virginia Tech jersey.

And that brings me to my next point. Sadly, this game marks the last of Tyrod Taylor playing for the Hokies. Our program has
had the fortune of having some of the most dynamic and fun to watch quarterbacks. Michael Vick dazzled the college football world, Bryan Randall exceeded all expectations, and now Tyrod Taylor has given us quite a show as well. I remember the first game he took a snap, when he relieved Sean Glennon in the midst of suffering a shellacking against LSU. Through much of the seasons during which he split the spotlight with Glennon, he seemingly had a two-step thought process: (1) look for a pass and (2) when that fails, rush. That thought process has its limits, and while with it he showed athletic ability, it doesn't necessarily make for elite quarterbacking. I roughly place the time at which Taylor made a significant transition around the second quarter of the game against Nebraska of the 2009 season. He began to adopt the thought process of (1a) look for a pass, (1b) scrample to give the receivers time to make an opportunity for a pass, and (2) when those fail, rush. The insertion of step 1b is a big difference maker and has propelled Taylor into the realm of the best quarterback to come through Hokie football, especially considering that he played four years opposed to Vick playing two. And of course its also worth noting the breath of fresh air in a team leader that did not have the off field conduct issues of some of his predecessors. Tyrod Taylor, Hokie football shall miss and always remember you.

The numbers and statistics seem to give Stanford the edge, but I think there's a few other factors that could swing the pendulum in the Hokies' direction. While the Cardinal have made a big stride as a program this season, they have done so at a time when the Pac 10's typical power house, USC, is in the midst of an off season and dealing with the PR fallout from a scandal. USC's play in past seasons has elevated that of the entire conference. So the competition to get to this bowl is probably not as stiff as years past. Also, this will make for Harbaugh's first appearance at a BCS bowl game as a head coach, and it will be opposite BCS bowl veteran Frank Beamer. Stanford has some strong momentum, but the only conference champion they have met handed them a 21 point loss. The Hokies have strong momentum of their own, testament to their ACC dominance after a two-loss season opening. The statistics paint a very good picture for Stanford, but the differentiator doesn't always lie within the numbers. Let's hope that's the case on January 3!

LET'S GO HOKIES!

Game Preview - vs. Miami

On Saturday afternoon, our Virginia Tech Hokies take on the Miami Hurricanes. The Hokies have kept a goose egg in their ACC L-column this year, and they can sew up the Coastal division title with a win. Should Miami come away with the win, they will keep their division title hopes alive. Should they win the rest of their games and the Hokie's dropped in their contest one week later against UVA, the 'Canes would take the division on a head-to-head tiebreaker. I gage the Hurricanes as the Hokies' most difficult opponent since Boise State...IF they have their starting quarterback Jacory Harris.

Thus far, the Hokies have exhibited great resiliency since the abyss in which they found themselves two games into the season, but this contest is far from one they can expect to consider in the bag. While the Hokies have the strongest offense in the ACC by the measure of points per game (35), the 'Canes rank as the second best defense in the conference averaging only 18 points per game allowed. In passing defense they rank number one. Their rushing defense, however, ranks much further down at number eight.

Miami quarterback, "Heart Attack" Jacory Harris leads the 'Canes offense this season, but he suffered a major hit leading to concussion symptoms against UVA on 10/30. He did practice with the team on Tuesday, so remote chance the he'll play does stand. Presuming that (a) he does play and (b) he comes out on the field at the top of his game, Miami has a formidable offense. Harris has put up 1646 yards in passing thus far, and has a completion rate of 53%. Harris brings similar assets as Tyrod Taylor to the field. He can run, throw, and scramble to transform plays shaping up as sacks into rushing gains, albeit he lacks the composure of the experienced college athlete in which Tyalor has grown. But with the right level of momentum and some breaks going his way, Harris could do what it takes to get Miami the W. Miami head coach Randy Shannon said the following to comment on Harris' status. "I know you guys want to keep worrying about who's going to be the starter and all the fans want to know who's going to be the guy. Let the guy get healthy. Let him go through the process instead of trying to force him back into something that can hurt him. ... I hope you all understand this because I've talked about it for about two weeks. Concussions are serious. And a lot of fans, a lot of media and bloggers, you all think it's a deal where you can just line up after one week off and then the next week show up and play. It's not that way. ... All it takes is one hit if we go back too early, and now Jacory is in another world. ... I'm not going to do that. We're going to do it the right way here at Miami. We're going to take him slow.'' A head coach with that attitude is a head coach with class ladies and gentlemen.

Under the expected circumstances of Harris not playing, Stephen Morriss will take the snaps for the Miami offense. In his first game against Virginia, he threw 9 for 22 attempts for 162 yards, but most impressively demonstrated a steep upwards learning curve in orchestrating a 19 point comeback all within the fourth quarter to close the gap. The 'Canes ended up losing that game by 5, but that's almost a victory considering the uphill climb they faced. The next week against Maryland, Morris exhibited signs of rapid improvement. He threw for a 60% completion rate and 286 yards. And against Georgia Tech, he led the 'Canes to a 35-10 victory in comparison to Virginia Tech's 28-21 victory which nearly went into overtime in the final seconds of the game. Considering coming into the season this late as a starter, Morris has shown a lot success. The stats support that. With a 53% completion rate the Freshman stands to give Bud Foster's defense at least some trouble. Don't assume the Miami quarterback situation means that the 'Canes will roll over.

When Miami passing takes to the air, they primarily look to wide receivers Travis Benjamin and Leonard Hankerson. Hankerson leads the ACC with 879 yards of receiving. Benjamin has received for 627 yards thus far on the season. And then LaRon Byrd has accumulated 355 yards. Running back Damien Berry has amassed 763 yards on the season thus far, which exceeds anyone from Virginia Tech's running back core and ranks third across the ACC, and that's having missing a game on the season. The number two running back, Lamar Miller, has accrued 462 yards over eight games.

When it comes to how each of the respective squads match up, I like how the chips fall for the Hokies. The Hokies have the second best rushing offense in the league, only surpassed by Georgia Tech who does nothing but run the ball. The Hokies have a very deep running back core, which has something to do with the fact that their individual stats don't quite compare to the leaders of other teams around college football. Let's be frank. Any of Darren Evans, Ryan Williams, or David Wilson could safely be the number one running back around much of Division I NCAA football, but the depth translates to less carries per game for each player. Side note: Gobbler Country has Wilson listed as probable, presumably recovered from his bout with mononucleosis. But I digress. The 'Canes defense hasn't done well against the run this year, so I like those odds, and I see the ground game as the primary offensive strategy for the Hokies. Switching things around Miami's rushing edges out over their offense, not by a mile, but noticeably. Virginia Tech's passing defense ranks very high and very effective. The Hokie's rushing defense has given up some ground this season, so I fear that Miami has an opportunity if their playcalling gets the better of the Hokie defense's adjustments.

All in all, expect a good game.

GO HOKIES

Game Review - vs. Wake Forest

Saturday, the Virginia Tech Hokies took on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Coming off some disappointing losses, the Deamon Deacon head coach Jim Grobe decided to mix things up by putting some second string players into the starting lineup. He had the goal of shaking things up on his squad to breathe some new life into his team. However, the first half of the game amounted to nothing less than a Hokie explosion offense. In the first half, they got into the endzone on all but one of their possessions. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor consistently made completions to receivers Jarratt Boykin, Danny Coale, and even backup quarterback Logan Thomas. Taylor's passing displayed his ability to scramble and move to find the open man. The defense held the Demon Deacons to three and out for their first two drives. They allowed 14 first half points. If this trend continues, the days of the Hokie slow start may well be behind us for the rest of this season, and good riddance if so!

Jayron Hosley has continued to impress me as a developing player in the last few games. First, he had a 58 yard return to set up the Hokies first touchdown. Several times playing corner back, he made difficult tips to prevent pass completions. He also made multiple single tackles, some even causing Wake Forest for a loss of yards. He did fumble one of his put returns, and it seems that having the dropsies was well spread across the Hokies. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor let one slip out of his hands on a quarterback rush. David Wilson also fumbled on a return, but in each case the Hokies recovered. Against a tougher defense, things may have turned out differently. The defense for the most part kept the Wake Forest offense at bay. Both of the Demon Deacon touchdowns resulted from long rushing plays. The first touchdown happened when the Hokie defensive line left a big hole and the safeties found themselves too far out of position to make the tackle. The second happened from a long run resulting from a missed tackle by defensive end Steven Friday.

The third quarter went fairly quietly with only one Wake Forest touchdown and one Virginia Tech field goal. By the third quarter's end, the Hokies controlled the game by a score of 52-21, and some of the Hokie second string had taken the field.

The fourth quarter went by even quieter as neither team scored a single point. Backup quarterback Logan Thomas began taking snaps. He stands a towering 6'6", and seems to have good poise. Thomas didn't really connect for any big plays during his time on the field, but he did show some ability to move the ball. He made a series of single yard gain rushes and found receivers for modest passing yardage gains. In the end he threw 3 completions in 8 attempts for 22 yards. His rushing amounted to 15 yards across 3 carries. He also successfully threw the ball out of bounds under pressure during several plays thus avoiding risky situations that could have led to turnovers. However, he didn't get Virginia Tech onto the board. Not having the agility and speed of Tyrod Taylor, he didn't avoid some of the pressure resulting from Hokie offensive line collapses, something the Hokies' current starting quarterback consistently displays the ability to do. Given that he hasn't seen much action as a backup this season, we can't be too critical of Thomas. I hope we get the opportunity to see him play a couple more quarters before the season ends.

The offense as a whole played well. They earned a total of 605 yards, went 12 for 17 on third down conversions, completed 63% of their passing, rushed for 291 yards, threw for 314 yards, and held possession for 41:26 of the game. This is a welcome change from games passed, even against an opponent like Wake Forest. The defense played well too, but there are still signs of development needed. Missed tackles, big holes in the defensive line, and out of position safeties allowed for some big gains in Wake Forest rushing. The defensive secondary, however, looked nearly air-tight. They only allow 4 completions on 17 attempts for a total of 92 yards. Special teams had a couple of big plays in punt returns, and given some of the mistakes we've seen by those squads this season, only a few positive surprises in this area is a welcome thing.

While overall this resonates as a good win, the Hokies didn't execute perfectly. The biggest lesson I think they need to take away is that they can't bobble the ball. The fumbles they had didn't result in loss of possession as they recovered all of them. However, should all of those fumbles have resulted in turnovers, we could have been looking at a very different game. Against a Miami and Georgia Tech defense, it's nearly certain that one, two, or even all three of those fumbles would have resulted in a change of possession. Turnovers can be the undoing of otherwise good teams, and the Hokie coaching staff needs to drill that into their players heads for the remainder of this season. That's critical if they want to keep their eye on the ACC championship.

LET"S GO HOKIES

Game Review - vs. North Carolina State

The Virginia Tech Hokies opened their contest against North Carolina State with an ATROCIOUS first quarter. The Hokie defense is young, inexperienced, and learning, so defensive coordinator Bud Foster's squad still has somewhat of an excuse. The offense, however, has no such excuse. It has seasoned veterans that should be carrying their experience from years past, and they made rookie mistakes. Let's run down some of the events. The Wolfpack took the first possession, and as they did they marched down the field 80 yards with seemingly little resistance to gain their first touchdown. The Hokie offense went three and out. NC State quarterback, Russel Wilson, on the subsequent drive put a long ball into the air that his receiver would have caught for a big gain should he have had one more half step on the pursuing Hokies. After third down, NC State punted the football, and the struggling Hokie special teams blew an excellent opportunity for a blocked punt and committed a penalty in the process. As the Hokies took over the ball, on second down, quarterback Tyrod Taylor handed the ball off to David Wilson, who ran the ball for a big 26 yard gain, and just when Hokie fans began to see some rays of light, Wilson fumbled causing a momentary flash of panic. Fortunately Dyrell Roberts fell onto the ball to maintain possession. But later on this same drive, tight end Andre Smith deflected a pass headed right into his hands up into the arms of a Wolfpack player resulting in an interception. On the ensuing drive, NC State quarterback found a wide open Jayron Hosley. With 6:23 left to go in the first, the Hokies already trailed 14 to nil. This may well amount to one of the worst quarters of play in all of Hokie football history, from any relative sense of expectations at least.

Early in the second quarter, things continued to go poorly for Virginia Tech. Defensive tackle Derrick Hopkins found himself right in front up a fumbled football but fell belly first causing it to wiggle away from him for an NC State recovery. The first second quarter Wolfpack drive resulted in a field goal, 17-0. On the offensive side of the ball, Tyrod Taylor's composure looked rattled. A number of his incomplete passes went straight into the dirt. And many of the incompletions thrown straight on target the Hokie receivers dropped. But about midway through the second quarter, the tempo began to shift. The Hokie defense began to make some key stops. Until this point in the game, NC Stage receivers had repeatedly won a series of "jump balls" to come down with big gains in passing yardage. But safety Antone Exum and cornerback Jayron Hosley made several key tips preventing Wolfpack pass receptions. After generating a little offense, the Hokies closed out half by getting themselves onto the board making the score 7-17 with a pass on the run by Taylor and brilliantly caught by tight end Andre Smith, thus more than making up for his earlier deflected interception.

The third quarter looked more promising for the Hokies all of a sudden when David Wilson ran back on the kickoff for a 92 yard touchdown. But another special teams blunder of a missed extra point took the wind out their sails. On the Wolfpack's next possession, they punched another touchdown into the endzone making the score 24-13. But the Hokies had the resolve so as not to go quietly. Darren Evans reminded us of what we missed in the 2009 season due to his injury. He ran 54 yards for a touchdown, and Tyrod Taylor found Danny Coale for a 2 point conversion to compensate for the missed extra point. This put the score at 21-24 in favor the Wolfpack, but the Hokies had the momentum. NC State knew they needed to get onto the board, so they put together a hard fought drive, but the Hokie's maturing defense started playing like a mature defense. They held the Wolfpack to a field goal. The Hokies ended the thrid quarter sitting within striking distance of taking the lead with one possession.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Hokies took their first lead of the day with once again a pass from Taylor to Smith. When NC State took possession, they once again settled for a field goal two thirds the way through the fourth quarter. Their fans were making noise, and their team members were pumped. But you would never have known it from the composure of the Hokies as they took the field after Wilson returned the kickoff to the Virginia Tech 24 yardline. Evans and Taylor exchanged a series of moderate range rushes to keep the Hokies drive going, even though the offensive plays seemed to be breaking down. Then, Taylor found wide receiver Jarratt Boykin at midfield, and he brilliantly ran 39 yards for a touchdown, 28-34 Hokies!. At this point, Hokie head coach Frank Beamer called for a 2 point conversion play. Now, this could make you wonder why, but consider the difference between a 4 point lead and a 6 point lead. With respect to the opposing team needing to get into the paint, nothing differs, but on the off chance that the opposing team DOES score a touchdown, a 6 point lead gives the Hokies a last ditch effort to block the extra point. With 1:27 remaining and all three timeouts left, the Wolfpack didn' t have a second to spare, but the ability to manage the clock. But once again, the Hokie defense put on the pressure and forced an interception. One more Hokie touchdown capped off the final score at 41-30 Hokies.

I'm starting to see a localized pattern in the Hokies' performance this season. By that I mean that in each game, the Hokies play a horrible first quarter in ever respect, but they improve steadily throughout the game. (Of course, we have to not consider the JMU game, though.) First and foremost, the Hokies must correct this. They've got four games under their belts now, and coming out slow because of players don't their heads 100% in the game has to be a thing of past from here onward. Second, I'm wondering if we can apply this localized pattern of game-by-game to the global scope of the entire season. That is to ask (not predict!) whether the Hokies will only improve their season. I hope that the case. More on that may come in a later post.

The defense, though still inexperienced, making mistakes, and developing, show moments of brilliance in their play that indicate good things to come. The offense, however, really has no excuse. They need to start executing consistently like the seasoned verterans they are. All Hokie fans offer considerable and rightful criticism of offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, but a lot of mistakes of today's game really rest squarely on the shoulders of the players. Even Danny Coale, who's hands I've past sworn are coated in glue, dropped some he should have caught today. The special teams mistakes have become somewhat commonplace. The win definitely gives Hokie fans a good feeling coming out of today's college football contests, but that game really should have ended at 41-17, not 41-30. But that's not to say the forward momentum of two wins won't carry our Hokies into greener pastures.

Mad Jay is still mad, EhhTee is still running the stats, and I'm still full of hope. Not too much is different here in TSF Land. Our boys have a lot of season ahead of themselves. Even after their 0-2 start, don't give up on a great finish yet!

LET'S GO HOKIES!

Game Review - vs. East Carolina

Finally!

Hokie fans began to exhale a big sigh of relief when Virginia Tech bean to pull way from the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday afternoon. However, this game falls far short of the execution and level of play needed to take this team to big victories down the road. First, a game summary, and then the analysis.

Game Summary

The ECU pirates sensed a wounded beast in our Hokies after a disappointing loss to Boise State and a demoralizing loss to James Madison University. And with blood in the water of that sort, an energized ECU squad coming off of two big wins had the wind at their backs to hand the Hokies yet another defeat. The underdogs came out swinging and at early points of the game looked capable of delivering a knock out punch.

Comparable to the game against Boise State, against ECU the Virginia Tech defense allowed 17 points in just a little over a quarter of play. During ECU's first two drives of the game, they marched down the field making the Hokie defense appear hapless to stop them from moving the ball. That earned the Pirates a field goal and a touchdown on each drive while having shut down the Hokie offense. Then, Virginia tech responded with a 60 yard drive resulting in a touchdown run into the endzone by Ryan Williams so as not to go quietly through the first quarter.

Upon the opening of the second quarter ECU once again punched in another touchdown off a 7 yard pass from quarterback Dominique Davis to WR Dwayne Harris. On the ensuing VT drive, Tyrod Taylor passed to Jarrett Boykin who caught the ball and subsequently fumbled it only most fortunately such that the Hokies recovered. The play went sloppily for the Hokies, although they ended up with good field position. Ryan Williams left the game early with a hamstring injury. Stumbling their way through the rest of the half, the Hokies put up one more touchdown to close out the half trailing by 3 points.

During the second half, the Hokies took to better form, but before they did Darren Evans fumbled on the Virginia Tech 39 yardline. The defense held the Pirates to a 41 yard field goal on its ensuing drive. The Hokie offense responded with two touchdowns, both on runs by David Wilson.

In the fourth quarter, the Hokies exploded and put on the show that college football fans had expected to see during this weeks game and last weeks game. The defense started getting to the ECU quarterback, opposing drives resulting in punts, and pressure lead to thrown interceptions. Rashad Carmichael's interception lead to a 68 yard run for a touchdown, and Tyrod Taylor completed a touchdown pass of 69 yards to Jarret Boykin. The Hokies ended the day with a 49 to 27 victory.

Analysis

Obviously, every Hokie fan exhaled a big sigh of relief during the fourth quarter when we realized that our boys wouldn't be going down to 0-3 on the season. After already experiencing the worst season opening in decades, fans rallied behind our Hokies in the hopes of salvaging the rest of the season. But despite this win the Hokies play over the past three games raises some very serious concerns, some of them recycled from seasons past, but one in particular that's very new.

Let me start with the newest and most disconcerting. The Hokie defense hasn't been the terror of seasons past against their opponents. They have a lot of new starters on that side of the ball, but that's never really been a big concern in the past because defensive coordinator Bud Foster knows how to whip his troops into shape to make the lean, mean fighting machine we've all come to know as Hokie defense. The defense has allowed 383, 235, and 361 yards respectively in the first three contests of this season. Against top 25 teams, those make for respectable numbers, but considering contests against ECU and JMU, those numbers are disconcerting. The amount of points scored totals 81 thus far this season, another number the Hokies need to improve. They way the BSU and ECU offenses marched themselves down the field in their respective first quarters of play makes an onlooking Hokie fan want to bury his head into his hands and bite his nails. The defense has traditionally been the rock that keeps the Hokies competitive throughout the season, and the need for that isn't going to go away this season. I hope this breaks down to inexperience that Bud Foster is molding into the defense that we're used to watching as a dominating force on the football field. My suspicion is that we'll see growing improvement, so I'm optimistic that we'll see our Hokie defense come to form. I just hope it happens soon enough so that Virginia Tech can persevere through the ACC in-conference schedule.

On the other side of the ball, we've seen some of the same problems on the field. Sorry to keep beating this dead horse as we do here at TSF so often, but it's a fact. The first thing I noticed was the playcalling. There's a lot of aspects the playcalling to criticize, but I want to focus on one in particular. During this game and prior games of the season, the passing game continuously has gone for the "home run" pass, sometimes as a called play and sometimes as the result of a play breaking down. Sometimes it makes sense to pull a long pass to catch a defense off guard or in times of sheer desperation, but I see the Hokie offense going to this too often. Instead they need to focus on more frequently executing the short pass. It plays into controlling the pace of the drive and the clock, which is extremely important in the later minutes of a close game. Also, I'm uncomfortable with the number of times our quarterback has had to rush to escape the danger of a sack. It's great that Tyrod Taylor's foot speed give the Hokie offense that option, but the frequency with which he has to use it worries me. Quarterback rushing may do well against the non-BCS conference teams, and even against most of the teams in the ACC, but it won't win an ACC championship and it certainly won't win a major BCS bowl. Of these broken down scrambling plays, Taylor had nine rushes for 32 yards. Against a more formidable defense, any of those nine plays could have resulted in big losses for the Hokie offense. Given the experience and talent of this Hokie offense, these problems should be in their rear view mirror, but we'll do what we do as fans every season in this regard, hope that it gets better.

The Hokies open their ACC season against Boston College next week. The's a lot of season left to salvage, and a big win against the Eagles could put the season on the right track towards intra-conference success.

LET'S GO HOKIES

Game Preview - vs. East Carolina

(22/24) VS

Virginia Tech Hokies 5-3, 3-1 ACC @ East Carolina Pirates 5-3, 4-1 C-USA

Kickoff: 7:45 pm
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, N.C.
TV: ESPN
Radio: XM 190; Sirius: 213
Series vs. ECU: VT leads, 9-5
Series Streak: ECU, 1

With losses to Georgia Tech and then UNC, the past two games have certainly served up some hard pills for Hokie fans to swallow, but as we come into the home stretch of the regular season, let's hope that our Hokies play with all the same heart as a team marching towards a conference championship. Our boys still have yet to reach bowl eligibility, and finishing strong in the remainder of the regular season increases the chances for a better bowl bid against a formidable opponent.

The rest of the Hokies' season begins today against the East Carolina Pirates. The Pirates upset the Hokies in last year's season opener at Lane Stadium. They gave the Hokies the wakeup call they needed to understand that they'd have to earn the ACC title rather than have it just fall into their laps. This season, the Pirates enter the game with a record of 5-3, same as Virginia Tech. Two of their losses come at the hands of BCS conference opponents West Virginia and the very same North Carolina team who defeated the Hokies last week. ECU plays out of the same conference as Marshall, another Conference USA team on the Hokies' 2009 schedule. Virginia Tech travels to Greeville today to play in an ECU stadium that many expect to fill up with very exited fans who would love to witness an upset against a prestigious team from a BCS conference. The Pirates smell blood in the water because Virginia Tech, who has just taken a mid-season skid, fits that bill very well. Skip Holtz, son of college football commentator Lou Holtz, says, "There is an awful lot of buildup and excitement for this game, venue and atmosphere. I think Greenville will come alive a little bit Thursday. We're really excited to not only play Virginia Tech, but to play the team at home." Expect an ECU team ready to bring their A-game to demonstrate that last year's victory over the Hokies didn't come as a fluke.

East Carolina has demonstrated some strong offense this season, and to no real surprise with 8 returning starters. Quarterback Patrick Pinkey takes the helm as a Senior with plenty of experience dating back to the 2007 season. His numbers have improved since he started playing the position. Haling from Fayetteville, NC, he stands at 6'1" and 205 lbs. He has thrown for 1515 yards, 8 touchdowns, and for a completion percentage of 57%. Dominique Lindsay and Brandon Jackson fill the role of the primary ball carriers for the Pirates. Lindsay has rushed for 570 yards and 3 touchdowns over 99 attempts. The Senior doesn't stand as the largest in the lot of college football running backs at 5'10" weighing 202 lbs, and neither does Jackson also standing at 5'10" and weighing 202 lbs. His numbers fall shy of Lindsay's at 264 yards and 3 touchdowns over 73 attempts. In the area of receiving, Pinkey primarily looks to Junior wide receiver Dwayne Harris. He has made 47 receptions and caught for 521 yards and 3 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Jamar Bryant has caught for 200 yards, 21 receptions, and 2 touchdowns. Standing at 6'1" and 6'2" respectively, neither creates too much of a height problem for the Hokie secondary. Also, the ECU injury report has Bryant listed as doubtful for today's game with a shoulder injury. In total offense, the team places fourth in their home conference, but the vast majority of their yardage gains comes from rushing. Expect Holtz and ECU to rely heavily on the running game, especially with Bryant sidelined.

On the other side of the ball, ECU's defense also has eight returning starters and also ranks fourth in their home conference. Mirroring their offense, they have a much poorer passing defense than running defense. If you'd chose to have one over the other against the Hokies, a better rushing defense makes for a better bet. However, there does lie a very big BUT here. Hokie Quarterback Tyrod Taylor has begun to turn the page this season as a quarterback who can consistently pass for yardage gains. He has demonstrated that in the midst of some tough mid-season losses, not that that the Hokie offense has looked great as a whole for all this time. This contest may make for the perfect opportunity for him to establish some rhythm with his young receiver core and boost one another's confidence. Something does work in ECU's favor in this aspect on the other hand. Their defense has a high number of quarterback hurries at 35 on the season. Now, they have done that primarily against weaker teams than the Hokies, but they have nonetheless demonstrated their ability to do it. 32 of those hurries happened during games they won, so if that starts happening a lot to Taylor, get worried.

Should Virginia Tech drop this game, it would mark their first three game loosing streak since 2003. At the same time, however, this game offers Virginia Tech a chance to get back on the saddle of winning and handing a defeat to a pumped up opponent on their own field. That could set the tone for a strong Hokie finish to their regular season.

Game Review - vs. North Carolina

VS

Just two short games ago, the Hokies held a number 4 ranking in the polls, and they had put together a great streak of wins against some quality opponents. Virginia Tech fans saw only one major contest ahead of them in Georgia Tech. After that, they could hope for smooth sailing until reaching the ACC championship game and with a victory there maybe even an arguable claim to the National Championship Bowl Game. A loss to Georgia Tech put a major setback on this great season, and now a loss to North Carolina has brought the season down to the point of simply striving for bowl eligibility. Hokie fans don't find this late season skid as terribly unfamiliar. I can think back to a number of seasons where the Hokies held a single digit ranking in the late weeks of the season but lost to an opponent over which the pundits had deemed them as favorites to win thus shattering fans' hopes of a major bowl appearance. That has happened this season, and it stings especially much because I think most Hokie fans agree that this season's team in particular does have the potential to play against any of the top 5 ranked teams. But as much pain as it brings, I go on with the review...

Let's recap the offense's performance. Virginia Tech opens the game with two plays gaining 45 yards between a Ryan Williams rush and a reception by Jarrett Boykin. Boykin then fumbles after his reception for a turnover to the Tarheels. Believe it or not, the Hokies made this as their best offensive drive of the quarter. The subsequent two drives would lead to a punt and then a turnover on downs. The second quarter offered more of the same. Virginia Tech went for two three-and-out's and another turnover on downs. All the while, the UNC offense had managed to put a touchdown onto the board. The Hokies went into the locker room scoreless. Over the past few games, we've watched Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring make some big strides with this offense, but his squad failed to make the adjustments needed to get into the endzone. That is absolutely unacceptable for a program aiming for success in the bowl season. I don't want to take away anything from the 'Heel's defense; let's congratulate them on the success. Their defense ranks as second best in the ACC, in points per game, trailing only Clemson. In yards per game, they rank first. The real possibility exists that the Hokie offense hasn't faced a defense this strong since the season opener against Alabama or against Nebraska.

The Hokie defense on the other hand, played a marvelous first half. They forced three consecutive three-and-outs, one of which happened right after the early momentum shifting fumble by Boykin. They only broke down on one drive allowing UNC to march 84 yards down the field for a touchdown.

The Hokie offense in the second half finally started to pick up. After the defense forced another UNC three-and-out, they marched down the field 82 yards to put up a touchdown and even the score. But the very next drive, the 'Heels put on another long sustained drive of their own for 84 yards to take the lead. At that point, we had begun to witness the Virginia Tech defense start to falter. The third worst offense in the ACC had just conducted two 84 yard drives resulting in touchdowns against Virginia Tech. All the while, the Hokies had kept themselves very much in the game. The defense came up big with Rashad Charmichael intercepting UNC quarterback TJ Yates' pass at the UNC 10 yard line, which he ran down to the UNC 5. This set up a quick Hokie touchdown to draw the score to 17-14 in favor of the Hokies. But on a crucial possession the Hokie defense allowed UNC to pile on one more long drive of 78 yards, finishing that off with a field goal. With the score tied, Virginia Tech had a short gap of time to get a late score to win the ball game. The offense turned to the explosive Darren Evans replacement, Ryan Williams, who fumbled the ball in Hokie territory. With only 2:02 left to play, the 'Heels effectively burned the clock down to the final seconds and kicked the winning field goal.

When I look back on this game summary, I think about the major failures of the Hokies. First, and foremost, the offense cannot play an entire half without putting points on the board. Just for sake of morale for the fans and the defense, they have to demonstrate they ability to get within scoring distance and execute. I restrain some of this criticism considering that UNC has one of the best defense's in the ACC, arguably the best depending on which stats you want to emphasize, but I can't restrain it too much due to their strength of schedule. They have not faced opponents such as Miami, Nebraska, and Alabama. The Hokie offense failed to adjust to UNC's pressure, and the successive three-and-out possessions underscore that. The lopsided time of possession, 36:14 to 23:46 in favor of UNC, also underscores that even further, and it translates to how well the defense plays. A defense on the field for that amount of time has to overcome fatigue and exhaustion. Allowing three drives ranging between 78 ad 84 yards to put points on the board means playing well against an offense of Florida, USC, Alabama, or LSU for example, but when the defense allows those kinds of drives by an offense that ranks third worst in the ACC, that means Bud Foster's squad didn't make the necessary adjustments. I have full confidence that Bud Foster can correct the problems, but I do find it unsettling that this defense has not played like the one Hokie fans have come to know and love for two games in a row now.

At this point in the season, we Hokie fans don't have a high profile bowl game to which we can look forward, but our squad can still make this into a good finish and earn a bid to play against another out-of-conference powerhouse team who has likewise had a few bumps in the road for their season as well. Let's get behind our Orange and Maroon and cheer for a good finish.

LET”S GO HOKIES!

Week 7: Other Games of Interest

In this post, I'll touch on a few games of interest played by other teams that could affect the remainder of the Hokies' regular season as well as the post-season. I'll describe what they mean to the Hokies and comment on the impacts of either outcome.

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Oklahoma (20) VS. Texas (3)

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12:00 p.m. EDT
ABC
Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX

Texas holds the number three spot in both the AP and USA Today polls. Virginia Tech holding the number four spot need somebody on the Longhorns' schedule to hand them a defeat to move up to number three. Florida and Alabama, who hold number one and two respectively, will have to play each other in SEC conference championship if they hold on to those rankings for the remainder of the regular season. Texas' schedule thus far has not included any ranked opponents, and only the Red Raiders of Texas Tech gave them a good fight. The Longhorns' season gets tougher starting Saturday against the Oklahoma Sooners, whom Miami (FL) defeated to bolster Virginia Tech's strength of schedule. Thank you Miami! The Texas' squad vividly remembers last season all too well when a final pass to Michael Crabtree ultimately cost them their bid to the National Championship Game. They remember this in light of defeating the Sooners last season, who ended up playing for the national title. If Texas wins, they've taken a big step with a few more left to go before having a substantial claim to the national title. Should they lose, Boise State, USC, Ohio State, and of course Virginia Tech should pass them in the rankings. The official BCS standings doesn't factor the polls, but they usually don't differ too greatly from them either. Hokie fans should pull for Oklahoma to create an upset.

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USC (6) VS. Notre Dame (25)

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3:30 p.m. EDT
NBC
Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN

Notre Dame has played a season thus far only five points shy of not having a loss. They have lost to the USC Trojans in their last seven contests. The Fighting Irish are trying to turn their program around from a couple of lackluster seasons. An upset against USC would give their program exactly what it needs to put them back on the map as a well respected team. USC, only four points shy of having a no loss season themselves, doesn't have the same strength of schedule as the Hokies, but should both teams win the remainder of their pre-bowl season games, USC stands a chance, although not of overwhelming odds, to jump Virginia Tech in the BCS standings. The BCS has done stranger things. An upset, however, would put some comfortable distance between the Hokies and Trojans in the rankings, assuming only one Virginia Tech loss on the season.

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South Carolina (22) VS. Alabama (2)

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7:45 p.m. EDT
ESPN
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL

This game's outcome holds significance for the Hokies in the way of strength of schedule. Alabama currently has a higher ranking and would quite possibly fall below Virginia Tech, at least initially, with a loss; however, they would eventually jump the Hokies in the BCS standings under the scenario of both teams finishing with one loss seasons. Since the Crimson Tide defeated the Hokies this season, they would deservedly earn the better bowl bid. Hokie fans should have their hopes on a Crimson Tide victory.

Now, you may think to yourself, "Where's the Ice? has gone insane! Why would a Hokie fan not want number two to lose when the Hokies hold number four in the rankings?" Well, I pose the following to explain.

Should Alabama win the rest of their regular season but lose to Florida in the SEC championship, a one-loss Virginia Tech would have a very strong claim to play for the national title. If the Crimson tide loses that game with a prior loss, that claim for the Hokies loses steam. Turning that around, if Alabama has a no loss season and defeats Florida, a one loss Hokie squad still has a strong claim to play for the national title against Alabama for a rematch. Could you imagine a more exciting scenario for Hokie fans?!

Contending for the invitation to play in the National Championship Game in the BCS not only depends on your wins, but also upon the wins of your opponents. Without losses later in the season, Texas, USC, and Ohio State could all finish with the same record as a one-loss Hokie squad, or even better in the case of Texas. At that point, who plays best on the field can take a back seat to which program directors and coaches play better BCS politics. If you don't believe that, look no further than last year when Oklahoma received the bid to play in the national championship instead of Texas who defeated Oklahoma and had only one loss due to a last minute play.

Game Review - vs. Boston College

VS.

Something has started to happen with Virginia Tech's offense, and Hokie fans welcome the change. Tyrod Taylor suddenly starts playing the position of quarterback displaying some talent that we haven't really seen before. Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring's playcalling has somewhat started to make sense. On Saturday, the Hokies earned an impressive victory over a struggling Boston College Eagles team.

Although struggling this season, the Eagles certainly amount to much more than an assumed victory, especially after the narrow scoring margin against Duke in last week's game and the Eagle's win over Florida State. Virginia Tech hands them only their second loss of the season, and even with this loss, they still stand a good chance of winning the ACC Atlantic division.

Let's take a look at Virginia Tech's display of offense during Saturday's game. Tyrod Taylor threw for roughly a 70% completion rate and for a 126 yards. Based on the type of the offense I watched and fluidity with which they moved the ball down the field, I think these statistics don't necessarily reflect how well Taylor and his offense performed. Taylor has always demonstrated the ability to scramble, but in the last three games, he has scrambled like an elite quarterback rather than somebody simply looking for the opportunity to rush. No play during this game better exemplifies that than his touchdown pass to wide receiver Danny Coale. On a third and nineteen play, the Eagle defense had broken through protection and put pressure on Taylor. Taylor scrambled, evaded tackles, and from a somewhat awkward position twisted to throw a perfectly placed pass to Coale cutting into the endzone. Taylor also connected with his receivers on some very long and well placed passes, such as Taylor's forty-one yard completion to Jarrett Boykin. Also, an eighty yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Ju Ju Clayton to wide receiver Marcus Davis left a good image in fans' minds of what lies ahead in the post-Taylor seasons yet to come.

Another pleasant surprise came in the relative loyalty of Stienspring's playcalling to the running game. Number one tailback Darren Evan's injury has not slowed down the running game. The Hokies have proven to have a lot of depth in that position. Ryan Williams has exploded in ways nobody outside of the clubhouse could have predicted. David Wilson and Josh Oglesby made a few carries as well to tack a few yards on top of those gained by Williams. The team ran for a combined 235 yards of rushing. Williams alone ran for 159 of those yards. The numbers don't tell whole story, however. During early games of this season and games of seasons' prior, such numbers resulted from successfully executed plays falling in between successive three-and-outs. But these running plays consistently gained first downs and moved the ball down the field with precise execution.

Only having access to radio for the first half of the game last week, I didn't really have a complete sense of how the game against Duke progressed, but the scoring updates I got on my cell phone made me feel quite uneasy, especially considering the point differential at the game's end. But the Hokie defense performed excellently against Boston College. The defense held Eagle rushing to just 45 yards and passing to 118 yards. The frequency with which the Hokie defense reached Boston College quarterbacks Mike Marscovetra and Dave Shinskie impressed me. To top things off cornerback Rashad Carmichael caught an interception and ran it back for a touchdown. The defense definitely showed up in full force for this game.

I've got a good feeling about Hokie football right now. I hope that I'm not simply setting myself up for disappointment, because we've all felt that sinking in our hearts when our beloved Hokies crumbled when we didn't expect it. Overall, however, I sense a buzz amongst the team and fans that I haven't sensed in a while.

LET'S GO HOKIES!

Game Preview - vs. Duke

VS.

Virginia Tech (6) at Duke
12:00 PM ET, October 3, 2009
Wallace Wade Stadium , DURHAM, NC
ESPN360.com

This Saturday, Virginia Tech squares off against the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, NC. The Hokie coaching staff has publicly stated they won't look past this game, and I find that reassuring because for those games that you do can lead to trailing late in the fourth quarter while fans burry their heads into their hands asking how things got to such a state. Yes, Duke comes from a pair of states that have never produced a sustained powerhouse in Division I college football. Yes, Duke only completed two passes against Virginia Tech in last season's game. Yes, Virginia Tech turned the ball over five times in the 2008 contest, and still won handily. But you can't add all that together and come to a conclusion that the Hokies can just take Duke lightly and look onward to later contests against Boston College and Georgia Tech.

First, as MadJay noted in his game review against Miami, Virginia Tech's offense displayed a significantly positive shift in its performance. Playing Duke gives the perfect opportunity to keep that momentum going. I haven't reached the point to where I will credit offensive coordinator Bryan Steinspring because, as MadJay also notes, he may well have stuck with the running game against Miami because the weather left him very little choice to do otherwise. If the play calling sustains at that level through the Boston College and Georgia Tech games, I may drift more towards giving him some credit. But something did strike me as very positive, and I noticed it starting to happen during the Nebraska game. Tyrod Taylor has begun playing his position as more of a quarterback who happens to have great athleticism rather than as a great athlete playing the role of a quarterback. He looks for the pass and exhibits patience to find an open man. In seasons prior and even during earlier games in this season, he looked for the pass and if he didn't quickly a target, he went straight to the run. To state things fairly, he didn't always have the luxury of time because of missed blocks, but overall I notice that when the pocket breaks down, he has begun to roll away from pressure to buy time looking for an open man instead of reacting by sprinting for yardage seemingly in desperation. Don't get me wrong. He still executes well when rushing for yardage, but he makes his decision of when to rush with more calculation. Besides, we don't want our number one quarterback taking punishing hits during a rush that he doesn't have to sustain. During the Nebraska game, I started to notice this shift in his play, although many pass attempts in drops as well as overthrown and under-thrown passes, at least until the game's final drive. Against Miami, considering the pouring rain, he executed his passing game very well. While the running game dominated the offense's play calling, the passing game still racked up 98 yards and one touchdown.

Why do dwell on this point? I do so because I hope that he continues to exhibit this type of play on Saturday. To continue to win against teams from other BCS conferences, Taylor's play must continue to improve his passing game, and I think he may have gotten well on his way to doing so.

What to the Hokies face on Saturday? Duke's offensive line showcases some size in Kyle Hill, Jarrod Holt, Mitchell Lederman, Brian Moore, and Bryan Morgan. All stand well above six feet; Lenderman himself stands a towering 6”8'! Thaddeus Lewis takes the snaps for the Blue Devils, and his numbers don't look too bad. He has thrown for 58%
completion rate and 783 yards, although he hasn't faced a defense quite like that of the Hokies. Patrick Kurunwune and Desmond Scott have caught for a total of 221 combined yards. Receivers Johnny Williams and Austin Kelley have very comparable numbers rushing for a combined total of 492 yards.

Accross the ACC, Duke's defense ranks ninth allowing 25.3 points per game. Their offense, however, in the ACC ranks fourth scoring 29.0 points per game, just shy of Virginia Tech's 30.8. Upsets can happen, and Duke very well could make the front page of espn.com on Saturday shocking college football fans with an upset. The Hokies should win this game, and have earned the status of favorites for good reason. At the same time, this contest offers opportunity to exercise some improvements in the offense's performance to set the stage for games yet to come. Let's hope our Hokies earn a good win and execute well on offense!

Hokie Hospitality

Over the years of sports fandom, I've witnessed some of the most inhospitable treatment of people for the mere fact that they support the opposing team. When the Capitals host the Flyers, many Philadelphia fans descend on the nation's capital and bring their bad sportsmanship with them, and they often display it even their team wins. In the days prior to Caps home game sellout crowds, you could hardly get five steps down F Street without a Flyer fan saying something offensive directly at you. Hokie fans and fans of other Big East schools alike have endured batteries tossed at them during games against WVU. Even though I miss that rivalry very much, I don't miss hearing the stories about fans choosing not to go to Morgantown for fear of an altercation. These examples of course exist amongst many others. They by no means stand alone.

In contrast, I'm very proud of the way Hokies treat fans of the visiting opposition. The Virginia Tech athletic department has orchestrated a media campaign called Hokie Respect. The overall message embodies welcoming opposing fans to Blacksburg, VA and wishing them a good stay and pleasant visit. It doesn't mean that we hold back in expressing our hope that the Orange and Maroon beat the pants off the opposition, but Hokie Respect aims to keep all interaction as pleasant and good natured.

I attended the game against Nebraska, and seeing how we don't have many opportunities to interact with Big 12 fans, I took it upon myself to wander through my tailgating lot and intermingle with some 'Husker fans. They treated me as polite and nice as anybody could imagine. They offered food, drinks, conversation, and even live music, and they couldn't have been more happy to have come anywhere but Blacksburg, VA to watch a football game. I enjoy sports fandom much more when we can have our passions for our favorite teams, but all the while keeping things decent, amicable, and fun for everyone.


After hosting Nebraska in Week 3 of the season, some Cornhusker fans took the trouble to write Virginia Tech's athletic department to express how much they enjoyed the trip, save for the game's outcome. I've listed a few of my favorite excerpts from letters written.


"Absolutely HATED the outcome of the game, but it doesn’t diminish the reception that Tech provided to the Husker fan base!"

"Don't give me anymore beer. I can't handle another Tech fan inviting me to join their tailgate."

"I’ve never been treated better or made to feel more welcome by a town, a school and its fan base than what I encountered at Tech."

"We parked in a guy’s yard and my wife asked where the nearest restroom could be found. He said, 'Oh, just go in the house. Top of the stairs.' And then he just walked away."

"Hokie fans are a class act. Nebraska fans are also well known for treating visiting fans well in Lincoln. Many Hokie fans mentioned their experience in Lincoln last year, and hoped that we would be treated the same way in Blacksburg. We were."


You can read a few letters in their entirety here: http://www.hokiesports.com/football/recaps/20090924aab.html


Not to suggest that readers of this blog haven't done otherwise and even more, I hope the next time you're at a home game you'll say, "Welcome to Blacksburg," to some opposing fans as you make your way from your tailgating lot to Lane Stadium. Let's keep Hokie Respect going strong.

Game Preview - vs. Nebraska

VS.

3:30 PM ET, September 19, 2009
Lane Stadium , BLACKSBURG, VA


After dropping the season opener to Alabama and rebounding with solid play against Marshall, Virginia Tech squares off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The 'Huskers come off of two wins against Flordia Atlantic and Arkansas State. They won both games in lopsided fashion, and the Hokies present them with their toughest opponents of the season to date. Much of the Nebraska fan base share the sentiments that last season's loss to the Hokies came as a fluke as only their third non-conference home loss since 1991. On my way to the Georgia Dome two weeks ago, I stepped out of the car at the gas station, and on the other side of the pump stood a 'Huskers fan who saw my bright orange VT shirt and playfully said, "We're gonna' get you back this year." Ranked #19 in the AP poll and #18 in the Coaches' poll, Nebraska's squad and their fans definitely have payback on their minds for Saturday. As favorites to win the Big 12 North, they will want to go into their conference schedule with a strong out-of-conference victory.

Quarterback Zac Lee leads the 'Husker offense. The footage shows Lee's ability to throw accurately over long distances behind an offensive line that gives the kind of protection that many would envy. He has the starting job for the first time in his college career, and he has gotten off to a good start. In his first two games, he has thrown for an impressive 553 yards and completed 42 of 57 attempts, and just as impressively, he has amassed that pass yardage throwing to 11 different receivers. One may write off these accomplishments given the opponents of Nebraska's first two games, but make no mistake, a quarterback who can execute this successfully can spell trouble for even a Top Ten defense.

Roy Helu, Jr. (RB) weighs in at 215 lbs. and stands 6'0" tall. He has run for 212 yards on the season thus far. Also within the Cornhuskers' offensive arsenal, receivers Curenski Gilleylen and Mike McNeill have caught for 243 yards of passing combined. Lee will unlikely have as many opportunities to go to all eleven of his receivers, so these two will probably catch for most of the passing yardage. However, Lee and the rest of the Nebraska offense should not expect so much success against the Hokies' defense. The Hokies finished the 2008 season safely as a top ten defense, and they have seven of their eleven starters back. However, Lee has the kinds of tools for playing against a defense like the Hokies. He can pass accurately while floating away from the pocket. How well he executes stands out to me as the biggest variable in whether the 'Huskers develop offensive rhythm or not against the Hokies. The Cornhusker offensive line presents a force to be reckoned with as well. Kyle Tucker notes on his blog that they average 6'5" and 300 lbs. The Hokie defense will likely rely on speed over strength and size to get to Lee.

On the Defensive side of the ball, Nebraska doesn't have quite the same punch as their offense. They only rank 50th in yards per game (321 ypg) after playing against two far weaker teams from the Sun Belt Conference. MadJay praised the Virginia Tech offensive line in the game against Marshall from last Saturday. This Saturday's contest serves as the perfect opportunity for the Hokie offensive line to bring their play up a notch by giving a strong performance against Nebraska. If they can do so, Tyrod Taylor may well have a very successful day throwing the ball. Ryan Williams (RB) has opened up this season with 235 yards of rushing, dusting teammate Josh Oglesby (RB). David Wilson (RB) has shown some success as well with 165 yards. If those three can ride the wave of a successful day against Marshall and carry that into Nebraska, that may ease some Hokie fans' concerns about the Darren Evans injury. The 'Huskers defensive efforts will focus on containing Hokie quarterback Tyrod Taylor. They remember Taylor's 87 yards and a rushing touchdown during last season's contest. Their coaching staff views Taylor in the same light as Michael Vick during his career as a Hokie. This may open opportunities up for the Hokies' running game if the Nebraska defense gets overly focused on Taylor.

On the injury front, the most recent reports indicate that the Hokies currently plan to play without the services of Greg Boone (TE, chest injury) and Stephan Virgil (CB, knee tweak). The coaching staff has said, however, that Boone and Virgil have practiced and may well have themselves game ready by Saturday. If Virgil can't go, Rock Carmichael will play boundary and Eddie Whitley will likely start at field corner.

As we look towards the rest of the season, as much as I would have liked to have watched the Hokies triumph over the SEC powerhouse of Alabama, I don't take the loss with too much hardship. The Hokies played a Top 5 team to a 10 point margin, and they did so while making some rookie level errors. Virginia Tech has most of the season lying ahead of them, and an SEC loss for the greater good may only serve to instill some humility in the squad that will give them the focus they need to plot their course back to an ACC title. But I think this upcoming game against Nebraska, given the time in the schedule and the opponent, makes for the most probable launching pad for another ACC campaign in terms of winning momentum.

LET'S GO HOKIES!

Game Preview - vs. Marshall

Marshall vs. Virginia Tech
Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
Saturday, 9/12/2009, 1:00 p.m.


The Virginia Tech Hokies come off a disappointing defeat at the Georgia Dome against Alabama after a lackluster performance by the offense. On Saturday, they face the Marshall Thundering Herd. Over the past few seasons Marshall's program has sought bigger and tougher opponents than those of their conference. They want to take their program to the next level by causing some big upsets. Losses to such teams in the past have not deterred them. In 2008 they faced West Virginia and Cincinnati. In 2007 they faced Miami(FL) and again West Virginia. Virginia Tech faced them back in 2005. They haven't yet mustered a performance that gave any of these automatic bid conference opponents a scare, but the day that they will may come sooner than expected.

Marshall ranks as the one of the powerhouse teams of Conference USA. That conference usually includes a team that from year to year carries the potential to spoil any given opponent from an automatic bid conference such as the ACC. East Carolina, also of Conference USA, did exactly that last season to the Hokies on opening day. Marshall would love to jump on the opportunity to that in 2009. Marshall has a few adjustments to make from their previous week's contest. They just barely squeaked out a three point victory against Southern Illinois, a team most expected them to beat handily. It took a Southern Illinois illegal substitution penalty while lining up for a punt to keep the Marshall drive going that lead to the game winning field goal.


Quarterback Brian Anderson leads Marshall's offense. He has the starting job for the first time at the 2009 season start. After last week's game, he has four starts overall going back over the previous two seasons. Although Marshall struggled against Southern Illinois last week, his numbers didn't look too bad. He threw for a 75% completion rate, 316 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Charles Walker caught for 119 yards, and tight end Cody Slate caught for 114 yards. Slate returns as a Senior and a reliable contributor to the team on offense. Standing at 6'4" and weighing 220 lbs, he's a lot for any defense to handle. The team mustered less than 85 yards of rushing, so their proven assets clearly lie in the passing game.

The Marshall coaching staff expressed most of their disappointment about last week's struggle for a win to the defensive play. They allowed 206 yards of rushing and 105 yards of passing. An offensive powerhouse from an automatic bid conference would probably have this defense for lunch.


Turning towards the Hokies, College Football fans consider them the favorites to win Saturday's contest. Like any hungry team from a weaker conference, they can't take Marshall too lightly. At the same time, they need to use the opportunity to exercise some of their weaker aspects of the game, namely offensive aspects. Last week against Alabama, the Hokies offense did face what some argue as the number one defense in the country, so let's keep that in perspective as we move forward. That said, let's review some of the numbers from which the Hokies must improve.

First Downs: 11, half as many as Alabama
Rushing: 64 yards, less than 25% of Alabama
Receiving: 91 yards, less than half of Albama

This offense has a lot of returning players, so we can't make the claim that they have just begun to learn how to read each other. That should have happened throughout a majority of last season. I think the offense should put most emphasis on consistent, textbook execution of their plays on Saturday. Going for the home run pass or the dazzling the fans with great showmanship may have a place at some moments of the game, but for the most part, the Hokies need to demonstrate smooth, consistent, and error free offensive play. I hate to raise the same topic year after year, but when I examine how the offense usually folds, it comes down to the line. Taylor's speed and quickness allows him to mask that to some extent, but only a very rare quarterback can consistently hit his receiver precisely while scrambling. On top of that, the constant thought of a looming collapse in the offensive line can make even a good quarterback underthrow or overthrow the ball. Plays run against Marshall need to give Taylor the confidence that he'll have the time to execute the called play. With receivers like Dyrell Roberts, Danny Coale, and Jarrett Boykin, Taylor has the offensive weapons to make great strides in yardage. The catch, he the offensive line and the playcalling need to enable him to use them.

Rushing for the Hokies introduces an unexpected challenge with the injury to Darren Evans. His injury leaves Josh Oglesby and Ryan Williams as the number one and two tailbacks. This situation presenting itself just before the season opener against Alabama makes nothing short of a great challenge, so let's not get too discouraged. The Virginia Tech running game has some great gains lying ahead of it. Playing against Marshall on Saturday presents the perfect opportunity to get some much needed confidence based on experience instilled into both running backs.


On the injury report, Cornerback Stephan Virgil injured his knee in practice on 9/9, but the Hokies have him listed as probable for the Marshall game. Tight end Greg Boone injured his chest against Alabama and has a status of questionable for Saturday's game. My guess is if Boone's not 100%, he won't see much action if any against Marshall.

Darren Evans Tears ACL - Sidelined for Entire 2009 Season

Virginia Tech tailback Darren Evans has torn his ACL in his left knee. The injury happened during practice on Tuesday, August 11.

TSL has the whole story: http://www.techsideline.com/news_archive/showArticle-4637.php.

First, my heart goes out to Evans and his family, as such an untimely injury will burn a year of his College Football career. He has already red-shirted in 2007. He performed marvelously throughout the 2008 season and stood out as the Hokies most reliable asset in the running game. The TSF staff all wish him a speedy and strong recovery.

This casts a dark cloud of uncertainty over the tailback situation for the Hokies. Josh Oglesby now takes the mantle of the only tailback of the Hokie squad to have every taken a snap. Early last season, Oglesby showed some promise to develop into a strong backup tailback. He ran for 88 yards on 38 carries, not the most stellar numbers. Hokie fans will have to hope for the circumstances making the man rather than the man making the circumstances, referring to an old saying.

3 Key Plays - vs. Maryland

[1] Sean Glennon makes a five yard pass to Greg Boone for a touchdown. The passing game this season has been consistently sub-mediocre. The offense opening the game with an early touchdown made for a much needed change in the trends of Hokie scoring this far in 2008.

[2] The Virginia Tech defense commits an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a tackle for no gain, giving Maryland 15 yards and a first down. This fueled a drive leading to a Maryland touchdown bringing the Terrapins within 10 points with more than a whole quarter left to play. Every penalty of such a magnitude puts the team with the momentum at risk, and this penalty did just that. The Hokie squad has to avoid such penalties, especially easily preventable ones such as this.

[3] Brett Warren lands a big hit on Darrius Heyward-Bey to end the Maryland offensive drive that began with a punt fumble recovery. The Hokie defense had just shut down the Terrapin offense with a three and out set of downs. The fumble recovery gave the Terps just what they needed to swing the momentum of the game late in the third quarter and with a 10-20 Virginia Tech lead. Warren's big hit on Heyward-Bey capped off another Maryland three and out and prevented the swing of momentum that could have become a turning point in the game.

Game Review vs. UNC

On Saturday 9/20, the Virginia Tech Hokies took to the field against a fired up UNC Tarheel squad. While Frank Beamer is perfect against the 'Heels since Virginia Tech's joining the ACC, he didn't head back to Blacksburg with a win quite as easily as times past. After North Carolina jumped out to an early lead, the Hokies squeaked out a three point victory by the score of 20-17. Before I unload on the ranting, raving, and usual TSF commentary, I'll give a brief recap of each quarter's highlights.

First Quarter: The Hokie defense holds UNC's first drive to inside Tarheel territory, resulting in a punt. After the Hokies take over, the offense move the ball 23 yards in 5 plays only to end the drive with an interception. The 'Heels take over at roughly the 35 yard line and bring the ball inside the 15. Again, the defense holds. UNC blows a scoring opportunity with a missed field goal. The Hokie offense subsequently goes three and out. Then, to repay the favor, Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster's squad holds the UNC offense to a three and out series of their own. And yet gain, the Hokie offense goes three and out. UNC takes possesion in Hokie territory, and they finally drove in a field goal.

So what can I say about our defense? Spectacular! And what can I say about our offense? Atrocious! Now being a Hokie fan for more than a decade, I've become quite accustom to saying this, thinking this, and just accepting this. But I mean really??? In this case, we're talking a whopping net gain of 9 yards by the offense against...UNC! The defense did exactly what anyone could have expected of them and more. During every opposing possession, they contained, contained, and contained. The offense looked sloppy, non-fluid, and chaotic. Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor was so disoriented at one point, he called timeout twice in a row. Folks, I can't remember the first or the last time I ever saw a football team call time out twice in a row, save for trying to ice a kicker.

Second Quarter: UNC opens the quarter with a drive to inside the Virginia Tech 10 yard line, and they close it out with another field goal. After the ensuing kickoff, the Hokie offense musters a healthy drive into Tarheel territory, but has to kick it away after 39 yards. Seeing UNC's offense with their backs up against their own endzone, Foster's squad gets hungry and causes a fumble turnover inside the UNC 10 yard line. Then, Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring's squad takes over and moves the ball six yards in three plays. Hokies settle for a field goal. One mediocre UNC drive and another Virginia Tech three and out later, UNC moves the ball 68 yards into the end zone to close out the scoring for the half.

So revisiting the offense, the Hokies moved the ball 58 yards this quarter and managed to get on the the board, albeit with the help of a UNC fumble. The Virginia Tech passing game was virtually nil. Any and all completions were low single digit gains with exception to one 28 yard pass from quarterback Tyrod Taylor to receiver Danny Coale.

Third Quarter: Virginia Tech opens the half with an offensive drive that moves the ball 25 yards in three plays, but ends with a second interception thrown by Tyrod Taylor. The Hokie defense holds the ensuing UNC drive to nine yards in nine plays. After another Hokie three and out, UNC orchestrates a one play drive resulting in a 50 yard rushing touchdown, the only breakdown in the Hokie defense during the contest. Tyrod Taylor and the rest of the Hokie offense, however, had an answer to that with an 89 yard drive resulting in a rushing touchdown by Darren Evans. Also, in this quarter, UNC quarterback TJ Yates sustains a twisted ankle, and he doesn't return for the rest of the game.

Taylor's interception was reminiscent of the second half of Sean Gleannon's first bowl game against Georgia at the end of the 2006 season. It was essentially a, "jump ball," as the announcers put it. We can talk about the inexperience of the Hokie wide receiver core, but that type of interception can't happen. It looked like a throw of desperation. On the other side of the ball, the defense broke down in a way that we don't observe too often. UNC running back Greg Little cut through the Virginia Tech defense with some shake and bake while making good use of his blockers. It was a rarity in Bud Foster's track record, and I can guarantee you that all eleven of them wanted to have a change to defend that play gain.

Fourth Quarter: Virginia Tech moves the ball 35 yards in 6 plays to tie the game with a rushing touchdown. UNC's offense doesn't convert on third down and punts. The Hokie offense moves the ball a pitiful 1 yard in 3 downs, but capitalizes on a field goal. UNC's offense, with backup quarterback Mike Paulus at the helm, moves the ball 38 yards down the field in eight plays. Paulus in panic throws an interception caught deep in Hokie territory caught by Victor Harris. Virginia Tech's offense burns 4:23 during their following possession, leaving the 'Heels with 3 minutes to march down the field. Tyrod Taylor exits the game not to return with a twisted ankle. The Orange and Maroon defense hold 'em, and game ends.

So, watching this game, I began having the sudden physical ailments that Mad Jay often describes of himself when he can't believe what he's watching. First and foremost, on that note, we were trailing UNC (That's North Carolina of the ACC for crying out loud!!!!) for most of this game. Our entire offense slept walked through the entire first half. Folks, I know it's a rebuilding year, but rebuilding means steady, albeit maybe slow, improvement. It doesn't mean zero progress in a critical facet of the game. Waiting until late in the third quarter to turn on the jets just isn't going to cut it against our opponents in inter-conference and bowl play. (And yea, the ACC has some serious PR headway to make in its out of conference performance. I'll have more on this further down in this post.) After watching Tyrod Taylor during last season and the last two games, I'm starting to loose faith in this hybrid running back/quarterback approach to offense. When Taylor's taking the snaps, the passing game is reduced to too great of an extent.

If we can't design a playbook that develops Tyrod's ability to throw the ball now, Stienspring might as well play with 10 linemen to block and have Taylor run every play. Maybe every so often he could only play nine linemen and send out Kenny Lewis Jr. That way, we could keep the opposing defense guessing...as to which will run the ball. [sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell]

All kidding aside, I have to admit that it's a fun style of play to watch, especially when I think back to days of Michael Vick and Bryan Randall. However, what's happened to Taylor this season and last? He's had to exit the game early due to an ankle injury, last year's more serious than Saturday's. When your quarterback is rushing almost as much as your number one running back, that's a risk, and that's a problem. Look at the Michigan's, the Ohio State's, the USC's (the one in California), and the Florida's around the NCAA. They've developed programs that can boast inter-conference and post-season success year after year, and the approach they take at quarterback is very different from Virginia Tech: quarterback first, athlete second. Repeat after me: "quarterback first, athlete second." Taylor or course has the posture, the judgment, and the all around ability to be that type of quarterback, but I think we're leaning on his running back skills too much. Now let's be fair. If he wasn't running the way he was against UNC, Virginia Tech wouldn't have stood a chance. But that's a different problem that we need to address at the, ahemmmm, offensive coordinator role. And I know this next statement is going to evoke some groans, but the Hokie offense is not making enough use of quarterback Sean Glennon. He's one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the ACC. He has a great arm, and he's very accurate when executes properly. He'd probably still be the starter if (a) he didn't make one to two completely bone-headed plays a game and (b) if ECU hadn't blocked Virginia Tech's punt at the end of the Hokie's season opener. Between Taylor and Glennon at this point, Glennon has better demonstrated the ability throw the long ball, and that's an important part of every offense that succeeds at the highest level of the NCAA. By the time Taylor's in his Senior year, he'll likely have all the same, or probably better, throwing talent of Glennon. But for now, the Hokies need that element in their offense, even it's just 30-40% of the snaps.

On to another topic, let's not forget that the Hokies have had some major help in their last two victories. Against UNC alone a number of fortunate things happened.
1. First Quarter: UNC missed a field goal
2. First Quarter: UNC delay of game penalty on 4th and 1 at the VT 5 yard line
3. Third Quarter: UNC personal found during VT 68 yard touchdown drive
4. Third Quarter: UNC pass interference deep in Tarheel territory
5. Third Quarter: UNC starting quarterback injured, does not return to the game
6. Fourth Quarter: UNC late hit penalty during VT punt return

All of the above items contributed towards decomposing the momentum UNC had established for itself and giving the Hokies much needed opportunities to get themselves back in the game and finally to pull ahead. If I coached UNC, I would tell my squad THEY lost that game, not that Virginia Tech won. In comparison to what the Hokies have ahead of them, UNC is small potatoes, and other opponents aren't going to make those kinds of mistakes or likely sustain an injury to such a key player.

So looking onward past UNC, Virginia Tech needs to seriously think about how its inter-conference play doesn't just reflect on Virginia Tech, but the whole of the ACC as well. Given the ACC's out of conference and bowls records, other conferences that don't have an automatic BCS bid may start to make a case for why they deserve one and the ACC doesn't. As I utter the infamous words, "I hate to say I told you so," I have to tell you that I did. My very first post to TSF made the argument that leaving the Big East would weaken the Virginia Tech football program, and after the hype of the new ACC has now worn away, by the numbers, the move to the ACC has weakened the program. Now, I'm not stating that Virginia Tech should have stayed in the Big East and forgone that ACC's invitation, given the circumstances. Besides, it's nice being in a conference that doesn't tell you that they carry you the way a pedestrian's tennis shoe carries stepped on chewing gum. But I am saying that the ACC isn't a football conference. The Carolinas have never been a region that prioritizes football over basketball, and that's half of the ACC's make-up. (Yes, the Big East is a basketball conference at the level of those who run the Big East, but the Big East football schools are very football oriented.) So if Virginia Tech wants to shake some of the funk of the ACC, it's football program better start looking at how it performs outside of the ACC. Next up is Nebraska. This is the most important game of Virginia Tech's 2008 season, and post-season.

Let's Go Hokies!

Game Preview vs. Georgia Tech

What most of the ACC football community has coined as, "The Battle of the Techs," happens this Saturday at Lane Stadium. Last year's contest ended with a 27-3 win for the Hokies and Sean Glennon, who had one of his most successful showings throwing for 296 yards. He did all of this while wearing a Georgia Tech jersey with his name hand scribed on the back. (Somehow the supply staff failed to procure him with a spare jersey after his regular one landed some paint stains from Clemson's field the week before.) While last season's competition sported two teams not too unevenly matched, this season's match-up pits a rebuilding Hokie squad against a little closer to established Ramblin' Wreck, who defeated another rebuilding team last week, Boston College.

So, more specifically, what do the Hokies face this week? At the team level, the Yellow Jackets have jumped out in front of the ACC in rushing, totaling 511 yards. The team's passing game isn't quite so strong coming out of the gate with only 208 yards, only surpassing (you guessed it) Virginia Tech on that statistic within the ACC. On the defensive side of the ball, Georgia Tech is beating the Hokies yet again by allowing roughly 50 less yards. However, one aspect of that statistic is that the Hokie rushing defense has outperformed its passing defense. That could match up well against Georgia Tech in favor of the Hokies.

Focusing more on the individual players, quarterback Josh Nesbitt has some attributes with which Hokie fans are familiar. He's quick. He can move within and away from the pocket with agility. He can throw on the run. He can evade defense with his shake and bake. He has almost as many carries as the Yellow Jackets' starting tailback, and he has exactly half the yardage of the running back in rushing. That sounds familiar right? Well, it should because it describes four of the last six Hokie quarterbacks. Nesbitt's weakness lies in his inexperience. He backed up quarterback Taylor Bennett through the 2007 season, and now he's got the starting job. His passing game and overall technique as a quarterback leave room for some improvement. Overall, though, he's a threat the Hokies must contain.

Running back Johnathan Dwyer, standing 6'0" and weighing in at 228 lbs., presents another concern for the Hokie defense. He has amassed 220 yards in rushing during his first two games this season. With that statistic, he ranks second in all of the ACC, trailing Da'Rel Scott of Maryland by exactly 100 yards. Many players at the college football level get into trouble with too much East to West, but Dwyer executes well with a clear North to South vision of running. He exhibits a great deal of power and ability to break tackles. Receivers Demaryius Thomas and Tyler Melton have each caught for 65 and 22 yards, respectively.

So how to the Hokies combat the Georgia Tech offensive weapons? Both the Yellow Jackets' offensive squad and the Hokies' defensive squad are young and inexperienced. So we can kinda think of these as a wash. Next, as noted above, the Yellow Jackets rely primarily on their running game. This year's Hokie defense has demonstrated the ability to stop the running game. Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster has a lot of speed and raw talent on his squad. If Foster's gang mentally prepares themselves for the game, they will contain the Georgia Tech offense. Mark my words, readers. While this Hokie defensive squad is young and inexperienced, Bud Foster will have them transformed into a well oiled machine before season's end.

As for the offense, the Hokies still have a lot of questions. Who's the primary quarterback taking the snaps? I know everybody feels pretty sure Tyrod Taylor will be taking over the job, but I tend to look more closely at history, and that indicates a mix between Sean Glennon and Taylor. After Taylor's 112 yards of rushing last week against Furman, he's tied with Kenny Lewis Jr. in total yardage for the season to date. I expect to see Tyrod Running like that again, and no athlete can be on the field for every offensive play while keeping his lungs from collapsing. For that reason I believe that Glennon plays an important role in the snaps he takes, albeit likely a lower number than Tyrod on Saturday. The Hokies have a brand new receiver core, and our favorite [sarcasm] offense coordinator leads the surly gang. While I've seen some moments of brilliance in the young wide receiver Dyrell Roberts, Taylor and Glennon generally don't have strong receivers on which they can rely. The Hokie offense's success depends on three factors: 1) Tyrod Taylor's success in gaining yardage during quarterback scrambles, 2) Sean Glennon's ability to have his usual handfull of plays where he exhibits brilliance while minimizing or even eliminating the plays where he does something completely foolish in what seems to be pure desperation, and 3) last but not least, the offensive line giving Taylor and Glennon the time to execute. Georgia Tech has a good defense, but it does leave a little be desired in how they stop the running game, which is Tech's most potent offensive weapon.

In closing, I'll say that while listening to the game against Furman, I began to have chills over the thoughts that the Hokies may not even reach bowl eligibility, but after examining the statistics and this match-up more closely, I'm starting to have some optimism, about this game at least. Sometimes the devil is in the details for these contests. Make no mistake, though; Virginia Tech is still the underdog by the numbers and by the sheer momentum Georgia Tech has already established for itself. But don't get too down just yet Hokie fans, I'm thinking we could see a big step towards the rebuilding of our beloved program.

Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Lane Stadium/Worsham Field, Blacksburg, VA
3:30 p.m.

Let's Go Hokies!