3 Key Plays - Western Kentucky

1) With 2:30 left in the 1st quarter of the 6th game of the season, Tyrod Taylor threw his first TD pass! That the Hokies are 5-1 despite this fact is remarkable. Obviously TD passes will have to come in much greater numbers to continue their winning ways against the slate of opponents upcoming, but this was a very pretty ball thrown right on the money to Boone for 27 yards and should help Taylor's confidence going forward.

2) 2nd and 1 at the Western Kentucky 10 yard line with 12 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, RB Kenny Lewis took the handoff planted his foot and immediately crumpled to the ground with a torn Achilles tendon. The Hokies went 10 years with no Achilles' injuries and now have had two in one year (WR Brandon Dillard suffered one during summer practice). This is key for several reasons. First, it deflated the team and they played with little energy the rest of the game allowing Western Kentucky to make the game closer at the end than it should have been. Additionally, it gives the 2nd RB spot to Josh Oglesby who now has the opportunity he complained about not having earlier in the year. I confess to not being a big fan of Lewis as a runner, but he is unquestionably a team leader and it's a blow to the team from that standpoint. He also blocks well and doesn't put the ball on the ground. But if Oglesby can block and keep from fumbling, he has the potential to be an upgrade due to his effective running style. 

3) With Western Kentucky down 27-3 they abandoned their passing game and went strictly to a read option running offense. This offense was tried earlier in the game and was ineffective against the Hokie first stringers - with previously unused Dexter Taylor (a former high school teammate of Hokie RB Darren Evans). However, his first play of the third quarter from his own 20 yard line was against the Hokie backup defensive line and it went for 26 yards. The Hilltoppers proceeded to run the ball against the Hokie backup line for 75 yards until the first string was put back in on the Hokie 5 yard line and they kept the Hilltoppers out of the endzone. This read option play brought WKU back into the game and exposed the enormous dropoff between the first and second string defensive line for Tech. This is the symbolic Achilles' heel of this Hokie defense and the backup guys (Nekos Brown, Steven Friday, Justin Young and Demetrius Taylor) will have to elevate their game or the Hokies will struggle to beat any of their remaining opponents and it's just that simple. We've heard word that there are several nagging injuries bothering Brown and Taylor so let's hope the bye week helps clear that up. 

Game Preview - vs. Western Kentucky

On Saturday, the Virginia Tech Hokies football team takes on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for their homecoming game of the 2008 season. Now, I can't claim to know what a Hilltopper is, and after doing the research to write this posting, I can't say that I have found out the answer either. Nonetheless, the Hokies play on them on Saturday.

Before we get into the specifics of the game, let me cover the pre-game events that impact the Hokie team at higher levels. Devon Morgan, Sophomore rover suffered a torn ACL of his right knee against Nebraska. As one of the rising stars of the rebuilding Hokie squad, he has started each of this season's previous five games. His surgery will happen soon, and he won't return until next season. Former backup quarterback to Sean Glennon, wide receiver Ike Whitaker has received an indefinite suspension due to violation of team policy. Like Branden Ore's mysterious departure, head coach Frank Beamer has stated that nobody will comment on the situation further.

The 'Toppers have already faced two powerhouse opponents this year in Alabama and Kentucky. Both of those games have resulted in lopsided scoring. David Wolke takes the helm at quarterback for the offense and in his Senior year with a lot of experience. To date he has outpaced his previous years in passing by throwing 641 yards and 8 touchdowns. Two of his previous seasons, he played the backup quarterback role for Notre Dame. He has since transferred to Western Kentucky for the starting job. The Hokie secondary has to contain Wolke's two top receivers Derrius Brooks and Jake Gaebler. The two have comparable numbers in reception combining for 166 yards. Tailbacks Tyrell Hayden and Bobby Rainey take most of the carries for the 'Toppers' running game. Both have a comparable amount of yardage gains in 270 yards combined, but Rainey has had less than half of the carries of Hayden. From these number, we can glean that Western Kentucky leans more so on their running game than passing, but it has the ability to do both.

Against Alabama, their defense allowed a mountain sized 557 yards of Rolling Tide offense, and likewise against Kentucky they allowed 398 yards of offense. This means that Virginia Tech's offense has an opportunity to try some new things where previous games really didn't grant such opportunities. I don't mean to sound overconfident because many of us remember the unexpected losses to Temple and Miami of Ohio in seasons past, but I do think this game presents an opportunity to develop the Hokies' young and rebuilding offense. Particularly, I'd like to see some long passing. Since Tyrod Taylor has taken the helm at quarterback, that aspect of the Hokie offense has not existed, and succeeding at higher levels of the NCAA requires that element to some extent, even if not as the dominant aspect to an offense. Before leaving this topic, I do want to point out a milestone achieved by the Hokie offesne last week against Nebraska: scoring in the first quarter. It had failed to do so in each of the prior games this season. Against a tough opponent like Nebraska, scoring early can create momentum that carries through the entire game.

I close with providing some trivia about the Hilltoppers.

The Red Towel_[1]

The red towel is famous at WKU. The orgins of the towel come from Coach Diddle getting upset that the Athletic Towels were being stolen. So he decided that he wanted all of his towels Red. Well After they had the Red towels made, Diddle would throw it to the rafters, beat it on the floor, chew it, wave it, twist it, and even cry into it!

George Barker from the Nashville Tennessean described these various actions and interpreted their meanings as such:


Action - Meaning

Tossed in the air - Pure climatic joy

Whirled overhead - Satisfaction and high expectation

Slapped violently on the floor - Extreme disappointment with players or referee

Twisted or braided - Outcome doubtful

Chewed - Outcome VERY doubtful

Used to shield the eyes - Horror or Shakesperian-like dismay


[1] Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Kentucky_Hilltoppers


Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008
Kickoff: 1:30 PM
Lane Stadium/Worsham Field
Blacksburg, Va.

Let's go Hokies!

EhhTee's Picks (Week 6)

Well, So far I'm a mediocre 12-8 or batting .600. I guess that'd be impressive if I were a baseball player. Let's see if we can do a little better this week.

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Pittsburgh @ #10 South Florida

This game is probably the best Big East match up we'll see this year. USF is the flag bearer of the worst conference in Div 1A.

Pick: Zippo Makers 13 - Mickey and the Gang 38

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Upset Special
#4 Missouri @ Nebraska

The Cornhuskers are coming off the best game played by the Hokies yet. Mizzou was impressive against Illinois but come on they played Southeast Missouri State, Nevada, and Buffalo after that. High scoring: yes. Missouri victory: no

Pick: Mizzora 41 - Stienkuhler 44

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#23 Oregon @ #9 USC

Sorry Oregon. USC is a good team. This year, I'll even admit that. So the loss to Oregon State surprised me... despite the fact they've done it before (two years ago). Oregon won't be quite as lucky.

Pick : Quack 10 - Brad Pitt (come on, connect the dots) 47

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#13 Auburn @ #19 Vanderbilt

Vandy? Ranked? On top of the SEC East? What's next? Cubs win the World Series?!?! Save us O Great Flying Spaghetti Monster! Save us!

Pick: AU (cause I can't think of anything funny) 24 - Vandy 1 (that's right 1)

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Game of the Week
#14 Ohio State @ #18 Wisconsin

OLessU is at it again. Start the year at single digits. Fall into the twenties. Then magically come back. So, in good fashion, they'll fall to about 23 next week after...

Pick: Swing State U 21 - You betcha 33

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#24 Connecticut @ North Carolina

Two words. Butch Davis. Oh did I say that before... I'm sorry

Pick: UCan't 3 - Butch Davis 28

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Duke @ Georgia Tech

Since I'm here in Atlanta, I can't not do this game. The Blue Man Group is 3-1 to start the season, the first time in John McCain lifetime. They'll come into Atlanta fired up and ready. However, Georgia Tech will be ready.... to bore them to death.

Pick: Bo and Luke 14 - Members Only Jackets 27

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Florida State @ Miami (FL)

This one's making my brain hurt.

Pick: Chief Osceola eats Sebastian with a fine Chianti

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As always, the Virginia Tech game is, technically, the game of the week, but as you know I never predict a Tech game in EhhTee's Picks. The game is at 1:30 and will broadcast online at ACCSelect.com.