Virginia Tech Hokies

[JRB]

Virginia Tech spent the first half today pounding North Carolina, then spent the next quarter and a half all but begging UNC to get back in the game. A better team would have complied, but UNC is the ACC's version of Michigan-- they've got talent, they're very mentally fragile, and their coaching staff frequently makes things worse for them. VT is badly banged up on defense, especially at DT, where the backups are now true freshman Ricky Walker and...damned if I know. UNC didn't consistently attack VT between the tackles. Mitch Trubisky might turn out to be a good QB at UNC one day, but I could not understand the UNC staff's decision to keep playing him-- Marquise Williams could move the ball when the rest of his offense helped him out, and every time Trubisky went in, it just seemed to mess them up. The UNC defense actually played better against the run(a lot of teams have done that against VT recently), but they don't tackle in space worth a damn, and they often look confused.

On the whole, not an compelling performance, but it's always enjoyable to see VT beat North Carolina.

[hedge]

We're not good...

[Jungle Rat]

Ya think?

[KeviNole]

Out of ALL the preseason hype, all the love for UNC baffled me the most. I guess because they won 6 of their last 7 against a less-than-brutal schedule?

[hedge]

I didn't keep up with it, but I wouldn't have understood it either, had I read it. The O-line lost its best (by far) stalwarts and the defense is just a bloody mess, esp. the secondary. I like our QB and we've got a couple of decent running backs and receivers and our pesky little white boy who is a legitimately good kick returner (and receiver, so far this year). But the real core of what you need to have a good ball club just isn't there. We're not terrible and we can score, but we can't beat good teams, unless they give u a lot of help. And with UVa actually looking legit, ND ranked in the top 10, we're probably not going to win many more games. We do seem to win a couple of games we shouldn't most years, but sadly enough, those games might be NCState and Duke...

[dave_rickart]

it's UNC football.


'nuff said

[JRB]

Virginia Tech was never as good as Ohio State made them look, but they're probably not as bad as the losses to Pittsburgh and Miami made them look, either. They've been hurt badly by key injuries since the North Carolina game, and they've gotten some tough breaks late in games. Sometimes when you're having a season like this, you just need some dumb luck, and VT got it today at Duke. The Blue Devils were about to run VT out of the stadium in the first quarter, but a VT interception at the goal line blunted Duke's momentum, and VT managed to get to halftime down three. Duke regained control with a 16-7 lead, handed a VT a field goal with an interception off a tipped pass, and then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving a lifeless VT offense a short field for their go-ahead touchdown drive. VT looked to be closing out the game, and then perpetrated possibly the dumbest fake punt I've ever seen-- VT went for it on 4th and 16, and gave Duke the ball back on their own 42 with four minutes to go. Naturally, Duke drove within range for the winning field goal, and Ross Martin(the best kicker in the ACC not named Roberto Aguayo) somehow missed it.

Sometimes you don't deserve to win, and you win anyway. VT's 2-0 as road underdogs against ranked teams this year...and 3-5 in all other games.

[AlabamAlum]

Nice write-up, JRB.

[AlabamAlum]

Hedge,

PM.

[hedge]

AA, likewise...

[JRB]

My first thought after watching what has to be one of the worst losses of Frank Beamer's tenure is that tapes of this game should be issued as interrogation tools to police departments across the country-- being forced to watch this game would break just about anybody. This is the kind of loss that turns a fanbase against even the most well-entrenched staff. There's only so much horrendous offensive football fans can bring themselves to watch, and VT's offense has struggled for the better part of the last decade. Bud Foster sounded as if he wanted to strangle the entire offensive staff after this game, and if posts from the more frustrated people on VT message boards are any indication, there are plenty of VT fans that would pay to see him do it. Even with all the youth and all the injuries, this was an inexcusably awful performance against a very bad team, and it may be the defining game of this VT season, because now I think there's going to be real pressure on Frank Beamer to step aside.

[hedge]

Great defensive game, though!

[Dr. Strangelove]

Tempted to believe this was an even worse game than the infamous 6-4 Iowa victory over Penn State in 2004. At least those teams were considerate enough not to drag things into overtime.

[10ac]

OT will help anOSU's SOS. It's not like they lost in regulation.

[Dr. Strangelove]

True.

[dave_rickart]

0-0 at the end of regulation...they should immediate refund the ticket money to everyone in attendance.

both of them

[dave_rickart]

[Jungle Rat]

Heh

[JRB]

We had a fight before the coin toss, an ejection for targeting, a blocked punt for a touchdown, a pick six by a defensive tackle, missed field goals, injured QBs, all sorts of offensive incompetence, and then, the strangest thing happened-- VT-UVa actually turned into an entertaining game. It probably doesn't qualify as a good game, especially if your standard is an SEC West game, but it was as compelling a contest as these two mediocre programs could deliver. VT beats UVa for the eleventh straight year, and the bowl streak survives...barely. It remains to be seen if VT's embattled offensive coordinator, Scott Loeffler, will see another season in Blacksburg, but that's a discussion for another day.

[JRB]

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/new-riv ... s/33949976

Jim Weaver managed VT's financial resources about as well as anyone possibly could have, upgraded just about every athletic facility on campus, and helped raise VT's more-or-less nonexistent profile in non-revenue sports enormously. He wasn't always the most popular guy(and at times seemed as if he was actively trying not to be), and he made the occasional mistake in handling or hiring coaches, as any athletic director can. But he ran the department sensibly and ethically. VT athletics grew stronger under his leadership. As the article notes, VT probably isn't in the ACC without Jim Weaver's efforts. He will be missed.