SB Nation - Tyrod Taylor

Tech Decade: Hokies' Best Game of the Aughts

furrer4heisman — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:00:18 -0000

More photos » by Steve Helber - AP

The 00s are almost over and its time to decide the best moments and players from the last 10 seasons. Every day this week you readers will decide your favorite game, win, offensive and defensive player and team from those seasons.

First up is best game. Here are your nominees:

2000: Virginia Tech 37, Pittsburgh 34 - Dave Meyer relieves an injured Michael Vick and leads a comeback to keep the Hokies undefeated.

2004: Virginia Tech 34, Georgia Tech 20 - The Hokies score 21 points in the last six minutes of the game to keep their ACC title hopes alive.

2007: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 16 - Entering the fourth quarter tied at 16, Tech scored two late touchdowns to avenge its earlier defeat to Matt Ryan and claim its second ACC championship.

2009: Virginia Tech 16, Nebraska 15 - The Hokies played horrible until the final two minutes of the game when Tyrod Taylor hit Danny Coale for 81 yards and Dyrell Roberts for an 11-yard TD.

Poll

What was the best Virginia Tech game of the Aughts?

Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech: Chick-Fil-A Bowl Opening Thoughts

Will — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:30:12 -0000

More photos » by Don Petersen - AP

Dear Hokies: if you promise not to wear these, or those ridiculous all-white Nike uniforms, we promise not to wear black.

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Note: We'll have furrer4heisman from Gobbler Country on our podcast tonight, 9:00 PM EST

I moved from East Tennessee to Southwest Virginia in June 2006, 75 miles west of Lane Stadium in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech is to this area what Tennessee is back home: with no professional teams around and no other local collegiate competition, the Hokies dominate the landscape and the conversation every day. Maroon is the color of choice even an hour away, and I've come to appreciate and respect their passion, because it's very familiar.

As such, my excitement for this matchup is off the charts. This is a huge opportunity for Tennessee to end the season on its highest note, and for Lane Kiffin to get the biggest win of his young career. This is a very big football game, and based on the flow of this season, Vol fans should be more excited about this bowl game than, really, any other since the National Championship. We've played in more prestigious bowls than the Chick-Fil-A in the last eleven years, but end of season losses have tended to put a damper on those environments. But now, with the reset button having already been pressed on our expectations in Kiffin's first year, the 7-5 Vols are exactly where they should be, in a season we can feel good about, against a Top 15 opponent. This is one to be very excited about.

And know this: Tennessee fans may not care about Virginia Tech. But the majority of Hokie Nation does not like Tennessee. This is a big deal to the Hokies. It needs to be a big deal to the Vols.

I'm not an expert on Virginia Tech - just someone who's been paying more attention to them than the average Tennessee fan for the last four years. I usually make it out to VT's Thursday night home games, and went to the VT-Miami game in September this year. So as we officially begin the countdown to New Year's Eve, here are a few (okay, several) thoughts on the Vols-Hokies matchup...

People who are overly worried about Tyrod Taylor probably haven't seen Virginia Tech play

Tyrod is one of those guys with name recognition value among most college football fans. But through three seasons, his street cred is better than the actual on-field result. Virginia Tech, true to form, isn't looking to pass first - Taylor averages only 175 yards passing per contest. Take a look at Taylor's passing numbers against bowl teams this season:

Alabama: 9 of 20, 91 yards
Nebraska: 12 of 27, 192 yards, 1 TD
Miami: 4 of 9, 98 yards, 1 TD
Boston College: 7 of 10, 126 yards, 2 TDs
Georgia Tech: 10 of 14, 159 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
North Carolina: 11 of 23, 161 yards
East Carolina: 17 of 30, 137 yards

For the season, Taylor completes only 55% of his passes. It's an offense that's designed to minimize risk - Taylor has thrown only four picks this season - but also designed to take advantages of defenses that load up to stop the run at key times.

And in stopping the run, again, it's not Taylor that causes problems there necessarily - Tyrod runs for only 28.6 yards per game. And while Taylor's decision making has improved greatly from last season in terms of interceptions, he still made plenty of questionable decisions in terms of run/pass situations: the Hokies allowed 30 sacks this season, 90th in the nation.

All of us who saw what Dexter McCluster and/or Auburn did to Monte Kiffin's defense are automatically on guard anytime we play a team that runs some gimmicky stuff. And yeah, Virginia Tech is going to run out of some pistol and shotgun sets, as well as maybe a few Wild Turkey looks. VT's rushing attack is 16th nationally at over 200 yards per game. And the Hokies have tight ends and wide receivers that know how to block. But the reason for the offense's success isn't about Tyrod Taylor.

People who aren't overly worried about Ryan Williams definitely haven't seen Virginia Tech play

It's not gimmicky, it's not trickeration, and it hasn't happened because teams were too worried about stopping Tyrod Taylor: Ryan Williams might be the best running back Tennessee has faced all season.

I know about Mark Ingram, and I remember what McCluster did to us (which isn't to suggest that Williams is going to run for 250 yards against us...I hope). But Ryan Williams has better numbers than both of them.

The redshirt freshman (that's right) ran for 1,538 yards and 19 touchdowns this season - his 128 yards per game make him fifth in the nation in rushing. And he's first in the nation in highlight reel runs. Don't believe me? Here's a fantastic look at every big play he's made this season from hokiehivpi:

I challenge you to find ten minutes worth of material from any other running back in the nation with a better wow factor.

You know who Ryan Williams reminds me of? Montario Hardesty. They're both explosive, hard runners with a knack for when to make the right move, both have incredible balance...Hardesty hasn't fumbled all year, and Williams has only one - a costly one against UNC - that I can remember.

Virginia Tech grows these guys on trees: Williams follows in the footsteps of Lee Suggs, Kevin Jones, Branden Ore and Darren Evans, and like Evans before him, wasn't supposed to be the feature back this season. But when Evans tore an ACL in preseason, Williams immediately stepped in and became a huge difference maker, and ultimately was named the ACC Freshman of the Year. Sidenote: both of these guys in the backfield together next year? Look out.

Stopping Ryan Williams straight up is enough of a challenge. It's in reintroducing the stuff that changes up a defense that it becomes even more complicated. Make no mistake: containing Williams is the first and most important key to victory.

The tight end has disappeared from Virginia Tech's passing game

Last year, Greg Boone caught 22 passes and was thought to be an emerging threat in VT's limited passing game. But this year, Boone has only 7 receptions, as Tyrod Taylor has almost exclusively gotten the ball to his three leading receivers (Jarrett Boykin, Danny Coale, Dyrell Roberts) and Ryan Williams. Boone and the other tight ends have combined for only 12 catches on the season.

Given Tech's offense, it's going to be highly improbable that Eric Berry gets the interception he needs to break the record, unfortunately. But it's going to be highly probable that Berry is up at the line of scrimmage, one last time, helping slow down Tech's run game. Getting lined up right and knowing assignments, as always, will be critical. But it won't be the pass or the other skill players that beat Tennessee - again, it starts and ends with Williams.

Virginia Tech's defense does what it does

For a primer, check out the progression of VT's defense from Chris Brown at Smart Football, written during the offseason. Bud Foster's name will once again get thrown around with various openings around the country...but Foster loves Blacksburg, there's a restaurant that bears his name in town, and I'm not sure he's going anywhere. Tech's numbers again this year are very good: 11th nationally in scoring defense (15.8 ppg allowed), 14th in total defense (300.1 ypg allowed). In their four game win streak to close the season, the Hokies gave up 3, 9, 10, and 13 points. The opposition may not have been the greatest (ECU, Maryland, NC State, Virginia), but that's still impressive, and none of those teams got 300 yards of total offense.

There has been separation in Tech's ability to stop the run (52nd nationally, 138 ypg allowed) and the pass (5th nationally, 161 ypg allowed). Tech's secondary has more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes allowed (8) this season - you'll want to watch out for Rashad Carmichael back there, and Jason Worilds up front in the pass rush. But the teams that beat VT got it done on the ground: 268 rushing yards for Alabama, 309 from Georgia Tech, 181 from North Carolina.

The other common thread in VT losses: containing Williams. Alabama and UNC held him under 100 yards, and even though Georgia Tech didn't come close - 100 yards on only 14 carries - it's the second part of that equation that made the difference: GT built a lead that made Tech go away from its game plan somewhat in the fourth quarter, in part because they ate time of possession alive in that game at +17 minutes. If the Vols can't stop him, our offense needs to grind it out with our own talented tailback. Throwing excessively against VT this year has been more risk than reward.

The over/under on blocked kicks in this game is 1.5

Or at least it should be.

There's no bigger nightmare scenario than Tennessee's special teams, minus the recently departed Eddie Gran, against BeamerBall. The Vols have allowed two kickoffs to be returned for touchdowns, missed an extra point, and had four field goals and a punt blocked this season. Perhaps Daniel Lincoln - who missed two crucial kicks in the Georgia Dome, the horrors of which we'll discuss more fully some other day, in the 2007 SEC Championship Game - will be healthy enough to retake the job from late season walk on Devin Mathis. Lincoln has made big kicks before, but his altitude on the ball is begging for the Hokies to feast on him.

Tech's blocked kicks are always game changers, and Tennessee can't afford to give VT any help or short fields in this matchup. Everyone will look at this aspect and point to it as a key - and everyone will be right.

Don't put too much emphasis on the Virginia Tech-Alabama game

Simply because that was 14 weeks ago. Despite the fact that Alabama put a balanced 498 yards on the vaunted lunchpail defense, and VT picked up only 155 yards of offense (this, by the way, was a Virginia Tech offensive performance to a T: look horrific statistically, and still have a chance to win against a great team in the fourth quarter), Virginia Tech is a different - and better - football team now than they were then. We can both bask in the faded glow of almost beating the eventual National Champions and trade war stories...but I wouldn't look at that game and pull any real expectations from it.

That said...

Virginia Tech has not played well recently against the SEC

Last four meetings:

2004 Auburn: 16-13 L, Sugar Bowl
2006 Georgia: 31-24 L, Chick-Fil-A Bowl
2007 LSU: 48-7 L, Baton Rouge
2009 Alabama: 34-24 L, Atlanta

Granted, three of those four teams either had undefeated seasons or won the National Championship. But it's also worth nothing that the last time Tennessee and Virginia Tech met, the Vols blasted the Hokies 45-23 in the 1994 Gator Bowl.

The SEC is the best conference in college football, everybody knows it, and nobody knows it more than we do. Georgia and South Carolina - two teams the Vols beat by three possessions - just got done taking care of the ACC's two best teams. This is a statement game for not only Tennessee and Virginia Tech, but the ACC.

This game should be a good one.

The Montario Hardesty vs. Ryan Williams matchup alone is worth the price of admission. Bud Foster and Monte Kiffin are two of the very best at what they do. Will Jonathan Crompton or Tyrod Taylor make a decision that costs their team the victory, or make a play that wins it? Will Eric Berry have a shot at the record one more time?

Two teams, 220 miles apart, and what feels like a rivalry just waiting to happen. Whether it's another 15 years before we meet again or not, this game is huge for both teams. For Virginia Tech, it's ACC validation, 10 wins and a statement victory. For Tennessee, it's the biggest win of Kiffin's first year. The final game of 2009 could turn out to be one of its best.

Under The Hood: Nebraska vs Texas Statistical Comparison

Jon Johnston — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:39:22 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

Most of the talk will center around Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. Husker fans need to know the name Sergio Kindle, though, as he's a disruptive force on defense.

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One piece of advice - don't bother defending Nebraska's offense to anyone. You don't need to - people aren't expecting us to win so that pressure is on Texas. In fact, just consider our offense a zero, and then make the case for why we won't need an offensive touchdown to beat them.

Next question is - can you make that case? Answer = you can if you're delusional and that describes my relationship with Nebraska football. Most of the predictions I see from Texas people (reasonable Texas people, is that an oxymoron? Just asking...) are in the 20-point range.

Let's figure that Texas scores 21 points. Obviously we'll need 21 to match or better. If you give us a big play on special teams, blocked punt or kick, there's one-third. Our defense should be capable of a big play, say a Ndamukong Suh interception return (or Matt O'Hanlon, I'm not picky) for a touchdown (where he runs over Colt McCoy like a rag doll), there's another third.

Can our offense score seven points against Texas?

Statistics include national and conference rankings in parentheses.

Offensive Statistics

	Nebraska	Texas
Rush YPG	147.42 (64/6)	163.92 (47/5)
Rush YPC	4.12 (69/6)	4.40 (50/3)
Rush TDS	18 (61/7)	27 (8/1)

Pass YPG	187.3 (93/9)	287.7 (13/3)
Pass YPA	7.0 (67/8)	7.5 (43/2)
Pass TDS	15 (75/10)	27 (10/3)
Pass Efficiency	128.95 (62/8)	148.5 (15/1)

Total Offense	334.8 (93/11)	451.6 (11/3)
Scoring Offense	25.6 (72/8)	43.0 (3/1)

- Move along, there's nothing to see on the left side here.

- On the right side, it's interesting to note that Texas is eighth in the nation with rushing TDs. In fact, it's somewhat shocking with all the negativity about their run game. 14 of their 27 rushing TDs came against their non-conference opponents, leaving 13 for eight Big 12 games. That sounds better, doesn't it?

- 10 of Texas 27 passing TDs came against non-conference opponents.

- Texas longest rush of the season was that 65-yard run last week against the Aggies. McCoy had another long rush of 43 against the Aggies as well. Against Big 12 opponents, they've had only six rushing plays over 20 yards.

- Texas looks like they've gotten their running game together, largely because they've found a productive back. Running out of time, I'll expound on this later, hopefully this afternoon.

- The Longhorns longest pass of the season was an 88-yard pass against Central Florida from McCoy to Jordan Shipley (surprise, surprise). The pair hooked up for a 78-yarder against UL-Monroe. The longest against a Big 12 opponent was McCoy-Malcolm Wiliams for 68 yards. Against conference opponents, they've had 12 passes longer than 20 yards. Of those, only two were to Shipley. Four went to Williams, two to James Kirkendoll, and one to John Chiles.

Defensive Statistics

	Nebraska	Texas
Rush YPG	101.08 (14/5)	61.75 (1/1)
Rush YPC	2.98 (12/5)	1.99 (1/1)
Rush TDS	6 (5/2)	5 (2/1)

Pass YPG	189.5 (17/2)	201.4 (39/3)
Pass YPA	5.4 (7/2)	5.6 (9/3)
Pass TDS	7 (3/1)	14 (34/4)

Total Defense	290.6 (11/3)	263.2 (5/1)
Scoring Defense	11.1 (3/1)	15.4 (9/3)

- Oklahoma's defense is comparable to the Longhorns, so we've played a defense of this caliber before.

- We gave up three touchdown passes to Colorado, yet remain first in the nation in defending touchdown passes. It'd have been nice to have kept that number lower and remain in the "that's incredible" category (maybe we're still there, I'll look at that stuff after the season is over), but this is one key area between both these teams.

- The longest pass and run plays by our opponents both came in the Virginia Tech game, with a 46-yard by Ryan Williams and the disappointing 81-yard pass by Tyrod Taylor that helped them when the game.

- The 1.99 yard per carry given up by Texas defense is astounding. They've given up only six plays of over 20 yards all season. If that sounds awesome, the Blackshirts aren't far behind with eight. In passing plays of over 25 yards, Texas has given up 13, while Nebraska has given up 18.

The Details

	Nebraska	Texas
3rd Down Conversions (Pctg)	39.52 (59/6)	47.70 (13/2)
Red Zone Conversions (Score %)	80 (71/8)	92.86 (9/1)

Turnover Margin	+4 (39/5)	+12 (8/1)
Sacks	33 (12/5)	36 (5/3)
Tackles for Loss	74 (38/7)	103 (2/1)
Sacks Allowed	18 (40/5)	22 (61/6)
Punting (Avg)	41.98 (38/4)	38.94 (87/9)
Punt Returns	10.95 (37/5)	13.45 (14/2)
Kickoffs (Avg)	68.32 (1/1)	63.47 (34/5)
Kickoff Returns	23 (38/5)	28.31 (3/1)
Penalties (Yds/G)	64.6 (100/7)	57.9 (81/3)

- I hate to say this, but it continues to bug me. Remove the eight turnovers from the Iowa State game (as if you could) and Nebraska's turnover margin would be one of the best in the nation. There. Done with that.

- Texas kickoff return man D.J. Monroe is ranked third nationally with a 35.79 yard average. He's scored two touchdowns, both against non-conference opponents, where his kickoff return average is 52 yard per return. Against Big 12 opponents, it's 26.78. Niles Paul is ranked 43rd, with a 25.36 average. Good news, though as Paul has gotten better. Against the Big 12, his average is slightly higher at 26.83 yards per return.

- We will need to pick up some third downs (Captain Obvious). We were 1-for-14 against Oklahoma, but kept them out of the end zone because they had a freshman quarterback. Colt McCoy - no freshman. Against Kansas and Kansas State, we were 7-for-16, and then digressed at Colorado where we went 3-for-10 (and played like crap). I don't know what you're thinking of as a solution, but I'm thinking of Rex Burkhead and Brandon Kinnie.

- I double-checked the penalty stat on Texas. Hey, perhaps we will pick up some holding calls this weekend.

The Opponents

Total Offense Rank	Nebraska Opponent	Total Defense Rank	Total Offense Rank	Texas	Total Defense Rank
21	Florida Atlantic	113	51	UL-Monroe	47
90	Arkansas State	49	112	@Wyoming	83
56	@Virginia Tech	13	7	Texas Tech	48
72	UL-Lafayette	95	23	UTEP	111
33	@Missouri	55	104	Colorado	59
7	Texas Tech	48	29	Oklahoma	7
75	Iowa State	100	33	Missouri	55
86	@Baylor	96	62	Oklahoma State	32
29	Oklahoma	7	84	Central Florida	45
25	Kansas	74	86	Baylor	96
83	Kansas State	38	25	Kansas	74
104	Colorado	59	6	Texas A&M	107
56.75	Average	62.25	51.83	Average	63.67

- Both sides averages are nearly equal, which is expected when you play a lot of common opponents. I wasn't going to include this chart this time, but I really wanted to know about how their non-conference opponents, mostly because I could then do a little more smack talking.

- Funny that Texas A&M's defense is so horrible.

Virginia Tech 42, UVa 13: What They're Saying

furrer4heisman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:20 -0000

by Don Petersen - AP

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What the mainstream media and blogosphere is saying after a very satisfying win over our rivals in Charlottesville.

National Media and Bloggers

Virginia Tech controls rivalry (Annette)
"The game went according to script, with Virginia hanging around early on Senior Day in Scott Stadium before the disparity between the two programs showed up in the second half. Virginia's defense couldn't stop Ryan Williams, who has played an outstanding rookie season and scored four rushing touchdowns for the second straight game. He should be a 2010 Heisman contender."

Hokie and Hoo Beat Writers

Tech takes UVa's best shot, then crushes rivals (Aaron McFarling)
"Every year, it seems, Tech-UVa week plays out the same. The days leading up to the game, the Cavaliers dominate the storylines. They're the ones with something to prove. Can they keep it close? Can they put it together for one day? Can they perhaps pull the upset? Then they play the game, and the answers spill forth in capital letters: NO. NO. NO."

Hokies sprint to finish against UVa (Randy King)
"Tech, which knocked itself out of the national picture with back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina in October, finished 4-0 in November with an average scoring differential of 24.25 points per game. Continuing to get better offensively, the Hokies rolled up 482 total yards against a fired-up UVa squad that was hoping to hand Al Groh a victory in what was likely his final game as Cavaliers' coach."

In perhaps Groh's final game, Va. Tech wins (Mark Viera)
"With losses by Clemson and North Carolina on Saturday, Virginia Tech is aligned for a trip to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31. An at-large Bowl Championship Series invitation seems unlikely."

U.Va.'s Dowling burned by Taylor-Coale connection (Kyle Tucker)
"But rival Virginia Tech picked on Dowling early and often Saturday. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor's first pass of the game went deep down the right sideline to Danny Coale, who had blown by Dowling. Even when the pass was short, Coale came back to it for a 41-yard, shoe-top catch. Taylor's next pass also went deep to Coale, who out-jumped Dowling for a 36-yard grab to set up the Hokies' first touchdown. By halftime, Dowling had been beaten on four passes that covered 131 yards. That wasn't necessarily an accident on Tech's part."

Six it is: Tech trounces rival Virginia (Gordon Block)
"For the second week in a row, Williams reached the end zone four times and became the second Tech player to score four touchdowns in back-to-back games. Lee Suggs accomplished the same feat by scoring five times against the University of Central Florida and then four times against UVa in 2000."

Ryan Williams...what more can you say? (Norm Wood)
"Though Williams won’t catch former Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson for the Football Bowl Subdivision single-season rushing record by a freshman, there’s a chance Williams could at least finish within shouting distance. Oh, by the way...just noticed this note in U.Va.'s postgame package. His four rushing touchdowns were the most by an opposing player against U.Va. since 1982, when Georgia Tech's Robert Lavette also scored four."

Coverage of Virginia Tech 42, Virginia 13 (Darryl Slater)
"And the Hokies’ defense was stingy again. Tech, which led 14-13 at halftime, held Virginia to 96 yards in the second half. The Hokies did it by shutting down Sewell, who ran 10 times for 99 yards in the first half, including seven for 91 in the first quarter, then seven times for 24 yards in the second half, not counting sacks. Tech allowed two offensive touchdowns in the regular season’s final four games, all wins."

Groh's final words with player comment (Michael Phillips)
"Make what you will of that, but it seems like Al Groh’s final words as U.Va. head coach. The poem refers to you being the only person who can effectively judge yourself at the end of the day, a message Groh sends out, I’m sure, to his many critics. At the end, he listed some of the attributes he wanted to be remembered by."

Cavaliers stung by boyhood UVa fan (Doug Doughy)
"Coale, whose older brother played lacrosse for the Cavaliers, continued to show UVa the error of its ways Saturday in a 42-13 Virginia Tech victory at Scott Stadium. Coale, who had a season-high five receptions in a 2008 meeting with the Cavaliers, finished with six catches for 135 yards Saturday."

There's only one word to describe Williams - great (Bill Roth)
"With no offense to the ageless Tony the Tiger, who’s been pitching the quality of Frosted Flakes for a half century ("They’re Grrrrreat," as you know), true greatness, in reality, should be hard to find. It should be uncommon and rare. So when you read that Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams is having the greatest freshman season in the history of Virginia Tech football and the greatest freshman year in the history of the ACC, understand that in this instance, the word is used in its intended form."

Hokies control second half in pulling away from Virginia (Jimmy Robertson)
"The momentum totally went the Hokies’ way following a UVa turnover. Sewell tried to pitch the ball to tailback Mikell Simpson on the option, but the pitch hit Simpson in the facemask and fell to the ground at the UVa 25, where Tech safety Kam Chancellor picked it up and ran to the UVa 10."

Hokie and Hoo Bloggers

The Guy in the Glass and the Best of #BeatUVa (College Game Balls)
"And now for something more fun, the best of #BeatUVa (in no particular order)."

Hokies Whip UVA, Await Bowl Fate (Tech Sideline)
"Virginia got off to a hot start offensively, running the read option with quarterback Jameel Sewell. Sewell finished with 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground, but Hokie defensive coordinator Bud Foster made adjustments at halftime and the Hokies shutout the Hoos in the second half. UVA finished with 295 yards of total offense."

CHECKMATE (Beer Control Offense)
"Sometimes, you just gotta stick your face in the fan."

I Smell Pretention: Hokies WIN 42-13 (Fight for Old DC)
"As for the game, there's not a ton to say. It was an awesome second half effort by both lines, and you have to give credit to Bryan Stinespring. He called a VERY good game. Tyrod wasn't super accurate, but his receivers came up with some amazing catches and made him look great at points."

Requiem for an era: Let It Go In Peace (From Old Virginia)
"Yes, it's still happening, the criticism and the name-calling and the good-riddance-ing, and yes, it's pissing the rest of us off and that's all it's accomplishing. So help me, if I see another good-riddance style post on any UVA message board the rest of the year, I'm gonna go off on someone. You got what you wanted - Groh is fired. You also got a 3-9 season to go with it, which has been just all sorts of fun, but hey, you got what you wanted."

Bourbon Shots: Hate Edition

furrer4heisman — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:00:13 -0000

This isn't the prettiest of rivalries. The games are ugly, the teams play ugly, even the team's colors are ugly. The Commonwealth Cup is a game only Hokies and Hoos appreciate. It rarely means much beyond bragging rights for more than one team with the exception of the 2007 contest. But while this game carries little significance outside the Old Dominion, it carries a lot of significance for the Hokies and Hoos.

There's a huge culture clash between the two schools and to me, UVa embodies a lot of qualities I just loathe. To outsiders, the only difference may appear to be which color the fans prefer to wear with their orange. But those who know this rivalry intimately know there's a deep unyielding hate between the two schools that is on par with some of the more mainstream rivalries in college football.

This week brings out the worst in me. Let's see what it brought out from the media and bloggers. We'll also check in on GT-UGa, NC State-UNC, The Civil War and others. Links after the jump.

Hokie and Hoo Beat Writers

Beamer wary of Cavaliers (Randy King)
"The oddsmakers have established Virginia Tech as a hefty 13-point road favorite over Virginia in Saturday's regular-season finale. That said, don't even mention the betting spread to Frank Beamer. Frankly, Tech's football coach doesn't want to hear it."

Cavaliers need a new surprise in old rivalry (Aaron McFarling)
"And even though the result seemed familiar -- a fifth straight victory for Tech in the series, 17-14 -- the teams treated us to three hours of drama and storylines, thanks in large part to the Vic Hall moment. The Hokies remember it well, and they're bracing for a similar surprise this weekend."

A rivalry that's in the blood (Mark Viera)
"In-state rivalries like the one between Virginia Tech and Virginia start at a young age. These videos illustrate that, so check them out if you feel like wasting a little time."

The day Percy Harvin ended Ryan Williams’ track career (Nathan "Tommie Frazier" Warters)
"Williams ran in the prelims for the 100-meter dash, and he got smoked by Harvin, who went on to star in football at Florida and is now catching touchdown passes from Brett Favre as a Minnesota Vikings rookie. Harvin paced the field in the prelims with a 10.8. Williams ran an 11.43, which was good for 25th. Harvin later won the finals in 10.69 seconds. Williams didn’t care too much for his running that day, but at least he got to meet Taylor."

The next step in Tyrod Taylor’s development (Darryl Slater)
"Taylor’s less-obvious benchmarks of improvement, though, matter even more to Tech’s coaches. It is harder to see, from numbers alone, perhaps the greatest sign of their increased trust in him: their recent willingness to let him, and not his offensive coordinator, pick a play at the line of scrimmage based on what he sees in the defense’s formation."

Capturing the Commonwealth (Kyle Tucker)
"In the spirit of Rivalry Week, I’d like to quote a noted scholar, who once said of Virginia-Virginia Tech: "It’s like the rivalry between the hammer and the nail." That was Pilot columnist Bob Molinaro, (in)famous for his salty one-liners that often ring uncomfortably true. Sorry, Virginia folks, but the Cavaliers have been distinctly nail-like of late."

Special teams failures haunt the Cavaliers (Doug Doughty)
"Almost every momentum-changing special-teams play has been offset by a snafu by one of the units. Saturday, Chase Minnifield set up U.Va.'s first touchdown at Clemson with a 34-yard kickoff return. He fumbled on two later kickoff returns, one resulting in the Cavaliers taking possession at their 8-yard line."

Hokie and Hoo Bloggers

One-on-One With: Bud Foster (Part 3) (ACC Sports Journal)
"As a coach, you wear a lot of different hats, and a big one is dealing with your kids on a day-to-day basis. The bottom line for us and a big part of our success is that the kids know that we really do care about them. It’s not just, what can you do for me on Saturdays?"

Why I hate UVA: The Redux (The North End Zone)
"I've had and have heard of many bad experiences from people who visited or know UVA students and alums, and there are very few of them who weren't complete knobs. I hate the Yankees, but alas, I am still good friends with a couple of diehard (and actual, not bandwagon frontrunning Yankee fans) and we can have a civil discussion about the merits of both of our teams. This has never been the case in all of my experiences with UVA fans. They are all stuck-up and insecure twats."

Rivalry Reek (Beer Control Offense)
"I loathe groh, his face, his voice, his attire, his convoluted coach speak that only Stiney can understand, his sea of orange, his coattails super bowl ring, really ... I could go on for a bit. I will say 1 thing positive about him, his team NEVER quit. Even in avg to below avg years, they play hard annually .... just not well."

Game preview: Virginia Poly (From Old Virginia)
"Stuff Ryan Williams. There's a near-perfect correlation between holding him under 101 yards and Tech losing the game. Duke is the only exception. Williams is the key; Tyrod Taylor scares nobody."

Atlantic Coast Conference

If he gets the chance, Johnson will bring the hammer down on the Dawgs (Mr. College Football)
"State rivalries like Georgia and Georgia Tech are always big recruiting games. Saturday night’s game at Bobby Dodd Stadium will be no different. But in his second year at Georgia Tech, Johnson has infused the football program with confidence at a time where Georgia’s confidence is at a pretty low ebb. There is all kind of positive energy at Georgia Tech. I haven’t seen this much negative energy at Georgia since Jim Donnan’s last year (2000) as head coach. College Football 101 says that when you have your rival in a weakened position, you put your foot on the gas. If Johnson can lay a pretty good number on Georgia, he will. Georgia has enough athletic ability to make this game competitive. But I wonder if they have the heart to fight back. I really do."

The ACCSports.com Podcast (ACC Sports Journal)
"The dulcet tones of Barry Manilow open up this week’s conversation, as a tribute to Clemson finally "making it" by reaching the ACC Atlantic Division title game. But is that enough for Clemson fan? Joe and Jim also talk about the sparse crowd that showed up for Mickey Andrews’ final home game at FSU and what that means for Bobby Bowden. They then segue into "rivalry week," which really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be this year."

Tuesday Mornin' Hatin' on uga with Winfield & Dane (From The Rumble Seat)
"Dane: Beating georgia means nothing, but losing to them means everything. Mutt fans like beating Tech way more than we like beating them. I know that sounds crazy - but that's really all they had, and now it's gone. I heard "seven" more times last season than any other word, and every georgia fan I met made it a point to tell me that they owned us. No, you owned Chan Gailey. And now he's gone."

Another relic from the Bowden era: The QB succession plan (Tomahawk Nation)
"A sometimes forgotten aspect of the dynasty was Bowden's embrace of a quarterback succession plan. Bowden began to set up a recruiting structure by which he spaced quarterbacks two years apart, with redshirts factored in, so that a quarterback became a starter as a redshirt junior. New "elite" quarterbacks were recruited when the incumbent was a redshirt senior."

Road Trippin' Through The Motions (Backing The Pack)
"The game aside, we had a good time in Blacksburg, and it's a road trip you should make in the future if you have the opportunity. For an on-campus facility, the parking is surprisingly ample, and there's plenty of space for visitors who don't have a parking pass, which was a relief for us. Tech fans were very nice, though I suspect that was primarily because they all knew this game was a gimme."

How Will Bible's Diagnosis Impact State's Performance? (Yet Another...)
"Yesterday's news that offensive coordinator Dana Bible has been diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukemia caught all but Bible's closest confidants off guard. We knew he'd missed the trip to Virginia Tech for health reasons, but those reasons were unclear to nearly everyone until yesterday's press conference when Tom O'Brien shared the news."

Division Champ Dab-O-Meter (Block-C)
"Dabo is endearing himself to the Clemson faithful more and more each day, but his status on the Dab-O-Meter can only change incrementally now that he’s so close to Danny. He’ll have to be happy with the baby steps until I devise a new representational chart of Dab-O-Metrics. I’m way too busy trying to create the interactive Dab-O-Meter shirt. It’s like Shirt 2.0, you guys!"

Easily The Stupidest Thing You Will Read Today (Tar Heel Fan)
"What you are about to read is called stirring the pot and Josh Hailey at WRAL Fankind(no link for obvious reasons) basically shovels a bunch of manure onto the page then watches as the kids come along and play in it. It is traffic bait which Hailey readily admits up front with the classic "I know people are going to hate me for this" disclaimer which really means "I know people are going to hate me and that is exactly why I am writing it." Anyway, something like this requires a piece by piece dismantling and I feel obligated to provide it."

National College Football

Paying it forward, making a difference (George Schroeder)
"You may have heard the story of Angel Wilson, the 13-year-old Oklahoma girl with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy who somehow loves Oregon football. Or the colors. Or the Duck mascot. No one’s exactly sure what it is, but Angel lights up when the Ducks are on TV. When Ryan Wolfe heard her story, he did something about it. The result is a neat, heartwarming example of kindness, of giving without looking for anything in return."

Corn Blight Has Left The Building..... (Corn Nation)
"The one other area in which we need to improve is credibility. That's the biggest reason for the name change. Husker Mike and Jlew don't have the same problem as me. Their monikers are at least a close proximity to their real names. Me, well, let's just say "corn blight" is a long way from "Jon Johnston" and while it wouldn't take much to relate the two most people don't do it. They especially don't do it if they see it on a headline when scanning through Google News or any other web site. Bottom line - it's time for me to use my own name."

RCR Theatre: The Blind Side Review (Red Cup Rebellion)
"There's a few moments where I was fairly moved, not because of Oher's story, but because there is an unknown number of children, teenagers and adults who will never or never make it out of bad situations. There's a few lines in the movie that just makes you want to give money to poor people, and I don't even have much money to give."

The importance of Autzen Stadium going into the Civil War (Addicted To Quack)
"Going into the Civil War, I think that this home field advantage will be a huge factor. It's not getting a lot of attention yet, but it should. The Ducks are a better team at home. They play at a completely different level. And if the Ducks can come close to that level, I love their chances next week."

Autzen Stadium: Will it Make a Difference for Oregon State? (Building The Dam)
"More than anything, I think this proves that the Beavers aren't going to have another let down this year against the Ducks. But we didn't really need to look at statistics to see that-- I think we can agree that the vibe surrounding this team is better overall than it was a year ago. Everybody's healthy. The pressure is lower-- OSU hasn't had the "you control your own destiny" monkey on it's back the past month. The Beavers should be able to play loose."

Beggars Can Be Choosers: Champs Sports Bowl

Rodger Sherman — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:15:08 -0000

Big Ten Season is over, but errbody else is still playing and whatnot. So with our eyes on December and plane tickets, here's a look at who we might play, why we want to play them, and all that good stuff.

So, if the world keeps spinning the way it should, Northwestern is going to Orlando to play in the Champs Sports Bowl. (However, I'll preview our other game opponents eventually. Don't you worry, people.)

Anyway, the Champs Sports Bowl features the #4 team from the Big Ten not in a BCS bowl, and the #4 team from the ACC.

So y'all are all like, hey, I wonder what teams could potentially be the #4 team from the ACC? But luckily for you fools, I got widgets on my side:

Atlantic Coast Conference Standings

(updated 11.22.2009 at 2:34 AM CST)

Atlantic Division	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Clemson Tigers	6	2	8	3
Boston College Eagles	4	3	7	4
Florida St. Seminoles	4	4	6	5
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	2	5	4	7
N.C. State Wolfpack	1	6	4	7
Maryland Terrapins	1	6	2	9

Coastal Division	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	7	1	10	1
Virginia Tech Hokies	5	2	8	3
Miami Hurricanes	5	3	8	3
North Carolina Tar Heels	4	3	8	3
Duke Blue Devils	3	4	5	6
Virginia Cavaliers	2	5	3	8

Admittedly, I don't know much about ACC football this season, although people in the know assure me that it does, in fact, exist. I don't watch their games, I don't know their players, and I don't read their respective SBNation blogs. (Yet. But that's what the next 7 or 8 weeks are for.) So here's my opportunity to take a quick peek at all these teams and figure out who I want to play.

So right now, Georgia Tech is 10-1, and then there's four 8-3 teams and a 7-4 team. As far as I can tell (and I can tell very little), despite being 8-3, Clemson is guaranteed to be either the #1 or #2 pick in the conference by virtue of the fact that they've already booked a spot in the ACC Championship game, so, we don't have to worry about playing the Tigers. That leaves Virginia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, and Boston College as people we could play in the Champs Sports Bowl, should we be selected. So let's take a look at them there teams, in that random order.

North Carolina Tar Heels (8-3, 4-3 ACC, #24 BCS)

Left on the docket: @ North Carolina State (4-7, 1-6 ACC), Saturday @ 12, ESPN2. They'll probably win.

Season thus far: Looking at their team stats, there's a lot of lacklusterness going on, but after dropping three in four weeks, including losses to mediocre at best Virginia and Florida State, the Tar Heels got it going. They've won four straight, including W's @ then No. 13 Virginia Tech and against then No. 14 Miami. So things turned around fast.

Pros to playing them: North Carolina's second leading export behind tobacco is post-basketball season college football apathy, so you can count on there being as much if not more purple than powder blue in Orlando if this goes down.

Quite frankly, I always like North Carolina, regardless of the sport. I contemplated applying there. It's probably because it's ovewhelmingly easy to dislike Duke, and the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

Big fans of raising up.

Cons: They're disturbingly hot, pause. It's way better to play a team that came into the year with high expectations and started to fizzle than it is a team that just won five straight and people are pumped for the bowl game.

We're 1-1 in the past three years against teams from North Carolina. Oh, and they were both Duke, so we shoulda been 2-0.

Also, not a slight against NC, since they probably have a better team historically than we do, but what this program needs is a bowl victory against a school that people associate with football. If we UNC, people will see that matchup and think "awww, it's sorta cute that those two schools are in bowl games! I hope they both win!" On the other hand, if we play a school people associate with football, people look at that matchup and say, "damn, NU got into a bowl game? They're going to get smoked by (insert school name)!" (See our two-touchdown spread last year against Missouri.) And then when we win, people will actually notice, and that's what we want. Even if NC is better than those other schools, we want to play someone with football tradition. Just sayin'.

Likelihood of playing them: Mad high: CBS, Stuart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, the College Football Network, and Hail to Purple have us facing the Tar Heels.

Three other teams and other stuff, after the jump!

Miami Hurricanes (8-3, 5-3 ACC, #17 BCS)

Left on the docket: South Florida, at 3:30 on ABC. I'm not ready to put this away as a win for the Hurricanes, as the Bulls have already beaten ranked FSU and West Virginia squads, so, they can play. (They also actually beat Syracuse, so, that's a step up from us.)

Season thus far: Jacory Harris and co have put together a decent year. They started out by beating No. 18 FSU and No. 11 Georgia Tech (the only loss for the Ramblin Wrecks so far this year), then after losing to Virginia Tech, they went out and beat No. 8 Oklahoma. Their only losses on the season come to decent teams - VT, UNC, and Clemson.

Pros: To follow up on that last thing I said, the U is one of those schools with one of those big names that looks good when you beat them.

Nobody likes traveling north for a bowl game.

As long as we're posting rap songs from my youth as pros for teams, it should be noted that Miami is a city where the heat is on and where we party all night until the break of dawn.

NU currently 1-0 on the season against teams named "Miami".

Cons: Playing Miami wouldn't be good for my lifelong fear of getting mutted by the whole crew. (I hope that song made up for linking to a rap song with no dirty words in it. Thanks, G-Reg!)

NU hasn't really beaten a team with a grade-A offense like the one the Canes got so far this year. Jacory could do unspeakable things to our secondary, and they have three guys with 75+ carries who average more than 5 yards per carry. Those are numbers, fellas.

Likelihood of playing them: Decent. Mark Schlabach has us playing them, and if every team listed in this preview won next week, Miami would be the fourth selection on the ladder, so, that's damn likely.

Virginia Tech Hokies (8-3, 5-2 ACC, #14 BCS)

Left on the docket: Virginia, 3:30 on ABC. (That Miami game up there is supposedly also on ABC, so, chances are at least one of those is a lie in the area you live.) The Commonwealth Cup is one of the least interesting football rivalries in the world, especially because I just had to look up what the name of the rivalry is, and the Hokies should romp.

Season thus far: A loss to now No. 2 Alabama in the season opener and now No. 7 Georgia Tech is nothing to be ashamed of, and that loss to UNC sort of is, though. All things told, not a poor season, including wins over Nebraska and a demolition of then No. 9 Miami. Since dropping two straight to GT and NC, the Hokies are outscoring opponents 90-22.

Pros: Still not sure what a Hokie is. Y'all know how I feel about confusing mascots.

Pre-dog fighting, I loved me some Vick brothers. I still play as Mike in Madden, and Marcus was just the greatest person ever.

Cons: Virginia Tech is the best team we could theoretically play in this bowl. And that's bad. Remember that "grade-A offense" thing I said about Miami? Well, Tyrod Taylor has ten more touchdowns than interceptions - 10! - and can run, too, and Ryan Williams might have 1500 yards rushing on the year by the time we play them, so, that's bad.

It's not a good sign for NU's chances that I can name two of Virginia Tech's ex-QB's off the top of my head, even if they are brothers. The only reason I can do that for any other team we'd theoretically play against is because Vinny Testaverde was the Jets QB for like 40 years and I saw Brock Berlin's name in a sporcle quiz earlier today.

Likelihood of playing them: Relatively low. The only plausible scenario in which Virginia Tech wouldn't be the third ACC team selected would be if they lost this week to Virginia, and that in and of itself is implausible. But theoretically, if they lost, allowing, say, Miami to be third, and UNC lost as well, they'd be fourth in the standings.

Boston College Eagles (7-4, 4-3 ACC)

Left on the docket: Maryland, 3:30 on ESPNU. The easiest of W's.

Season thus far: Playing in the easy-peasy ACC Atlantic, the Eagles had only one game against a ranked opponent this year, against No. 5 Virginia Tech, and they lost it. By 34. The Eagles season took a huge hit last week when they lost to NC, who, as you saw, is the team most likely to play us in the Champs Sports, while BC would need a lot to go right for them to make it in.

Oh, and they lost to the Team from South Bend, so, they're hella mediocre. Although I'll give them a pass there on the whole "same helmet" thing that I'm sure resulted in like seven picks.

Pros: Playing BC would give me another opportunity to unleash my undying hatred on the Boston sports world. Because Tom Brady and the Celtics aren't enough to tide me over until pitchers and catchers report, and I sure as hell am not picking up hockey just to hate the Bruins.

It's winnable. Just sayin'.

People like to play up the whole "academic-focused private schools in metropolitan areas that prefer pro sports" connection between us in BC, so, there's that. (Never mind that UNC's a better school. Just go with it.)

Cons: One game against the Wildcats would probably be enough for the Eagles to steal all of our gameplans so they could easily defeat us when we face them in 2011 and 2012.

When you're going up against the Hokies, the Hurricanes (whose mascot is an Ibis) and the Tar Heels (which isn't a real thing, but whose mascot is a bighorn ram for some reason), you're going to need to step your mascot game up. "Eagles" just isn't cutting it.

Likelihood of playing them: Low. They'd have to win and at least two of the other teams would have to lose for them to be in the fourth selection spot without jumping anybody.

So, there's the teams we could play in the Champs Sports Bowl. Now, I'ma rank each of them in a few metrics to decide which team I'd most like to play if we do get selected to this bowl. It should be noted that all my rankings are off the top of my head, probably incorrect, so feel free to disagree.

Mascot: Not that important, but still.

The U
VT
UNC
BC

Program Prestige: Who does it look the coolest when we play against/beat?

The U
BC
VT
UNC

Traveling: Who's likely to bring the least people, and therefore, giving NU the best chance of having a semi-home field advantage? (then again, you could argue that we'd want the other team to bring as many fans as possible so it looks like NU travels well for future bowls. But screw that.)

UNC
The U
BC
VT

Hateability: How easily do they inspire hatred? Arguably the most important factor.

BC
The U
UNC
VT

Winnability: The actual most important factor. YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME.

BC
UNC
The U
VT

So the winner of the Sippin' on Purple Champs Sports Bowl Team I'd Most Like To Play Award (the prestigious SOPCSBTIMLTPA, as they call it in the streets) goes to the #17 Miami Hurricanes.

Congrats, Sebastian!

via www.bio.miami.edu

Poll

Who you wanna play?

UNC

7 votes

Tha U! Niversity of Miami

22 votes

Virginia Polytechnical Institute

4 votes

Boston College

7 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

NCAA10 Sim: Hokies 21, Cavaliers 17

Hokie20 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:00:15 -0000

Virginia Tech played a conservative offensive game in the second half to avoid an upset from Virginia 21-17 in Charlottesville.

The Hokies' Tyrod Taylor found tight end Greg Boone often in the early quarters to propel Tech to an early 14-0 lead. Taylor continued his hot start with a touchdown strike to Jarrett Boykin with just under two minutes left in the half.

Things were looking good for Tech until Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell started to pick apart the Hokies' secondary in under a minute. In just three plays, Virginia was on the board with a 27 yard touchdown pass to Kris Burd.

Tech turned into a running team in the second half with limited success. Taylor threw one interception early in the third quarter leading to a Mikell Simpson 6 yard touchdown run to cap off a seven play drive to help the Hoos to pull within a touchdown. Tech's defense clamped down only allowing a field goal at the end of the third quarter.

The Hokies ran out the clock in the fourth quarter to squander any form of upset in head coach Al Groh's final game on the Virginia sideline.

VT 14 7 0 0 -21
UVA 0 7 10 0 -17

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
VT:TD 3:43 R. Williams, 3 Yd run (M. Waldron Kick)
VT:TD 0:30 G. Boone, 31 Yd pass from T. Taylor (M. Waldron Kick)
2nd Quarter
VT:TD 1:53 J. Boykin, 7 Yd pass from T. Taylor (M. Waldron Kick)
UVA:TD 0:52 K. Burd, 27 Yd pass from J. Sewell (R. Randolph Kick)
3rd Quarter
UVA:TD 2:22 M. Simpson, 6 Yd run (R. Randolph Kick)
UVA:FG 0:03 R. Randolph, 20 Yd FG

Significant Stats
First downs VT: 11 UVA: 21
Total Offense VT:293 UVA: 444
Turnovers VT: 1 FUM UVA: 1 INT

Virginia Tech Top Player Stats
Passing: T. Taylor 12-20 for 176 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: R. Williams 22-for-83 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: G. Boone 5-for-115 yds, 1 TD
Defense: B. Rivers 8 TAK, 1 TFL, 1 SAK

Virginia Top Player Stats
Passing: J. Sewell 29-52 for 347 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: M. Simpson 15-for-65 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: J. Brown 7-for-119 yds
Defense: D. Childs 6 TAK, 1 TFL

2009 Virginia Tech Football: What to Watch vs. UVa

furrer4heisman — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Don Petersen - AP

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The Team

UVa has nothing to lose and it's the last game in Hooville for its seniors and its coach. I expect a motivated Wahoo team playing at its highest level.
If the Hokies can't match that intensity level, it's very possible for them to lose. UVa is better than its record indicates and has a defense that will keep it hanging around. That's a dangerous proposition for the Hokies.

Virginia Tech Offense vs. Virginia Defense

The Wahoos have a surprisingly good defense this season, especially against the pass.
It will be up to Ryan Williams to lead the charge against UVa in this game. If he goes off, Tech will win easily. If he is stymied by the Wahoo defense, this game will be a dogfight.
The Hokies have had success against teams that run a 3-4 defense (at least ones that aren't Alabama). Last year Tech ran for 216 yards against UVa, including 137 yards from Tyrod Taylor.
Hopefully Taylor can again have success breaking containment and getting yards with his feet against the Hoos. While he didn't run for many yards against UVa the last time the teams met in Charlottesville, he did have two rushing touchdowns.
The Hoos last out-rushed the Hokies in 2004, when Andrew Pearman ran for 147 yards in a 24-10 VT win. If the Hokies can continue their success on the ground against UVa, it should be a sixth consecutive Commonwealth Cup win.
If the Hokies have success through the air, I think it will be on shorter routes to the tight ends or flankers like Danny Coale. Coale grew up a UVa fan and this will be his first chance to play in Charlottes while wearing orange and maroon. I think he'll have a big day getting the ball in the middle of the field.

Virginia Tech Defense vs. Virginia Offense

Last year it seemed like every one in the Commonwealth knew Vic Hall was going start at quarterback for Virginia except the Hokies and their coaching staff. Hall came out and ran the single wing offense to perfection and led the Hoos to a 14-7 halftime lead.
The Hoos introduced another single wing wrinkle last week with running back Mikell Simpson taking direct snaps. However, Simpson's status for Saturday is up in the air. If he plays, I think you'll see him under center at times. Hopefully the coaching staff has been dissecting film to come up with a way to defend what the Hoos have done out of the single wing this year.
Two guys that will have a lot of say in stopping the single wing attack are Barquell Rivers and Kam Chancellor. If those two guys can take care of the inside run game, guys like Cody Grimm and Jason Worilds can focus on stringing plays to the outside where the Hokies' cornerbacks can make tackles.
Tech's cornerbacks have been solid against the run this year and if Tech is going to stop Virginia's single wing plays, they'll need to be on their game.
The Wahoo passing attack has been pretty bad this year, whether it's Jameel Sewell, Marc Verica or whoever at quarterback. If the Hokies are going to give up points to the Wahoos, it's going to be on the ground, just like last year.

Outcome

Someone is going to make a play on defense or special team that completely changes to momentum and possibly outcome of this game. Hopefully it's one of the good guys.

Watch the Box Score for:

Turnovers
Ryan Williams rushing yards
UVa third down conversions
Non-offensive points

Virginia Tech Players to Watch:

34 - Ryan Williams, Fr., RB
19 - Danny Coale, So., WR
52 - Barquell Rivers, So., LB
17 - Kam Chancellor, Sr., FS

Virginia Players to Watch:

4 - Vic Hall, Sr., QB/DB/KR
31 - Rashawn Jackson, Sr., RB
98 - Nate Collins, Sr., DE
19 - Ras-I Dowling, Jr., CB

Final Score

Virginia Tech 24, Virginia 19

2009 Virginia Tech Football: UVa Game Guide

furrer4heisman — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:15:26 -0000

More photos » by Don Petersen - AP

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Virginia Tech Hokies (8-3, 5-2) at Virginia Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5)

Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Date: Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009
Place: Carl Smith Center, Home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium (61,500), Charlottesville, Va.
TV: ABC/ESPN Reverse Mirror

Virginia: The Wahoos lost at Clemson last week, 21-34, but showed signs of live in their fifth consecutive loss ... Virginia matched the Tigers in the first half and trailed 24-21 at halftime, however it was shutout in the second half ... the Virginia defense is very good ... it's allowing 5.0 ypp in conference play, 4th in the ACC ... against ACC teams, the Hoos are allowing 3.9 ypc (8th) and 6.5 ypa (3rd) ... on offense, the Wahoos have struggled, averaging 3.7 ypp, last in the ACC ... they're averaging 2.4 ypc (11th) and 5.0 ypa (11th) against ACC teams ... this could be Al Groh's last game as UVa's coach ... Groh owns a 1-7 record against the Hokies and you know his players will want to send him out a winner ... the Wahoos are a dangerous team.

Trends: The Hokies have won three consecutive games ... Virginia Tech is 3-4 on the road in ACC play the last two seasons ... UVa is 3-10 in November the last four seasons ... Virginia Tech is 14-1 in November the last four seasons ... UVa is 23-12 in home ACC games under Groh, but 0-3 at home against ACC teams this season ... the Wahoos have lost five consecutive ACC home games ... the Hokies have won five consecutive games against UVa and nine of the last 10 contests.

History Lesson: The Hokies are 48-37-5 all-time against UVa, 13-9 against the Wahoos under Frank Beamer and 18-17-3 against them in Charlottesville ...

What to Expect:

Expect the entire Virginia playbook. They showed a few new wrinkles last week with RB Mikell Simpson taking snaps out the single wing and leading a touchdown drive. However, Simpson injured his hamstring on the last play of the first half and his status for Saturday is unknown.
Simpson, Jameel Sewell and Vic Hall all took snaps at quarterback against Clemson.
Expect a defensive struggle. The Virginia offense is anemic, but its defense is very underrated. DE Nate Collins is an outstanding player and has 9.5 tackles for loss this year, including five sacks.
Expect the Hokies to need a big game from Ryan Williams. The Wahoos have a good secondary anchored by CB Ras-I Dowling and the passing yards won't come nearly as easy for Tyrod Taylor as they did against Maryland and NC State. The good news is Tech tends to have success against teams that run a 3-4 defense.
Expect a motivated Wahoo team. This is their bowl game and they'll want to get one last win for Groh. And the besweatered one will throw the kitchen sink at the Hokies to try and get that win.

Hokies Win If: They're able to figure out the new wrinkles in the Wahoo offense and a good game from Williams and the other running backs.

Cavaliers Win If: They're able to keep the Hokies defensive line from disrupting their run game and getting pressure on their QBs and force turnovers on defense.

Dot-dot-dots: Virginia Tech WR Danny Coale was a big UVa fan growing up in Lexington, Va. ... Ryan Williams set the VT and ACC freshman rushing record by running for 120 yards against NC State ... Williams had four rushing touchdowns against NC State after scoring three in his previous six games ... after forcing three fumbles against NC State, Cody Grimm now leads the ACC in the category with six ... he is in a three-way tie for the national lead.

Wahoo Links

From Old Virginia

Virginia Tech 38, NC State 10: Postgame Stream of Consciousness

furrer4heisman — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:23:37 -0000

More photos » by Don Petersen - AP

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The Hokies took care of business against a team with nothing to play for but pride, so kudos to them. There was a lot to like about this game because of the individual performances we saw.

Two records from Saturday's game: Ryan Williams broke the Virginia Tech and ACC record for rushing yards by a freshman by running for 126 yards and four freaking touchdowns. Cody Grimm tied an NCAA record by forcing three fumbles in the same game. Grimm tied the record in the first quarter. That's an unofficial record according to me. He also tied it in FOUR PLAYS. Also an unofficial record according to me.
Williams had to work for his yards, averaging 3.8 YPC. What was impressive was his physicality. He ran over defenders and dragged one into the end zone for his last touchdown. He was a man among boys against the Wolfpack.
Grimm set the tone for the game. NC State lost two fumbles on their first three plays and were down 10-0. He was always around the ball and always causing havoc. The senior had a senior day to remember.
There's really not much more I can say about the games Williams and Grimm had, so feel free to add your own hyperbole in the comments.
After several drops by Dyrell Roberts, Tyrod Taylor started just lofting the ball to Jarrett Boykin. NC State couldn't cover Boykin and he finished the game with six catches for 164 yards and a nice touchdown grab in the second half. Boykin came down with nearly every ball thrown to him in man coverage, especially on third down. He kept his fair share of Hokie drives alive.
The Wolfpack tried with all their might to huff and puff and blow the Hokies' running game down. However, when Williams wasn't pounding out hard-earned yards, Taylor was finding Boykin for big gains. Tech took it to the NC State defense, especially in the passing game.
The defense shut out the NC State offense in the second half. It was an impressive display.
NC State QB Russell Wilson was on the run for most of the game, and while he was often able to use his legs and intuition to find the first down marker, it wasn't enough to get the Pack into the end zone in the second half.
Good grief Rashad Carmichael got worked for most of the game when he was in man coverage against the NC State receivers. Wilson picked on him a lot and was successful until late in the second half when Carmichael made a nice play that forced a punt.
The Hokie play calling got conservative in the second half for the second consecutive week. It worked, but I wasn't a fan for keeping Tyrod Taylor in the game as late as he was in. Tech was in complete control and he risked injury when he scrambled for a first down late in the fourth quarter while up four touchdowns.
I was really happy Jeff Beyer got to take the final two snaps of the game. It was a senior day to remember for a lot of guys.