It's time to get over last Saturday's game and shift our focus to the next one. Let's see what the Hokies are all about.
Two weeks ago this Homecoming game was looking like a potential showdown between two top ten teams. It was also shaping up to be a de facto division championship game. Since then, the Hokies have tumbled out of the rankings after they lost back to back games to unranked teams (Duke and Boston College).
Virginia Tech's offense is a dumpster fire as per usual, ranking in the triple digits in total offense, rushing, and scoring. Bud Foster's unit on the other hand is once again terrific, ranking 3rd in the nation in total defense. They're also 10th against the run (102.7 per game), 1st against the pass (150.6 per game), and 8th in scoring defense (16.9 points per game). Now we have to go against that defense without our best player and running back Duke Johnson, along with our best wide receiver in Phillip Dorsett still out. It's going to be tough to find a way to win this game.
1. Where they are in the standings/rankings:
The standings speak for themselves. If we win this game the division is all but ours. We can't clinch anything with a win, but things can certainly get crazy if we lose. A loss would drop us into a 4 team group that has 2 conference losses. I will go nuts if Georgia Tech, once again, goes to Charlotte over us after we defeated them. And look at Duke over there lurking in the corner, clinking bottles, with only 2 conference losses. Virginia Tech is coming off of a 34-27 loss against Boston College. Here's what Boston College fans are saying about Virginia Tech:
From: BC Interruption
But Jesse Palmer said HE CAN MAKE ALL THE THROWS!!!!!!!!!!! The thing is outside of the comment about running the ball, you could probably make the same statement about Morris. Logan Thomas still sucks though, so I'm not really going to be talking about him.
2. What happened the last time Miami played Virginia Tech?
/spooner
From the Associated Press
I don't have anything against Paul, but that was probably the only good thing I ever remember him doing. Quarterbacks usually have a pretty good chance at recovering fumbled snaps. His presence of mind to yank Thomas away from the pile resulted in another failed redzone appearance for them that night. Combine that with the 14 points that resulted from 2 big plays on special teams and you get a 3 possession margin of victory.
3. Who to be scared of:
Luther Maddy & Derrick Hopkins
When Alabama played Virginia Tech on the opening weekend of the season, the Crimson Tide offense couldn't move the ball at all. They only had 206 yards, less than 100 yards rushing, and only scored 14 points on offense. Hopkins and Maddy had a lot to do with that. We haven't faced a tandem of defensive tackles like them since we played Florida. Back then Easley and Jacobs ate our offensive line's lunch. It completely disrupted our offense. Now imagine trying to run up the middle against two really good interior linemen without Duke Johnson. This sucks.
4. Player that will score against us:
Demitri Knowles
When Logan Thomas isn't sucking he's throwing it Knowles, who leads the Hokies in receptions (35) and is 2nd in yards (450). Every once in a while he's used as a deep threat, so prepare your **** if AJ Highsmith is back there. This was his 1st catch ever, and it happened in the 4th quarter to give his team the lead over Georgia Tech:
[video=youtube;OhtSNpJH5nI]www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhtSNpJH5nI[/video]
And here he is catching another bomb from last month against UNC:
[video=youtube;lJ4KW0FR2O4]www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ4KW0FR2O4[/video]
5. Person that will **** you off:
Dadi Nicolas
Nicolas is an immigrant from Haiti, and came to the States when he was just 3 months old after being adopted. He was raised in Delray Beach, FL and went to Atlantic HS. When he was there he went by the name of Wedley Estime, but changed it back to his original name prior to enrolling at Virginia Tech. The reason you'll be pist at him isn't because it's another kid from south Florida that got away. You'll be pist because he's your typical, annoying, dirty as ****, edge rusher from Virginia Tech.
His ****nal of cheap, dirty tactics after the whistle is rivaled only by his lame, retarded celebrations for plays he wasn't even a part of. I'm talking crawling on the ground on all fours, like a dog, after his teammate gets a sack type of stuff. **** this guy.
6. Some guy:
Kalvin Cline
Cline is Virginia Tech's very own Demetrius Jackson type of story. He played basketball for 3 years at Pine Crest HS in Boca Raton, FL before switching to football late. Virginia Tech knew all about him for a few years and got a late offer last May to join their 2013 class. He's got 20 receptions for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. For a guy that's only played 1 year of high school football and is a true freshman, it's pretty good. He always seems to be open in the middle of the field on 3rd and 5 to move the chains for them. This is him scoring a touchdown against Pitt:
[video=youtube;YZr0XpFv4hk]www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZr0XpFv4hk[/video]
7. Some other guy:
James Gayle
With all of the really good players that Virginia Tech has, it's hard to believe that James Gayle doesn't get more recognition than he does. Before the season began the ACC Digital Network put out a list of the top 25 players in the conference going into the season and listed him at #17. Here's the highlight package they made for him:
[video=youtube;ehX0gSnxKm4]www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehX0gSnxKm4[/video]
He's been a 2nd team All-ACC guy for the past 2 years at defensive end, and currently leads their team with 24 QB hurries and has 3 sacks as well. Here's some more highlights of him from the past 2 years:
[video=youtube;8BY2TX9clKU]www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BY2TX9clKU[/video]
8. A couple more guys:
The Fullers
The Hokies have an amazing secondary, but this has gone long enough so I'll focus on the 2 Fuller brothers from Baltimore, MD to close this out. Senior Kyle Fuller (left) has received All-ACC honors the past 2 seasons and is now a semifinalist for both the Thorpe Award and the Bednarik Award. He leads the Hokies in both pass breakups (10) and passes defended (12), to go along with 2 interceptions. Here he is against Rutgers in their bowl game last year:
[video=youtube;Axk76Fb_aM4]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axk76Fb_aM4[/video]
Freshman Kendall Fuller (right) is the 4th brother to play at Virginia Tech. He leads the team in interceptions with 5. Older brothers Vincent and Corey each went on to the NFL after making plays in Blacksburg. My biggest fear is that all 4 brothers have like 5 kids each, and in 25 years they make up basically the entire starting lineup.
9. Official Internet meme for this game:
Misleading Moriarty
[video=youtube;pele5vptVgc]www.youtube.com/watch?v=pele5vptVgc[/video]
Two weeks ago this Homecoming game was looking like a potential showdown between two top ten teams. It was also shaping up to be a de facto division championship game. Since then, the Hokies have tumbled out of the rankings after they lost back to back games to unranked teams (Duke and Boston College).
Virginia Tech's offense is a dumpster fire as per usual, ranking in the triple digits in total offense, rushing, and scoring. Bud Foster's unit on the other hand is once again terrific, ranking 3rd in the nation in total defense. They're also 10th against the run (102.7 per game), 1st against the pass (150.6 per game), and 8th in scoring defense (16.9 points per game). Now we have to go against that defense without our best player and running back Duke Johnson, along with our best wide receiver in Phillip Dorsett still out. It's going to be tough to find a way to win this game.
1. Where they are in the standings/rankings:
The standings speak for themselves. If we win this game the division is all but ours. We can't clinch anything with a win, but things can certainly get crazy if we lose. A loss would drop us into a 4 team group that has 2 conference losses. I will go nuts if Georgia Tech, once again, goes to Charlotte over us after we defeated them. And look at Duke over there lurking in the corner, clinking bottles, with only 2 conference losses. Virginia Tech is coming off of a 34-27 loss against Boston College. Here's what Boston College fans are saying about Virginia Tech:
From: BC Interruption
A.J. Black said:
But Jesse Palmer said HE CAN MAKE ALL THE THROWS!!!!!!!!!!! The thing is outside of the comment about running the ball, you could probably make the same statement about Morris. Logan Thomas still sucks though, so I'm not really going to be talking about him.
2. What happened the last time Miami played Virginia Tech?
/spooner
From the Associated Press
I don't have anything against Paul, but that was probably the only good thing I ever remember him doing. Quarterbacks usually have a pretty good chance at recovering fumbled snaps. His presence of mind to yank Thomas away from the pile resulted in another failed redzone appearance for them that night. Combine that with the 14 points that resulted from 2 big plays on special teams and you get a 3 possession margin of victory.
3. Who to be scared of:
Luther Maddy & Derrick Hopkins
When Alabama played Virginia Tech on the opening weekend of the season, the Crimson Tide offense couldn't move the ball at all. They only had 206 yards, less than 100 yards rushing, and only scored 14 points on offense. Hopkins and Maddy had a lot to do with that. We haven't faced a tandem of defensive tackles like them since we played Florida. Back then Easley and Jacobs ate our offensive line's lunch. It completely disrupted our offense. Now imagine trying to run up the middle against two really good interior linemen without Duke Johnson. This sucks.
4. Player that will score against us:
Demitri Knowles
When Logan Thomas isn't sucking he's throwing it Knowles, who leads the Hokies in receptions (35) and is 2nd in yards (450). Every once in a while he's used as a deep threat, so prepare your **** if AJ Highsmith is back there. This was his 1st catch ever, and it happened in the 4th quarter to give his team the lead over Georgia Tech:
[video=youtube;OhtSNpJH5nI]www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhtSNpJH5nI[/video]
And here he is catching another bomb from last month against UNC:
[video=youtube;lJ4KW0FR2O4]www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ4KW0FR2O4[/video]
5. Person that will **** you off:
Dadi Nicolas
Nicolas is an immigrant from Haiti, and came to the States when he was just 3 months old after being adopted. He was raised in Delray Beach, FL and went to Atlantic HS. When he was there he went by the name of Wedley Estime, but changed it back to his original name prior to enrolling at Virginia Tech. The reason you'll be pist at him isn't because it's another kid from south Florida that got away. You'll be pist because he's your typical, annoying, dirty as ****, edge rusher from Virginia Tech.
His ****nal of cheap, dirty tactics after the whistle is rivaled only by his lame, retarded celebrations for plays he wasn't even a part of. I'm talking crawling on the ground on all fours, like a dog, after his teammate gets a sack type of stuff. **** this guy.
6. Some guy:
Kalvin Cline
Cline is Virginia Tech's very own Demetrius Jackson type of story. He played basketball for 3 years at Pine Crest HS in Boca Raton, FL before switching to football late. Virginia Tech knew all about him for a few years and got a late offer last May to join their 2013 class. He's got 20 receptions for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. For a guy that's only played 1 year of high school football and is a true freshman, it's pretty good. He always seems to be open in the middle of the field on 3rd and 5 to move the chains for them. This is him scoring a touchdown against Pitt:
[video=youtube;YZr0XpFv4hk]www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZr0XpFv4hk[/video]
7. Some other guy:
James Gayle
With all of the really good players that Virginia Tech has, it's hard to believe that James Gayle doesn't get more recognition than he does. Before the season began the ACC Digital Network put out a list of the top 25 players in the conference going into the season and listed him at #17. Here's the highlight package they made for him:
[video=youtube;ehX0gSnxKm4]www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehX0gSnxKm4[/video]
He's been a 2nd team All-ACC guy for the past 2 years at defensive end, and currently leads their team with 24 QB hurries and has 3 sacks as well. Here's some more highlights of him from the past 2 years:
[video=youtube;8BY2TX9clKU]www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BY2TX9clKU[/video]
8. A couple more guys:
The Fullers
The Hokies have an amazing secondary, but this has gone long enough so I'll focus on the 2 Fuller brothers from Baltimore, MD to close this out. Senior Kyle Fuller (left) has received All-ACC honors the past 2 seasons and is now a semifinalist for both the Thorpe Award and the Bednarik Award. He leads the Hokies in both pass breakups (10) and passes defended (12), to go along with 2 interceptions. Here he is against Rutgers in their bowl game last year:
[video=youtube;Axk76Fb_aM4]www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axk76Fb_aM4[/video]
Freshman Kendall Fuller (right) is the 4th brother to play at Virginia Tech. He leads the team in interceptions with 5. Older brothers Vincent and Corey each went on to the NFL after making plays in Blacksburg. My biggest fear is that all 4 brothers have like 5 kids each, and in 25 years they make up basically the entire starting lineup.
9. Official Internet meme for this game:
Misleading Moriarty
[video=youtube;pele5vptVgc]www.youtube.com/watch?v=pele5vptVgc[/video]
