GT Game Immediate Impressions: Not the Hokies Night
We watched a pretty good Hokie football game Saturday, unfortunately it didn't go our way. When the Hokies lose, its VT fans nature (probably all loyal fans) to immediately dissect what went wrong, why it went wrong, who's fault it was, and how it needs to be fixed. That's certainly true with me and its what you'll read on most Virginia Tech football blogs and forums.
But some nights, like last night, you just lose because a team beats you.
I mentioned in my post last week that Atlanta was a-buzz (no pun intended) heading into this game. The Georgia Tech crowd was going all in emotionally and mentally for this game. This homecoming game was going to be the make or break game for the season, and a defining one for their coaching staff, this group of players, and the program. I heard things like "biggest game in 10 years" kind of stuff while there last week.
An interesting side note to this is the fact that the University of Georgia fan base is in disarray right now as the the Bulldogs are really struggling especially on defense. How does this relate? GT fans hate, I mean really, really hate Georgia and given UGa is 2 years removed from a pre-season #1 ranking, when the "UGas" are in turmoil I think it gives the Yellow Jackets extra energy.
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Now of course this was a big game for Virginia Tech as well, but matching GT's intensity wasn't going to happen. This notion of "we get everyone in the ACC's best shot" idea has some merit.
While it didn't show up on the field right away, it did eventually. The Georgia Tech defense especially I think really had an extra bounce. Now Bryan Stinespring's offense has a tendency of making a defense look better than it is, but I've seen this GT defense play a lot this year, and they have looked real slow and real bad against several teams. They were much better last night.
That brings me to what I've read on most Hokie websites and forums so far, and that is the banter about whether this was a Hokie offense (i.e. Stinespring) or Hokie defense (Bud Foster loss). My opinion? Both coaches are going to be disappointed in today's film session.
As stated, the VT offense still doesn't exploit teams consistently and 3 points in the first half was clearly a big part of Saturday's loss. Ryan Williams looked slowed down whether from illness or not, but Tyrod continued to show his progression and the second half had some good things. Play calling as usual had its strange moments (constant runs off-tackle right where the GT D was loading up), and its still concerning that we look best in 2 minute situations when Tyrod is just calling his own plays and running around making things happen. But there's really no need to revisit again all the reasons why our offense is what it is in this post.
The defense on the other hand is a more interesting case. You have to wonder what Foster's expectations were for this game compared to the results. Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech have proven in the last 2 years, including both games against VT, that you cannot shut their offense down completely without perfect execution. Its very good, and the fact that the Hokies kept them to 7 points in the first half, and even the 28 points for the game is not terrible. In watching some of the replay tonight, if the defense had made one more stop on 3rd and 7 late in the 4th quarter (when Nesbitt ran for a TD), VT might have very well won the game.
But watching the Hokie defense gashed in the second half was shocking to the senses, especially after all we heard about Foster's preparation for this offense, the scheming in the off-season, the practice routine adjustments, and dominance we saw last weekend. I personally think this defense is a year too young from being one of Foster's top flight units, especially at LB which is obviously critical against the run.
This was not a defensive loss or offensive loss, it was a team loss. And more than that, it was a game in which the opponent simply played slightly better, got a few more breaks, and used emotion to gain even more advantage. What this also tells me is that the ACC championship for VT is not lost, because a team like Georgia Tech still has a real possibility of a loss. I wouldn't want to be a GT fan that has to root for a team with a bad defense, and needs to close out a conference schedule. UVa on the road (which historically is a horror show for GT), Wake, and at Duke are all real obstacles for that team.
I also can't help but think to the future of this rivalry. Is Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson, and this new scheme going to be an ongoing problem for Virginia Tech? For 2 consecutive years they have run wild on a Hokie defense. Will Foster figure it out? Will it take superior talent, especially at LB, DE, and safety? Are we going to just have to learn to out score them (gasp). Will Paul Johnson be able to recruit NFL caliber talent to run a non-NFL offense? All interesting thing to watch develop.
We get a weekend off, unless you want to root for the 'Hoos at home vs GT!!!
Go Hokies!!
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Comments
every one would be shocked. that is not a typical result for poorly educsted people. vt is not the harvard or mit etc. of the south. the last vt alumni i met was working at subway.
Ab-
Actually, what I meant is you’d be shocked at the quality of life and level of income my VT education has provided.
Anyway, that’s not really the topic here. Its only football.
hokieg
hokieg you need to get a life. vt is one of the lowest ranked colleges in acad. universe with horrible crimes going on and criminal elements on their football team. coaches have accepted students incapable of speaking proper english and with questionable high school records. the school is an embarassment to our state. vt is a sad sad sign of the times. stop giving the players a lunch bucket and give them a book..you need stop wasting your time analysing the game and prepare yourself for a career. vt with a few exceptions are not highly regarded.—— a sad sad group.