ECU Game Immediate Impressions: Arrgh, Winning Ugly Can Be Beautiful
I was in Chicago on business for this game, but was lucky enough to find a great sports bar that had the game on the big screen. That is until the Bulls vs LeBron game started, then I was relegated to watching the Hokies on a small secondary television. No big deal, I figured I'd watch the replay on DVR.
Not sure I'm going to bother. Here are my thoughts on the game.
First let me say I totally grateful to ESPN and Frank Beamer's strategy for playing so many Thursday night games over the years. The exposure for the program has been tremendous and I look forward to being the only game on once or twice a year.
That said, doing it back to back, combined with doing it on the road against a CUSA team in early November really makes no sense. Its a no-win situation for Virginia Tech, sort of a odd detour on the schedule. It ironic to me that we got the B-team announcing crew from ESPN, including Lou Holtz who couldn't pronounce "Tyrod Taylor" to save his live.
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Luckily, any non-VT or ECU fan probably stopped watching that game sometime in the first half, as it was ugly, boring, and insignificant. Now in terms of importance to Virginia Tech at this junction of their season, it was a very important win. As many bloggers and writers said in game previews, that game had many characteristics of a VT loss, and the fact that the Hokies won rather handily (regardless of how ugly) is important.
I liken this game to the Duke game, where after about 10 minutes of watching and realizing that the Hokies were not going to romp the Blue Devils and simply use the game to work on weaknesses. At that point it was about just getting out Durham with a win (and without an embarrassment).
To me, this game also is a testament to how even Div-I teams really are and how just a few plays, mistakes, or breaks in a game going one way or another game turn the tide towards one team, or turn a close game into a blowout. Most Hokies will think of Tyrod's fumble as he was crossing the end zone as something that kept this game from being over earlier and being more of a VT blowout.
However the same could be said for several ECU penalties, turnovers, and dropped passes that stalled ECU drives that were getting ready to put them back in the game. ECU drove the ball on the Hokies and there were moments where they had rushing success that resembled the previous two games. But every time ECU seemed to get ready to make Hokie fans nervous, they would self-destruct and kill momentum.
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Game notes:
- Where would this offense be without Ryan Williams? He continues to bail out Bryan Stinespring.
- If Darren Evans hadn't gotten injured, how much would he have played this year?
- Exhibit A why VT has no offensive identity: where did that WR option run with Xavier Boyce come from (the one he fumbled)? Nice play, but it was out of left field for VT, and sure enough it was nearly disaster.
- Will Stewart was dead on when it said it was time to "let Tyrod Taylor loose" in terms of runs. If VT had any idea how to run the read option with TT and RW (like every other team in D-I), it would be very effective.
- Rashad Carmichael continues to be not only the biggest surprise of the year but is becoming one of the best players on the team.
- I'm not sure this year's offensive line is any better than last year's. I lost count of how many times that at the end of plays VT O-linemen were standing looking at their assigned defenders backs.
- Exhibit B why VT has no offensive identity: Stinespring at times looks like a kid playing Madden. He finds a play that works (that maybe he hasn't used much all year), and all of sudden just goes to it over and over. In this game it was the WR flare, until the ECU defenders figured out his sequence and started jumping the route.
So as mentioned, this was an ugly win, but a win VT needed regardless of the aesthetics. A loss would have been catastrophic.
We've got a up and down team and at this point, it should be one game at a time, one win at a time, without any regard to style points or margin of victory. Let's just focus on beating, one at a time, Maryland, NC State, and above all UVa.
Go Hokies!!
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Comments
Yes, I hate to say it but I miss the Ricky Bustle days. He had half the talent BS has but at least our offense had identity and purpose. We did what we did, and we did it well.
Mike I couldn’t agree more, don’t understand why BS keeps running sweeps to the right when We’re on the right hash makes no sense just funnels all the defenders into that 1/3 of the field. And I have noticed too the O-linemen standing around, but I thought they played pretty well against ECU overall.
The linemen standing around is due to the zone blocking which I cannot stand. Go hit somebody and if they beat you so be it. You figure out where somebody’s zone is and overload to another spot. On the techsideline site, b-street was talking about no trickeration and I have asked that same question as well. Last year to start the season, a te and wideout that were both qb’s in the past playing yet no reverses with a pass or backward pass to throw. Got my vent in for the week.
In regards to the O-Linemen, it just seems like our guys get beat constantly regardless of the scheme. They just can’t hold their blocks long, especially in pass blocking. TT bails them out with his shiftyness, and RW does as well in the run game.
I just hope the young guys BDC, Via, Brooks, Nosal, Lanier all get significantly better next year.
[...] Virginia Tech Hokies got back on the winning track last Thursday in a frankly forgetable football game against ECU in what was a sloppy, error prone game that was won by Virginia Tech with no help from the Pirates. [...]
Well said. I could not agree more. I just laugh when we continue time and time again run to the short side of the field and give the other team a 12th defender. I was at the UNC game and really noticed it all night. Not gonna go with the standard “It is all BS’s fault” but there is nothing to hang our hat on. Even with Michael Vick, we were a run first (and second and third down) team. Now it is take some option, throw in some Colts offense, etc offense. Problem is we do nothing great. Nothing to go back to and right the offense. Defense is not what it was the last few years but still I trust Bud more than Bryan.