Virginia Tech football and Frank Beamer got a lot of monkeys off their back last night in Atlanta. The streaks ended and accomplishments achieved by winning the Chick-Fil-A Bowl were so much discussed prior to the game that its almost tedious to go through them all again. Let's just say beating Tennessee was a very satisfying win for the program.
Thursday night was a good night to be a Hokie. Here are my thoughts on the game.Hokie football wins are always good but some really feel good. The 2009 Chick-Fil-A Bowl was such a win for many reasons. The Hokies won the game in such a proud, complete, and thurough fashion, it was just extremely satisfying to watch it unfold. It wasn't a blow out necessarily or uncompetitive until late. But Beamer had the team so ready, so prepared, and they executed so well in so many ways.....it was a great showcase for his program.
I'll list some of those things, but this won't really do it justice because that was the theme of this game, how thorough and complete the players, squads, coaches, units all performed.
- Virginia Tech won in the trenches. The defensive line especially was disruptive all night. Even on the drives Tennessee had that were successful, they overcame relentless play by Graves, Worilds, Brown, and crews. The O-Line had a tougher match-up but had one of its best pass protection games and opened good holes for the RBs.
- Tyrod Taylor played with the confidence of a veteran. I'm more proud of TT than any player for his development, and his become one of those guys you just feel like you are going to win the game with if he's on your side.
- The offense looked like a well-oiled machine. Think back 7-8 games at how dis-functional this offense was and contrast it to how well is flowed yesterday. Stinespring called a good game, and the offense was well balanced between running and throwing.
- The wide receivers are weapons, play makers.
- Ryan Williams was Ryan Williams, but when he went out Josh Olgesby and David Wilson didn't miss a beat. Those guys were solid.
- The DBs were a strength as usual, and got INTs which were critical to the game.
- Out kicker was his usual money. Special teams contributed to the victory.
- No points in the second half again. I'm in the habit now of expecting telling my self in the first half "don't worry, Foster is figuring this out".
- The team played generally without mistakes, excessive penalties, gaffes, and with class.
So while I'm happy we finally won in Atlanta, beat an SEC team, and won 2 bowl games in a row, I'm more proud of how solid our overall program and team looked on national TV Friday. It sets the stage for a big off season, and a big 2010!!
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