Blogs

My weekly column highlighting the most important things to lookout for on offense and defense.

The Hokies on Offense

Pass Blocking

He's here to accomplish all that we haven't. May your remember his efforts well.

BCO's College Football TV Viewing Guide

For more than a decade I have been picking which games people should watch each week over the course of a season. At first it was a spreadsheet put together at the beginning of the season for my family, friends and coworkers. It eventually grew into a weekly column for the masses on my previous blog. There, I could pick from week to week, publishing with up-to-date info and the cheap shots stayed current (no one is safe). It's my favorite thing to write, even it entertains no one else but myself. Each week on TKP I will write my Six Pick of must see games. Admittedly, there will be personal bias towards VT, ACC and other teams I like. That said, many weeks I will not have a Hokie game on the list. VT versus The Sisters of the Poor is not must see TV. Potty mouth alert... If bad words offend your sensibilities read another damn column.

From time to time I'll engage my fellow ACC bloggers and participate in a roundtable question and answer. Brendan From Old Virginia is hosting the first discussion. He'll include my answers in with everyone else's and I'll let y'all know when it's up on his site. Let's get cultured people...

1. At UVA we have made wholesale changes to everything this past offseason: the coaching staff, the offense, the defense, the uniforms, even the color of the equipment shed. What change or changes on your own team are you most looking forward to watching play out on the field this season?

Coach Beamer announced on his teleconference today that David Wilson won't be redshirting. Wilson has been nothing short of amazing during spring practice and summer camp (55 carries, 265 yards). He worked with the first team kickoff return during Saturday's final scrimmage and, according to those who saw it, had a spectacular 43-yard return. He also busted off a 25-yard carry against the starting defense.

Were you expecting somebody else?

But that Tyrod... I feel the same way with him out there as I did when Michael Vick was out there. The next play could be a big play. Any play has a chance of going a long ways. Tyrod gives you that same element right now. - Frank Beamer

Trivia*:

On August 18^th HokieSports.com announced Virginia Tech would be one of ten schools outfitted with Nike Pro Combat uniforms.

Nike worked diligently with each university to bring relevant elements of the school’s rich heritage into the futuristic elite fit uniform designs. The collaborations with the universities produced the highly customized uniforms that will be revealed just days prior to the start of the 2010 college football season.

Below and after the jump are two picture of the jerseys and team shirt.

Ryan Williams will look dapper toting the rock in anything.

This fantastic image comes via commenter ewechtal, who can be found dropping knowledge bombs here and on Twitter (@ewechtal).

This is last weekend until December without Hokie football.

/takes deep breath

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Men do something nice for your wives, fiancées, girlfriends, side pieces or booty calls this weekend because going forward there's only time for football, grilling, lawn games, tailgating and drinking.

The coverage here is going to pick up next week as we focus on Boise State, so strap in and enjoy the ride

Since next week is going to be serious talk and all, here's one last facetious post. I present in descending order from indifference to flat out hate all twelve of this year's opponents. I used an arbitrary beer fueled formula known only to my mind based on prior social interactions, game results and stereotypical information to rank them. To be fair and balanced, I will mention one complimentary thing about each school.

12. James Madison University
+ Who doesn't enjoy beating up on your best friend's little kiss ass brother?
- Their nickname is the Dukes, reminds me too much of that crappy school in Durham, NC.

11. Central Michigan University
+ What's not to like about a two hour road trip to Bells Brewery, one of the very finest in the nation?
- It's only a matter of time before the stench of DickRod spreads north west.

Eric, Josh and I all picked Miami to beat us. We felt we owed y'all an apology. Here you are:

Even when getting pummeled to the ground Jacory throws up the "U".

Trivia*:

1. Who's delivering the shot to Jacory's chest?

*The first person to leave a comment with the correct answer(s) gets a point. Each correct answer is worth a point. At the end of the season the most points wins a free tee from GameDay Passion.

With the start of the Hokies' football season only 12 days away, now is as an appropriate time as any for us scribes to make our humble predictions. Eric, Josh and I are going to pick both the outcome of each game as well as assign a confidence of win percentage. The latter is an idea inspired by Bud at Tomahawk Nation. It's an easy concept, basically we'll assign the percentage chance (0-100%) of Tech winning a given game and then derive our expected wins for the season by adding up the confidences and dividing by 100.

Occasionally, I do wish I lived in black and white times. End zone celebrations were simpler back then, one only had to pump his arms in the air and walk back triumphantly to the sideline after scoring.

Dignified gentlemen could wear piped plaid pants without being ridiculed.

Trivia*:

Today you can start voting for the most unique memorabilia. Remember, the top two vote getters will receive shirts.

End Zone Hugs!

Coach Gray started at rover in 1994 and '95 before moving to safety for his senior season. He was tied for the team high in interceptions in '93 and '94 with 3 and 4 picks respectively. He finished his career with 9 total interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and was named All-Big East in '94-96.

Trivia*:

This afternoon the Hokies held their second and final public preseason scrimmage. Lucky for us campus correspondent James (@hokie8807) was in attendance. First do me a favor and bookmark James' blog Inside the Cassell for everything going down on the hardwood and then checkout his scrimmage details after the jump.

"I appreciate Virginia Tech's confidence in me leading this program," said Beamer, who is entering his 24th season at the helm. "I believe that continuity has led to the consistency in our program, and we hope for even better days ahead."

Negotiations for the compensation package will begin in January of 2012 to be effective with the start of the contract extension.

via: Hokie Sports.com

And now for the finale of The 20 Years of Memories. If you’re unfamiliar with what this is all about check out Part 1. These last ten are fresher in my mind than the first and therefore they are a bit more satisfying and sobering.

The Wedding - November 25, 2000 (-)

VT 42
UVA 21

Let's see, the most electric football player of the last decade was playing in Lane versus an over matched Hoo squad. That certainly sounds like a good memory to have, but I have a different one for a much better reason. I was married that day... during the game. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception in the Chrysler Museum. I missed all of Michael Vick’s last home game. I still get grief from my friends over the date selection FAIL.

The Head Ringer - December 1, 2001 (Live)

Miami 26
VT 24

Eventual National Champion Miami dominated everyone in 2000 with their two-deep NFL roster. They were putting it on the Hokies early, but the lunchpailers eventually fought their way back into it. Eric Green* blocked a punt with a little over six minutes to go that was scooped up by Brandon Manning and taken to the house for six. The fans erupted during the block then seconds later after the score that left the Hokies only two back of the mighty Canes. It’s almost unfathomable that my loudest Lane moment came during the SEZ expansion when the stadium was at less than total capacity. Minutes later the deafening joy turned to silence when Ernest Wilford dropped a gimme two-point conversion.

via: http://tiptop25.com/

Coale's catch and run was a thing of beauty, but we all know how that played out. Now look at the story told by the faces of the coaches, players and fans in the stands by their gambit of emotions: shock, anticipation, exhilaration, joy, ..., and what have you.

I'm voting in the 2010 BlogPoll along with over 100 other bloggers. The BlogPoll is different from the other major polls because it is transparent and the voters actually watch a bunch of different games. We're not coaches or mainstream media beholden to one specific team or beat. After the jump you'll find my preseason ballot. I encourage you to leave feedback, because you have the power to sway my vote with a good enough argument (straight cash will do too).