Slept On It : Western Michigan

I've always gotten this strange joy out of watching our second- and third-string players enter the game after seemingly insurmountable leads are established by the starters. My wife always gripes about how tiring it gets, watching our offense run the ball play after play while the crowd collectively tunes out and slowly empties the stadium. The electricity vacates the building as some students head back to their dorms, apartments or West End. Many stay because it's their only Hokie football game of the season; others because they traveled a long way for nothing less than 60 minutes of football.

I hope for two things going into games against teams we are expected to comfortably beat: A Tech victory and adequate time for the twos and threes to get meaningful snaps. Those brief periods on the field provide coaches and fans alike an opportunity to evaluate the potential future of Virginia Tech football. It gives the youngsters a chance to get their feet wet so their first meaningful in-game reps don't occur on a crucial 3rd-and-17 on the road against a division rival. I remember watching Marcus Davis catch an 80-yard touchdown pass from JuJu Clayton after we opened up a huge halftime lead over the Dave Shinskie-led BC Eagles, and laughing at how ridiculously talented the former quarterback (Davis) looked running that fly route. Those are great moments for all &mdash players, coaches and fans.

Saturday ultimately provided those moments, albeit far too late to adequately enjoy the performances. To be honest, the past two seasons have seen record numbers of freshmen playing significant snaps. As a result, one doesn't need to wait for a blow-out victory to see the youngsters make plays &mdash they occur on almost every down.

Marshawn Williams continued to impress, he broke two large runs and finished with 138 all-purpose yards. Ricky Walker played a lot of snaps in the absence of injured DT Luther Maddy. And once again Bucky Rodgers Hodges did Bucky Hodges things, blowing by a stumbling Bronco defensive back to haul in another touchdown catch.

The Hokies rebounded from two tough losses and ran away from the Western Michigan Broncos (literally) to improve to 3-2 on the season. But the victory was not without its frustrations. After a week of criticism regarding their lack of identity and almost painful reliance on passing the football, the Hokies threw the ball 21 times in the first half Saturday with mixed success. Despite a number of strong throws from Michael Brewer, he still managed to throw the ball to the other team on two occasions. Neither interception was excusable, and one was returned 39 yards to the Hokie 3 yard line and led to a Bronco touchdown. Despite 8 quick special teams points, the Hokie offense managed a paltry 10 first half points against a defense that allowed 43 points and 226 yards rushing to Purdue earlier this season. Not exactly an encouraging bounce-back performance.

You could see the frustration on Frank Beamer's face as he walked towards the locker room at halftime. You could see the frustration on the fans faces, wondering why Brewer continued to drop back to pass when the rushing game had shown glimpses of success against the Bronco defense. Did we learn nothing from the past two weeks?

Think about this: In the first two games of the season &mdash victories over I-AA foe William & Mary and Ohio State &mdash the Hokies ran the ball 42 and 40 times, respectively, for 222 and 121 yards. Ignore for a second the rushing total against OSU; the important figure is that we ran the ball 40 times versus 36 passes. Granted, some of the runs were designed pass plays that broke down, but you could ostensibly say that the play call breakdown was even. In two losses against ECU and Georgia Tech, the Hokies ran the ball only 33 times in each game, versus 56 and 39 passing plays.

The narrative going into this week's game was a re-establishment of the Hokie ground attack. On the Hokies' first offensive drive of the game Marshawn Williams busted a 42-yard run up the middle. On the second drive, Shai McKenzie subbed in for Williams and ran the ball once for a 2-yard gain. Williams went on to carry the ball two more times for -2 yards in the first half, whereas Shai carried the ball 5 more times for 9 yards.

Last Tuesday Shane Beamer said, "Shai and Marshawn are our top two, they alternate series...When Shai starts a series, he's going to finish a series, when Marshawn starts a series, he's going to finish a series. Unless we call for a different personnel grouping if we want to get someone else in for a specific reason."

While I understand that the Hokies were blessed with complementary tailbacks (prior to Shai's injury), I'm struggling to wrap my head around how the coaching staff expected to establish a rhythm while flipping them drive-to-drive. I would argue it is difficult for most backs to get into a groove when they aren't given the ball more than one or two times during a sustained drive. If anything, the second half of Saturday's game showed exactly what these young Hokie backs are capable of when you continue to feed them the rock.

I used to be a pitcher when I was younger and used to pride myself on my understanding of the situational games within the game. I would stand on the mound and analyze all of the subtleties of the situation: What was the count; how many men were on base; what was the score; what type of hitter was at the plate; how good or bad were his swings against various pitches in the past; and how comfortable did I feel that day throwing certain pitches.

Where things went awry were the days in which I over thought each situation. I would try and get inside the batter's mind to the point where it became more important than the aforementioned data points I thrived on. I would give the hitters too much credit, assuming they were drawing the same conclusions I was regarding pitch selection and location. Rather than simply identifying the batter's weaknesses and attacking them, I would try and outsmart them by throwing a pitch they weren't expecting.

During the first half against WMU, I began to get the impression Scot Loeffler was suffering from the same complex that plagued my pitching career. Heading into Saturday's game, the Hokies appeared to have an advantage on the ground against the Bronco run defense. Yet Brewer continued to drop back to pass, and aside from a few Michael Brewer scrambles and two Wild Turkey sightings, Hokie backs carried the ball only 2 times on 2nd or 3rd Downs during the first two quarters.

Following a lack of commitment to the run game during the first half, the Hokies came out of the locker room with a renewed focus on imposing their will on the ground. It seems Coach Frank Beamer issued a directive to the offensive staff during the break. During the post-game presser, Beamer remarked, "We felt like we needed to come out [in the second half] and run the ball. Throwing the ball that many times is not really what we're all about. I thought it was working — the run made the passing better." Regardless of what actually caused the shift in playcalling, the results spoke for themselves.

On the very first play from scrimmage, Juice broke a 35 yard run up the left sideline. On their second drive of the half, the Hokies ran the ball 10 straight plays before Brewer lobbed a 7-yard jump ball to Isaiah Ford for a touchdown. The third drive saw six runs versus three throws, capped by a 4-yard Shai McKenzie touchdown run. Trey Edmunds had a 20-yard "remember me" run down the right sideline, and Joel Caleb scampered 33 yards on another long run.

The second half offensive performance was like watching an entirely different team. Following a first half filled with up-and-down play, the Hokies wore down the Bronco defensive front with run after run. It became clear late in the third quarter that the Hokies were fully committed to the run and, despite the predictable play selection, continued to grind it out and move the chains. The commitment to the running game showed confidence in the offensive line; it showed confidence in the plethora of running backs; and it showed that this team can line up and get after ya.

I read all week about how Brewer came from spread systems in high school and at Texas Tech, and therefore he should be comfortable dropping back 40-50 times a game. I get that, but just because Denzel Washington can carry a movie on his own doesn't mean directors should continuously surround him with D-list actors. There is no need to be overly reliant on Brewer when you have a number of talented players around him that can simultaneously lighten his load and augment his abilities to create a winning performance.

Despite Shai McKenzie's unfortunate injury, Saturday's game proved that this team can run the football with success. Continued success on the ground will force teams to defend the run, opening up opportunities for the passing game to flourish.

It may be counterintuitive for Scot Loeffler to simplify his gameplan, and frankly I'm not asking him to. It is part of what makes him so intriguing as a coach and what makes this offense so dynamic. However, the constant desire to outsmart the opponent feels unnecessary when you have confidence in your offense's ability to execute certain plays exceptionally well. There is a time and a place for being creative, but sometimes taking what the defense gives you can pay dividends, especially when performed with conviction. As we move forward, it will be important to see how Coach Loeffler continues to find the balance between outsmarting the opposition, and coaching his players to be better than the guys across from them. Easier said than done, but I have faith following Saturday's second half performance. So should you.