Mr. Roth,
This question is for Coach Beamer (who I hope will be appearing on this week's show).
Hypothetically, if the Orange Bowl had been the National Championship game, would we have done anything different in terms of balancing recreational activities against football preparation?
Thank you, and go Hokies!
Joe @ TheKeyPlay.com
Here’s the truth. We won eleven football games this season, another ACC Championship and extended the ten-plus-wins a season streak to seven. Standing on its own 2010 was an impressive campaign, especially after our disastrous start, as part of the whole, over the last seven years, it helps comprise a top ten resume. However, is that being elite? No, it’s being consistent. Consistently the best team in the ACC, but not good enough to beat a quality opponent. What’s frustrating is I honestly don’t know what’s keeping us from taking that next step.
Edit: Moved to the front because they are great discussion points.
- Beforehand, I promised myself that I wouldn't get that upset if we lost. Considering how we started the season, where we ended up was pretty incredible. I didn't think we'd win a game this year walking out of Lane after JMU. Still, I'm upset with how we looked, especially in that 2nd half. I'll enjoy Tyrod' ridiculous TD pass for a while, but will do my best to forget the absolute nothing we did in the 2nd half.
- Let's look on the bright side: Ryan had like 3 carries. No stage to show off for the NFL. I feel like if he was on the fence about going or staying, tonight should help him decide to return.
The Orange Bowl is tomorrow. And we're playing in it. Isn't that amazing?
I wrote this before we played ECU.
But, it was supposed to be our year...
I know, believe me I know. My brain told me otherwise, but I believed my heart. I thought this would be the year. Not too long after we lost to Boise State I was concocting crazy scenarios in my head that would get us into the Championship Game. If Miami beats Ohio State they could be 10-0 and number one when we play... We'd have another chance to win a statement game... And maybe Boise will slip up... Then we lost to JMU. We're not winning the National Championship this year, and neither are 118 other teams. It's time to move on.
There are still plenty of reasons to be excited. And no, I'm not talking about the ACC Championship, or a BCS bowl, or anything else big picture. How about the simple satisfaction of watching the Hokies play football games. We didn't win a damn thing last year, yet we all were straight giddy when Ryan Williams was draggin' corpses into the end zone, proud of the guys for how they went toe-to-toe with Alabama, and delighted when we beat Tennessee. We just need to give these guys a chance to shine.
Even though David Wilson eats Chick-fil-A on Sundays he still needs to be in his hotel before curfew. Both Wilson and Exum broke 1:00 AM curfew and will sit out the first quarter of the Orange Bowl. According to Darryl Slater Rock Carmichael will take over for Wilson on kickoff return.
It could be worse, but balls. If things are going well for us, I wouldn't expect either of them to play.
"At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And with steam, you can power a train. Just one extra degree can make all the difference."
From givemore.com
These are the Hokies beginning to bubble at 211°, I can't wait to see them heat up just one degree more.
Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (8-4, 3-2 home) vs Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (3-11, 1-9 away)
When: Sunday, January 2 @ 2:00 p.m.
TV: None
Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA
The Opponent: The Hokies ring in the new year with their last non-conference game before ACC play when the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers visit the Cassell. The Mount comes out of the Northeast Conference and is currently mired in a seven game losing streak that extends back to December 2. Hokie fans will remember the last time these two teams met, an ugly 62-57 Tech victory back in 2008, a year in which the Mount made the NCAA Tournament by winning the NEC.
Much like the Hokies previous opponent, USC Upstate, the Mountaineers aren’t exactly offensively gifted. The squad averages just 60.4 points per game, which is 317th out of 345 teams in Division I.
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said redshirt freshman linebacker Jack Tyler will start against Stanford in the Discover Orange Bowl, and Bruce Taylor will start at the "backer" position and rotate at middle linebacker as well. The rotation will also include redshirt freshman Tariq Edwards.
Foster said he had lingering concerns about the mobility of Barquell Rivers, a projected starter this season who has yet to see the field because of injury, but that Rivers was "much better" in Thursday's practice. How much Rivers plays, if at all, remains to be seen.
"He had a little bit of massage to him and a little heat therapy and that kind of thing, kind of warmed him up prior to going out, and he moved a little bit better," Foster said. "But he can play great. I know the biggest thing, I know Mike Goforth is going to sit down and talk with him. And Barquell is a prideful kid; I think he'd tell me everything I wanted to hear, you know, that he's ready to play. But I also want to know does he feel like he can perform at a high level and at the level that he's got to play at for us to be successful. And I think Mike is going to sit down with him and talk that over and kind of feel him out a little bit from that standpoint."
Foster said Tyler is "a playmaker" and likes his experience at the Mike position.
"I think he's a little bit more physical guy than Tariq," Foster said. "Not to say that Tariq is not going to be a good football player; I think Tariq is going to be a very, very good football player for us. But with this offense, what they're doing, they'll be running the football. Jack is a very -- he has good vision, very instinctive guy, and it's just kind of a gut feeling for me from that standpoint.
"But you're going to see -- Bruce is a guy, he's a heady football player. We've practiced him the last two weeks at our backer spot. He can play Mike and he will play Mike, and Tariq is going to play. But I just felt like going in with this offense, what their strengths are, we need to match what our strengths could be as far as that position goes."
South Beach
It took 112 games, but Jeff Allen finally went a game in his Virginia Tech career without committing a foul in the Hokies’ 64-53 victory over USC Upstate. Tech’s senior forward finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season, to lead the Hokies (8-4) to their fourth straight victory after a 4-4 start.
After starting the game on a 7-0 run, Tech hit just three of their next 15 shots and found themselves down by as many as seven at 25-18. Upstate's zone defense gave Tech fits and forced the Hokies to take shots from outside the arc, where they hit just 2-of-11 in the first half. Down by seven, Tech changed its defense to a 1-3-1 trap zone, which forced Upstate into seven turnovers and 2-of-9 shooting in the final five minutes of the half. The Hokies took advantage, ending the half on a 16-4 zone, including eight fast break points to take a five-point advantage into the break.
In the second half, the Hokies changed their approach, attacking Upstate's zone with Jeff Allen down low, while opening up a 10-point advantage five minutes into the half. However, Tech went four minutes without scoring allowing the Spartans to creep within five. After a Seth Greenberg timeout, the Hokies went on a 10-2 run to open up a 13-point lead and put the game away.
