DavidWilsonsWhip's blog
A belated "Happy Holidays" to everyone here, as well as an early "Happy New Year." While 2012 may not have unfolded as we fans had imagined, Virginia Tech finds itself in familiar territory: a bowl game. The Hokies will square off in Orlando against an old Big East foe, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers, while one of the oldest programs in the nation, has a fairly small number of program milestones: 1869 (first college football game), 1976 (an undefeated 11-0 season), 2006 (11-2, win over #2 Lousiville). That's it. Really.
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I hope everyone had a safe and gluttonous Thanksgiving. Hopefully there was not too much tryptophan cannibalistically consumed yesterday! HokieNation's annual Turkey Day tradition of beating the britches off the Wahoos has finally arrived. #NINESTRAIGHT. Let's do this.
Much has changed since 38-0. The Cavaliers (not surprisingly) lost their bowl game to Auburn on New Year's Eve. Naturally, Mike London called the 43-24 drubbing "progress" and immediately hit the recruiting trail.
"Hey Coach, you have a minute? It's really important!"
"...uh ok. Just wanted to inform you that the practice facility is on fire. LIKE YOUR JOB."
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Author's Preface - There are a number of things I am thinkful for each year, but one that I hold most dear is my degree from VPI&SU. In the spirit of the day, enjoy some history. Happy Thanksgiving y'all.
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FLORIDA STATE. THURSDAY NIGHT. LANE STADIUM. WHO'S EXCITED?
The Seminoles march into Blacksburg ranked #10 in the nation, boasting the number three scoring offense, defense, and best total defense in the nation. STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE.
The 'Noles only blemish this season was a loss at NC State, where their potent offense was shut out the entire second half.
Dating back to the Hokies first season in the ACC (2004), Tech has scored 12 touchdowns against the Seminoles, approximately all by Danny Coale.
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It has been quite an eventful two weeks, has it not? First and foremost, my thoughts go out to everyone in the Northeast dealing with Sandy. This one's for you.
Appropriately, Hokies-Canes falls the day after Halloween; this season has been scary for both teams, who each sit at 4-4. Bet I know what Kellen Winslow will be this year...
Not only is Halloween this week, but we are also reaching the climax of election season for the Presidential race. Interestingly, POTUS spoke at the University of Miami earlier this month.
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Hey y'all. How bout that game last week? 41 POINTS. That was pretty fancy. Then again, it was Duke (LUV YOU BLUE DEVILZ and #goacc). This week's challenge: Clemson. The Tigers are currently sitting at 5-1, with expectations of domination; there's a lot of excitement brewing for this one. 8-Ball even said that ESPN Gameday will be there!
There was a lot of offseason re-shuffling for a Clemson team that made it's first BCS game. Dabo was able to lure Oklahoma Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables away from the Sooners because HOLY CRAP DID YOU SEE THE ORANGE BOWL I THINK THE COUSINS JUST SCORED ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN.
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Dookies are coming to town this weekend! I expect everyone to scream "TEABAG PAULUS" every opportunity they have. #HokiesRespect
The Blue Devils come into Blacksburg fesh off a 42-17 drubbing of the #NewHoos. Mike London, for all his 757 recruiting efforts, has a losing record to Duke. RUT ROH.
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So. About last week. That Cinicinnati outcome was...disappointing. Fortunately for us fans, a new week and a new opponents awaits. Nothing eases the sting of losing quite like the possibility of victory. Back to conference opponents! Back to work! #goacc
This week, the Hokies hit the road and head south to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels. Like Tech fans, the Carolina Faithful have had to deal with adversity, albeit those distractions being off-the-field. Recently the announcement that Chancellor Holden Thorp will resign this coming June, in repsonse to allegations of academic dishonesty involving a number of student athletes and the African Studies academic program.
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Weeks that follow Hokie victories always seem to be more upbeat. There were signs of encouragement in Tech's shutout victory over Bowling Green, but the season marches on. This week's opponent is familair to Hokie fans: the Cincinnati Bearcats. In 2006, Tech beat UC 29-13 behind a 170-yard effort by Brandon Ore at Lane Stadium. More notably, the two schools met in the 2008 Orange Bowl.
The Bearcats were able to build on the success of that 2008 season the following year, reeling off twelve straight victories, winning the Big East, and climbing to a #5 ranking. A second consecutive BCS berth was claimed, although the results were similar: Cincinnati lost 51-24 to Florida.
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This week, the Hokies look to rebound from their loss by taking on Bowling Green State University. The Falcons currently sit at 1-2, but have valuable road expereince in big time environments, as they started the season at the Swamp (a 27-14 defeat).
BGSU is coming off a rough 27-15 rivalry loss to Toledo. The Falcons and the Rockets play for the Battle of I-75 Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Peace Pipe) each year. Unfortunately, the Falcons had not claimed a victory in the series since 2009.
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Get ready y'all, here comes a non-conference game with a familiar flair! Our opponent this week is the Pitt Panthers, a team that can claim the unique distinction of being both a former Big East and future ACC rival (HOORAY REALIGNMENT!). Regardless of conference affiliation, Pitt recently has been known as a coaching abyss.
Going into the season, there seemed to be a good amount of optimism for the Panthers in what was considered a wide-open Big East race. Add that to the fact that an experienced quarterback (Tino Sunseri) was returning, and you have the makings of true darkhouse candidate.
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The Hokies' oppenent on this short week (THANKX WEAVER) are the Governors of Austin Peay State University. For those asking, "Peay" is pronouced with a long 'e.' This has led the student body to adopt one of the more grandiose cheers in intercollegiate sports.
Last season the Governors played two FBS opponents, losing by a combined score of 99-16. Why is this significant? Memphis - widely regarded as the worse team in college footbal in 2011, was one of those two teams. Could this perhaps be the signs of bigger things to come for APSU?
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Brace yourselves, y'all. FOOTBALL IS COMING.
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See everyone on Saturday!
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Hey, y'all! Only ninety-nine days till the 2012 season kicks off! In reality, that means really only a little more than two months until camp opens, and it actually starts to FEEL like football season. Y'know, it'll be nice to see players in pads again, running through drills. This off-season has been so quiet, amiright?
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Editor's Note: I can't give this perspective, I wasn't a student during Seth's tenure. I appreciate all he did for Tech basketball, but I never felt that connection with him so many of you did. Sparach did, his words follow.
First, I want to state the obvious: the timing was...odd. I was of the opinion that the Athletic Department could have justified firing him at the end of this season, yet at the same time was not surprised when they pledged support. Considering the circumstances - starters being injured, the relative youth of this years squad - I felt that Seth had earned a "get-out-of-jail-free" card for last season.
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Let the Countdown begin in earnest. See y'all April 21st.
Source photo: Josh D. Weiss Photography
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God, no football really sucks.
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This is certainly neither Frank Beamer nor Al Golden's first rodeo. Nothing should ever really come as a shock on National Signing Day. Let's be real, we're talking about 17 or 18 year olds making (what might be) their first major life decision. Sometimes, recruits change their minds. Sometimes - as in Jawand Blue's case - they decide to go to Miami instead of Virginia Tech. That's cool, and I wish him the best of luck.
Then Al Golden decided to open his mouth.
OH REALLY? That's cute. Let's talk about when this happened:
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*Bear with me here; I'm not sure if this is just me trying to come to terms with Sunday's kick in the nuts.
As football fans we are subjected to the phrase "window of opportunity" perhaps more than we should be. It's one of the intangibles of the game; we know it is there, yet we don't know when it will - methaphorically - close. It just happens. As fans, there is little we can do to stop this metaphorical window shutting, with the exception of continuing to be fans.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
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