Blogs
... and the final Six Pick goes out with a whimper. Moving and selling my house went without a snag, but I haven't completely organized my temporary place yet and just now got internet. So, it's a second week of just picks and not pics. I am sorry for that. I'll update the standings for last week and this. Let's just say this week is like the final leg of the Tour de France for HokieV as he cycles home a win. Looks like, I'll owe Vince some drinks.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Now that the regular season is done for the Virginia Tech football team, and with only a lower tier bowl remaining, it's time for Hokie Nation to turn its collective attention towards the basketball team. With their first 5-0 start since 1984 there is a certain amount of buzz surrounding this year's edition of the Hokies on the hardwood.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
I wrote this after the Cincy game and slid it under Jim Cavanaugh's door one day after practice. No idea if he or the team ever saw it, but I think it spoke the truth for the team much of the season. I must say that this past Saturday vs UVA was the first time I saw much emotion and excitement from our team all season, and it's how we should have been playing all along.
Dear Virginia Tech football team,
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
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."
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
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.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Sorry guys, in this shortened week, I can't do a write up as I am in the process of moving into temporary housing for the next couple of months while my house is being constructed. I have so much going on, I couldn't give the column it's due time. It's a great weekend of football, enjoy the games and Go Hokies. Bring home a win and bowl eligibility.
The Games.
Saturday, November 24th
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
You guys, I don't know how long this has been going on, but if the guys in the locker room haven't seen this before, I'm about to unleash hell on the Hoos. I debated on whether or not I should post this out of fear that James Gayle wouldn’t be able to restrain himself until Saturday from cracking skulls. But the people have a right to know.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
College football contains quite a tumultuous landscape. The mantra, “every week counts” is played to a raspy whisper at this point. However, weekends much like this past where the top 5 are either crashing through the wall or being thrown out on their ass show that one game can make or break you. College football is all about the streaks: Wins, yards, catches, completions, home, away, conference, out of conference, etc. How else would consistency and quality be quantified in the sport?
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
There are so many problems with this team that it's hard to find somewhere to begin. But let's start with Logan Thomas. The preseason top 5 pick has reminded us all throughout this season that he was recruited as a tight end and not a quarterback. I've never seen someone play QB at the division 1 level and not be able to complete simple passes. Throughout this season Thomas has struggled with simple things like leading recievers which was evident tonight against Florida State. Although he did have an excellent pass to Davis on the first drive there were countless other throws that he failed to throw ahead of the reciever.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Editor's Note: Edited and bumped to the front. Let's sack up and blow our lungs out in the Terror Dome tomorrow night.
After the loss to Miami, I didn’t know what to write about. There was no ACC championship hope, no ten win season. Everything was gone. I was planning on writing about how a big matchup against Florida State could help us get to 10 wins; how we were going to be playing in Charlotte; how this was a big Thursday night matchup against FSU. All of that is gone. Pretty much all hopes for this season are gone. People have given up, and rightfully so. So why am I writing? I’m writing because I remembered we still have a Thursday night game in Lane Stadium.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
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.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Wow. That was my first thought at the end of last nights lackluster game in Miami. I think that JC had it right when he said on twitter "Spoon fed that W to Miami." Although Miami made the right plays in the 4th to seal the win.
I could not help but think after that there still have to be some positives that we can take from this season. There are some young players on this team. Tough games build a better team in the future. We have great commitments coming in the next couple of years. Things like this popped into my mind first but the second thought stuck.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Last night I posed the question, “What really is the problem with this year’s VT football team?” I wasn't sure where do go with it. Is it the Offensive Scheme? Offensive Play Calling? Execution? Head Coach? After sleeping on it, my theory is that the program has been infiltrated by a non-creative stagnant leadership. We have lost our edge as a program. We are weak across the board, from the Athletic Director to long snapper (I miss Collin Carroll). And no, this isn't a "fire Beamer" post.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
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.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
As a follow-up to last week's post on predictability of our offense, a couple of commenters mentioned that a better comparison might be to the best teams in the country rather than all teams (since we aspire to be one of the best and most years are). In this post we'll compare the behavior seen by VT with that of the top twenty offenses in the country as ranked at http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaaoff.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
I was pretty excited Friday when my buddy asked if I wanted to go to the Liberty vs. Brentsville game Friday night. After knowing him for a number of years, it was my first time getting to see Wyatt Teller in action. And trust me, he did not disappoint.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Editor's Note: Bumped to the front because this is really, really well done. --Joe
Based on data available from cfbstats.com, I took a statistical look at how predictable VT’s offensive play calling has been thus far this season (note that I believe the last game is missing). The site provides basic information on every play in every game, but does not give information on specifics like formation, whether a pass was completed or not, etc. So this analysis (based on logistic regression if you’re a geek) simply looks at the most basic aspect of predictability – whether or not we rush or pass.
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
There has been a lot of discussion this year about Louisiana Tech's Offensive Coordinator, Tony Franklin joining VT's staff next year. As most of you guys know, he played with Foster at Murray State. Following MSU, here is a rough outline of Franklins career moves:
Until 1997: HS coach in Kentucky
1997-2003: University of Kentucky, started at RB's coach, replaced Leach as OC (under Hal Mumme)
2004: General Manager and coach of Kentucky Arena Football team
2007: Troy O.C.
2008: Auburn O.C. for 1/2 season
2009: Middle Tenn OC
2010-12: La Tech OC
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
The Hokies wrestling team enters the 2012-2013 season as the #10 ranked team in the country. This year looks very promising for the Hokies if they can stay healthy. Nine out of the team's ten projected starters have started in the past and are ranked in the top 25.
The biggest news so far this year is that Devin Carter, last year's 133 pound wrestler, who was ranked #1 in the country for a few weeks, will take a redshirt. He will use this year grow into his new 141 pound weight class and work on improving as an all around wrestler.
125
r-Sr. - #7 Jarrod Garnett
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Pages
