Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (2-7, 1-5 ACC) vs Duke Blue Devils (6-3, 3-2 ACC)
When: Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 12:00 PM EDT
Where: Durham, NC | Wallace Wade Stadium
Watch/Listen: RSN / Virginia Tech IMG
Spread: VT +10.5
Weather: 71°F, Partly cloudy
Series: The Hokies hold a 19-10 advantage in the all-time series.
Reppin' TKP: Couch coverage
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Comments
sooo, another blackout eh? Anybody got a stream to watch?
Does VT get some kind of payout for these games? Because this is the 3rd game in a row that is blacked out on ESPN so most of their fanbase can't watch the game. Not sure why they would agree to that unless they are getting paid.
You have to realize the blackout is a mercy decision so you cannot see VT blow it in real time.
LETS GO!
Hokies?
What we drinking today, fam??
Give this to the team fam, we need it:
No lies detected
Lighter fluid
So if we lose to Duke and no one can watch it...did it actually happen?
This is my stance.
Also, cheers to all the non-regional Hokies who can watch this on the ESPN app because they aren't geolocked by the RSN.
😊 having FIOS here in New jersey,, even if it's not picked up on an RSN (usually YES - yankees network) I can always watch on WatchEspn. I'm lucky to have never had to deal with pirate streaming.
Use a VPN
Hokies are going with PK John Love over Will Ross for today's game.
Surely that won't come back to bite us in the ass.
Welp
Today is why I keep my damn cable... so frustrating with the Blackouts.
Use a VPN
Not so long ago I used to skip the Duke game because it was always uncompetitive, we would always stomp their ass and I could do something else like hunt or fish. Funny how times change.
Who's wearing the 25 today. Gotta be T(r)ucker right?
Bingo.
Its sicko hours
TD LOFTON!!!
oh good, two of us are actually watching the game
Three
Four
Five
(I was at the game)
If Grant Wells throws a deep TD on the second offensive play but no one can watch the game, did it really happen?
YES!!
That was an absolutely beautiful pass by the way
It was but Lofton had to slow up for it. Still a great thing to see though.
Trying to find an "alternate" stream and first play I watch is the TD to Lofton! Nice!
If anyone wants to watch I'd recommend a VPN (I set mine to Denver for ACC stuff usually). Don't have to worry about blackouts that way.
I am in tx and still cant watch on espn3
I put mine at Chicago. But was gonna post the same thing.
And let us not forget that UVA just threw 2 consecutive pick-6s
Noice!
Well I guess I'm not watching this through any device on any subscription then
I like this week's strategy of taking a lead in the first quarter and holding it! /s
Up in New England it's on NESN+
Dax got juked badly on that 3rd down scramble
Guess we should have recruited a 5 star!
Dax is a Hokie, but we need a better athlete at Mike
Duke has one of the better running games in the conference and they are very pass happy to start the game.
Don't get it, but I'll take it
They know we have a good run D... in the first half. They'll get 150+ rush yards in the second half once our guys are worn down.
I like Keli Lawson spying on Leonard on the 3rd down. We've done our homework... let's go boys
Hate our three man rush
I feel like we are being held on every passing play
That long developing route is as much on the pass rush as the coverage. Too much time.
On that long play to Calhoun, whoever was rushing on the left side got destroyed by Duke's RT
Dax almost got burnt there. A lob over the top was a TD. Good vision and tackle by Mccray
Field goal kick out of bounds? Sheesh.
We seem to be rolling Wells out right into pressure.
Is it me or did it look like he wasn't down and made the first down?
It was close. Probably short tho.
yea wish we got a better replay
Surprised there was no re-look
On the replay you could see his right knee touched the ground as he was rolling off the defender short of the line to gain.
Wallace Wade stadium has some nice seating! /s
I was about to be pissed if they didn't call that chop block on Garbutt
They didnt.
Wait I thought they did?! Damn
No. They called a hold on the tight end downfield.
Another missed tackle by conner.
Great camera work
Defense is gonna get gassed quick if the offense can't sustain any drives.
Great view there camera crew
They've been gassed all season, probably used to it by now.
Good thinking. They should be able to sustain by now building up that indurance. Ha
INT! but what was that camera work
Wish I could have seen the int
Delane is going to be a stud
I think he already is.
NICE WORK CAMERA GUYS I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THAT INTERCEPTION IN REAL TIME ANYWAY
Jesus christ. Can we get a cameraman who can follow the play? Couldn't see the interception at all!
Good news turnover. Bad news, this is where we go into our shell with our turtle offense. Oh I hope I am wrong.
Edit: NOPE FULL TURTLE
doubt itedit: nope
You weren't wrong
Always go with your gut!
I thought Pry was going to be aggressive in his playcalling...
Why run it all 3 downs at the 1-2 yard line??
Can we let our Defense rest for more than a minute?
No
That should be a fireable series for the coordinator!
Yeah not even taking like one shot near the sticks to get a 1st is a little questionable.
Or I don't know if the coverage was there for a deep shot, but what is there to lose.
we're 2-7 take every risk you can, we literally have nothing to lose
LOL, what's the point in playing offense when your plan from jump street is three runs and a punt. He NEVER intended to try and get a first down. It doesn't make sense.
I getit, we're deep in our side of the field but that was some gutless play calling on offense
Slant? Screen? Anything that has a chance of gaining more than 1 yard? Jesus.
That series of play calling was horrible
I mean if passes don't work out they don't workout. But at least give it a shot on 1 or 2 downs.
and Holston for negative one...smh
is King in the doghouse?
Here comes a qb scramble for a first.
I hate our three man rush AGAIN
Can we not get a face mask call on duke? That's two different stiff arms with obvious face masks.
No pressure on a fourth down??
Pry is in a really difficult position. He can't afford to send a blitz because the back end simply cant' hold up. He can't rush 3 because we can't get to the QB. We just aren't very good.
Also surprised no facemask call on the fourth down play.
Ballgame
Duke absolutely destroying us in that "no man's land" spot on the sideline every time we are in cover2
Well the first qtr was fun. That was our one qtr of play. That series by the goal line is even bigger now. Just horrible.
I don't see much difference between this staff and the last one, sorry not sorry
I don't see much difference in the players from the last staff and the players from this one.
Delane gotta be aware of down and distance there. Bought on the deep fake. He'll learn.
I'd have to see it again, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't on Delane. I think we were in cover 2 there meaning that Delane was responsible for the flat (5-10 yards deep).
Yeah...but delane took off deep and didn't stay flat......
Well, the safeties dropped, Dax sank (likely not deep enough, but thats simply what he tends to do) and Delane stayed in the flat. Again, I'd have to see it again, but the ball wasn't caught in the flat.
Please for the love of God let some younger guys play! Try another qb, do something!!! We have reached the point that we don't expect anything at all. 2-8 or 3-7, what's the damn difference????
#playfarrell
Idk, looking at the high school QB talent in the Mid-Atlantic, I think we have another 1-3 years of Wells. I'd rather get him the practice.
If he doesn't get it by now he never will.
Could've said the same thing about Kenny Pickett.
This is so boring. I don't think I can stay engaged the whole game.
I'm playing civ while watching the game, it's basically background noise
Wells-No awareness. No game management skills. Jason Brown Please!!
**Devin Farrell pls
plan for the future
Putting in Brown does absolutely nothing for us especially since he can't win the starting job.
Brown exhausts his eligibility this year. No benefit to playing him over Wells.
Well that too
these last few punts have not been great
I'd be OK if we had a different punter next season,.
Uninspiring play calling
Are you commenting on this game or on the season?
Take your pick
Man I miss Bud. 4th and 7 and we sit back and give the QB 10secs to survey the field. What type of crap was that? Go get him and make him make a play under pressure.
Zero situational awareness by Bowen. Qb sneak on first down? Then the quick crosser we should have used the last series backed up by the goal line. This guy is throwing darts at the board.
Last week...abandoned the running game when we were Killin it. This week....abandoned the quick hitting pasing game that's working.
Completely unpredictable, got em just where we want em.
No fucking way that was targeting. Feet planted and head up- just stonewalled him.
3 first downs (all in Q1). No 3rd down conversions
Something is broken with this zone. There's no way someone should be open 10-15 yards deep on the sideline on every single passing play
Houlston left, Houlston right, wells draw, go.
Edit: damn Houlston middle, I never know what we're going to do.
Got the order wrong.
What the fuck is this playcalling?!?! Under a min to try to be aggressive and get some momentum and we run back to back runs?!?!
Clock management still an issue:
Draw on first down for a first down.
Draw on second down for a couple yards.
Call a TO.
Why call a TO there if we aren't working the ball down the field? Are we trying to score or are we packing it in? Who is making these decisions?
we're going to take all these TOs just to move 20 yards down the field
Bowen throwing darts At a board.
Why is Love taking the FGA instead of Ross? (missed most of the 1H)
Uncalled Illegal hands to the face on the defense against our Lineman on the wells scramble.
If not for the poor clock/game management early in this drive we'd have a few more seconds on the clock and likely an opportunity for another play.
Pleasantly surprised Roth just said we had no first half penalties.
Definitely a huge positive!!
Anybody got a good streaming link? I've been using SportsSurge, but all the links there are pretty buggy for me.
I'm bouncing between Sportssurge (also experiencing bugs) and YouTube "Virginia Tech vs Duke live stream". Couple of Live options popping up there but may have to switch it up if they're taken down.
Thanks lepak! working much better!
At least we're not getting boatraced?.......
Not yet at least. With less than 9:30 TOP in the first half, got to assume the defense gets gassed at some point.
Would really love to see us get a couple long, time-consuming drives.
...yet
Yes...I should have implied that somehow.
I know. Was playing along
It's not like we've been terrible in the Q4 or anything...
Why did Love take the FG? Not watching.
Just curious, if any of you were a decent 3 star or above saw anything in the first half that would make you want to go to VT.....
Instant playing time?
Or a promising talent on the field now. Like mansoor. I'd be checking the portal to get paid if I were one of our few P5 caliber players.
Pathetic game management so far. These coaches continue to prove they don't know how to put our guys in position to win. The series after the INT. Awful. Especially when the punter can't kick more than 35 yards. The last series. Not taking a shot. Running back to back and throwing dink and dunk underneath instead of giving smith a shot on 1 at down makes no sense. First time kicker into the wind 50 yards. Just awful. And it's the same thing every week.
with 7 seconds assumed wed run a 10 yard out
Oh God. On the stream, Duke's coach is talking about the team having "grit". Can we please get that term away from us?
I think we have a bunch of hats and helmet stickers playing around.
If we don't come out and score, Duke can just run the ball and they'll likely be fine. I just don't have any faith in Bowen to be creative enough to win...I hope I'm wrong.
My stream has collapsed and frozen up. Maybe just as well.
Oh heck, listing on the radio now.
Working for me right now, a little fuzzy though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMSbE2P2roc
Thank you! This seems to be working.
Jet sweep sighting.
At least it was something different.
just make a qb change
I believe Pry said that's not gonna happen.
Moore can't even punt it to the deep man any more
His longest punts today came from Duke territory or near midfield, sailing them into the endzone. How to you go from all ACC to one of the worst punters we've had since I've been alive.
Shit. Targeting call.
Actually, our own player targeted Nyquee Hawkins.
we can't stop them on third down
Guys are completely lost in our zone coverages. Something that will likely take a couple of seasons to iron out.
How is that not a hold on the oline?
Complete arm choke hold headlock under the chin
Duke has run 47 plays. Over 20:00 TOP. D is gassed.
26:01 to 11:04. Offense has got to get a sustained drive and give the D some rest.
What? He was a full yard short!
Wow. Finally called a holding.
GT also ate us up with throws into the open zones on the sideline. 2nd and 20 in the red zone and a 5 yard throw to the flat gets 15 yards before contact. I just don't understand.
This team really isn't worth watching anymore.
Gave up a long(ish) pass play in the same spot in our zone coverage. Over and over again. Then when we have an opportunity to make a tackle we are proven to be the weaker team. Boys against Men.
Welp that's it
Can anyone point to a area where we have seen improvement from game 1 to game 10? I mean, anything at all. Coaching, offense, defense, special teams.
Penalties are not an issue today. That's a massive improvement.
No penalties no turnovers today 🤷♂️
Oops, reply in the wrong place
Back to bed😎
Sad state of affairs when Duke is faster and stronger that VT.
This is essentially the same team we blasted by 30 last year...
We were a much better team last year.
I'd missed the past 3 games. Should have sat this one out too.
I mean props to the players for trying and not giving up, but VT football is God awful right now, and will be terrible for years to come.
I haven't had the opportunity to watch too many games the last month or so but from what I have been able to see, there is little to nothing worth being excited about going forward.
Poop. That is all
I feel like I've seen this movie before. Vanilla offense can't sustain anything because of completely uncreative play calling. Defense hangs in for a half then runs out of gas.
Kings first run since the Q1
Back to back great runs. Wtf is with this coaching staff?
Are we running a pistol formation with an added fullback?
I think the biggest disappointment to me is the overall lack of player development. We've cleaned up penalties today but overall I still feel like this is the same team that opened against ODU
Really difficult to make an assessment on player development in the middle (or even towards the end) of a season when you have such a discombobulated roster.
Defensively the team has gotten better, but lack of depth has the performance fall off a cliff in the 2nd half.
Offensively, it's a train wreck. Our QBs are dogshit and it shows every week.
They really need to hit the transfer portal for QB. Wells just isn't it and constantly misses open receivers. He's not the whole problem but definitely a part of it. But unfortunately the best we have right now.
You mean like how he just threw into double coverage?
I think he's probably the biggest problem we have on offense. His decision making is awful, he locks into receivers and forces the ball way too often.
Agree. We need more talent at most spots and the OL and playcalling isn't great, but Wells has probably been the biggest factor in so many stalled drives and missed opportunities for points. We have to find someone else and move on for next year, I just don't see him developing into a quality P5 starter here. This is his third year of playing.
I'll take Wells with an improved running game over a much improved QB with no running game. We have a single vertical threat. That's it.
TOP:
Duke: 27 minutes
VT: 11 minutes.
why wasn't King playing till now?
Good question.
Cause of our coaching geniuses? Personnel management has been the worst offense by our coaching (by far) than anything I've seen this year.
The only thing good about VT Football right now is that the fans are still showing up. But that will not continue with just how bad we are.
And given where college sports are going, I don't think the fans will ever come back like in the past if things continue to be this bad for another year or 2
Holston does know how to block... right?
FFS kick the FG!
SMH.... Wtf is Pry thinking????
WHY DO YOU NOT TAKE THE 3 POINTS?!?!?
Why the hell do you call a QB dive on third and medium and then chuck it to the endzone on 4th and 4....
ok why not take the FG there
I think we all said, as a collective, "just kick it!"
Is Ross hurt or have we now ruined both FG kickers and the punter in one season?
Wells had guys open for the first but decided to throw into shitty double coverage on 4th down
If he's our starters next year, things will not improve
Fourth down and you make a low percentage throw like that.
Who the hells making that decision.
Take the three points and make it a one score game.
I think it's Well's decision, he only throws for the big play, not the smart play
What an awful 4th down play. I don't know if it was the call or the execution from Wells, but that was awful.
The broadcast is the worst I've ever seen.
I'm pro-analytics, but I don't really understand the value of not taking the three there in the second half. 1 score vs 2 score game as possessions become limited. Additionally, outside of the context of an individual game, a win could do wonders for this fanbase and the players in the locker room.
100%
Not sure why we didn't take the points there.
The VT announcers were saying it was outside kickers range. At the twenty yard line?
Most / many of the fans have been calling for taking chances and being aggressive. It didn't work that time.
You're down 10. Need a TD and FG. Take the chip shot FG (plus was 4+ yards to go). Poor decision.
IF it is outside the kickers range, you can not "take" the three; it is not guaranteed points.
If 38 yards is outside the kicker's range, then I'm sorry, but.............
Or put in your kicker who made a 49 yarder earlier in season (and was 100% from under 40 for most of the season)....
College kickers aren't consistent. If there's a 75% chance of making the kick, and a 33% percent change you get the first down, then you have to go for it (75% of 3 points = 2.25 points, 33% of 7 points = 2.31 points #ActualExpectedOutcomes)
What is there not to understand? We've got a coaching staff that looks in way over their head right now
And why is the tv coverage running commercials on screen mid-play?
Who is #60??? Dude had two players coming right at him and BOTH made it through
Indecision and poor coaching on full display
Holloway gotta return that one. 15 open yards in front of him.
Moore only punts well into the endzone..... thats a problem
Our defense is so gassed it is sad to watch
No offense is wearing out the d. PULL WELLS, his decision making is costing us dearly.
Decision making is fine. It's the play calling and blocking that sucks.
Duke when blitzing...ends in sack...VT when blitzing...ends in a three stooges skit!
This game is over. Not taking the points there to make it a one score game is a bit mind boggling to me. You still had the entire 4th qtr and most of the third.
I get being aggressive. But cmon.
Last Saturday walking back to my truck, finally broke the silence about halfway there and just told my wife "it's against the rules for me to happy in sports." Yeah, it was semi-hyperbole and definitely sulky...but fuck if it isn't still true a week later.
How does Pry not even give one of the other QBs a chance after all this?? That would piss me off if I was one of the younger QBs or Brown.
We're 2-7, almost 2-8. Give someone else a chance.
Yeah for all these people saying to keep Wells in, the dude is 9/8 and completing 56% of his passes. "He's our best" argument even if true doesn't really hold up with those numbers.
Brown is almost certainly better on short to intermediate passing (even if he has much worse arm strength and is slightly less accurate in general, he still puts touch on medium-short throws and doesn't sail them). He's a more elusive runner imo, and he has the green light to scramble whenever he can. But most of all, it's his last season and he deserves it. How much is Wells going to really "develop" in this offense behind this line with 2 games left
About to go down 3 scores.
Sure we'll come back with a slow playing running game.
We're all frustrated with the offense and with Wells. But I'd honestly like to see what can happen with Wells in another off season. He has arm strength and some talent, just cannot get it done.
What has frustrated me so much for years is how Tech has not had a quarterback play meaningful snaps in year X that has shown any improvement in year X+1 since Tyrod. I want to see what the staff can do to actually improve Wells' decision-making. Don't get me wrong, if we can get a better QB from the portal or playing a freshman, by all means do it. But I'm much rather get better offensive linemen or a big time pass rusher than switch to a new QB to get someone that is marginally better.
This is brutal.
So real talk...how long is Mike Elko at Duke. No way he stays there long term.
This is a Duke team we beat 31 last year with a San Diego State WR at quarterback lol.
But for us the cupboard is bare....
\s
But...that same team has the same talent (and do we). It's a talent issue. /s
Difference: Duke had a coach who hired good/experienced coordinators who are getting the most (more) than the talent level they have. We have a staff that isn't willing to adjust or play to our strengths and doesn't come near getting the most of out of our players (look across the board, PFF gardes our much lower for almost everyone). That's not talent...it's coaching.
I just don't understand our coaching. We have 3 games left...3! No more. Why are we still running in quicksand trying to okay conservative and safe. Why don't we take chances, play loose, agressive, try new guys? This is an audition for next year...for the coaches as well. I don't me just offense.
Because this staff doesn't know how...
You could send a sedated chihuahua on the field to go hump a football and it could move downfield more efficiently than our offense. Comically bad.
4th qtr meltdown well under way
How embarrassing. That's how much DUKE doesn't respect you. A long field goal up two scores or go for it on fourth. FML
We give them nothing to respect.
In fairness, I think I would have done the same thing. I mean what are the odds we can score 10 more points? And a FG is still less than 2 scores. Why not go for it?
Put in Brown!!!!
I'd rather see Ferrel than brown. Brown is done after this year. You get nothing with home.
This game was over before that anyway, but that's just pathetic. Duke has so little respect for us, and why should they?
Pry and this staff have shown me less than nothing over the course of this season.
Our offense can't gain yards or possess the ball. Our defense is a combination of gassed and confused on any down beyond 1st and 2nd. This is an absolute trainwreck. We're lacking both X's and O's and Jimmys and Joes.
Wait until next weekend if you want to see us disrespected.
Not interested in watching the rest of the season
At least we've lost to everyone in the ACC before never playing a lot of them for a while. Except bc I guess.
Another record about to fall. Never lost to Duke in Durham since joining the ACC.
No one within 10 yards of the receiver on that fourth down. If it was a half decent throw it would've been a walk in TD.
Didn't matter since they scored the next play anyway.
Our opponents have to be at least 60% on 4th and medium or long.
We can't cover, so we sit back and rush 3-4 and let them pick us apart.
Why the f*ck we don't sell out blitz and rush their decisions is beyond me. Pry is supposed to be a defensive genius who has all these exotic blitzes...yet we go away from it after 1-2 quarters.
There's still more VT fans in the stands than Duke fans ha ba
Another season of this is going to be tough. Each game I hope to see progress and each game is just:
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Meh, I've already checked out on the team this year. Another year like this and I'm probably going to check out again until they give me reason to come back.
Perhaps I'm just bogged down in negativity but is it crazy to think we will be worse next year? I'm not expecting us to get a talented haul from the portal. I think the talent bottoms out next year.
I don't expect the current recruiting class to be worth a damn.
And that's extremely concerning. If recruiting doesnt pick up almost immediately, VT Football is dead and will never recover. We might already be at that point, to be honest.
Part of Pry's pitch was that he would bring PSU-level recruiting of VA to VT. He expects the roster to be at that level by 2025. To stay on track for that goal, we need to do well in the transfer portal this off season.
For that to happen, he needs to be recruiting better than he is right now.
It will take time - I look at what Mel Tucker did at MSU (from a recruiting perspective) - his first recruiting class was 35ish. He focused heavily on the portal in his second class, and in his third class he's getting back to landing high school recruits.
Right now Pry is focused on building relationships in the mid-atlantic + carolinas, which should pay off by '25. I'm really curious to see how he does in the portal this offseason. There are a lot of rumors swirling that we're going to hit it hard.
I'm not saying this definitively will work. But it is a sensible strategy. It's why I'm holding off on judging Pry until I see next season's roster. IMO if there isn't major roster turnover in the next 9 months, he's on the hot seat. Til then, it should be cold AF.
This camerawork is awful. This team is awful. I can't stop watching. Somebody save me and cut the cord on my behalf.
I'm watching Tennessee/Mizzou...it's cathartic watching Hendon throw TDs to Hyatt
Felt like a gut punch seeing that pop up on my Twitter feed while watching.....whatever this is. Our offense couldn't catch a cold at this point.
3rd and 10. Run. Genius! /s
At least Wells actually threw it this time. Seems like he eats the sack everyone rather then at least giving his guys a chance to catch it.
I read today that if we lose it will be the longest losing streak since like 1951 or something. That was pretty painful to think about. Happy Saturday guys 😂
I'm sorry to Pry...but this team is 6-6 talent. Coaching was going to make us 8-4 or 4-8. Instead we're looking at 2-10.
Maybe if Thomas, King, Garbutt, and Dszansi are 100% healthy. We have no depth, and it's killing us. We don't have a single offensive player who can create (maybe Caleb Smith, that's it). This team is 6-6 at best if the best coach in the game is calling it.
How would we know? They refuse to play the younger players. King has on run, then sits for 3 quarters while Holston plays the whole game. Dan's I has yet to come out...ever. Wright comes out as a blossoming star...the plays 2 snaps the follow game (while blue plays 39).
I really hope he can turn things around, but I am really worried we hired a dud at Head coach.
I am just not seeing much out of the staff over the course of the season.
To top it off, it's not Ben as though recruiting has materially improved to suggest that pry might have success once we get better players.
Hey at least we are now as bad as all those "I remember how bad things were in the 80s, you should be grateful" fans from 5 years ago wanted us to be, right?
What is wrong with Dszansi? Looks like he is playing in steel toe boots
Fighting injuries
Then why is he playing??!!! We have other scholarship OLs.
Rumors that the the 2's are sooo far behind, they're not even game ready. We've played 6(?) OL all year. That should tell you all you need to know.
So who is going to play next year? Those same 2's? Wouldn't be good to get them some experience? We're not getting 3-4 4* OLs in the portal.
You advertise yourself as great developers. Well...develop!
He should've been benched weeks ago. He spends too much time standing up and watching guys run past him. Yet for some reason we refuse to play the freshman (Danzsai graduates). Look forward to playing next year with a LT that's never taking a snap in a college game.
The offense needs to be completely gutted, the QB is bad, the OL is Bad, the WR's are bad, the playcalling is bad...it's like a super shit sandwich.
I mean when people warned us that Fuente was a terrible recruiter for the last 3 years of his tenure, this is what they were warning us about.
On the flip side, love Dax, but he shouldn't be the best defender on a P5 team.
Our talent sucks. Top to bottom, we don't have any. And it's going to take years to fix that.
Just another damning commentary on how bad this program was left when Duke has a first year coach outperforming his counterpart at VT!
For everyone wondering, Mike Elko has a less talented Duke squad playing faster, more sound and more physical all while having employed a staff that is far more creative than Coach Pry.
We definitely owe coach Pry the time he needs in order to see his vision realized. But right now, it looks like Whit may have hitched his wagon to the wrong horse. Again, only time will tell.
Yeah I'm calling bullshit on the less talented aspect.
According to the 247 team composite 2022:
Duke: #12 in the ACC with an 84.97 team composite ranking.
VT: #9 in the ACC with an 85.64 team composite ranking.
And the majority of our composite was built on Fuente taking higher rates RBs and ATH every year, the majority of which would never see the field. Of the actual players playing, our talent is dogshit.
Your logic is somewhat incorrect - The 247 TEAM composite rankings account for transfers off the team, so at least 5 of those RBs are off the roster.
But, point taken that we could be forcing square pegs into round holes. Would be interesting to see a more detailed analysis.
I agree Duke is at least more talented on lines and probably the skill positions.
What is Pry's vision though?
Not saying he doesn't have one, but if I was an outside observer of this team I would have absolutely no clue what this staff was trying to accomplish this season.
Looks to me like they are trying to survive the season.
Would you rather go 2-10 with this crap scheme. Or go 2-10 with creative plays (a lot of misdirection and deep passes-50/50 balls)...knowing you'll lose bigger/may actually win a couple)?
Trust me, I'd choose option two. Three straight runs into the teeth of the defense after the interception was pathetic.
I would rather go 2-10 doing whatever scheme we want to use in the upcoming season(s).
I really hope this isn't that scheme.
This is very fair criticism IMO. When I saw the staff assembled, I thought I knew what we were going to run - smash mouth RPO (similar to Minnesota) but with tempo and versatile TE play mixed in - we have seen no such thing. Maybe it's a personnel issue, maybe it's a coaching issue, maybe I was just wrong, likely a combination.
I really hate taking shots at Whit for the hire - Coaching hires are a crap-shoot. All you can do is have a sound hiring process, and hope the rest works out. Pry checked every box - Has a history of recruiting blue chip talent, has recruited VA, has developed 3 star players into NFL draft picks, can do the fundraising side of things, is a culture fit, wants to be here. The only thing he didn't have is head coaching experience - the reality is, VT is not at a point where we can hire someone with BOTH P5 'big dawg' experience AND head coaching experience. Napier passed on us. Clawson used us for leverage. Chadwell was too similar to Fuente.
Whit made a sensible hire - sometimes smart hires just fail. That's college football.
Hopefully we can let them run the ball down the field to score another td.
Duke has run 69 (nice!) plays. We have run 37...37!!!
TOP 32-18.
Find me another D that can stand up to that.
Defense hasn't been great, but with an average offense VT would be driving to at least tie the game right now.
Instead we're down 17 and the only way we're crossing the 50 is if Duke puts their backups in and/or plays prevent.
Few Ds can last against 69 (plays)
Only solace in today is that UVA is also getting their shit pushed in. November 26 matchup will be an incredibly stoppable force vs a very moveable object. Toilet Bowl territory. Start the game at 9AM.
Honestly, who gives a fuck about UVa. Our obsession with benchmarking ourselves against their shit ass program is what allowed us to fall into complete disrepair the last 10 years.
Not necessarily benchmarking, just wanting someone else to feel some suffering as well.
Start it at 9 AM Central Europe Time, put it on something more obscure than MASN/Regional sports networks, and spare everyone from watching it.
That game will be the equivalent of the Jimmy v Timmy fight on South Park
ESPN Bottom-10 Pillow Fight of the Week
Just put in LSU-Arkansas, it's a lot more fun to watch at this point.
We get one more possession in this game. Pathetic. I'm sure we'll run most of the plays. Or go three and out. Same thing.
But hey, no false starts this week! Improvement.
Duke does have three transfers on the OL
Wow, tomorrow the basketball team will have more wins than the football team. Wonder what was the last time that happened?
Go for it on 4th!!!
VT football is now must-be-multitasking TV
I respect Duke on rhat 4th and 10, and just run a qb slide. That is character, not running the score up. Thank you Duke for not kicking us again when we are down.
No it's not. It's I think you can do more damage on a kick return than you can from this field position.
I'm with you and evened out your downvote. That wasn't respect, Duke coaches knew we couldn't do shit from that field position anyway, so why risk a kick block or a return on a kickoff after a made FG
Damn...that was a "I don't even care about scoring I don't think you can do anything from this distance sooo"
My brother in law, who is a Hokie, a fellow fraternity brother, who I went to Basic/AIT in the Army with, and college roommate, has a buddy who is good friends with Bill O'Brien. So much so, he attended an Alabama game on the sidelines and took a picture with Bill O. Well, my BIL got to talk with Bill O. Bill told him he was very interested in the VT job but the AD's (Whit) mind was made up. He said he was very serious about the position too. So, that's an interesting little nugget. But, on the bright side, my BIL said that Alabama atmosphere was nice but nothing compared to VT's heydays.
Whit was probably worried that O'Brian would leave with success.
At this point, I would be okay with this as if Bill O left due to success, we would be an attractive destination and better off.
Godfrey also reported that BOB interviewed for VT.
Personally I didn't like the idea. But, as I've said, coaching hires are a crapshoot. He could've worked. Pry still could too.
he turned PSU around almost immediately after the JoePa fiasco. I would've given him a shot
I think you need to see what happened at Houston before making that call.
took the Texans to the playoffs 4 of the years he was there, yea trading Nuk was probably one of the dumbest decisions ever, but if he righted ship at VT and then left it wouldn't have been the worst thing. Nick Saban didn't have success in the NFL nor did Urban, Spurrier, and a multitude of college coaches.
Keep reading....
Plus look at the Saban "not exactly pleased with his playcalling for second straight year".
Yea, but he has a reputation as an asshole. And that would not have played well after Fuente. He also hasn't coached at a non-blueblood since 2006.
Supposedly CAA is pushing him for a ton of HC gigs this off season, so we'll see soon enough.
that is fair
In a turnaround of this magnitude, the Head Poobah will need to be an asshole to a degree as there will be situations that dictate this. They will and should be few and far between, but if applied appropriately, will be effective and drive the message throughout the entire organization. If Bill O has the propensity to be an asshole, I'll take it during the rebuild cuz we"ll need it.
Pry will need this in the off-season too. Things will present themselves and it will be telling how Pry acts/reacts to it. Pry's going to have to make some tough calls over this rebuild and if he chooses not too, it will lead to his demise unless he gets lucky. I'm one not to rely on luck.
I don't think there's ever a need to be an asshole - being honest and direct doesn't make you an asshole. Being rude makes you an asshole.
I get that a coach needs to have tough discussions with players and coaches, but he never needs to be an asshole to fans or others in the athletic dept. We don't need another Seth Greenberg.
Yeah. There are times. Note, "few and far between" and "timely", one will need to an "asshole" to "get the job done". If they are smart, they will do it when called for. That's not being rude. That's getting the shit done. Now, being rude to be rude and on a frequent basis, because that's one's MO, well, that's being an asshole.
At this point, these games are just an excuse to see the unique combination of maroon and orange on the screen for a few hours each week. Just watch highlights of VT-Lehigh if you want to actually find joy.
What do we call the end of the game thread?
Vent thread?
Silver lining thread?
Yeah, whatever thread?
Mercifully the season is almost over thread?
There isn't one. It's just on to next week
5. Basketball pre game thread
Just drain the clock and take a knee.
We suck, Bowen has done nothing to earn another year. Get a real oc
I think he's had enough time and whatever he's trying to coach or call just isn't working. Pry better have a damn good reason for retaining him after this season. Same for Joe Rudolph and Stu Holt. Hell - any coach that is responsible for any part of the team that is expected to generate points should consider themselves on the hot seat.
Does Bowen have a contract that would require us to pay him more money to leave? I saw something about that somewhere but haven't confirmed. Might be a reason to retain him. But also I wish we didn't have buyouts for coordinators. Especially coordinators with no experience. Whoever is negotiating contracts for VT is not good at it
Yeah, I believe he is on a 3 year letter of appointment at $850k/yr. Ouch.
Apparently Whit from his own mouth lets his HCs hire whoever they want for assistants within the funds available, so presuming that's what it took for Pry to get Bowen. But it also seems like almost everyone got a considerable pay raise from their previous position which is concerning given the additional funds we were allowed for the assistants pool.
Eff this 1000%
Bowen needs to go, and money for that buyout needs to come from Pry's salary.
Yet another example why IMO Whit's approach to letting an HC totally manage personnel decisions is absolutely reckless. Ok, if you're going to go in and say you're going to pay a certain level for each assistant position, you damn well better bring in some candidates worthy of that pay range for consideration. If you're just going to hand pick buddies, you better pay them market for their experience. We just handed out big time raises to buddies.
Where have I seen that before?
I don't believe the offensive coaches have what it takes to make this offense competitive. I also don't believe there will be a reshuffling this off-season.
I don't understand why it's so fucking hard to get a decent offense in Blacksburg. I'm not even asking for great. Just decent.
I'm convinced we just don't know how to run an effective modern-day P5 program, from top to bottom. No one has a clue how to do it. It would require making tough decisions and bringing in outsiders. Why do that when you can hire your buds?
I have no idea if this is true but nepotism is absolutely killer so it would make sense. Nothing good has ever come from nepotism. The ACC is accelerating towards the bottom of college football, in large part, thanks to nepotism.
#OffenseThird
we suck! Wells blows!
Can somebody just verify for me that Tyler Bowen was in fact not the best man at Pry's wedding? lol
For real though, the more I look at our coaching staff, the less I like. I think I'd always prefer VT to have coaches who have been at a school for several years (like 4+) for at least some point in his career (like Price/Glenn/Rudolph/Jones). Not saying those guys or their players are amazing this year, but you at least can feel confident they know what is wrong and what needs fixing. Other coaches though...
Case in point: Bowen. The man has had 8 different coaching gigs (not counting in-house changes) in the past 10 years. Sure that gets them exposed to a lot of different things, but I feel like they end up a jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none type. Like if you only coach at a place for < 3 years, who's to say that your success during that time is a result of your abilities? Are we supposed to judge it by the development of players that you likely didn't even recruit? The smoothness of an offensive system that you likely didn't design and haven't mastered? The performance of players who might have been well-coached by the guy you replaced when you came along? I'm just skeptical. And that's not even mentioning Pry thinking "oh Bowen will be a great OC" when he was OC for a single year at Fordham and co-OC for a single year at PSU and it wasn't even his most recent job.
Maybe it's just a case of installing "our guys" in upcoming recruiting classes, but I'm just saying this all feels hauntingly familiar.
Didn't find any dirt, but his Wikipedia page as of 10:04 AM eastern checks out
