Virginia Tech followed up an uplifting road win against a ranked, one-loss Duke squad with an unfathomable loss Saturday against fledgling Wake Forest. To make matters worse, the egg laid by the offense overshadowed a largely dominant afternoon by Bud Foster's defense.
Chuck Clark had arguably the greatest game of his life, making plays in coverage and in the backfield. Deon Clarke and Andrew Motuapuaka continue to shine, teaming up to clog rushing lanes and showing phenomenal sideline-to-sideline pursuit. The defensive line wreaked havoc all day, with standout performances from interior linemen Corey Marshall and Nigel Williams.
Much of this was to be expected against a Demon Deacons offense that nationally ranks near the bottom in numerous statistical categories. And while most were aware of the challenge the Wake secondary presented coming into the game, few could have predicted the horrific offensive performance Hokie fans were subjected to for sixty-plus minutes.
It's almost two full seasons into the Scot Loeffler experiment, and we honestly have no idea what to expect week-to-week. How is that possible? Honestly, how can an offense filled with a number of playmakers fail to gain enough yardage to attempt even just a field goal? Is this offense trying to be so unpredictable each game that it's catching itself by surprise? This season has been incredibly frustrating, but Saturday afternoon took that feeling to an entirely different level.
This team has been tugging at our heartstrings all season long. Monumental wins were followed by gut-wrenching losses. Both this team and the fanbase have experienced such peaks and valleys this fall that it has been hard not to feel optimistic about the future, provided the young talent develops. But the way the offense played on Saturday was so divergent from what we had seen at any point this season that you would be hard pressed not to find a fan that felt deceived by this Hokies team and staff.
All of a sudden, that talk of "one or two plays away" began to seem like lip service. Watching Frank Beamer pump his fists as Wake kicker Mike Weaver pushed his third field goal attempt of the afternoon wide-right to send the game to overtime felt less like a consolation and more like a middle finger.
Don't get me wrong, there were screams of joy and high fives occurring in my apartment, but holy hell, how did we get here?
What frustrates me more than anything is the impact these performances have on the University as-a-whole. I love Virginia Tech. Nothing aggravates me more than seeing our beloved school discussed in an unfavorable light, whether it has to do with sports or academics. It is easy to get caught up in the naturally myopic perspective of a fanatic, focused on the desire to win more than just ten games or reach a bowl game.
I'm tired of hearing the national media question how this team beat Ohio State, and I'm disgusted that we were party to the worst game of the year.
I want people to hear Virginia Tech and think about how we sent a stuffed Hokie Bird into the upper atmosphere; that our Lumenhaus won the 2010 International Solar Decathlon; that we are at the forefront of concussion research; and that we study the respiratory system of a horse on a damn treadmill.
Whether we like it or not, football provides the University with a major revenue stream and a built-in platform to market itself on a local, regional and national level. Winning increases the exposure and thus the catchment for potential students. Losing restricts these opportunities, damning us to noon kickoffs to a regional audience already aware of what Virginia Tech has to offer. Coach Beamer knows this. President Sands knows this. Whit knows this.
To everyone sending emails and tweeting at Whit calling for change, keep in mind this is the same guy who canned James Johnson within four months of taking over for Jim Weaver. Whit is getting enough free advice from senior Hokie Club members; the last thing he needs is a bunch of fans blowing up his twitter feed calling attention to the obvious.
Today's college athletics landscape dictates that the performance of this program is important to the entire University, for better or for worse. While we all desperately want to see our peers win week-after-week, we also miss the days in which the national media spent more time gushing about how special Blacksburg is instead of debating Frank Beamer's fate.
I have no idea what is going to happen over the next few weeks, and to be honest, I'm working very hard not to think too far ahead. This team has one last shot at keeping the bowl streak alive; one last shot at extending the season to provide the younglings with vital practice time; and one last shot at putting everything together against our biggest rival.
There is no better platform to re-establish what Virginia Tech is all about than in Lane Stadium in front of a national audience at night on black Friday.
Comments
Well written-much frustration.
Seeing Sam Roger's reaction in the picture above, flashes me back to him getting repeatedly blown up by two rushers off the edge-even with his effort, he loses (lost) that battle every time.
Make an adjustment coaches and give the players a shot!
There's this tendency to stick with things that aren't working because they 'should,' and move away from things that are working because the game plan dictates it, or whatever.
I'm putting the WFU offensive debacle fully on the backs of the coaching staff. I saw a bunch of kids bust their butts against a gutsy Wake Forest team (yes, they get credit too) only to see their effort wasted.
Which is why I will be pulling hard for my team this Friday-the kids are trying to bring it.
So, going into this week I figure that the coaches owe it to me, everyone on TKP, VT, and ESPECIALLY each and every player on the squad to kick some uva ass on Friday. *
*(Bud Foster not included. Some assembly may be required.)
Just to nit pick, but that's Joey Slye 46 not Sam. But still agree, they left have left him overmatched way to much of late.
Sorry, and thanks for the correction.
I just glanced and went with it.
From the comments of that SB Nation article...
That is our national reputation. We are a punchline. All of our accomplishments are actively getting mocked, and nobody is taking us seriously. And this is the stuff our own recruits are reading every time they see something about us online.
If you're one of our top recruits right now, like Settle or Sweat why do you even consider us anymore? How can you consider us anymore? You just saw our defense pitch a shutout, and yet we're still the national punchline this week because of how awful the offense is. If you're Sweat with also offers from UGa and FSU knowing you'll be playing for a team that has the offense to not land your team and your name in the funny pages for 4 years, why do you even consider VT anymore?
You're right, Whit does have some decisions to be made. I also get the feeling they've already been made and we're just awaiting on the regular season to complete before enacting them.
At least we have good defensive coaches who consistently coach players up, and as a result, we have a reputation for strong defense. On the other hand, we probably won't be getting any good offensive recruits next year if Loeffler stays.
I've been thinking about the impact on recruiting a lot as well. why would any recruit with offers from other d1 power 5 schools come to vt right now. our program looks like a dumpster fire. even with a win Friday that perception won't really change.
whit is a smart man and I really trust our athletic dept in his hands. he's got a rough couple of weeks ahead.
Buzz came to Tech because he said football schools are the future of college basketball, you think he's regretting that now? And I'm sure Whit thought the football part would be easy, just let Beamer handle it, and he could take care of basketball.
We were bad at football before this year, Buzz knew that much.
We were at least 8-5 last year. This year is a hell of a lot worse
I suppose you are right :(
He basically just saying goodbye BigEast....you made the wrong decision. BigEast is now an all basketball conference.
If it was just how good your football program is then I guess he isn't wanting to coach at Kentucky, UNC, Syracuse, Kansas, or UVa
To be fair, the ACC is (I think to its detriment) is focusing on Basketball above Football. Or, at least, you don't add Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Syracuse because you want to get better on College Football's national stage.
Actually, what the ACC did was hedge it's bet. They decided that if they could remain in the Power 5 in football, even as the 4th or 5th of that group, that was good enough. Then they would play off their historical strength in basketball to become the dominant basketball conference in the nation. The 'SEC of basketball', if you will.
How is that beneficial? Simple, the conferences are all about revenue generation from TV packages. to over-simplify the situation. So, the ACC secured basketball powers from all along the East Coast (and inward - UofL, Syracuse, Pitt). Now they have watchable football from September through November, and must-see basketball November through March.
Instead of only capturing a TV viewers attention for 3-4 months of a year, they now hold it for 7-8 months a year. That is a much better sell to TV advertisers, which pay more to the cable companies, which enable those companies to pay more to the ACC. This is also the entire Northeastern US corridor, as well as the most populated segment of the Sun Belt. The most people, the most TV subscriptions. It's a brilliant move.
Buzz moved for a number of reasons. Well down the list was going to a school that was in the Power 5 in football. He moved for basketball reasons, not football reasons, make NO mistake. What I laid out above, though, is why the ACC is positioned as well for the long term as any conference in the country, outside of the Pac 12. They're on similar footing with us.
This is a quote from a joke comment on one of the biggest CFB sites on the internet. We absolutely deserve to be the punchline of every joke after the way we played this past weekend, I find comments like these more entertaining than another shmuck saying 'lol vt, lol acc'. Do you think people took Ole Miss and Miss St seriously before this year? Baylor before a few years ago? If you feel like a recruit shouldn't consider us because of one bad game and a joke some dude wrote on the internet, I don't know what to tell you.
By no means think this is the only place I read a comment like this where we're the punchline of some joke. ESPN, CBSSports, Deadspin, Yahoo, etc, their writers all had fun at our expense over the weekend because of that picture, and the comments were even worse. Personally, I was inundated with mocking texts and emails over the weekend because of the game itself, because nobody respects us anymore, and they know we have no comeback. And if you don't think recruits are getting the same treatment, you're only in denial.
Like I said, we should be the joke of every website, every fan, every random guy this week. We deserve that. Moving forward from that, I don't connect the dots to how can any recruit still consider us after last week and how they'll all get cold feet after reading comments and jokes on the internet. If you think that recruits only see positive things about their prospective schools on the internet, then you're in denial. I'd rather have someone come to Blacksburg because they love VT and Blacksburg, want to play for Foster/Beamer/Gray/_ coach than come because it's the trendy schools and nobody made fun of us on the internet. It happens to every fan base.
There's a big difference between reading a couple bad comments about a school and seeing one of your schools become a national punchline because the cameras caught their head coach overcelebrating a 0-0 end of regulation because the opponents kicker missed a FG in a game where we not once even attempted to score in regulation. And the worst part is, the national sentiment to that picture is "this is where Virginia Tech is now".
Sorry, if I'm a recruit and I see that one of my top schools just became a national joke while the other two are still competing at a high level, that schools falls to the bottom of my list.
It completely depends on the priorities of the recruit. You can redshirt, scout team, be a backup and then start your last year at a NC caliber team. Or, you can play much sooner elsewhere. What is more important to a player looking to better his own interests as far as an NFL career? I actually can't speak for them, but it doesn't seem very cut and dry in one direction to me.
I don't know if this makes it better, but our comrades in punchline arms are Florida and Michigan (insert Scot Loeffler joke here). So at least we're with good company. It'll be interesting to see over the next couple years who gets back to the top of the mountain first, and who gets the best coach
Not at all...Ole miss was a shooty SEC team
But after 4 years and 2 bad season (24 - 26 record in 4 years) Ole Miss changed coaches, Hiring Freeze who changed the program
Who Freeze got the top ranked recruit to come to Ole Miss, probally the same way London did with his 5* signees. 5 days before Signing day the top recruit took his official visit to LSU as his last school visited
The change for Ole miss
2013 #8 recruiting class, and it shows, 8 of those players were the top 3 at player at their position
2012 #47 recruiting class, and it showed
They changed coaches, they change programs.
Hugh Freeze doesn't have 21 bowl games to sell, or a sell out streak at Vaught Hemingway. He had never played a FBS vs FBS games as coach so no winningest coach to sell
I have had these same thoughts throughout the season. But then I think about how many 4-5 star guys UVA gets on the O and D line. Didn't they get two D-linemen ranked in the top 10 nationally last year after a 2-10 season? Its never made sense how a school that is annually bad and can't fill their quiet stadium out-recruits us in those positions. Its not all about winning games I guess. I'll still be surprised, like I would have been all year, if either of those guys pick VT, but I don't think losing these games will be the reason.
Hey, maybe it's about getting a solid chance to play and get on the field right away at a school that's had a solid reputation for years...instead of riding the bench behind a bunch of other 5-stars. Just one school of thought.
I'm confused, because VT is an example of the former as well.
I'm talking about VT. I don't think it matters about the wins and losses to many recruits...It mainly comes down to coaches they feel good about and whether they'll get on the field faster as to how it impacts their decision. UVA wasn't who I was talking about...just that they may choose them because the ability to see playing time (at least they perceive that) faster.
While it is true that Loeffler has not had the option of playing "his" guys and injuries have been at the insanity level, it is still possible to run plays that minimize the chance of losing yardage, to give yourself second and third downs where a first down is feasible. As Shoog said above, there is "...this tendency to stick with things that aren't working because they 'should,' and move away from things that are working because the game plan dictates it, or whatever." Lefty often calls plays that require players to do things they currently lack the skill to consistently do in order for the play to succeed. I think that is very difficult to justify.
IIRC, Loeffler's contract expires in January 2015. If that is the case, I can't imagine any circumstance where that contract is renewed.
The "injuries have been at the insanity level" bit worries me.
Sure, some of that is bad luck. But, when we're at 4th on the RB depth chart and have 7 (8? ...9?!?) starters out for the whole year with injuries, ... I kind of wonder if there's something wrong with our conditioning and strength training regiment.
14 on offense, 8 on defense in the 2 deep.
I've been thinking the same thing about strength and conditioning. Maybe we should do more yoga. In all seriousness, flexibility helps!
there really isn't a scenario that will make me stop watching the hokies play football, but it's going to get a lot tougher if scot loeffler is still a coach on our team after this season.
1. Even if the bowl streak is trivial to other fan bases and writers, etc., the extra time for this group to practice and get reps would be extremely valuable, no matter how undesirable the bowl destination.
2. From a recruiting standpoint, there has to be some consideration of what players consider. They don't just go to play for a school; so much of that equation concerns the position coach, coordinator, comfort level of the family with the staff, etc. So just because the on-field results aren't there right now doesn't preclude a player from believing that a coach and a program aren't the best fit.
I'm a bit concerned about them getting the extra coaching if our coaches aren't teaching them the right things. It'll just take longer to relearn when/if we get someone on offense with a bit of competence...
'The extra coaching time is valuable' argument holds zero credence when you look at the reality. How did our extra coaching time during last year's bowl prep help us this season? How about the bowl prep during the 2012 bowl season, how did it help in 2013? How did the bowl prep in 2011 help during the 2012 season? it doesn't. Frank holds one light week of practice pre-bowl, one week focused more on underclassmen for the future, and one serious week of prep for the bowl game. So we're actually talking about one week of 'valuable coaching experience' for the upcoming season. And that means nothig, based on the production of our past three seasons. That excuse about needing coaching time for next year is nothing more than an excuse without merit.
The value is in the extra time outside of weekly game planning practice. There's so little time week to week between games, most of it is spent on installing plays and packages, and less teaching. Bowl practices can be more like a second camp, and offer a great opportunity to give reps to depth chart guys.
Disclaimer: i pulled this answer out of my ass, so if someone knows better please correct me
don't know if you need correcting. i don't see how bowl practices could be anything but positive for a team.
The players go home for a while in between end of season & bowl game. There is only the three weeks. And that boils down to only one week for future season 'prep', if one wants to call it that. As I already said above, it is an excuse without merit. The only value to attending a lower tier bowl is for ego.
And gift bags. Can't forget the gift bags
Im sorry, but I have to disagree with you. In a climate where the NCAA limits the amount of contact between players and coaches out-of-season, I will gladly take any additional time for coaches to interact with the players (young or old). The additional practices allow for more film review; more practice reps for the coaches to film and review; more teaching; more reps for younger players and players recovering from injuries; and time for players to get together and play football. Sure you can argue a guy like Carlis Parker didn't contribute the way we expected this season, but if not for the bowl game and the preceding practices last season, he would never have had that experience under his belt.
I'd never look an extra week of NCAA sanctioned practice in the mouth. (strained metaphor for our HOT, I know)
Neither would any serious team. Especially one so full of underclassmen.
I'm not sure what you mean by an "excuse", an excuse for what? For wanting to play in a bowl game? Maybe explanation is the word you are looking for? I just don't get "excuse".
Anyway, by god yes, we need as much practice as we can get. Anything legal should be that proverbial gift horse.
This game/last couple of seasons have to be the nail in Beamer's coffin. This program is a joke right now....our defense/Bud Foster is (like usual) the only thing keeping this program remotely above water. Its time to remove CFB from the HC position. I would vote for Bud Foster to take the reigns (i know the talk of him not being a good HC) as a stop-gap until we can find a good HC for the long-term. This way, we can keep the really good young coaches and recruiters (Moorehead, Torian, Shane, and (Stinespring) while systematically removing the bad pieces, Loeffler, CFB. Just one Hokie's thoughts tho....
I think CFB stays, Loeffler goes.
The only thing stinking is offense. the rest of not the problem.
I forgot Loeffler's contract expired in January.
I bet Whit has a list of possibles already.
With an offense even ACC average this year we win the coastal and worry FSU about the upcoming ACCCG.
If CFB stays, Whit should not be hiring the OC. It should be the responsibility of the HC. Frank needs to get this one right. Now having Whit means he might be able to open the purse strings for a good OC a lot more than he has been able to in the past. I would expect a the new OC to be making at least what Bud is making.
No decent OC candidate will come to work for a head coach that will be gone in two years, max, anyway. Not to mention, the head coach selects the OC, the AD only goes through the formality of signing the contract with them. Frank chose Loeffler, not Jim Weaver. If Loeffler leaves, Frank would choose his replacement, not Whit. The AD only signs the contract after vetting the candidate. The head coach selects the OC.
Frank is gone after 2016 at the latest, and it is quickly being more public that he is a short timer here. By January, everyone in the coaching community will be aware of it. What good candidate wants to work short term for a head coach with one foot out the door and a vastly underperforming program? There is nothing to offer an OC candidate.
BOOOMM!!!! This times 1000000.. IMO we could start the rebuild properly this off-season if Beamer retires/steps down.
2015 Off-Season (CFB steps down/retires)
Bring in a new HC (Bud applies here also Chad Morris), OC (CHAD MOTHER F"ING MORRIS, ECU Lincoln Riley?) DC (Torian/Wiles) and we can find a Special-er Teams coach somewhere. We all know/think Morris would love to become a HC, but do we skip Foster or do we tell Foster we will bring in CM and he will be HC/O-coordinator and at the same time you get a competent offense that can score 10+ points. We get a fresh start and I think 99% of HokieNation would rather have a 6 win season with improvements/a vision VS. another 6 win season being out coached, no offensive vision/scheme and a deeper darker hole.
2015 Off-Season (Beamer stays)
Nothing really changes we could have another 10 win season, but not likely, we dig a deeper hole and the rebuild process becomes a 5 year deal. Imagine a Bowden/Joe Pa last season here, that would tarnish the outlook of VT football for years to come, why would we want to go through that when we already know how it ends?
If I'm Whit I look at exactly what could happen with the above scenarios and I really think we need to/have to get Beamer to step down/retire for the BETTER of the program. I don't see us challenging for a big bowl game, ACC maybe but who knows.
What if you offered that OC the head-coach-in-waiting position? I've got to imagine that's a possibility for WB, if he's concerned that we can't get a "quality" OC in here with a head coach on the way out. What if part of the pitch is that the head job is his when Frank "retires"?
You know, because Frank has proven over the years how good of an evaluator of offensive coaching talent he is...
He hired Stiney, he hired O'Cain, he hired Loeffler. That's 3 strikes.
Allow Bud the due respect and let him have at least a little say in it.
half kidding........
our special teams suck too. can't get a good return, miss a lot of field goals, fake punts called on accident, can't get a KO into the endzone, getting FGs blocked.
Agreed. I am so irritated on KO when every single time they bring it out to 30+...i miss the old days to where we would kick through the end zone when we wanted to.
Add in our own returns that are taken out of the endzone and only returned to the 15 time after time, and.... yeah
Special teams have been anything but for a while
I understand and like what we are doing with out kick returns. I'd like to see it better but the few times we do get it out further than 30, it's statistically an improvement over all the times we only get to the 17.
Science.
Most people on this board seem to think our ST's are "better" this year than last year.....better is still F*****g terrible
But it is better than last year in all respects.
We upgraded from horrific to terrible. Let's pat each other on the back and take home our trophy for just playing
That was a snotty way to respond to a truthful answer.
It was not conducive to healthy debate in the least. It was designed to be derisive and halt debate.
I'll not have an issue with your first sentence, you should have stopped there.
You mean... you were able to sleep??
During that game? Sure!
I actually did sleep during the game starting at halftime. Woke up just in time to see OT start. Decided I ended up with the better of the options.
I was raised a Hokie and a Redskins fans. I graduated from Virginia Tech in 2012 and I am proud to be a Hokie. But I hate the fact that its not fun to watch us play anymore. I don't look forward to Saturdays (never really like Sundays, being a Skins fan). It sucks caring about something that feels this hopeless. That Wake loss is on par with the Temple loss and not far from the JMU loss. Regardless of what happens Friday, a loss to uva will not be as bad as that loss to Wake (technically at least).
I was in Scott Stadium in 2003, yet the Miami game this year is as bad as it has ever felt to watch us in person. I hate that my teams suck. I cannot believe how bad things have gotten and how empty I expect Lane to be Friday. I love Beamer and I've always been proud to have him represent Virginia Tech, but I don't know how to excuse him for what the football program has become.
No solutions offered here, just needed to vent. I hope we win Friday, but I'm dreading this game more this year than ever before. Maybe rock bottom is what the program needs. We're certainly closer to that than any form of success.
Now this to feel better
The above picture of Beamer was just mentioned on the Dan Patrick show - "Frank Beamer can be seen celebrating a 0-0 tie."
I wonder if he would, its a NFL audience show plus other sports
I'll be at the game Friday.
I will begin tailgating about 10:30 in lot 18.
I will be in full Hokie colors.
This was *not* like the Temple loss... not only did our offense find the end-zone in that game, but they did it multiple times with global utility man Nick Sorensen behind center. Yeah, we lost to Temple, but we *SCORED ON OFFENSE*.
This Wake loss is much, much worse.
*edit* this was supposed to be in response to LifetimeHokie's earlier post
agree. any game that reaches the end of regulation tied 0-0 is going to be historically notable for how bad of a game it was.
Good call. Was trying not to fall victim to "whatever happened most recently is better/worse", but you're right on there. No points against a team this terrible is pretty much as bad as it gets.