A win against Duke might have merely delayed the inevitable for Frank Beamer, but it surely would've helped all the same.
Instead, the Hokies are left scratching their heads once more, this time on the wrong end of a 45-43 four overtime loss to the Blue Devils. The result effectively ends any meaningful competition for the Hokies in the ACC, and seemingly brings the end of Beamer's storied 29-year career ever closer.
"I don't know that I've ever been a part of a more heartbreaking loss than this," said quarterback Michael Brewer.
Brewer returned for his first game back starting since the season opener and played well, going 24 of 45 for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns, as the offense managed to pile up 452 yards of offense on a Duke defense that was only allowing just over 252 per game entering the contest.
"I expected him to start a little bit slow in the first half because he hasn't played a bunch of live football in six weeks, and I expected him at the end of the game that he'd be on fire and he'd does what he does, and I think that's what occurred," said offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler of his quarterback.
The problem for the Hokies was that the defense yielded 449 total yards, including a number of big plays that have so often frustrated Bud Foster's group in recent years.
"That's the unfortunate thing, I thought we had our best week of practice, particularly the young kids," said defensive coordinator Bud Foster. "But tonight, the young kids who showed good improvements had the busts again. It wasn't anything we didn't practice."
But even for the defense's disappointing performance, the team still might've won and salvaged some glimmer of hope for the season had the offense managed a two-point conversion on its final touchdown, or the defense made just one stop during overtime.
Now the calls for Beamer's head will likely reach a nearly unbearable level, forcing Whit Babcock to do some serious thinking about the program's future now that this once-promising season features a Tech squad sitting at 3-5 and 1-3 in league play.
"I understand the importance of winning," Beamer said. "There's no question about that. We're going to do the best job we can and worry about Boston College."
Although the game was billed as a defensive battle, the first quarter was positively a shootout.
Duke took the lead quickly, converting on all four third down opportunities to score a touchdown on a 14 play, 75 yard drive. QB Thomas Sirk left some big plays on the field, missing wide open receivers several times, yet he still found Max McCaffrey for the score on the goal line.
But Tech showed plenty of energy on the ensuing drive. A 14-yard run by Travon McMillian keyed the drive, and Brewer followed things up with a 36-yard completion to Bucky Hodges. The returning starter then fired a 16-yard pass to Hodges to tie the game at 7-7.
Yet the quarter's offensive fireworks weren't done. Sirk used a 45-yard pass to a wide-open Anthony Nash down the sideline to get the Blue Devils rolling, then he found McCaffrey for a 16-yard touchdown to put Duke up 14-10.
After a brief appearance by Brenden Motley on the first two plays of the first drive of the second quarter, Brewer came back in the game and sparked the offense with a 16-yard run to keep the drive alive on third down. But the drive sputtered when Brewer managed to complete a ball to Isaiah Ford on a screen, yet somehow still lose 12 yards. A Joey Slye field goal from 44 yards out cut the lead to 14-10.
Neither team could manage much in the rest of the quarter, with Duke kicker Ross Martin even managing to miss his first kick of the year, a 29-yard try that sailed just left of the uprights.
Tech managed some offensive momentum just before the half with a 19-yard completion to Ryan Malleck on 3rd and 20, but Beamer opted to punt the ball away, and Duke kneeled to end the half.
The Hokies got the ball to start the second half, but quickly kicked it away from the 43 yard line.
Tech's defense was plagued by its propensity for allowing big plays once more on the ensuing drive, as rover Adonis Alexander got out of position and DE Dadi Nicolas and CB Terrell Edmunds both missed tackles on RB Shaun Wilson as he scampered for a 58-yard TD.
The Hokies responded in a big way on the next drive, methodically making their way down the field on a 20-play, 95-yard drive. Beamer opted to feed McMillian on the drive, giving him seven carries that he used to produce 39 yards and a touchdown to make the score 21-16 following a failed two-point conversion.
With just a few seconds left in the third quarter, Beamer seemingly tried to surprise the Blue Devils with an onside kick. Yet the Hokies managed to not just fail to recover the try, but also line up incorrectly in the process for a five-yard penalty.
After the game, he clarified it was never his intention to go with the surprise try.
"That was supposed to be a knuckle ball dribbler down the 20 yard line, we practiced that all week and we didn't execute," Beamer said. "That wasn't an onside kick at all. I was hoping you get a cheap one, you get the knuckle ball rolling down there...But when it takes a high hop and the front line gets it, that's not very good execution."
But the Hokies' defense came through in the clutch, forcing a quick three and out and averting disaster at the dawn of the fourth quarter.
That onside kick decision continued to haunt the Hokies, as they took over on their own 13 yard line. After Jeremy Cash brought down Brewer for a 13-yard loss, A.J. Hughes was forced to kick the ball with his heels near the back of the end zone, leading to a 35-yard punt that gave Duke great field position on Tech's 39.
Sirk kicked off the drive with a 14-yard scramble, but the Blue Devils only managed three incomplete passes after that. Even still, Martin was able to redeem himself with a 42-yard field goal to extended the lead to 24-16.
The teams punted the ball back and forth, and then the Hokies embarked on an easygoing drive that ended up bleeding 5:50 off the clock. A steady dose of runs by McMillian and Sam Rogers got the Hokies to a 3rd and 2 on Duke's 23.
A puzzling call by Scot Loeffler put the ball in the hands of Trey Edmunds, who was stuffed for no gain. Following a timeout to mull things over, the Hokies lined up to go for it on fourth down with the game on the line.
Brewer nearly got crushed on the play, yet he managed to nail Hodges in the end zone. Despite PI on Duke, the Hokies drew within 24-22.
After a pair of failed passes that each resulted in two more PI calls on Duke, the Hokies were finally able to punch the ball into the end zone with McMillian and even the game at 24 all with the two-point conversion that eluded them earlier.
The next drive was very nearly catastrophic for the Hokies. A 39-yard bomb to McCaffrey set the Blue Devils up on Tech's 35. But Duke could go no further, trotting out Martin for a 46-yard attempt.
The usually steady kicker missed once again, doinking the ball off the right upright.
The Hokies had 1:04 left to mount a game-winning drive, but the offense couldn't get moving. A 16-yard run by McMillian was a promising start to the drive, but precious seconds ticked away after Cam Phillips got out of bounds on a five-yard catch.
The coaches thought the clock would stop, and acted accordingly, yet the referees ruled that he didn't achieve forward progress going out of bounds, keeping the clock running.
"We smashed with Cam to the sidelines, he went out of bounds. Instantly I thought he was out of bounds, I take my head down to get the huddle call, I look up and the clock's running," Loeffler said. "I guess they said it was forward progress..I was assuming he was out of bounds and I was getting ready to put ourselves in position to get to the 35 yard line and call our best play to get to the 35 yard line."
It led to the odd decision by Beamer to run out Slye for a 67-yard FG try as time expired. The Devils tried to return the ball in true "Kick 6" fashion, yet the Hokies successfully corralled the return man to force overtime.
Tech elected to start on defense to start extra time, and the Blue Devils couldn't get much going in their first shot at the end zone. Duke settled for a 38-yard field goal for the first points of OT, going up 27-24.
The Hokies couldn't do much better, calling on Slye to match the Devils with a 37-yarder of his own, sending the game to double overtime at 27-27.
Tech surged ahead on the offense's next chance, as Brewer connected with Hodges in the end zone for the third time on the day.
But the lead was short lived. A pass interference penalty on Deon Clarke gave Duke the ball on Tech's 10 yard line, and Sirk found Nash in the end zone to send the game into a third overtime tied at 34.
Sirk once again bedeviled the Hokies on a long pass, hitting McCaffrey on a gorgeous 21-yard pass to get down to Tech's 4. Yet Tech's defense held in the shadow of its goal posts, forcing a 20-yard Martin field goal.
Loeffler went bold on the next drive, dialing up a pass from Ford, but he just missed Phillips in the end zone. Once more, Slye extended the game, using a 40-yard field goal to force the first 4OT game in program history.
The Hokies bullied their way down the field, using a pair of nine-yard runs by McMillian and Rogers to set up a McMillian score. But in a key failure, Brewer missed Ford in the end zone on the ensuing two-point try.
"We motioned Bucky in basically to set up a rub where he come straight off and the corner would have to come off Isaiah in order to get to Bucky and it's an easy walk-in touchdown, didn't happen like that, they made an adjustment on defense and zoned it off," Brewer said. "The second read was to come to Isaiah and have him shuffle with me. I was trying to get a clean window to throw, rolling out all the bodies coming. I think the guy made a heck of a play knocking it away."
Then, the Hokies had their hearts ripped out. The defense yielded a fateful 25-yard pass to Erich Schneider, and Sirk ended the game with a scramble to produce the bizarre final score of 45-43.
"We were in a man free coverage, and it looked like the tight end just beat Chuck (Clark)," Foster said of Schneider's catch. "It's normally uncommon for him to get beat that easily."
As the Devils rushed the field in jubilation, echoing a similar tight Duke win in Lane two years ago, the Hokies were forced to contemplate yet another season that only holds the prospect of reaching a bowl game and nothing more.
"Obviously, we want to go to the best bowl game we can possibly go to at this point, and to do that we have to keep winning," Brewer said.
The Hokies insist they won't let another disparaging loss prove too deflating for the squad, but at this point, hope is hard to come by.
"You've got to play for the man beside you," said defensive end Ken Ekanem. "I'm not going to give up on this program or this season, I'm going to bust my ass every play, every practice, and get back out there and hopefully turn this thing around."
Comments
Tough game to lose. Duke played great, we answered. Had our chances.
It will be tough to pull it back together over the next two weeks.
This team isn't even going to sniff a bowl lmao
Not sure why losing a 20 some odd year bowl streak causes you to lmao
Because it has been years in the making. The opportunities were available to do what was necessary to keep the streak going...
"B-B-But we have a bowl streak!"
That still doesn't make it funny
Because a bowl streak doesn't mean what it used to mean. Getting to a bowl used to mean you were a pretty good team. Now it just means you weren't awful. It means you got at least six wins.
Remember when we used to make fun of UVA-C back in the George Welsh days when they trotted out their 7-win streak? We laughed, because they were crowing about a standard of mediocrity. So what's a bowl streak these days compared to that?
That's why I want the bowl streak to end so that Hokies will stop bragging about it, like it's anything more than just being a mediocre team, year after year.
Just my $.02.
This is a fine position to take, and understandable.
However...
I have this sneaking suspicion that people who are taking this position of the bowl streak being meaningless now will later be using the fact that we broke to bowl streak as an arguing point. That would be disingenuous.
Not saying you specifically will do this. I've just noticed a lot of belittling the bowl streak on here lately. And that's fine. People are entitled to think the bowl streak is meaningless. But if those same people then harp on the fact that we didn't make a bowl, that's hypocritical. You can't have it both ways. Either the bowl streak means something, or it doesn't.
As for my own two cents, I would/will hate to see the bowl streak die. It is certainly true that bowls do not mean what they once did. However, a bowl streak means that forwl however long it lasts, regardless of the ups and downs you endure, you never lost more than you won. Obviously we want to be at a higher point than we are now, but it still means something to be able to say that we haven't posted a losing record in 20 years. To be able to say that at our lowest, we were still going bowling...yeah, to me that's worth something, and it will be sad when it's gone.
I agree with your overall point but I disagree with this:
I think it is reasonable and logical to say on one hand, "a 20-year-mediocrity streak is nothing to brag about" and on the other hand, "this team that has bragged about being mediocre has now fallen below the level of mediocrity, and that is not good enough." It's like playing ECU: winning is nothing to brag about, but losing is unacceptable.
If a streak of 20 years of bowl games is to ridicule, as you say, 20 years of at least mediocrity, they why is it such a difficult piece to attain?
Why can't Alabama and FSU (absent their NCAA sanctions) and Clemson be there?
Because it is hard to do.
This may be difficult to see with the down years thT any program will have
Bottom line 20 years of winning seasons is really dam hard. vat did it, no matter how this season plays out, we should have a party over it.
Exactly. And to further elaborate, if we had been 7-6 for twenty years in a row, then we wouldn't really have much to brag about. But it's the fact that we can say, yes, we're down now (nobody will argue that we aren't), but even when we're down, we still aren't posting losing records. Continuing to play 6-6 regular seasons is unacceptable, but to be able to say we've not had a losing record in 20 years is an accomplishment worth respecting.
S'all good. I just crawled into my #safespace and fired up NCAA 2014 where VT is on an unprecedented 10 year title streak.
Great idea! I really need to fire that shit back up. I miss recruiting. Madden can only sustain me so much...
In my alternate NCAA 14 universe, VT is in the SEC and wins 3 out of every 5 championships. In the years I don't win it all, it always seems like Tennessee plays spoiler and barely beats me at the end of the game or in overtime.
That fucking sucked
Damn.
Guys and gals, here is your 2015 VT Football Season:
So many decisions and situations that smell of incompetence. Going for 2 in the third quarter, the blown call by Beamer to the ko team resulting in the onside fiasco, the Mike Londonesque inattention to the clock in the final 40 seconds, Shane's absolutely idiotic rb rotation resulting in T Mac having what, 4 carries in the 1st half. The whole thing is reminiscent of the final few years of the bowden reign at FSU
Hmmm, since history is always doomed to repeat itself, we should learn from it. There's been a lot of miscues from a lot of people in the program.
That being said, athletic directors are businessmen. I'm sure Whit Babcock has some type of "password" safe protected plan, that has Coach Beamer's exit plan mapped out. We still got 4 games left. Who knows, we can maybe win all 4.
Win all four. Lol.
Ha, yea it does sound funny.
Haha. Win all four. That's a good one.
Why did going for 2 in the 3rd quarter smell of incompetence? I thought it was absolutely the right call. We don't get it, we're still within a single-possession of winning the game, which would have been the same as kicking the PAT. We do get it, then we have the added safety net of only needing a FG to tie the game.
I agreed with the call as well. In fact I think Loeffler did a pretty good job calling plays all night. Even the Isiah Ford pass was a great call. The play was open and should have drawn a PI call.
For the first time, I really can't complain about the ref's at all. Every penalty on us was deserved. There were some PI that weren't called before the fourth quarter, but on the whole a well called game.
Because if we went for one the game wouldn't have ended in a tie. It would have ended with a VT win.
No, the game still would have been tied. We would have been down 21-17 if we had just kicked the extra point. Duke's next FG would put them up 24-17. Then, our final regulation touchdown would have still tied the game with an extra point there.
And you will never convince me that Frank would have gone for 2 and the win, when 1 would have tied it.
In that decision he was going for the tie. Very simple.
It's too early. There are likely more scores and you end up chasing points. You go for two sub 6 minutes or so in this situation I think. I'd guess most every coach will kick the point
I dont disagree with going for it, but with brewer playing well i think he should have been in for it.
I think Motley was intended to keep it as an option. The only problem was that Duke knew that as well and swarmed him.
Gee, how could they possibly have known that?!? So tired of the predictability.
Yeah, I only said the decision to go for 2 was a good call. The play that was called and the execution of it left plenty to be desired, for sure.
I would be interested in seeing the percentage of drives resulting in a touchdown where McMillian had X% of the touches. It frustrated me more than anything when every time McMillian had 2 great plays in a row they just decided to take him out of the game or throw 3 consecutive passes. When he is running the ball, the chains are moving. It's that simple. Look at Ohio State and LSU. They run the ball 35-50 times a game and it works. Sam Rodgers is the next best but not as natural or efficient as Travon, but I do like him to be in there on 3rd and long situations for pass blocking and a good backfield catching threat.
He puts so much energy into every run.
I think though by the end, he had tired legs.
He can't run every play. I wish he could cause, damn.
Somebody said this at the game and I think they were spot on, "the players tonight out played the coaches." What he meant by that was there were a lot of terrible easily guessed plays as we were taking accurate guesses on the play calling, but even on poor plays you saw players give it their all (on offense). Seeing this team in person I just feel sorry for these kids.
We went with McMillan in a wildcat in a crucial play. Where the hell did that come from?
Even plays that work can be bad decisions.
That one I actually don't mind at all. McMillian is used to taking shotgun snaps from high school. It avoids the possibility of a handoff snafu. Travon can just take the snap and build up a full head of steam by the time he gets to the line. But if you're gonna do it, you do it when you need to catch the defense by surprise.
I thought that was a good play as well, considering Travon used to be a QB and knows how to handle a snap.
I think it's also safe to say that we don't have a FB any more, we have Rogers as our #2 TB and I'm fine with it. He's a natural runner with great blocking ability. What gets me is that we have a running game now, but why did it take so long for Shane Beamer to get with the program? Perhaps we were destined to lose this game anyway, but with this rotation, even with Motley, we win against ECU.
And, Foster's use of undersized "but quick" guys on the line and as LB is coming to an end. It was my concern before last year's OSU game. If we're going to burn Lawson's shirt, we might as well burn Settle's as well and get some heft on the D line, but really though this is already a lost season.
These kids suck as bad as the coaches, they've lost us as many games as the coaches have
Oh good. We needed something to burn in effigy. Thanks for volunteering.
B.S.! Don't blame these kids, they all played their nuts off and just lost to a good team in 4OT.
The only time you can blame anyone of them is if they break the law, or do something really flagrant.
Nearly every damn one of them puts their heart and soul into this team, while at the same time being a student. Some will accumulate injuries that will follow them for the rest of their lives. Taking a massive dump on them is chicken-shit douche-baggery.
Thinking back now, one of my biggest complaints is clock management after getting the ball back with a minute and some change left. What the duck man
The sound the crowd made when the offense stopped to look at the sideline to get the play. I was doing the same thing in my living room.
And yet oblivious coaches not paying attention ... wow .. talk about stupid
Not all the coaches were oblivious. Frank was yelling at the field and pointing to the clock...it was more the players were oblivious because they didn't pay attention to either the refs or the clock and failed to realize time was running out. But that falls on the coaches for poor preparation/training.
I didn't pay attention to the signal callers on the sideline. Did anyone notice if they were frantically trying to get the team to get moving?
Frank was arguing with the official but no one else acted concerned that I noticed. In hindsight he should have called that last timeout before arguing: if he had been right they would have given the timeout back, and if he had been wrong (which apparently we all were, not realizing they had called forward progress) he would have had no timeouts but at least he would have time to run two or three plays.
Running out of time with a timeout in your pocket is something Mike London does.
I will say this: when the FG fell short and the Duke player tried to run it back, the whole VT squad was on his ass immediately (and Joey Slye made the tackle). So at least the special teams coach was alert enough to remind the kids that the ball would be live and the game could be lost on the return.
Hmmm...
The 8-4 hype train has reached its final stop. All aboard the 7-5 hype train!
Hopefully the 8-5 hype train!!! Or does this train not have service to the post-season?
You'll need another ticket for any post season destination.
It's a shame, then, that so many ticket order forms ended up in the trash can, just as the football season solidifies the trash can as its final destination. Good timing on making the order forms.
/sigh
I can sum the game up:
Ohhhh Hokies. I'm not even sure I care enough to get mad anymore. I promised my son I would take him to the GT game. Just got the tickets. I'm sure it'll be a great time til the game starts.
I don't care about number of wins and losses anymore for this season. Thats the attitude I've taken. I do care about watching VT football until the end of the season, and cheering until the end of the game, because a losing team is still more fun than the nine months of offseason that follow.
As the team left the field with their shoulders slumped and heads down, the fans in the southwest corner were applauding them. That was the best moment of the night from the crowd in Lane.
I wonder whether the SW corner applause was just collective sarcasm?
It was not.
I stayed and cheered in Section 18. They did their best. They played a good team and lost in 4OT.
I did the same in 13 and a couple of others joined in.
My daughter asked why I was applauding a loss. I told her I was applauding the good effort.
I was in the east stands, cheering as loud as I could after four hours of yelling. I left this game feeling better about the team than I have in several weeks. You literally can't come any closer to winning than falling to the 2-pt conversion on the fourth OT. The kids played hard on both sides of the ball. They played with heart and spirit. They played together. There were few penalties [edited to add] and no turnovers.
Once Brewer and McMillan got warmed up the offense performed well. The defense could not stop the QB draw and struggled with crossing routes, but I never felt embarrassed by their performance. Some of the coaching decisions were surprising, but Frankly I'm happy to be surprised by them, even when things don't work out. I wish they made more surprising decisions.
I'm with you, I saw a lot of good things happen with the offense but, there will always be those that point out every foible, at a certain point, as evidence that the sky has already fallen.
The offense had what, 400 yards before OT?
I blame our new entrance video for our terrible season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtC2HZOgBB4
Everything they highlighted has been jinxed. Brewer and Fuller both got injured, they highlighted the bowl streak which is most likely going to end. Beamer's tenure, which is also probably going to end. Sacks, which there have been none of this season.
It jinxed us.
I have stayed away from the computer for the past three hours after getting home from the game. I had to have time to digest all of my feelings and thoughts from the game. Here are my thoughts after three hours of deliberations.
1) I have defended Beamers right to choose when to retire for a long time. I think today that Beamer lost the choice. I think at the end of the season, bowl eligible or not he is going to be asked to resign for multiple reasons. On Monday's tech talk live, Beamer sounded stoned and out of it. Today's fourth quarter time management was horrible, it made Mike London seem competent. I am not just talking about the the last minute of the game. Down 8 points, we got the ball with 9 minutes to go, we then proceeded to snap the ball with an average of 7 seconds left on the play clock every down. We had all three timeouts left, we needed to play with urgency and we didn't.
2) Bucky Hodges despite a three touchdown performance let the Hokies down. There were are least 3-4 balls this game that he should have caught. The most unforgivable was a ball that sailed over his head when he quit on the route.
3) Bud Foster is vastly overrated and the game has moved past him. For four years now, our opponents have figured out to beat Bud Foster, just run the damn quarterback against him. I don't want to hear that the players didn't necessarily execute. Bud, your scheme either isn't working or is broken. His scheme as currently arranged needs super intelligent, super athletic linebackers to make plays. But when was the last time a linebacker from his scheme was actually drafted to play linebacker in the NFL? Ben Taylor???
4) The offense gave it their all, the defense gave it their all, the special teams set us up for failure yet again. Stroman did better on punt returns, actually going forward on 1 punt. The other sadly, he went backwards yet again. We have massive excitement returning the ball out of the end zone to the 22, 23, and 5 yard lines. Why can't we just take a knee?
5) Based on the performance today, I think we won't bowl qualify for the first time since I became a hokie in 1993. I can see us beating BC and UVA. Our lack of gap discipline I think is going to doom us against GT.
6) Poor timing, I got my bowl invite in the mail this morning as well as a request to increase my donation level from $2,000 to $2,200. Sadly I am more likely to reduce my contribution level than increase it unless changes are made to our coaching staff.
Have a good night all, and above all else, Go Hokies.
so many people were complaining tonight about how we'd get set on offense with 15-20 seconds on the play clock and then we'd unset, check the sideline for an adjustment, and then run the play with a few seconds left on the clock. I believe this was very much on purpose and a good idea. I read about how talented Duke's defense is, how they are smart and know how to bring many different looks at you and disguise new looks to confuse the offense. So what we did tonight was get set early enough to force Duke's defense to show some of the pressures they might be bringing. Then we check the sideline for any adjustments that should be made based on what the defense is showing. It's rare in college football that a QB will be allowed to make play adjustments on his own. I think it was 100% about trying to take away any advantage Duke's defense might have and 0% any sort of incompetency of our offense.
My two cents on:
It looked like in the first half at least we would get duke to show there hand by using cadence before looking at the side line.
As for Bucky, I just dont know. Open for a critical 3rd down he will drop it. Has a step on a man running towards the end zone he will drop it. Covered by two defenders he makes the catch. Defender on his back he will make the catch.
Yeah, its almost like Bucky is learning how to play receiver... /s
Can't hate on God's Gift. Even with a sophomore slump, he's playing his heart out. You could see it in his eyes after he dropped the third down conversion, he was inconsolable. As long as he shows fire like that, I'm fine with him having some stumbles along his learning curve. It's his second year as a tight end, but let's be honest, it's really his first year as a wide receiver.
Dont get me wrong i like Bucky and I think he will be catching TDs on Sundays
Much as it pains me to admit it, I am now in the same boat. I love Beamer and how he's represented Tech. I started school at Tech in '95 right at the start of the good-times ride. I got to experience the first coming of Vick as a student in '99. VT football has been an important part of my adulthood for the better part of 20 years.
But with age comes hindsight and the sad realization that 1999-2000 were the high water marks for the program and we failed to cash in on our closest approach to a Championship by just one quarter of play in the Superdome. We've been chasing that same fleeting experience ever since. Critical decisions weren't made when they needed to when the offense clearly became the anchor, Top 5 Defenses were squandered and now we've regressed back to a 40-year mean. It's the end of an era and it is sad and it just has to be.
I had such high hopes for '15 - all the way back in 2013, talking about #beatbama laying a foundation for good things to come. And instead it has all come shambling apart.
We have been lousy at "small football" things like clock management, down and distance situational play, riverboat gambler-Beams showing up at the wrong time. What used to be an edge is now routinely costing us games each year. It's time. It would have been preferrable for Beamer to have gone out on a win after the Military Bowl last year, riding off into the sunset to recover his health and spend time with his family. Instead it's a year too late and Awkwardness is going to be unavoidable.
Buckley could be great but he needs to be more consistent. He really needs to cover those aweful tattoos. They all I see as he walks back to the huddle after dropping a pass.
I think the returners are just trying to make the most out of their touches, especially JCC. Since he doesn't get any touches in the run game anymore, if he gets a chance on a kick off of course he is going to return it so that he can do something in a game.
Missing getting to the 25 by as much as 8 yds is statistically no different than getting to the 25 in terms of scoring %.
Running it out is a sign of aggressive play calling. It's money all type playing.
You cannot break out a big play by taking a knee.
But wouldn't it be great if the return man only ran the ball out when he had some semblence of a chance to get a good return? I have never returned punts or kickoffs, so I have no idea how difficult it is to watch the ball and watch the play develop at the same time. It seems like the guy who's not going to catch the ball should watch the field, see how fast the return team is coming, see if his teammates are setting up blocks, and tell the guy who is going to catch the ball whether to run it out or take a knee.
I've seen teams where the other person back there tells the receiver whether to down it or come out, that way the person catching the ball only has to worry about the ball... no idea if that is what we do
Yes but, they guys were getting consistently 22 yards or so.
That means they've made it through the meat of the order and at now dodging what's left.
Look at these in replay and figure out how many guys are left for them to get through.
I actually think Bud's system would work better if he got the top-end talent. I think he has to be so aggressive because the make-up of the current team:
-They don't get much pressure from the front 4 and don't even have the depth to spell those guys. Bud has to commit more guys to the line of scrimmage.
-The linebackers are hardly an Adibi-Hall combination.
-The secondary is young and/or inexperienced.
I truly think if Foster could get the size along with the speed, his defenses would be nasty. Right now he can only get the speed. I think a top 5, SEC-type talent level would be pretty impressive under Foster.
Bud's guys get pressure 36% of each pass play, IIRC
That is an excellent number.
Also, that QB run was frustrating, he just tucked it in and ran forward. Reminds me of John Riggins.
We got guys on him but he's just that big and strong that he just keep steamrollering.
More than that, the Duke O-line did a great job of setting up the draw, and the QB always set his feet and pump-faked in a very convincing way. The first three or four times all I could say was, wow, that team really knows how to run a QB draw. the last four or five times I was wondering why we couldn't seem to adjust to it.
Concur.
I like you have been a season ticket holder for the better part of 20 years. I'm not pulling out my support for VT no matter what but FB has really just let his ego get the best of him. I personally don't think he has ever been a great motivator. In 99 Vick gave the team all the motivation it needed. Randall and Taylor did great jobs motivating their teams. Bud motivates the defense that has carried them all these years. I think the BS years are really starting to show now and how FB let him destroy the offensive recruiting out of his loyalties to people. Just like the running backs and qbs of the past that didn't cut it and yet coach sticks with them because he tries to be a nice guy instead of the coach. Can't be that way all the time in this business. He has let Shane keep taking out the guy that is hot because of his loyalties(not always for rest). It's just became a sad sad place in BBurg with them losing 9 out of the last 13 at home. Freshman will make freshman mistakes but the mistakes we all feel the coaches are continuously making is just not acceptable anymore. I think after next week FB will be announcing his retirement during the bye week and go out just like Bobby, Mack and Joe...on a much much less high note than they deserved. At first I thought old ball coach was an ass for leaving USC like he did but now I think he did them a huge favor and what was best for the program. Now it's time for FB to do the same. I love my Hokies but it's time for a new beginning in the burg even if it means cleaning house. GO HOKIES!!
I suspect that Spurrier was shown the hatch and elected not to play act through the rest of the season.
CFB,...I'm not sure that even missing a bowl and losing the cup would be enough.
I live here in SC. With Spurrier's loss, the best the team can be this year is 6-6 if they win out. And they are not going to win out. So it was clear they would have a losing season. Knowing that, Spurrier quit on his own.
I let him explain it, but he's resigning not retiring
Spurrier Resigning Press Conference
It takes one, maybe 2 years to get a good recruiting turnover and good players on the field. 2011 Shane was brought in to change the recruiting results. Either Frank still is running the entire show or Shane can't recruit. Either way it's Not Stinespring. Can we plaease stop and move on from that. Pitt is a last 2nd FG from being Top 10 with a BRAND NEW HEAD COACH
SEE 2013 AND 2014,
Our current Recruiting Policy
What it should be,
Is this flight tracker? Looks like Golden is going from Miami to...Bristol. F#ck!
No, its that we need to get out of Va and recruit the best players in the country.
Pitt's "brand new coach" is probably the top defensive mind in college football, and certainly top 3. Is it really so surprising that Pitt's D is suddenly grinding out all these wins?
I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
/s
I missed the game but looks like we fought hard against a very good Duke team...I'm all in for 7-5! Win out baby
Fought hard, yes. But executed poorly too many times. Oh, wait, is that an echo from Miami?
The defensive gaffs that infuriate me have been the one set of plays that have killed us all year. WR or H back motions from his wide side across the formation before the snap. The DB loses him. They throw to him for a big gain. Or the variation of that where WR ends up lining up, after this said motion, in a three receiver set to that one side. The lackadaisical mirroring by the DB causes a shift in the assignments of man coverage, and that shifts. End result is an easy wide open WR TD in the back of the endzone.
That was especially true of Duke, how many times did they have a WR running free down the sideline? Luckily he overthrew him almost every time.
We play music at the games now that sounds like Scott Stadium in '04. It is hard to believe Bud Foster is still coaching the team watching the game yesterday. There is no hope of a big play on defense or special teams, I keep waiting for it like its supposed to happen. It always did until the last few years, Beamerball has been dead. Everybody knows that, its not coming back. We dont get a pass rush, did the QB get hit yesterday at all except 5 yards down field? Its people out of position and getting run over everywhere on defense.
Brewer is good, McMillian is good, Bucky, Ford, Malleck, Rogers are good. Other than that, I do not know. Oline had its moments. Its a few guys on defense with a pulse. Clark has been solid, but its a lot to cover up out there. Cant wait to see Edmunds on 3rd and 1 next week. (Not his fault, I like Edmunds as a runner. But, geez what a telegraph)
Im glad I did not take for granted the "Beamer glory days." It was a lot of fun and Im glad I was around for it. Now a days actually takes the sting out of those losses we thought were so terrible back then.
Everything the Hokies got, they had to grind for. Duke's yards came in bunches. It seemed like they either ran the QB between the guards up the gut, on were throwing to WR's over the top with a high success rate. The 4th OT sums up what the entire game looked like for me. We grind it in, they go 2 plays for the win.
It's gotten to the point where i can't remember the last time I saw VT win in Lane. Ouch.
Ever since the Sugar Bowl, it's seemed like the game is passing Beamer by.
1 - why go for 2 in the third quarter? We ended up getting extremely lucky and converting the 2nd try at the end but going for 2 so early seemed crazy.
2 - why was Motley in on that 2-pt try? Why? Was no one on the staff watching the game?
3 - why try an onside kick and give them field position for a field goal after missing the 2-pt try to be down 5? This made absolutely no sense.
4 - why do we have an onside kick formation that's illegal? Seems like the coaches shouldn't practice a play that has an ineligible player kick the ball #Beamerball
5 - how long is Foster going to run the same defense and get beat before he makes adjustments? How long has it been since our D was actually good? I don't think any other team I've watched relies on one guy to either make a play or it's a foot race to the endzone. And didn't Duke run the same first play in every OT?
6 - a 67 yard field goal? Reall, Frank? You have some great receivers.
7 - that's on Beamer for not seeing the clock didn't stop. Cam also was idiotic for not trying to get OB immediately, but the head coach has to be aware of the game and call a timeout. At the very least he should appoint someone to the role of end of game management if he can't handle it himself.
It really feels like we have a below average coaching staff right now. The fans in Lane were great and into it, but the tailgating was very different. It felt like no one wanted to go into the game. Apathy is starting to seep through. There's still support but the actual game result feels secondary.
Yea, they ran the exact same play the first snap of every OT and was successful with it 3/4 times.
No, #1 was not crazy. It was a good decision that was poorly executed.
#2, the thought process was probably that Motley posed a threat as an extra running. But Duke is smart and wasn't going to be fooled. But let's be honest, most FBS schools wouldn't have been fooled and would have keyed on Motley first.
#3, it wasn't a try for an onside kick. Do your homework first before criticizing the team, please.
#4, again, do your homework. The play was a busted one. If it had been executed correctly it wouldn't have been what looked like an onside kick nor would there have been a penalty.
#5, Bud Foster can make all the adjustments in the world. None of them will account for the players not being in the correct positions, not getting off their blocks, not making open field tackles, etc.
#6, it's a head-scratcher for sure, all set up by the horrific clock-management that lead up to that play. In the end, though, I think Frank had more confidence in his kicker's leg than he did Brewer's arm.
#7, Frank absolutely saw that the game clock didn't stop. He was yelling at the field and pointing to the clock, trying to get the team to get the next play off. Yes, Cam was not smart by trying to make a move back inside to try get a few extra yards. He should have been coached that a few extra yards are worthless compared to a few extra seconds, and if he did, then shame on him for not playing as he was coached. As far as the timeout issue, VT only had one left. Frank knew the game clock was still running after the play (perhaps not immediately after Cam was pushed out of bounds, but he definitely saw it). Pretty much the entire offense failed to realize the game clock was still running, so they are the ones to fault. But ultimately that comes back on Frank, so he messed up, but not for the reason you specified.
To his credit, Teller knew it and was pointing at the clock.
#1 strongly disagree. Not because of the outcome either. Didn't hurt us in the end, but felt like the wrong call.
#2 I get the thought process. I just think it was a tone-deaf and bad decision.
#3 Why make that call at all? I had heard Beamer say it wasn't supposed to be an onside kick before posting. I'm tired of the coaches blaming everything on poor execution. We had a kid who is not our normal kicker being relied on for a squib. And after going down 5 we handed them a field goal opportunity here.
#4 "We practiced that all week" he said. We had a guy ineligible to kick the ball, kick the ball. You can't have a guy line up with the coverage team kick the ball, which is what we did. Practicing an illegal play seems like a bad idea. Not sure what you're saying with your argument there. Not sure what the do your homework comment is for exactly.
#5 He could have safety help, just once. Like every other team I watch. Cover 2 maybe? If your personnel can't run what you want, you may want to make an adjustment. Its been going on for several years now. I know its hard to coach when you don't have good/experienced players in a lot of spots, but it feels like we don't give any safety net.
#6 So you thought 67 yards was a good idea for a kick? We have couple strong arms on the bench. I know odds are bad of making a play either way, but giving Bucky and Ford a chance has to have higher odds than basically 0%
#7 If he saw the clock then he forgot he had a timeout? He felt like he should just yell at the ref instead of focusing on winning?
KEEP winning?? Think you have to perform an action before you can KEEP doing it.
But, my hat is still off to brewer. Welcome back to the party sir.
And kudos to Michael, again, for gritting it out despite obviously being injured again. Not sure what exactly happened to him, but he was in a lot of pain there at the end of the game. Kept having to squat down...maybe his back?
Maybe his broken collarbone?
He's getting planted during a few plays every game.
This game was such a tough loss. I don't think I will ever get over how amazing Hodges's catch was.
His drops were almost as amazing as his catches.
I'd say he redeemed himself in that game.
I agree. It's just so head scratching the easy ones he dropped vs. the near-impossible TD grabs. But I'm not complaining, just scratching.
Brewer is tough. Have to give him that.
Ya know what stat I just read? Duke is the first team to win back to back games in Lane Stadium since Virginia Tech in 2013.
I read it twice and just got really, really, really sad.
On to the next four games and where our program is headed for the future.
Username checks out.