Hokies Reflect on Four-Overtime Loss to Duke and Preview Boston College

Virginia Tech's losses continue to mount, but Frank Beamer maintains he's solely focused on Saturday's matchup with Boston College.

"Let me say this. The only thing I'm really concerned about right now is Boston College. That's the only thing on my mind," said Beamer when asked about his future. "...Whatever's good for Virginia Tech, what is best for Virginia Tech, is what I'm into. Always felt that way and always will."

Frank Beamer's Opening Statement

Shane Beamer's Opening Statement

Hokies Look Back on Loss to Duke

Travon McMillian ended Saturday's four-overtime thriller with 142 yards on the ground on 29 carries, but at halftime the breakout star in the Hokies' backfield had a measly 5 rushing attempts. During the break, running backs coach Shane Beamer made it clear that he wanted to give McMillian an opportunity to put his stamp on the game.

"He was certainly hot on Saturday and we knew that. He got off to a really good start," said Beamer. "...I saw the game obviously on Saturday and saw the success he was having early on running the football and knew we needed to continue to get him the ball. That was a point of emphasis at halftime. That 'I think we got a chance to run the football on these guys. Travon, let's get him going even more.' He showed that in the second half."

While Beamer was clearly pleased with the rushing production of McMillian, he was also more than satisfied with the pass protection that the freshman delivered.

"I thought he had his best game from a pass protection standpoint as well," said Beamer. "Duke gives you a lot of looks, they're very multiple, and he did an awesome job of picking up the pressures, being in the right place, and from a physical standpoint, being over there and being able to get the job done as well."

After McMillian's third straight dynamic performance as the Hokies' feature tailback, much of Hokie Nation is likely wondering why it took nearly half the season for the coaching staff to get him on the field. But offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said today that McMillian just wasn't fully ready eight weeks ago.

"I think beginning of the year, obviously we thought he was a talented back from the time he stepped on campus," said Loeffler of McMillian. "He's improved over the season and developed into a guy that can pass protect, a guy that can run the football, a guy that can do all the job responsibilities that we ask a back to do here. Is that the case at the beginning? I would say no. I'd say we all knew he was super talented, but I think Shane's done a great job bringing him along and getting him to be able to function in all the job responsibilities that we asks our backs to do. He's playing really well right now and we gotta keep him going."

Bucky Hodges, quiet for much of the first half of the season, turned in three touchdowns against the Blue Devils, none bigger than a 23-yard touchdown catch on 4th and 2 that led to the Hokies forcing overtime. And with starting quarterback Michael Brewer now fully recovered from a broken collarbone, Hodges should continue to frighten opposing defenses.

"Bucky, he creates such a mismatch," said Brewer. "...Motley did a great job when he was in there, but a lot that he was asked to do was more involved in the running game and a little bit of play action. So, with me being back, obviously I'm not gonna run the ball 15 times a game, q-counters and q-power. That's just not my M.O. I think having me back and being able to distribute the ball a little bit better, and then also having Travon kind of emerging (will help Bucky)."

But even after a 43 point performance against a formidable Duke defense (albeit aided by four overtime periods), Loeffler was clear that there were no moral victories for his offense on Saturday.

"The fact of the matter is, I told our kids this yesterday, our job on offense is to score one more point (than the other team)," said Loeffler. "The job on defense is to make one stop. That's just part of it. It's a team game. It's offense, it's defense, it's special teams. I don't care how well you play on defense. I don't care how well you play on offense. I don't care how well you play on special teams. The fact of the matter is when you lose a game, it doesn't matter. We lost the game. It's our job to score one more point."

Loeffler Describes Hokies' Last Drive in Regulation

Poor clock management by Beamer and his staff on the Hokies' final drive essentially took away any possibility of a Joey Slye game-winning field goal. Two days removed from the inexplicable mistake, Loeffler gave a behind the scenes glimpse of what was going on inside the coaching booth.

"During the game, the exact thought process, I can go exactly through the thought process. We had the ball on our right hash," said Loeffler. "We ran a tailback counter versus their odd front, 3 man rush. It exploded. We got down on the right hash and it was a huge tendency with this guy (Duke DC Jim Knowles), actually the plays that we scored with the touchdown to Bucky on 4th and 2, that they were gonna bring pressure regardless (of) how many we protected, they were always gonna plus you one and they were gonna hit the quarterback. So we wanted to make sure that they weren't gonna bring that pressure. Hit the ball to Cam Phillips out of bounds on the 50 yard line and have 35 to 40 seconds left to go with a timeout to get to (Duke's) 35, 30 yard line. Which is a ton of time. When we hit the play to Cam, instantly went to the call sheet, went to our next play. I think we all thought he was out of bounds. You watch the replay from our angle, the official wound the clock, but not as aggressively as what they normally (do). It was a quick wind. The fact of the matter is it's our responsibility to see that the clock was moving. But if you watch that from the press box, there was no question, from where we were standing, you're going to your huddle call. It was a misfortunate deal. It was just misfortunate. Completely misfortunate."

Hokies Preview Boston College

Loeffler and Boston College head coach Steve Addazio have worked together at both Florida and Temple, and Loeffler's soft spot for Addazio is no secret.

"I love Steve," said Loeffler. "Been good friends with him. We went through some really, really good spells at Florida together. Went through a tough spell at the end. We had a great team at Temple. It's a guy in this business that I consider a friend and always will consider a friend."

But that love affair will come to a temporary halt on Saturday as Loeffler's offense takes on the vaunted Boston College defense.

"They're super big. They're athletic," said Loeffler. " ...Arguably this could be the best or the second best defense that we play this year hands down. From a physical end, they look like Ohio State, up front in particular. They do a really good job. They're very disciplined. They stop the run. They give you problems in the back end with their multiple looks. There's a reason they're the second best defense in the country. They play like it."

The younger Beamer noted that Boston College's size has popped out to the coaching staff as they begin to prepare for the Eagles.

"I was talking with some of our coaches this morning, their defensive line, their linebackers and some of their secondary guys, they all look the same. Just the size is just unlike anything we see in this conference week-in, week-out," said Beamer.

And after giving up just 14 points apiece to Florida State and Northern Illinois, it's clear that the praise for the Boston College defense isn't just coach speak.

"You watch teams, nobody's really running the ball," said Beamer. "Clemson hit some big plays in the passing game but nobody's really scoring on them. Florida State struggled to score. I think Northern Illinois scored 14, but one of those was a score on special teams. So they're not giving up a lot of points at all. It's a challenge. You've gotta stay ahead of the chains, get yourself in second and six, second and five, have a chance on third down."

And even though Brewer dazzled late against Duke, Loeffler maintained the need to continue to work in Brenden Motley, especially against a defense like Boston College.

"We actually had another package that we were gonna go to (Motley) in the second half (against Duke) and we decided not to do that because of physical reasons," said Loeffler. "At the time, his leg was bothering him a little bit. We're gonna continue to have a package for him. It gives the defense a whole different perspective, a whole different thing to practice during the week which again, that takes away time to practice the things when Michael's in there. It's a good change-up. It gives us a totally different look. That's college football right now."

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles have been abysmal. In their five conference games, Boston College has averaged just 7.6 points per game, and the Eagles were shutout by both Florida State and Wake Forest. Despite the Eagles' offense shockingly slow start to conference play, defensive tackle Woody Baron still expects an extremely physical game in Chestnut Hill.

"Well just traditionally, you can expect them to have a big, physical offensive game plan," said Baron. "They like to put a lot of people in the box traditionally. Use their run game to open up play action."

Mood in the Locker Room

At 3-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play, many locker rooms would likely be crumbling apart as the losses pile up. And while there was tangible frustration and sadness in the locker room after Saturday's loss to Duke, fullback Sam Rogers remains confident that the Hokies can bounce back.

"Everybody's hurting," said Rogers. "If you're not hurt after losing, something's wrong with you. But we don't have anybody like that. Everybody was hurting after the game. That's the way it should be. It's not fun losing. But we're gonna get right back up."

With just four games remaining, the Hokies will need to win at least three if they hope to extend their bowl streak to 23 straight seasons. When asked if he thought winning three out of four remained plausible for his team, the head Hokie provided a short, but assertive, answer.

"Absolutely," replied Beamer before elaborating. "I've said all along that I really like this football team. I really like them right now. We've had some tough losses, not made same plays that we need to make. But I really like the character on this team. I like the leadership on this team. Got some good young players. You look at the guys who are scoring a lot of points for us on offense, they're all young guys. I think they'll only get better. Look forward to see if we can't get back on a good streak going down the stretch here."

A Quick Frank Beamer Anecdote

As I walked up the aptly-named Beamer Way towards my car after today's press conference, none other than Frank Beamer himself sped by on a golf cart that was carrying him back to the football offices a couple hundred yards up the road.

Perhaps recognizing me from the press conference — or perhaps not — Beamer, on the street that carries his very name, waved to me, shouted out "Alright, now" and wished me a good day.

Anyone think Bret Bielema would extend the same courtesy?

I can only speak for myself, but it made me feel pretty good that under all the mounting pressure, Frank Beamer hasn't stopped being Frank Beamer.

Additional Quotes

Frank Beamer

ON RESCINDING SCHOLARSHIPS AFTER INJURIES IN HIGH SCHOOL:

"We've always, if we have a scholarship offer to a guy, we've never taken that scholarship offer back. Never. Don't believe in it. Believe in your word is your word. Injuries are a part of it. I've never taken a scholarship back or offer back if I had an offer to a guy."

ON IF HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT MOTLEY COMING IN COLD:

"Yeah, I think anytime you're changing up, and particularly at that position, (that has) gotta be a decision that's talked about. And we have. I think we'll talk about it more too, because in-and-outs a tough way to go."

ON ISSUES ON DEFENSE:

"I think the thing that's happening to us somewhat is we're not as good of a tackling football team as some of the teams we've had. It's about wrapping up and finishing the play. Get your head across the bow. Some plays there we've had guys and then we didn't have them. I think when you play really good defense, you're usually a really good tackling football team. That's something that we've gotta continue to work on."

ON ENVIRONMENT AT BOSTON COLLEGE:

"I've always enjoyed playing up there. The students love you as you're coming out of the dressing room. They wanna make sure you feel welcome and at home. What's the song they play? Sweet Caroline. I've gotten to know those words, know all of them for that song. I like it. It's a stadium that's really all in there together. I like those kinds of stadiums, myself. Fans are usually screaming at you. I'd much rather be in a stadium with fans that are screaming than fans who don't care."

Shane Beamer

ON MOOD OF TEAM:

"They hurt. They care. The only way to get this taste out of our mouth and feel better is to win."

Scot Loeffler

ON IF HE'LL BE REVERTING BACK TO HIS OLD, OVERWORKING WAYS THIS WEEK:

"No comment (laughs). No, they're challenging. Obviously last week was as difficult as difficult can be. It was a grind. It was a grind all the way to Saturday, to be honest with you. Trying to figure out the complexity of what Duke does. Boston College does the same. They're a very, very complex, hard, difficult, challenging system and along with in my opinion physical, tough guys."

Michael Brewer

ON THE TEAM'S MENTALITY RIGHT NOW:

"The mindset right now is all that we can control, all that we need to focus on right now, is Boston College. It's the next game on the schedule. We said it before the year even started, 'that next game is the most important on the schedule.' Coach Beamer talks about each week, as you go further along in your schedule, the games start to get a little bit more important because no matter where you are, the implications are rising. For us right now, we're not making the college playoff. That's not happening. Who knows what the ACC (will end up looking like)? That doesn't look great at the moment. Right now, we're trying to beat Boston College. Get to a good bowl game and finish this year off the right way."

ON KNOCKING OFF THE RUST:

"Anytime you miss a good bit of time like that, there's gonna be a little bit of rust. At the quarterback position in particular, you've gotta deal with so many timing issues and getting your feet tied up with what you're thinking. As the game went on, I felt like back to my normal self."

ON OFFENSE'S PERFORMANCE AGAINST DUKE:

"I thought we did some good things. We were playing a defense that's very multiple in what they do...Top 5 defense in the country. Extremely multiple. So hard to game plan for just because you never know exactly what look you're gonna get. We were able to go out there and move the football. We got it going in the run game with Travon and were able to connect on some things in the throw game, particularly to Bucky and create some mismatches. Yeah, we did some good things. Some things we can learn from, but also positive things that we can take to next week."