[Michael Shroyer]
Who: No. 19 Virginia Tech Hokies (6-2, 4-1 ACC) at Duke Blue Devils (3-5, 0-4 ACC)
When: Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 3:30 PM EDT
Where: Durham, North Carolina | Wallace Wade Stadium (40,004)
Watch/Listen: ESPNU/Virginia Tech IMG
Spread: Virginia Tech opened at -9, Hokies moved to -11.
Weather: Sunny and 65 degrees at Kickoff
Series: The Hokies lead the overall series 14-9. Tech also holds a 6-2 advantage in games played at Duke.
Reppin' TKP: Ryan Dye is in the press box. Michael Shroyer is photographing.
The Key Players Club: TKP's benefactors group is 320 strong, make a move and become No. 321.
Discuss today's game and festivities here. Avoid leaving play-by-play, we're all watching. Remember to follow the community guidelines.
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Let's go.....
HOKIES!
My two oldest are so well trained with this. I can scream LET'S GO from anywhere in the house and their response is always HOKIES.
Brings joy to my man's heart. haha
#parentwin
My 2.5 yo when we yell H-O-K-I-E-S responds with something that sounds like Hokies, and also responds to the television.
My 3 year old will jump up and down yelling Hokies! whenever she see football on the TV.
KEVIN!
Start Jumping
Lord, please let today be stress free.
Heading to the lots of Lane Stadium South... Go Hokies!
Happy Hokie Day !!!!
Getting ready to get on I-77, headed in that direction! First away game and it's looking like it'll be more like a home game! Let's Go!
Hokies!
4-0 in games I'm photographing a wedding! Let's keep that streak alive! Go Hokies
Please schedule one for December 3rd.
5-0 baby!!! Love it. Hate missing the game but rather have the win
Good morning all. Hokies please give me my birthday gift.
Happy birthday man!
LET'S GO...!!!
HOKIES!
happy birthday!
From game notes, for those who need/interested:
PxP: Clay Matvick
Color: Dusty Dvoracek (colorful, indeed)
Sideline: ?
XM: 193 -this is an ACC channel, but the game notes have been wrong before, so no guarantees.
Sirius: 132
Online: 969
As always, don't forget HokiesXtra app and TuneIn app.
First song to play randomly this morning, Enter Sandman!!!
While we're waiting for the game to start, enjoy this interpretive dance of the LOLUVA football program.
Where did that kid go?!?!
The Upside Down in Stranger Things
Like UVA football during bowl season, he was just......... gone
Some say he's still falling today.
Chucky Cheese claims another soul for his horcruxes
Looks like the awesome thing they had at Discovery Zone when I was a kid!
Football coach in Indiana? A tough story for sure.
Yea that one just hit a little too close to home for me.
Edit- Wrong Sub-thread
DISCOVERY ZONE WAS SO DAMN FUN!!!
Annnnd Gameday is making me cry like a baby.
Missed it. What happened?
Here's the link!
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=17974494&sf41233506=1
Damn, right in the feels! It's people like this that give me hope for humanity and makes me strive to be a better person.
A fantastic story. The wife is such a fighter! Someone was cutting onions in my apt.
pleasedontfuckthisuppleasedontfuckthisuppleasedontfuckthisup
Does Herbie only own O&M ties? Seems to always be wearing one in Gameday
Shout out to the dude with the "Kristy Krab is Unfair" sign at gameday.
Lil Wayne was the most boring guest picker I've ever seen
For some reason I know every word to a majority of his songs yet I couldn't understand a word he said...
I loved him as the guest speaker, that's just how he talks, he is super relaxed all the time. I do also think Lil Wayne is the GOAT so my opinion is biased.
i mean, its not about how he talks, its that he literally just said the name of the team he picked and that was it. least entertaining guy ive seen on there lol
GOAT at what?
maybe he means actual GOAT.
This I can subscribe to.
I'm too old to accept anything else about Lil Wayne. :)
Rapper. Carter 2 and 3 plus The Drought mixtapes, No Ceilings, etc. Easy money.
whats the skinny on jerod, healthy? gimpy?
Not on the injury report, but that's probably just gamesmanship. I expect him to start, but I don't know how much running we'll see.
Please just play Motley today. We can beat them with him and I want jerod healthy long term
Duke is bad. Like really bad. We will have home field advantage and beautiful weather. I honestly don't believe Motley is a significant step down from Evans with coach corn's play calling. If we have issues, bring in Evans but no reason not to start not here.
everyone said cuse was bad, like really bad, and look what happened. no, you play to win each week, looking forward is how you blow a season.
I stand by my original statements.
Lot H is gonna be fun!!!
Happy Game Day, y'all!
Re CGD: when they were doing the upset specials? And Herbie started talking? And the VT (Pitt) package came up on the screen? I almost put my remote through said screen. Then he started talking Pitt-U. And I sat back down. And placed the remote gently back on the couch. And contemplated going half-caff for a while...
Also, was excited for Weezy to pull some shit today. Show up blazin', or jump a Bama fan - something. Needed a little more wiggle out of Wayne today.
No matter. I'm looking for a statement out of us this afternoon. I know we like our underdog status around here, but people should be talking more about the job this staff & this team have done.
Oh, and related: they did a graphic highlighting P5 QBs with 1200pass/500rush yards. Jerod Evans, with 50 yards rushing today, would be a P5 QB with 2100/500.
LET'S. GO.
HOKIES!
I don't like watching navy and Notre Dame play. colors too similar.
rooting for navy though
Hooyah!
Try watching any team in the big ten west play specifically Wisconsin vs Nebraska that game is a color blind persons worst nightmare
Why are so many of the acc games on the acc network. It's fucking awful.
so I can't watch UNC GT, or pitt Miami. great
Happy Gameday everyone! May your beer be cold and your Hokie victories sweet.
warm whiskey for this guy today!
Alum07 thank you for the Bullock's recommendation. It's fantastic. Tons of hokies driving into Durham
GO AIR FORCE
I have a gut feeling that we will start very slow today. I also hope I'm extremely wrong.
My son just said, "look a Duke fan!". We've been here for two hours and this is the first one he's seen. Go Hokies!
How are games looking ahead of us that might bump the Hokies game off ESPNU? I'm at picnic for wife's work at won't get out of here till 320
Ole Miss up on Georgia Southern 37-27 with 3 minutes left. Should be good as ole Miss is wanting to run the clock. But GSU is calling timeouts.
Lets get this party started
Fucking Ron Cherry...
LET'S GO
HOKIES!
Good job Hokie Nation. This looks 80% O&M.
I wonder if I'll be a better fan with only radio access? Stupid ESPNU.
Kinda dissapointing to see the drive stall like that
First butchering of Motuapuaka..
edit: I'm a dummy
That wasn't a butchering that was a dexter style killing.
Might be the worst attempt I've heard so far
Yeah, that one made Mack Brown look like a linguistic genius.
I thought he said Motu-wookie.
He basically did.
Wow. Words cant describe how bad they butchered Motus name just now.
Traveling Hokies are loud Hokies. Sounds good on tv.
ANOTHER BLOWN COVERAGE.
That was Greene's fault I believe, based on body language, and I'm not sure why he was in the game.
At this point, exactly whose fault it is has ceased to matter to me. I'm sick of it. C'mon guys - figure it the fuck out.
A lot of Hokies there, you can tell by crowd reactions on plays, love it.
Hurts me that Stroh was tackled by the snapper.
What is with this play calling? 1 pass?
I wonder if the shadows at midfield might be concerning - hard to see the ball come out of the shadows and into the bright part of the field. At our own end, we passed to Phillips. As soon as we crossed the 50, Evans dropped back to pass. Anywhere in between was a run.
Offense needs to get points on the board early. Will change the outlook of the game dramatically. Duke likes to take time and limit possessions.
Looks like we are going sideways again
Damn! Great catch!
AMAZING CATCH BY BUCKY. WOW WOW WOW,
Holy shit Bucky.
Yes!! TD!
Turned an INT into a crazy catch
HOKIES!!!
Dragon up the middle, I like it.
Cash money.
Hell yeah!
Now that is some power running right there
I'll throw a little praise for Conte actually blocking downfield on that play.
I like how the safety peeled out before the snap to cover the fade and we just ran it up the gut.
Very nice. I am glad the running game is a priority. It's frustrating as hell sometimes.
Bucky just made the highlight reel tonight. Turned most likely a sure INT into a circus catch.
I still can't get over how badly Dusty Dvoracek messed up Motuapuaka's name.
Running QB issues again.
Fire Bud, he can't stop running QB's!!
/s so hard.
Does Ken look slower out there than usual?
I believe so. Wasn't he questionable against Miami? Think he's battling injury.
Yeah, he doesn't look 100% at all.
He lost contain on 2 long runs .
Agreed. After the way Hill played in his place, I just don't see where playing injured/slowed Ekanem is a better option. That QB just ran away from him.
We are getting no pressure
Defense was a piece of shit that drive
Way too easy.
Wow I don't think a team has run the ball on us that effortlessly all year. Tackling was very lackluster.
what just happened
It's one of those games again...
Defense got schooled down the field.
Baffling how soft we looked that whole drive.
The D. Just, WOW.
That's what she said.
Just what I'd expect from a Binary-curious TKP'er. Leg up, baby.
Wow. They just flat drove the field. Unbelievable.
Defense had no fire under them that drive
What the fuck defense?
Adjustment time, that felt like a drive where Duke's O keyed on something and capitalized.
Wow our defense is looking pretty freaking bad. Sad. What's going on with Ken, he's not keeping contain just like Dadi had problems with last year.
Aside from Terrell twice locking up the blocker and stopping the screen, that drive was absolute garbage for the defense.
Defense is sleep walking. I have faith that Budnis gonna light some ass up!
Time for Bud to light some fires out there. Not worried yet.
Very well crafted drive by Duke. Vt looked off balance
That defense was just so bad. I hope Bud is able to adjust.
look at teller trying to carry Rogers lol
That was targeting, for sure.
I don't agree. They both pulled up, main contact was the shoulder and the whiplash made Cunningham's head hit the defender.
Rule was literally put in place to protect defenseless receivers getting their heads knocked off. Cunningham let up on the overthrow, he was defenseless.
That sure looked like the crown of the helmet?
Damn, why not run it there? We've been getting good push.
How the fuck is that not helmet to helmet!!
Because it was shoulder to helmet?
So still targeting and should have been called.
Defenseless receiver rule should come into play there. If they're truly trying to protect players, that's a penalty.
Doesn't it still have to be helmet to helmet even if he is defenseless?
No. ESPN had a good graphic up in an earlier game. If defenseless, no contact whatsoever with the defenseless player's helmet. Otherwise, any hit leading with the crown of the helmet is targeting.
No look up one comment, I pasted the rule straight from NCAA rule book.
CUNNINGHAM GETS EARHOLED THERE. Where is the defenseless receiver
Edit: maybe it wasn't that bad in replay. But did look bad
we should have gone for it. don't know why we didn't
Probably the same reason we insist on doing 3rd and 1 yard plays from the shotgun all season long
Not looking like a good day so far...
And that my friends, is why I do not trust Slye at all.
Are you effin serious?
24 straight from inside 40 is just not good enough for some people, I guess. Lots of missed kicks across all football games this year, seems like more than usual.
I'm dead serious.
I gave you an upvote.
I disagree with you, but you shouldn't get downvotes for having an opinion.
He left off the "/s"
Slye is the reason we beat Pitt, bro
I believe this is his first or second miss inside 40 all year and he saved our bacon @ Pitt BTW.
One week and he's in the doghouse?
Seriously. This gets called against us every single time.
Announcer jinx. Never call a FG kicker automatic.
At least not when you're talking about MY team.
crap
Defense & special teams still on the bus apparently.
I'm just glad he saved that miss till this week!
with how things are going, I'm not..
Defense looking bad, zero pressure on Jones.
We brought it. They just picked it up well
Quick 3rd down. Lets go boys
This is syracuse all over again.
Defense is a hot mess right now.
Gotta get off the field on third down. Looking ugly so far.
They look like they have nothing in the tank today. It seems like it'll be a clutch day for Duke and a long day for VT on all 3 sides of the ball. I hope they wake up.
Motuapuaka killin' me
Motu looks like a baby deer on ice out there today
Your expecting the LB to get from center of field to flats to defend that?
Not that play per se. But in others. I am not watching the All 22 Cam, just sitting on my ass drinking a beer on the couch.
I don't know why, but he does that sometimes.
All three phases looking like complete dog shit today. Very nice.
Edit: Eh, I guess the offense is getting yards. That's something I guess.
Yeah, the offense is moving but not finishing. Duke's run defense doesn't look great so far but we're not benefiting enough from play-action.
NEVER seen a team so succeptible to getting gashed on 3rd and long.
EDIT: or on 1st and 10, ftm.
And they're not beating blitzes with quick stuff. We're rushing 3 & 4, and he's slicing us up.
Statistically this inaccurate, but it has happened a few very notable times.
We have the 4th best third down defense in the country, but we're not acting like it today.
Duke's converted 4 of 5.
Won't be after today, if they keep getting gashed.
Cutcliffe is smart. He's gonna wear Moto out today with their TE's. If Bud doesn't adjust, their going to put up a bunch of yards and points.
Playing to the level of the competition.
the defense got broken by cuse
what's up with the D!
Not sure why a Foster D cannot stop the zone read.
LOL, 6'5" QB carving our defense up on the ground.
Not sure what your point is... once upon a time we had a 6'6" QB carving up all sorts of defenses on the ground.
defense cant tackle, not even trying
Holy shit how many missed tackles.
We got lucky on that one. Dropped.
They'll have to settle for three.
Not this time!!!
I'm happy to have been proven wrong!
Motu = Invisible
Looks like this is our annual 'make a random QB look like a Heisman contender' game.
More like monthly.
This D looks sloooooww.
YES!!!!
Duke is killing us so far. They got big heads again. Beamer Ball
Blocked and run back for a TD!
Awesome!
Beamerball Babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
Stroman!!!!
Blocked the kick. Leveled the kicker trying to run to make a play.
Along with the fact that ESPN rated him a top corner in the ACC (based on % of completions against), I'd say he exceeding his 3 star ranking
He proves himself valuable in just about every game.
forget the stars, i'd say he is living up to the excellent coaching he receives
Duke's RB is running like David Wilson out there today
House call Alexander!
We woke up?
Needed something to happen.
special teams for the win!!!!!!!!!
SON OF A BITCH I LOVE STROMAN AND ALEXANDER
BEAMERBALL LIVES
Hope that fires up the team.
I think it's funny we're seeing more Beamerball the year Frank left. Keep it up!
BEAMERBALL
I'll take it!
There's special teams helping out! Way to be out there!!!
Holy shit, we needed that!!! Hopefully, that energizes us.
Special teams stepping up
That was pleasant.
Can Alexander & Strohman share #25 next week?
NEEDED IT
4th block this year for VT. Fuente Ball
Glad to have the lead again.
Only bad thing is no rest for the defense. Hope it only took Bud 2 minutes to try and light a fire.
The message needs to be "special teams just bailed your asses out, so it's time to tighten this up."
Whelp, if I'm Duke I'm either punting or going for it on 4th. With their 3rd down conversion rate this game, going for it on 4th is probably a good idea for Duke.
Hopefully that breathes some new life into the defense. Time to make some stops.
Stroman had two nice blocks there-one on the ball, one on #48 during the return
That Beamerball score is going to kill our Time of Possession.
Special teams coach ShiBEAST gettin' after em.
The new most interesting man in the world is a pale imitation of the original.
Tough act to follow
There are a lot fewer accolades for the second most interesting.
This one is pretty good:
'He once cheated death, and death was perfectly OK with it'
Yeah, the first most interesting man in the world was a garbage man. Still not sure why they replaced him.
Finally, a 3rd down stop.
Anyone happy we pressed across the inside on 3rd and short against the 5 wide set.
Beamerball!
Awesome house call on the block. Only problem I have is the damn broadcast kept following the kicker on the sidelines. What the fuck are they hoping for? Leave the kid alone.
Big Tim getting in Jones' face
I miss having the MVs here. So much easier to celebrate the first downs with the band.
McMillian running hard today.
Held the ball too long. Clock has to go off.
Looks like Evans' ankle is fine.
That sack was on Evans.
And that first down run was on Evans.
You're both right.
The Ankle looks aight
And the Red Zone play calling does not.
I mean, TOUCHDOWN!!! & all, but we are so vanilla down close.
Master of the obvious: Need a TD here.
Cam was so wide open at the start of that play I thought he was going to do jumping jacks
Finish and score.
Fart.
jesus, what is this redzone?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go for it. Fuck this
Seems like I can finally start to relax my sphincter.
Need a four td lead before the fourth quarter for me to relax.
TD!!!! ref was slow.. He was standing on the 4 when Evans was in the endzone.
Wyatt pancaked Jerod? Into the endzone.
We need some new terminology for that
EVANS HAVE MY CHILDREN!!!!!
i mean, good one dude
Amazing effort from Evans. We've got to be able to run the ball traditionally for ONE yard.
Have we seen Marshawn Williams yet today? Dragon has been running well, but the 3rd-/4th-and-short is where we need the bulldozer.
Agreed and maybe widen our splits a little. We get in our own way a little bit. But mostly we just need to knock people off the ball.
I'm counting that as a Wyatt Teller Touchdown!!!
Hell yes keep it coming!!
It felt like Jerod carried the team on that drive.
He certainly carried Duke into the end zone.
Wyatt Flexing those guns = Giftory?
I feel like Evans blew the read twice on 2nd and 3rd down.
So it was good to see him just put it in himself.
Little help from Teller
Evans is pretty special.
I love Brewer and he is probably one of my favorite Hokies that I've seen play, but DAMN is it nice to have a QB who can regularly make plays with his legs.
It seems like the offense came out today to prove that there are more play makers than just Ford, Bucky, and Phillips. I like seeing the other players getting touches today.
Ok, I'm not real smart about football, but why shotgun with 1 yard to go?
That's just the way a spread offense works. We're not going to line up under center in an I-formation. The shotgun gives Evans room to run the RPO, roll the pocket, or build momentum for himself to run.
Thanks.
Because that's what they are used to. If your QB isn't used to taking a snap under center, and your center isn't used to snapping that way, you increase the odds of BAD THINGS.
Because everyone and their brother would've expected an I-Formation run up the gut.
Thanks.
Jerod just looks so calm and cool , his natural stance is "Ralax, i got this". what a great QB to start the fuente era
Defense apparently stopped hitting snooze.
the Dookies'll have to punt. lmao
He just said the Dookies will have to punt.
HAHAHAHAHA
Strohman got drilled...hope he's OK.
Great blitz. Another quick 3 and out following a score.
Its a good thing Bud can't stop a running QB
Stroman trying to get himself killed.
Damn, Stroman is hurt. I thought leading with the helmet on a defenseless was a penalty.
Tremaine is a man. But I'd like to see him get his arms up on those blitzes.
And Stro needs a little help from his blockers. Good Lord.
Stro also needs to know when to call for a fair catch. That's the only negative thing I really have to say about him is that he needs to learn that it's okay to call for a fair catch when there's a tackler barreling towards you.
Stroman just got carried off the field. Not good. Really not good.
Not calling fair catch really burned Stro that time. Hope he's alright.
Stroman should have called fair catch, however something didn't look right about that tackle.
Got his foot caught under the tackler. Could be an ankle or (don't want to say it)
Stroman should consider fair catching those.
Hope Stro is alright that looked like it hurt
underthrew a touchdown. Usually it's the overthrow.
Lately seems to be under throw.
If The Game is truly interested in the improved safety and health of The Players, why is there no "halo rule" in CFB? Just sayin'.
Lucky to not have that picked.
Underthrow? What is this madness?
That could be a bad ankle injury for Stroman, I really hate that. I love Stroman.
Ron Cherry!!!, look at that cloud go by...You, you jinxed it.
..thus my hated for Duke grew ten fold.
That looked bad for Stroman. I hope he didn't break or tear something because that what it looked like.
That screen was so open too.....
Stroman loaded onto a cart and taken to the locker room. Gotta be done for the day. This is really bad news for our secondary, which is already looking vulnerable.
lol that's funny
Bad series for us capped by a horrible punt. That's it no more punting for us this game. Just scores.
Sounds like a good strategy to me
Really wish Jerod and Ford had connected on that long pass play.
Stroman injury looks serious. Heartbreaking.
Wow. That was just ridiculous. I mean, shades of screen inadequacy past, amiright?
There goes Ludwig with his 20 yard damn punt . For every good game he has punts like this
So was that a bad play on Jerod, Travon, or McLaughlin? Or all three?
The 35yd punt was okay when it was caught at the 10. A 31yd punt is not going to cut it when it's caught at the 45.
#Screen execution
This first half has flown by
C'mon D!!
Come on defense. Get the stop again.
Stroman was having himself a good year. Sucks to see him get hurt like that.
Woody Baron is having himself another fine day.
Dude is 6 foot 5.
6 foot 5.
Someone ought to be able to get a clean hit on him.
GREAT stop. They're outside of FG range too.
Great stop after an iffy PI.
It was a good call.
Great d Woody!
I felt like it was a good call.
Edit: Replied to the wrong post. Anyway, Woody is out there making tackles on screens. Dude is a beast.
Well at least our screen was incomplete. They lost yards.
Hypothetical question:
If there was a 6'1", 302 LB QB, would he have a career rushing game against us and be his teams leading rusher?
Instead of "hypothetical", I think you mean "rhetorical".
Eh, maybe so.
Just listening to the guys on the radio broadcast, we still have a lot to improve on. I know we're having a great year and I'm glad to see it. But just so many things not clicking 100%. Can't wait until they do.
Hopefully Stroman is ok.
I really don't think we deserve to use the DBU namesake this year. Needs improvement.
Go Hokies!
Wait why did that Duke player stop trying and walk into the endzone with the ball?
Damn, another bad series. I wanted another score before half for us.
Agreed. Would have loved for us to go for the jugular there.
There is some kind of weird combo of good coverage by Duke and Evans holding the ball way too long.
Wow, how can none of our receivers get open? That's two plays in a row that Duke had us locked down.
Because Evans isn't doing a look through a progression of every receiver, he is looking for one person predetermined to throw to.
Correct. I was giving them benefit of the doubt that they were locking down everyone and not the only guy we were actually looking at.
Trevon Hill down with a shoulder or collarbone injury.
Wow. Looked like Evans and endless green on that 3rd down if he'd just pulled it down and run.
Dammit is Hill hurt too?
Hill went off injured.
Whelp. Hope we come back in the 2nd a little more focused. We should be rolling.
Injury bug in full force the last couple weeks.
Well it's ugly, but a two touchdown lead is a two touchdown lead.
Agreed. Was thinking that was a real subpar half of Hokie football, but still up two scores. Duke's only had two good drives. Hopefully we make some good adjustments at half and pull away in the 2nd half.
Good news, Wake is beating LOLUVA.
I worry our best ball may be behind us this year. D looks tired, hurt and slow. Evans is banged up and looks like he is throwing off balance with that bad ankle.
Just feels like we need a bye
weekmonth badly.The time between 10/27-now should've been more than enough.
Hopefully Hill is okay. Sometimes you can shock that nerve and it'll kill you for a bit and then you can continue playing.
Feel free to respond 1 - 10 for each of these for the first half
1) Offensive play
2)Defensive play
3)Special teams play
4) Play calling
5) Defensive scheme
1) 5. At times good, at times bad.
2) 7. Adjusted well after first quarter.
3) 6. A missed kicked is made up for by Special Teams TD.
4) 6. I can appreciate attempting to establish the run, something just doesn't look right.
5) 6. As above, we adjusted.
Agreed, we are playing under our abilities in pretty much as aspects.
7
5
8
7
7
1) 6
2) 7. One really bad drive, one almost fg drive, but every other drive they've been stout.
3) 7. Returns have been average and a heart breaking injury to Stroman so I can't give this 10 even if I wanted + missed fg.
4) 6. Doing the Sam Slam again, but finding the endzone some.
5) 7. Scheme is fine, they are spreading us out, but we've adjusted to playing up close on the short downs. Issue hasn't been scheme so much as it's been getting pressure on Jones. When he's sitting pretty in the pocket, he is talented enough to find the open guy.
Bad punts, missed fg, bringing out some kicks that we should have taken a knee on. Can't give Special teams greater than a 6 even with a block.
I'll go to 7 but fg block return for TD is huge. Completely changed the game. My biggest point was that people are judging the defense off of one really bad drive too harshly.
Yeah, I think some people have unrealistic expectations.
Time to breathe... We're up 14 at half in spite of our errors. Injuries suck for sure. We looked less sluggish the second quarter thankfully.
Too much left on the field. We should have at least 7-10 more.
Also, I thought we stopped the Rodgers/Bucky jet sweeps (holding my nose)
Sorry if missed: Any word on Stroman & Hill's injuries?
Thanks for everyone that made the trip to Durm (that's the local pronunciation, folks) today and made their presence and the Duke absentia known.
Still falling for trick plays I see.
We have got to fix this running QB problem.
Says every single DC at every level of football.
dem qbs...always running on us
Can we not tackle their QB? Do we have to let him get a first down every time he runs?
FUCK. Hit that slow ass MF.
Trouble tackling Jones.
"Jones" pronounced "everybody"
Letting this guy run all over us, no adjustments at half it seems
Actually, everyone is dragging our tacklers.
the qb and rb is literally carrying their team
*our
Someone needs to make him at least feel their presence for tucking and running. He's 6'5", why can't anyone square up on him?
Why can't Mihota contain?
There's a difference between "can't" and "didn't".
Finally a sack!
Plot twist: their QB isn't actually a good runner, our defense just completely forgets to account for him on every play and leaves him half the field to run wherever he wants.
YES!! Finally.
Great pressure from the d line finally.
That sack looked great!
And another sack to take them out of FG range.
Nice Sack, Ekanem and Walker.
Bud giveth and Bud taketh away
And Bud taketh away again.
that's what I like baby
Anyone else listening on the radio? The one VT announcer who always says "ladies" drives me a little crazy.
Dook QB just got Wood(y).
He just got "Woodied".
Woke up with some 3rd down Woody.
Got taken to the Wood(y)shed.
Couldn't see the receivers for the Wood(y).
That series went a lot better than I anticipated.
What a pleasant surprise.
I'd like our offense to show something here.
Nice clock-killing drive here with a TD would be welcome.
I'd also be happy with a demoralizing quick touchdown drive too.
Stroman has a sprained ankle. Still unfortunate but could have been much worse.
Just hope it's not the dreaded "high ankle sprain". I'll be happy if I never hear that again.
Bad for someone in the secondary with all of the changes in direction required, though.
That is great news.
Ford sighting.
Come on offense!
Not a good series.
Fortunate to have a two TD lead here. Other than a couple of plays, not playing terribly well on either side of the ball today.
Sigh.
3rd and 10 WR screen.
Sigh.
3rd-and-ten, throw a WR screen 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Not questioning the play call, but I'd like to see a little more aggressiveness.
Are we playing not to be aggressive on offense ?everything seems conservative
All zones have gaps it's up to the coaches putting Evans in a position when reading is to a minimal
Sh*t set of downs. I hope this is Cornelson saving the playbook against GagTech and ND, because this sh*t ain't gonna get us 2-0(maybe 3-0) for the remainder of our games. Just saying
VT's offense is well past being able to hide anything. This isn't strategy.
Then that is NOT comforting, at all.
I want to see more life from the offense. We are playing to maintain the lead, very conservative.
Worried about GT. Justin Thomas will get his completions, we need to be able to score.
Yeah, you beat them by getting out ahead and forcing them out of their comfort zone.
"4th down defense"
Most unfortunate.
Would have liked to see a stop there.
Defense getting carved up this drive. It's feeling more like when, not if Duke's O starts to pop. Our offense is going to have to turn on at some point here soon.
All I fucking ask is we wrap up.
I bet half Duke's yardage is after contact. It sure feels that way.
We are getting gashed by the run.
Edmunds with a great tackle there.
That's a touchdown if you don't outrun him.
Run defense is getting gashed today
If I'm Duke I'm going for it on 4th down if it looks even remotely advantageous.
Syracuse strategy
Well it sure as shit fucking worked.
If this is how we tackle Duke's backups during their runs we are going to get murdered by GT.
Every game (it seems) someone has their "breakout game" against Foster's D.
This is not a good game
cant stop the run, what is this, its supposed to be our strength
I don't feel like we are playing with any emotion today. Feels like we are just walking through this.
I'd hate to see what it'd look like if their best RB had started the game.
What the fuck, defense?!!!
It's like we're tackling everyone but the ball carrier.
Why is it every time Duke has a good drive the commentators start praising Bud Foster?
Duke has more snaps than us. Our defense has been on the field longer than theirs. Do the wheels start to come off in the 4th quarter again just like Syracuse?
God damn it
Man imagine that. A nobody QB running all over us.
A BACKUP nobody QB.
He's been starting all season, he's no longer a "backup".
This feels like 'Cuse all over again.
i was going to say that, but then I remembered...
Man what is happening. Our dline went from elite to meh these last few games.
We might have the lead, but Duke is outplaying us on offense and defense with their second team.
who ever had that running QB post jinxed the hell out of us. or we actually do kinda suck at it
The point of that post was that even Bama struggles against running QBs. Adding running ability to the QB position automatically makes an offense more dynamic and more difficult to defend.
WTF happened to playing defense?
It's one thing for the offense to bail out the defense. It's another thing to show up without a defense.
Defense has looked like poo and offensive isn't helping
That missed fg is going to hurt
This effort is making me puke right now
Defensive strategy seems to be based on the concept that the opposing QB has a wooden leg.
And the QB with the wooden leg just went 15 yards for another first down!
Someone needs to pop that mother fucker. HE HAS 15 FUCKING CARRIES, IT SHOULDN'T BE A FUCKING SURPRISE.
We do not look like a top 25 team, these rankings are a curse for us as far as how we play. We cannot stop the Duke offense, and their Defense is making our Offense look like we have the previous 3 years. I hope the coaches come up with something good and the players get it together or else UNC will be the Coastal division champs. This is just a sad and painful showing overall today. Not the domination that was exciting to watch earlier in the season.
Why does it feel like Duke has like 30 points yet they only have 14
This, in pretty much all areas aside from the scoreboard, has been an embarrassment.
Why can't we have nice things?
They just called Coach K respectable and honorable. wut?
we need some points, no shoot outs today
We can play the "everyone struggles with running QBs" card all we want, but Jones hasn't done this to ONE team this year stat wise and the third quarter isn't even over.
Offense better man up here, score some points, and give the defense a breather.
wow, good catch Philips
Can't get a 1st down on a penalty (unless it's against the other team).
Nice and steady drive. Defense needs a break of chasing this QB and RB around all day
Great, the offense is looking for the refs to give them a first down. Go out there and make a play, stop looking at the refs slack jawed with your arms out.
That was interference though
I'm so tired of this. It's every damn year. Are we just not good enough from a talent standpoint to show up every game? I just don't see how this is anything but a weak mental game. So frustrating.
This play calling is perplexing.
What happened to the block?
Terrible penalties and trying too many qb runs. Looks like a 0-1 week.
Read the community guidelines before down voting...thanks!
Incidental votes happen, especially in threads this large that lag on mobile devices. Chill.
I'm chill and I realize incidents can happen, but I have seen numerous down votes before just because of difference in opinions, that's what kills me.
Keep running straight Evans, fuck
Evans was totally going to get a first down what the hell was he thinking.
uh...that was def short. lol
What the fuck was he thinking???
Thinking???
Go straight Evans dsmnnit !!
I'm not sure we want that one reviewed...
WTF evans.
Run straight ahead.
WTF.
What the fuck, if he didn't cut it would have been a first down.
Why not take that run inside, was trying to cut it back.
what the hell evans? just go straight, easy first down
That was an awful decision by Evans at the end there
go for it
Go for it.
I hate this game.
Sam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YES!
Rogers!
thank goodness
We are not looking like a top 25 team.
Wow. Ford is crazy good
reverting back to old habits and playing down to the level of our competition
Take a shot now.
Review it.
That is a catch.
It was a catch
that's a catch baby
Son of a bitch, clearly a catch, but called no catch on field. That's why I'm worried about.
Definitely gonna have to win this game with our offense. Defense is playing like hot garbage against the run (and another mobile QB). Terrible recognition, even worse tackling attempts. All that talk about not having another Cuse game was just talk from Foster's company this week.
If they overturned that one in Syracuse, they better overturn this one too.
Wow
Don't start this refs ...
...just regroup and attack again, let's go
That one was a catch.
That was also a catch.
HOLY SHIT, the ACC refs are so inconsistent.
Get Bucky involved.
Ridiculous
Have those outside runs worked at all today?
A couple of 5 yarders, nothing more.
Ford is inspired.
Was that a catch, MF?
How the fuck is the one against Syracuse overturned, but that one isn't?
Isaiah Ford is currently exerting his will on the Duke secondary. He is fired up.
Also a catch.
Way to go, Ford!
Isaiah is mad, and I love it.
Fart.
Ford really is a cheat code
Just do it again to the opposite side.
That was such a perfect play too. This is saddening.
WTF Teller?
Borderline call on Wyatt there
Yep, it's one of those days, I hope we have someone behind Teller who doesn't kill every TD or 1st down we get it seems like.
Ref's aren't consistent on those calls either....
HODGES WITH YAC!
Can't stand a call that doesn't affect the play; however, i guess it's a rule
This really should be a 4-score game if our defense could solve a running QB.
Is it ever NOT Teller?
SOB!!!!!!!
Ron cherry is this week's pat narduzzi. F 'em.
teller has a play every game that takes back a TD it seems
Imagine that...Teller with a penalty
sigh
There it is. Control your own destiny. How does a team do that?
It means win and you're in, you don't have to count on anyone else losing.
Defense, please.
Bad throw.
Sputter in the red zone.
I guess we won't get too many TD's unless we replace Teller once we get to the red zone and put Cunningham in the end zone.
Didn't help him much with that throw.
Not a good throw by Evans he's been pretty good with the fades this year
Which loss is more respectable - Duke or GT? Because I don't want to see this team embarrass itself on national TV to Clemson.
Wow.
Trust me, I don't like saying that any more than you did reading it. But I still remember how Stanford felt and I don't see this team (that's playing what feels like far worse than that 2010 team) do well against Clemson. Clemson, btw, is leading Syracuse 47-0 right now.
I remember how I felt against Stanford too. I was IN MIAMI watching my favorite team play a BCS game.
Bad loss or not, I take that 100% of the time. I will NEVER root for my team to lose.
Probably going to regret not scoring a touchdown there.
For once I'm actually NOT happy the defense is gonna be back on the field. Never thought I'd ever say that.
So why was Teller benched in the beginning of the season?
You win the internet!
Since when does standing over a guy looking down and clapping not taunting?
it's good to see espn showing chance the rapper love
I hate the penalties for Teller. We all love his aggressiveness, unfortunately it results in penalties sometimes. Dude was going to attack a linebacker to block for his running QB.
Three of higher ranking teams are losing right now, UF, Baylor, OkSt. Let`s WIN this one!!!
If anything we deserve to drop in the rankings too.
That't not how it works though. See: Clemson. Win the game, nobody remembers scores next season.
We need to be more disruptive at the start of these runs.
I'm probably wrong, but I think we have only called like 3 blitzes the entire game. We need to get some backfield pressure on these guys
That may help, but in the end we there is no "gap integrity" with the big guys up front. It isn't a schematic issue, it is an execution issue.
Their RB and QB aren't getting touched until 4 or 5 yards down field. They are making it look easy.
Would love to see a TO on this drive...
Great stop by the D. Chance for the Offense to put this one away.
I hope they're still fired up like they were last drive.
Good job defense. Lets see the offense chew up some clock while scoring a TD. They need to come out and prove that we are the better team and deserve this win.
Or, you know, pun.t
Juice finally in the game!!!
I posted about how this season is weirdly similar to 2004. This game has the same feel as 2004 UNC did. Road game against a capable opponent after an emotional Thursday night win. Have to come out with the win though.
Keep chewing clock. Please.
Dammit!!
Not good. Not good at all.
I'm not sure I'm a fan of the "one read" system.
PuntFail
If you're ragging the D for giving up 14 points you better be upset with the offense/play calling as well. You would think we've given up 40 points the way you guys are acting.
Against a Clemson, we just might.
Focus is severely lacking today.
I can't even with this team anymore. Like what the fuck?
I dread seeing qb runs on this drive.
every single punt today has been shitty...thought he was getting turning a corner on those...
Wow. Ludwig is back to Game 1 form.
Ludwig is not the answer for the future as a punter .
I think I might still have some eligibility left. Age 47.
Couldn't play much more lethargically.
You guys realize this is the same Duke team that limited Louisville's insane offense to only 24, right? We're certainly doing ourselves no favors in some areas, but this shouldn't be especially surprising that they're actually decent.
Great point! However, this is also the same team that lost to Syracuse, so I think that is the cause of the angst.
It's also the Duke team that lost to LOLUVA 34-20.
First what happened to the fade to Bucky in the end zone?? Why throw to Isaiah when Bucky is a giant on the field? We seem to be either throwing to ford or Evans running. Duke is playing with emotion. We aren't. We need something big here.
Fuente needs to show some emotion on the sideline and a light a fire under the offensive guys
Yelling and screaming isn't his style.
I didn't say anything about yelling
Well at least loluva lost...
What are we doing that they get like 4 yards a carry
Done with Mitchell Ludwig. At times, appears to have never punted a football before.
He's our punter but I smell a tryout brewing. At some point soon, it's gonna cost us a ballgame.
Jesus H. Christ on a popsicle stick.
shocker...qb runs for 15 yards
Maybe have someone contain??
Maybe I missed this but where is mihota???
Would love to know their yards after first contact.
jeeze, Clemson beating like it's their job.
Tackle that freakin guy.
Hokies are going to lose this game
Unbelievable.
this team just cant get up for "lesser" competition
Or maybe that the Hokies just arn't that much better competition
Horrible call
I have not the words.
"This Hokie defense is not just gonna let him walk in." Uhhhhh
Said on every TD where we have let them walk in.
this sucks
We can't tackle a 6'5" stringbean.
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. FUck.
Fuck.
Even when he's in the path of the play, Motu is getting blocked too easily in this half. That time a 5'9" moved him out of the play.
Bahaha that was so predictable. RB can't like it in with 2 tries, let the QB keep and he walks in untouched. Garbage, such garbage.
the team just looks like it wants to get out of there
Apparently goal line D is something we don't do.
They are doing a great job following the Syracuse blueprint, no name qb running and getting his yards like nobody is out there.
Maybe quit dicking around with the playcalling on offense and get the ball to the playmakers in favorable situations.
Dear Offense,
Please take the ball down the field and score a touchdown.
Sincerely,
A Fan
Well, now we need the offense to respond and actually score a TD. Get back to a two score lead.
So does the athletic department pay for the hole in my wall or??
Alright, I'm gonna call it. I am UNIMPRESSED with our secondary coaches. If Gray was still on this staff, this shit would NOT be happening as much. I am tired of this f*king pathetic shit.
> No name QB
> Gets his first 100 yard rushing game against our D
> FeelsBadMan
Jerod has not been accurate today. So many missed opportunities.
6'5" QB has over 100 yards, first time of his career. How shocking. My problem isn't QBs running on our defense, my problem is how many QBs have career days doing so.
. . . and Bud's inability to scheme a solution. Frustrating.
I agree. If we are facing Watson or Jackson and they run on us got it. When it's some guy that has the least bit of mobility he looks like Michael Vick against us.
lol, fucking why
No one is even looking at Jones to keep the ball. If they are, that person is 20 yards out of position and not close enough to help. This is ridiculous. Duke should just keep running QB option keepers for the rest of the game. To quote famous American Dusty Rhodes, "SHAMEFUL"
And WHAT A SURPRISE! Dumbass QB draw call on 3rd.
Defense, please.
Evans has been off badly this game with his throws
All this concern about Evan's running, and the real problem seems to be his arm.
These QB run calls are awful today.
Hokies about to be trailing, horrific play calling
This is so hard to watch.
Cringe worthy.
Qb draw man, what the fuck
Capper of the night
ONE WORD:
OUTCOACHED.
WHY DIDNT SOMEBODY PICK THAT DAMN BALL OFF!?!?
uninspired offense
Hey guys, it's okay. They were setting up Duke with that QB draw.
Fumble!!!!!!!!
What's up with Evans?
It's official.
I love Terrell Edmunds.
But he might get a targeting call.
Comment removed. Sorry.
That was huge.
Finally, a defensive turnover. Now offense please get a damn TD to go back up two scores.
Offense has to do something with this. Defense gave them exactly what we needed.
Finally we hit a runner without arm tackling them! (Hope he's ok though.)
Everyone in the free world knew our play call on third down there
Targeting speculation again.
They are going to review and call targeting.
shit, that is absolutely targeting
How can they call that targetting. That was a running play. They both lowered their heads. And the running back wasn't defenseless. These dumbwit announcers.
It's not about being defenseless. You can NEVER initiate contact anywhere with the crown of the helmet.
Look at the replay. It wasn't the crown of the helmet. The runner's helmet hit the "side" of Edmunds.
The NCAA recently clarified that the crown is anything on the top half of the helmet, all the way around. Look at the stills from the video I just posted in the targeting thread.
This is clearly the right call by the letter of the rule.
The RB lowered HIS head man. Not much else our player could have done besides slow down and let him run by. The posture of the RB caused this just as much as our player who was trying to get low did. Bad call.
It's not. It's exactly right, as written. Initial contact with the helmet is cut and dry.
The separate issue of the RB lowering his head is indeed entirely separate. Officials rarely (never?) call an offensive player for targeting in this instance, as I have mentioned a few other times. Should they? Yeah, probably. But this is irrelevant in the context of whether or not Terrell initiated contact with the head. Under the rule, both should have probably been tossed, but it is not a bad call re: Terrell. Unfortunate and unintended, but correct.
Hey man, you can tell people "by definition good call" all you want. I get that the rule is written to hose defenses. But I am well within my rights to complain, bitch, moan and groan all I want about something that I believe is ruining Americas game. Stupid rule, stupid call.
Because: Virginia Tech.
That's going to be called targeting. Calling it now. Not that they're wrong. But a fumble can't be negated, right?
The key word is "defenseless". I don't see how that RB was in any way in a defenseless position when both players lowered their heads.
It's not. See above. There are two parts to the rule.
It's ridiculous tho because we were tackling down low as one should, but the running back was the one that went down low.
No argument. But: Somebody got hurt! Waaaahh!
And started out 6" below the safety (RB is 5'9" and Edmunds is 6'3")
They gonna call targetting.
Book it.
Not targeting.... Both players went LOW and went to the exact same spot to make the play. This cannot be targeting.
The rb lowered his head into it
Targeting? What the FUCK!!! That was not the crown.
They are going to call this one aren't they.
The way the day has gone, Terrell might be gone.
But they missed the one against our TE earlier. Classic.
How can a ducking running back with the ball be defenseless?
I can't stand this.
duke ball, 15 yard penalty. that hurts a lot
This is going to cost us the game.
I really hate long reviews and announcers who have to keep on talking.
If I'm on defense, I'm shooting for everyone's knees from here on out.
to me, it looked like they both went low...us first, then the Duke player.
The Rb last second change of motion is what created that
What has football come to?
Terrible call.
What the fuck
Fuck you Ron Cherry.
Game over
Such bullshit. Targetting shouldn't be allowed to be called on running plays.
It's not... The RB was not a "defenseless player". That was absolutely the wrong call.
lol
fuck, we lost it on that play
Double standard much. The hit on Stroman should have been targeting as well then.
I didn't think any penalty reverses a loss of possession. I don't understand this. Where is this in the rules?
Fuente is officially pissed.
I believe he said "what the fuck am I supposed to tell my kid? He's playing his ass off"
Pathetic
Take the Duke QB out!
This is why I say this is the worst penalty in college football.
It is meant to "do something" without taking into account that the default is to penalize pure chance.
Offense better be ready to score.
I understand the rule of targeting, but when the defensive player is already starting to go into a tackling position (a football play) AND THENNNN the offensive player lowers down for said tackle (not intentionally) placing his head in the correct/wrong area....what in the hell are you supposed to do?
It's okay, jump and hit our TE in the ear hole. No call. Have a RB duck into a hit and eject us. Fuck the acc
Amen brother. That was definitely targeting on 85 and wasn't called. AND he was defenseless. This rule and ACC refs are total shit.
Awful, awful, awful call. If the RB doesn't stop to change his direction then that hit is in the shoulder/chest area. Just horrendous rule and call. Defensive players have no chance.
Shoot for the knees
He couldn't go much lower, the RB was already so much shorter.
Great first down.
Forget the clock, score!
Fuck. Ron. Cherry
I'm definitely adding it to my list.
Come on offense. Get the damn first downs. Just escape with the win,
Fuck Duke
VT needs to think about scoring/first downs. You can't burn that much clock.
How the hell was it not targeting on Cunningham in the first half? But then they call it on us? I hate ACC refs.
There's a reason ACC refs have been getting so much shit from all the coaches recently. Granted, that one wasn't on the refs - that was the review guy.
Yea, by refs I mean the entire ACC officiating crew.
Can you challenge a suspension after a game? Losing Edmunds before GT would be huge.
Ford!!!!!
Ford! Nicely played.
FORD!
Announcers just endorsed us. "The key play(s)."
Burned up their timeouts.
Need a first down.
This is THE KEY PLAY.
EDIT: YES!
1st down. My heart is done for the evening. Time to start knitting.
Or crochet.
Or tequila shots.
Hallelujah We got the first down and the win..
First Down Hokies!
Huge push from the line! Thank God for them.
This one won't get us any style points for the top 4. /s
My wife made me play with the puppy for the third quarter to get my blood pressure down.
Now, Bud has 6 days to fix the damn defense before GT kills us.
Seems like that would be risky for the puppy.
Lab/pit bull mix. She loves it.
I hate what this game does to my liver.
Fuck Cutcliff (or however the fuck you spell it). I fucking hate that guy.
Might be the only here to have those feelings, Grubes.
I'm ok with it.
I'll give you a leg back for straight up OWNING THAT SHIT! Maybe not Dcutty but FUCK DOOK!
Escaped another one.
I'll take it.
A win is a win. 5-0 on the revenge tour. And give Edmunds credit for handling himself well after a bullshit targeting call.
Bud and Cornelsen need to get their shit together and get those sides playing the way they're supposed to instead of whatever shit that was today.
We won. It was ugly. Moving on.
However, can an ejection be overruled after the fact? I'd like to think the first half suspension next week can be taken into consideration for such a shitty call.
I definitely feel as though I've heard of that being done before actually
I'll take it
We need to be better at putting points on the board. Happy with the win though. Proud of the offense stepping up at the end to drain the clock.
Very worried about our offense right now.
There's still a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball.
But I can't complain about this season.
That was NOT targeting. That was NOT targeting. THAT WAS NOT TARGETING! So you're telling me all a running back has to do is lower his head before contact every play and fake getting knocked out (not saying he faked it) to get an automatic 15 yards every play? Football is a dangerous game, they wanna keep going this route and they will see ratings continue to drop. NFL (No Fun League) will not last another 10 years at this rate. People shouldn't get tossed out of the game for making a play. Getting tired of it.
I didn't like it either but by the letter of the rule that was targeting.
This should be an easy fix. If defender makes a move that is initially a legal tackle, and the ball carrier leads with the helmet into the contact, just make it targeting by the offensive player. At the very least make it offsetting penalties and no ejection.
Disclaimer: this comment made just from what I've read about the play in question, I didn't actually see it live.
I don't mind the call as much as I don't like inconsistent enforcement of it. By the criteria that was used the hit on Cunningham and the hit on Stroman should have both resulted in ejection for Duke players.
Agreed. But remember that the rb wasn't considered a "defenseless" player. It was targeting because the rule now forbids ANY forcible contact with the crown of the helmet/head.
It wasn't clear to me if Terrell hit with the crown or not. But if he had kept his head up it wouldn't have been targeting (despite helmet to helmet contact).
It was a huge call. I didn't like it. But it wasn't as awful as some are making it out to be.
The hit on Stroman was in no way targetting. He was hit in the mid section, not the head or shoulders area which is what is required when hitting a "defenseless player."
The hit on Cunningham was not targeting either because the defender did not apply a "forceable hit." The defender was standing still when he hit Cunningham. If he had run through him, an argument could have been made, but he stopped.
I realize there are a lot of O&M glasses on this board, but while the targeting call sucks on Edmunds, he could have avoided it by keeping his head up. If he had kept his head up, he would have hit the running back with his facemask, which is a legal (and safe for both players) hit. It was poor technique that will get you a targeting penalty in some situations.
Except the letter of the rule says the "crown" of the helmet, not the side. The running back's crown hit the side of Edmunds. Completely wrong call made because the smaller guy initiated contact and got hurt.
Nnnnnope.
Exactly the right call, since the "crown" of the helmet has been expanded to include everything above the brow of the facemask. Helmet-to-helmet anyway. This is undisputed.
Not a perfect rule. But perfectly enforced in this case, to our detriment.
It's a win, but there's a lot to clean up if we're gonna finish this out and win the Coastal. Can't keep coasting along doing just enough to get by. That's going to get you at some point. Hell, it would have got us today if Duke's play calling was better (seriously, they fucked up passing the ball in key spots when they ran so well).
And the ACC has the worst refs in the country
I don't think we were coasting along. Duke had tough game written all over it. The boys in blue held the Fighting Bobby Petrinos to their lowest passing yardage, lowest overall offensive yardage, and lowest scoring performance of the season, and needless to say the angry birds have been blowing up scoreboards on the Lamar Jackson for Heisman tour.
It's not NCAA Football on Xbox, guys. We can't crush everyone and we're not playoff contenders without serious help, so style points mean nothing. I'm way happier to be grinding out tough victories against teams that beat us last year, than to be thinking about what kind of toilet bowl 7-5 qualifies us for and hearing about how we were just a "couple plays away". In year one, a couple plays ahead is just fine.
You are the eternal optimist. Past 3 years, when we hit November, we were checking our schedule to see where the W's would come to get us to 6-6 and bowl eligibility. Last year, I had serious concerns that there weren't enough to get us there, before the team shocked me with the W at GT.
Thinking of the 7-6 finish scrambled my numbers, I meant right around the cusp of eligibility.
I look at it like when I want VT to go undefeated for decades, I play video games. For watching the team, I try to stay positive as long as the overall trend is up. I've been watching sports for over 20 years, I haven't successfully swayed a game with anger once but believe me I've tried.
Until a bunch of you guys start graduating, making multi-billion dollar companies, and dumping the kind of alumni football financial support needed to become god-tier status... I'll temper my expectations to getting back to being competitive for the conference championship every year and occasionally having a shot at playoff contention now that there's a slightly larger window of opportunity for the biggest prize.
Do I want VT to steamroll everyone? Absolutely, but there is a large disparity in recruiting between us and the true contenders. Clemson has figured this out, it's why they stopped fumbling around the field and started competing at a much higher level. We've got the offensive coach who gets the job done with the people on hand, I just hope he keeps pushing the staff to improve on the recruiting trail because that is the only way we will break through the glass ceiling the previous boss man hit.
VT should subsidize my blood pressure medicine. Just saying.
By "blood pressure medicine", do you mean "whiskey"?
Yeah, um... I wish whiskey LOWERED blood pressure. I wouldn't have to worry about a thing.
I would settle for a whiskey subsidy, though. In fact, just subsidize the whiskey and I'll just have to deal with the BP. Yeah, that'll do.
running QB! I don't know what happened here with my comment!
It was a run/pass option so he didn't really have a way to know for sure - was put into a tough situation and he made a mistake. Still, he seems to choose the wrong one pretty often.
After that whole game I feel like the only people that came to play were Stroman, Edmunds, and Sam (as he always does). Really need to get that sorted out - this game was so reminiscent of Syracuse that it made me feel sick.
Seriously, what the heck was that offense? Did Loeffler make it into the booth?
Ford caught that damn ball.
That shouldn't have been targeting.
Teller is the best defensive player our opponents have.
I think I'll go take a Viagra to take the edge off.
You should leg this guy.
Our red zone sucks! I just started drinking! I will take whatever they win. No big hopes. Someone up just mentioned style points for our push to the top 4. Really? Clemson would shred.
Just a few thoughts from my post that went away.
Clemson could shred if we play bad, but they have had plenty of uneven offensive games as well.
I was as troubled as anyone on here about the lapses on D, but given a minute to think about it? If you told me before the game that Duke would score 21 points, I'd have been fine with that. I'm not saying that the defense played well. They didn't. But net-net, they played well enough.
Brass tacks: we are inconsistent at best in terms of blocking - across the board. Jet sweeps? Great. WR screens? Fine. But the WR blocks can't happen in OUR backfield. Jet sweeps don't work when the runner is still east-west at the numbers. Does every defensive line we face play their best game against us? Jerod was under duress all day long. How many throwaways? I get that he's an effective runner, but he can't be our main ground gainer and expect him to stay healthy. I know we ran for 200 yards today, but I don't like how much of it is on the shoulders (and legs) of Evans. And we'll keep letting him run it, because we can't seem to block a base running package consistently. With the size and experience of this OLine (& this offense in general, ftm), our short-yardage & between-the-tackles running game should be a strength. It's a pretty glaring weakness.
Both QB's were the leading rushers today. Sad.
Let's all just take a chill pill. A 24-21 score is still a win. Duke, for as bad as their record is, is a pretty decent team. They held Louisville to 24 points. They haven't been blown out yet this year.
We need to work on wrapping up on defense. Way too many shoulder hits where the back or receiver just didn't go down. I hope they run some tackling drills in practice this week.
We were able to run the ball fairly consistently today, especially when we need to at the end of the game. Evans needs to work on his reads on the zone read a little, but I think Duke did a good job of scheming against the zone read and the jet sweep. He did seem off on his throws.
We are also protecting the football. Zero turnovers for the third game in a row (2nd longest streak in the nation.) I know a lot of us were frustrated with some of the zone reads and QB draws on third down, but we were protecting the football.
I also liked the fact that on 3rd and 4 on the last drive of the game, we played to win with the pass to Ford.
We are 7-2 with a good chance to win out in a year where many of us were hoping we'd win 8 games. Let's enjoy the fact that we have the same number of wins as last year with at least 4 more games to go.
Watching the press conference, Why didn't Nigel play?!?!?
fellow TKP'ers... all the angst and worry and complaining was absolutely justified in-game but now let's relax and rejoice. As mentioned above, we are 5-0 in our revenge games from last season and sitting in the driver's seat at the top of the Coastal. NOBODY here will admit they thought we'd be 7-2 at this point in Fuente's 1st year. Consider how we've been able to finish these last couple games with crucial first downs to extend drives and run out the clock for the W with our offense on the field while the opponents watch helplessly from the sidelines!!?? This team has grit and we get to celebrate another week going 1-0! Throw in ANOTHER UVA loss and a Narduzzi beat down and this really was another great day of college football!!!! I too was frazzled but now joyfully elated... bring on GT!
This gif is weirding me out. When he ducks his head for a split second, I swear he has no glasses on. Then the glasses magically appear. Am I seeing things??
I see the same, now you mention it. And I can't stop laughing.
Bad editing in the movie.