I started writing this column a few years ago because I wanted to give a voice to the fan base. I once explained it as wanting to be raw but rational, serving as an emotional barometer of sorts. As you can expect, some games are harder to reflect on than others. Saturday night's loss to Georgia Tech is certainly one of them.
When the Hokies lost to Tennessee and Syracuse, I remember searching the deepest recesses of my conscience to find constructive things to say. These are kids, after all.
When I think back to my time in college, I remember thinking I was mature. In actuality, I said and did a lot of dumb stuff that luckily had little-or-no repercussions. If I'm being honest, I don't feel like I truly matured into an accountable adult human being until I was 30.
So when I got pissed off at the frustrating product we were subjected to Saturday afternoon, I found myself holding back the overwhelming urge to lash out. These are kids, after all.
I give each of them an enormous amount of credit. The adversity that they are forced to deal with on a daily basis far exceeds anything I encountered during my time in Blacksburg. Balancing athletics and school; media obligations; local, regional and national expectations; being counted on by so many individuals whose lives are directly tied to every single one of their actions; and blocking out the noise — so much noise.
So that's why I will never question their effort or their heart. Within each of those turnovers was a moment where a Hokie was trying to make a play. Jerod Evans' ill-advised throw into the back of the end zone. Bucky Hodges' fourth quarter fumble. There's no excuse for their carelessness — each and every possession against Georgia Tech is precious — but it's human nature to let your guard down when you're up against a wall.
"I think we overemphasized on offense that we were gonna get (fewer) possessions, that it became overwhelming and therefore when we didn't execute on third down, we would press a little bit more than we normally would," noted Jerod Evans. "I'm not just talking about players, I'm talking the whole team, staff, everything."
Mistakes happen, and to expect each one of these players and coaches to be infallible every game is shortsighted. The question is how quickly can a team bounce back?
The lack of leadership and focus was particularly frustrating to watch Saturday afternoon. When someone turned the ball over or missed a tackle, the players didn't come together to collectively pull one another through the rough patch. Instead, there were heads down and hands on hips. Players isolated themselves, and that approach manifested itself on the field.
Some people lead by example — Woody Baron certainly did. But where were the team huddles and fired up pep talks from players during those pivotal first and second quarters?
After Jerod Evans' first interception, ESPN's sideline reporter Kevin Weidl commented on how the Hokies sideline felt like a funeral. And that was at the beginning of the second quarter.
The way that first half played out was reminiscent of the Varsity Blues game the night after Mox took his boys to the strip club. A Georgia Tech team playing backups at virtually every key position, primed to be trampled on en route to the ACC Championship Game, continuously punched the Hokies in the mouth in humiliating fashion.
The Hokies knew that a trip to Orlando was on the line Saturday night. Based on their performance, it's hard not to wonder whether Tech was completely focused on the immediate task at hand.
In order to have a chance at beating Georgia Tech's triple option, a team needs to be (at a minimum) disciplined, resilient and patient.
Disciplined to know their roles, execute their individual assignments and eliminate big plays. Resilient to the third and fourth down conversions that are sure to happen throughout the course of a game. Patient to capitalize on advantageous situations, including each and every offensive drive.
These traits were largely absent on Saturday afternoon. Instead, there was a team and a fan base grasping for answers, wondering what the heck just happened.
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of discussion regarding what separates good teams from great teams. Even after wins, Hokie Nation has tried to place this team and all of its warts into context in an attempt to differentiate between what's real and what's fantasy.
Great teams are able to move past mistakes, not dwell and compound them. They pick each other up when a teammate or unit is down. In order to be great, teams don't have to possess superior talent (though it certainly doesn't hurt). But, for starters, they need to learn how to cut out the noise and play in the moment.
Psyche plays a critical role. Some people can overcome adversity on their own; others rely on help. It's only fair to wonder how cognizant this team and its leaders are of that reality.
Fans have been treated to some electric football this season. The problem is that a few truly confounding performances have popped up against teams this program is now expected to beat. The Georgia Tech game is one such example.
There is no doubt that the Virginia Tech program is in a better place today than one year ago. With that being said, Saturday's loss to the Bees was arguably the clearest example of how far this program needs to go to reach greatness.
Comments
That kind of sums it up and puts it in perspective.
Think on this. We have 3 games left of Sam Rogers (and other seniors). And probably 3 games left of Ford and Hodges. We need to enjoy.
I love my team.
4 games, right?
Definitely four
If Hodges wants to go pro, more power to him, but personally I don't think he's close to ready.
I hope the coaches can convince Hodges and Ford both that they could help lead us to the promised land next year if they both come back!
But I agree, not knocking Bucky, but I definitely think he would benefit from one more.
Worst game I had to watch this year.
Tennessee game was a close second.
Worst, because as you pointed out, that they imploded so early on in the game.
Secondly, because of play calling.
Then, because of Jerod's play. He was not keeping with the script; taking what they were giving us. He forced plays and didn't progress beyond his first receiver often.
A point of clarification, Evans doesn't often have a 2nd or 3rd read. The play is called for one person often to be open and that one person to get the ball. Evans isn't being asked to go through progressions.
Which in itself is worth further discussion.
Do you think the OL give him time to make multiple reads?
It's not a single game discussion, it's a discussion about the system. Why is it a one-read system? It's not because that's all college kids have time to digest, there are clearly more complex systems. It's not because it's all we can expect of our OL when there are other OL's that protect better. Does that best prepare our QB's for the next level? Presumably not.
I'm a big Fuente/Cornelsen fan and supporter, but at some point, I would appreciate learning more about the system as designed and it's pros/cons now that we've seen it executed for a year.
I think people are a little fixated on the "one read" aspect of it. This is a part of most spread offenses, pretty much any spread offense that isn't primarily air raid. What do you think are the biggest knocks on Deshaun Watson's draft stock? He rarely, if ever, makes more than one, occasionally two, true reads. He might find another guy while scrambling but they don't run a true NFL passing offense either.
What I totally agree with you on: Jerod is inconsistent/struggling when they take away his first look. The OL is very, very disappointing.
Yep, maybe it's an offseason discussion, but I would like to learn more about this offense and it's pros/cons.
And I'm a layman, but I don't think we have only one read. It seems to me Evans often works through multiple progressions. And if you've got the QB/OL to run RPO's, then seemingly you can run multiple read passing structures.
I'm glad you brought up RPOs. It seems like Fuente uses RPOs as a variant of a check down for the QB. Once we get the RPO fully installed (and teach the OL how to block properly for it) I don't think we'll be talking nearly as much about the one read in the passing game.
Well yes, the play is primarily one read between two receivers, usually on the same side of the field. This doesn't mean he won't look to the other side or look for a check down. RPO's usually just have one or two options, often a tight end/slot/h-back over the middle or screen to an outside receiver.
However 2 of Fuente's last 3 starting QBs are in the NFL - Andy Dalton and Paxton Lynch.
He absolutely knows how to find NFL caliber QBs
I don't necessarily agree with your viewpoint . I agreed it's a one read but there are times where there are two players in the one read he may have an option to so actually two options in 1 read/1 area where you read a defender who at times needs to choose an assignment of either player to read
I'd prefer to just stay asleep.
This was a frustrating loss, but I was surprised at my lack of anger at the result. Idk if it's just because I have been conditioned to expect the outcome in conditions like this, where there is a lot on the line. I walked away saying "Welp..." with a shrug of the shoulders. Anyone else experience this, or am I getting old?
You're not alone.
I found myself thinking the defense looked pretty good, most of the time. 2 out of 3 plays, the D was solid. That third play tended to keep GT drives alive.
Offensively, it was certainly nothing stellar. Yes, the turnovers were bad, but aside from that it was just "eh". I won't say they were good, but they certainly weren't bad. So, plays wise, it probably turns into that same 2 out of 3, with that third play often resulting in a stalled drive.
So, Meatloaf says 2 out of 3 ain't bad. I say it doesn't beat Georgia Tech.
On to the next one.
I had a hard time getting down on the defense too often. As we've seen many times over the past decade or so, they were given the task of defending after bad turnovers, on a short field at times because our punt unit likes to net 30-ish yards regardless of where we snap it from, and against an offense that's goal is to wear you down with ToP and grinding yards on the ground.
We've seen Bud's guys do much better against that team obviously, but if I'm playing the blame game for that one, the defense is lower on my list.
the way I see it, GT scored 23 points that they earned (and of course this number is fairly contrived). They had no business getting the ball back before halftime. Had the offense done it's job and moved the chains, they don't get that TD. If the offense had really done its job and gotten a TD before the half, we're looking at a score of 27-23 (you know, because nothing else would have changed /s).
Every loss we've had this year has been squarely on the shoulders of the offense. The defense has done enough to keep us in all three games, but the offense has coughed up the ball or failed to convert opportunities that were necessary to keep up/maintain a lead.
It's not hard to see how this game coulda/shoulda been 13-13 at half and we take control after the Gt fumble after half.
Loss falls square on the shoulders of the Offense? Defense did enough to keep us in the game? You sound like a Hokie fan.
We've exceeded the expectations we'd hadn't dared hope for at the beginning of the season. The let down would've been too hard. Yet who would've thought we had a legitimate shot at the ACCCG at this point of the season? Heck, who would've thought we'd be let down because we were the FAVORITES to win the coastal at any point this season and we laid an egg...and STILL have a shot at it?
Hang in there Hokie Nation. Maturity doesn't happen overnight, and that's what's required to win the ones we're supposed to win (much more so than being the underdogs).
I really think we're headed in the right direction
You get burned by GT when you fail at gap assignment, and we had a few players in particular who had a downright terrible game in taking care of their gaps. Considering the main problems came from the positions where numerous TKP experts tried to consistently remind us were weaknesses prior to the season, we really should have seen this coming.
At the end of the day the main takeaway from this game is that the VT defense is great from a scheme perspective, but the talent in a few key spots are not anywhere near good enough for consistent success.
Side takeaway: TKP experts are very smart.
The main takeaway from this game is that even against a good defense, GT will limit your number of possessions. Score TDs on those possessions and you blow them out. Score at all on them and you win. Punt and it's a close game. Have 4 turnovers and essentially a 5th by trying to snap the ball into your own end zone? Lose by 10 to a bad, bad team.
Offensive efficiency is key against GT moreso than any other opponent and it was nonexistent Saturday. I don't fault Bud at all. I think the D did a damned good job of limited the damage from the ST and offensive screw ups. Could they have been utterly lights out? Sure, but the only thing the offense could have done to screw us over more was throw in a few pick sixes (yes, that's hyperbole. They could have laid a complete egg, but the point still stands)
I agree with this 100%.
I agree that the offense shoulders the majority of the blame for this loss, but there was plenty of bad defensively too. We did not play sound assignment football. Blown assignments led to huge plays, and we pretty much could not stop the dive all game. I hate to harp on it, but the MLB should've had 30 tackles in this game. We also had three opportunities for a game-changing INT and failed to make a play. Yes, the offense being completely ineffective against a pretty poor defense is the main takeaway, but defensively our inability to slow their ground game even a little and force them into what they don't want to do (throw the ball; 2-7 for 34 yards) really, really hurt.
I was speaking purely in terms of the defense, and the takeaways on defense.
Offensively, the issues we've been seeing the last few weeks have me a bit concerned. You cannot waste possessions when you play GT, so when we did our usual of quick 3 and outs to open a game like we have consistently done all season long, we put ourselves behind the 8-ball from the start. Eventually, you have to clean that up and you have to make every play and every possession count. As I said in another thread over the weekend, the majority of runs now are completely wasted plays because of our inability to run block at the edge. Cannot mince words here, all of our wideouts need help at run blocking, because they're getting toasted by the defense. And it doesn't help that the plays that have been working for us lately, mainly the passing game, are seeing gaps in execution that are killing us. Bucky and McMillan in the same spot in the end zone on the first INT doubling coverage making it an easy pick. Evans thinking Carroll was running a slant when the play called for a hitch leading to the second INT. Short throws that were easy early on getting erratic and off target now. Just a giant ball of misexecuted mess that's now costing us wins. These were the kind of mistakes I was expecting early this year, not late. I'm really at a loss for words in the regression of the offense, especially in terms of the simple execution of the offense that was going well early on.
if I'm playing the blame game for that one, the defense is lower on my list.
I see no value in playing said game. It is a team sport. Players in all phases of the game contribute both positively and negatively to the final point differential.
We can be sure that someone making a really good or really bad play will be treated the same regardless of which unit they are associated with, regardless of how many points we scored or gave up in this game or in 2007
[edit: apologize if this sounds harsh. not directed at you personally but your point is one often made by many. my point is that a mistake or great play in any phase of the game that impacts the point differential in the outcome counts the same, no matter how many overall points we either score or give up]
I was disappointed but not angry. I was at the game and it was just blah. Personally, I'm not expecting this team to go out and execute perfectly and dominate every single game. It's just not going to happen. Teams lose that should win, it's why they play the game. We're in our first year with a new coaching staff who inherited new players and they are going to take their lumps. The offense will be disjointed at times. Mistakes will be made. The D isn't going to be perfect for every game, opposing teams will score. If this game had been in year 3 or 4, I'd be more concerned but we have growing pains. Sit back and enjoy the games and realize that we are improving and on the right track to getting back to consistent 10 win seasons and hope we can put together a title run a few times over the Fuente era.
In keeping with the sit back theme, I think perspective is really important here too. I came to the game from Salem and passed the really bad wreck on 81. Get to Blacksburg and realize we forgot our tickets, so back to Salem we go, and back again past the wreck for the second time on our way back in. Come to find out a person died in the accident. I just couldn't bring myself to get worked up over a game after seeing that wreck twice and hearing what happened. This is just a game and sometimes we just need to enjoy the good and not sweat the bad.
When I think back to my time in college, I remember thinking I was mature. In actuality, I said and did a lot of dumb stuff that luckily had little-or-no repercussions. If I'm being honest, I don't feel like I truly matured into an accountable adult human being until I was 30.
Good on ya, I am almost 38 and don't plan on growing up for quite some time, much to my wife's chagrin and my childrens delight...
On the loss, I wish I could say it hurts but after the lat 4 years I am pretty much numb to hokie football pain unfortunately...
As you stated it's so frustrating to lose to a team that we should beat.
But hey turnovers will get after ya. I hate the announcers jinx and I don't know how many times in the pre-game they talked about Jerod not throwing an interception and taking care of the ball.
I felt from the opening play that it wasn't our day. We fumbled, they get three and then proceed to go three and out. Didn't feel good from the start even though we were down less than a TD.
As Jerod stated they tried to press too much. His pass deep into the end zone when short passes were working for good yardage to get us into that position. The throw into the end zone to Bucky however IMO if Bucky high points that ball it's six. I don't know what has happened to him this year but he catches everything with his body and then proceeds to fall down. I know he has the intangibles to play in the NFL and that is why he will leave. Not necessarily due to his on the field performance this year. Again with Motley and Brewer throwing into the end zone he always reached up for it. Now he waits for it.
It's a frustrating season because we see flashes of brilliance and instead of improving throughout the season we have seemed to regress. I'll never question work ethic of the players because I know they are trying. I know they get just as frustrated in the game and that causes them to force things and make more mistakes.
As we all know we didn't think we'd be in the position we are in right now at the beginning of the season (thanks coach cut for a bit of help). We have two poor teams coming up. Although if you know Hokie history, both recent and past, you know that there are no guarantees. ND is horrible but we have a tendency to let horrible teams hang around with us. UVA is LOLUVA, however again they would love nothing more than to keep us from the ACCCG.
I'll never stop watching, still get upset when they make mistakes and lose, jump up and down when they score and make comebacks and win.
Win or lose we'lose greet you with a glad returning. If your on campus and see the players make sure to let them know that they are still supported and still our team.
Until next weekend. GO Hokies!!!
BC would like a word...
...and I'm not sure ND is horrible. They get everyone's best effort. Navy, NCSU, Duke, MSU, Texas, Stanford. Those are all teams who have shown to have talent or play at a high level at times.
True they do because of their name, despite having a good or bad year. They are historic program so to be able to beat them let alone play them is pretty cool especially if it's in south bend.
I guess I say horrible because of what everyone thought they were going to be this year and have completely fallen off.
that talent is still there though.
for whatever reason, probably because Kelly is a caustic ass, they just haven't performed consistently to their capabilities. The Miami game was a perfect example, played great to start then fell apart. I have no idea what we will get on Saturday from either team.
Ill prepared on all sides of the ball. Hindsight is 20/20. Should have realized that GT was going to simplify their offensive approach. GT ran the ball 58 times. QB and Full Back ran it 41 times. 70% of the runs were with 2 guys. Seems like Bud could have forced the pitch. Should have known Johnson wasn't going to risk the option with a rookie QB. We have historically played the pitch well. Something is wrong with Evans. His ankle isn't right and he seems to have issues with the play calling.
My thoughts exactly on the simplification of GTs offense. Sometimes it is easier in prep for an offense if they know that they are going to have number 2 QB in the game which means they can better focus on the plays they will run. Seemed to me that their execution was much better than in years and games past.
I think the shortcomings with the play on the field are pretty evident to most of us so I'll point out something else: The lines at the gates were out of control. I don't know if it's the bag policy or something else, but I feel like it shouldn't take that long to get people inside. I'll adjust and leave 90 minutes early to get in next time, but I feel like that shouldn't really be necessary.
Part of it is so many people go in 3 gates. I go in gate 4 or 5 and only wait 5-10 minutes. Too many people go to gates 1,3, and 6.
I did a circle trying to find a shorter line and nothing was an obvious improvement from what I saw. I don't know, maybe my timing was just off. It was supremely frustrating to miss the entrance and opening kickoff (though probably didn't want to see that in hindsight).
I think a lot of the problems are coming from lack of depth at skill positions. Early on guys were fresh and now you can see the wear of the season taking its toll. For me they have exceeded my what I thought they would do. Because of this there will be letdowns and that's a fact we will have to face. This team is growing within Fuentes system and gets me excited for future.
Sounds like getting into Bristol!
Nice work!
On a positive note! We are not Rutgers fans!
Yeah I feel the angriest and most upset, cynical, etc during a loss/bad game and immediately after. I tend to wear my Hokie swag thread moreso after a loss than after a win. Do I still feel upset, worried and uncertain? Yeah. But do I still believe is team is more than capable taking care of business? Bet on it and take all the way to the damn bank.
Well said. I spent a lot of time after the game trying to manage and reconcile expectations with where we actually are as a program. To be fair to them, they have far exceeded anything I expected to see on the field this year, and there are flashes of what is to come but also baffling losses of concentration and focus. What I take away from this season? I love Fuente, I love what he says, what he does, the intensity he has brought back to our team and how he has made the Hokies fun to watch again and on the cusp of being relevant.
The reality is we are probably a year or two away - but isn't it great to have that hope again?
We got our ass kicked by an average triple option team with their backup QB and mostly freshman offensive line. A 100% mediocre team with a terrible defense. Period. No need to over-analyze it. This VT team is still very much mediocre on offense- especially when ANY adversity hits (i.e. they are not up 14 points). We went into a shell against Syracuse, Duke and GT on offense. Can't get a yard? Can't pass protect? - ah screw it run Evans up the middle. Mike O'Cain could figure that out and this is suppose to be an "offensive" head coach and coaching staff. These coaches have made two awful defenses look fantastic. We can't block a simple 5 man pressure and throw the ball on two 5'10 corners that have been getting torched? Cmon. And I think it is illegal in ACC play for a virginia tech offense to score 30 points on GT, even though everyone else does with regularity. Hmmm. I hope Vice's "plan" for even smaller offensive lineman works (color me slightly skeptical) because we MUST get better up front to avoid these embarrassing losses- zero points at half at home to the ACC's 11th ranked defense. We either can't block anyone (yes), have terrible offensive gameplans and coaches (doubt it) or senior leadership on the team is soft (possible). But when a 2 win UVA team puts up 28 points on GT's defense in the first half next week, we should all be very happy...
Harsh, but true
I burned my fingers replying to this take.
Breathe...we knew there would be bumps in the road in a new system...we've had 3.
We just missed a bunch of plays we'd been making in our Ws. Turnovers = 11 in 3 Ls; 2 in 6 FBS Ws, with 4 in the W vs overmatched Liberty
These are my thoughts exactly, I just couldn't put them into words like this. We knew this year that we would be around this record right now, just not in this fashion, but any given team can win on any given day.
This is a tricky time of year to win games. Pressure intensifies on the so called good teams and reduces for the lower tier bowl teams. Everybody is hurting and tired on both sides. I really think that the UNC loss subconsciously caused the whole team to take the foot off the gas and breathe. GT, everybody's trap team, punched us in the mouth and we struggled to recover. 0-1 this week 1-0 next week.
Guys, its ok. After every loss this year we have ripped off 3 wins in a row. I think this means we go to the orange bowl and lose to some team way better than us. But still...
The best "Slept on it" realization you can have this morning, is we go into full on meltdown mode and talk about how we "are a terrible team" and "we aren't ready" because we have losses to Syracuse and Georgia Tech, but people continue to praise Clemson who has a home loss to 5-4 Pitt and was a missed chip shot field goal away from a loss to NC State at home as well, NC State who lost to BC a few weeks ago. So keep in mind, a loss is a loss and a win is a win, that's not the point I'm making. But we would all agree Clemson has more talent than we do? and yet when NC State put together a back breaking 6 minute drive to run out the clock, no amount of Clemson top talent stopped NC State, they didn't block that fg, he just missed it.
All this to say, whenever we lose it's "We don't have enough talent" and "Our coaches didn't prepare these guys" or "Our guys completely lack focus" but these are things that happen to pretty much every team. Including Clemson, who people are still defending as a top 4 team after an unranked home loss.
So keep in mind, we praise how great of team Clemson is, yet they are pure luck away from having two equally bad losses as we do.
You make some great points. Clemson had won 21 straight regular season games until they lost to Pitt at home. Amazing. But in that loss, they scored 40 points, and I believe they even scored in the first half? I don't think they fumbled the opening kickoff at home either with a chance to win the division on the line? I didn't see the game, so please correct me if I am wrong? Point is Saturday, with the game still in reach, VT had a 3rd and 8- not 28- 3rd and 8- at home (no crowd noise, etc) very critical play, and our new "offensive" staff with our "player of the year candidate" QB and record setting WR CALLED a QB draw against a run blitz.. Really???? We are afraid to lineup, pass protect and throw it 8 yards against a terrible pass defense? Like I said, it was Mike O'cain revisited, and that has NOTHING to do with Clemson.
How many 3rd and longs has he converted this year?
Every other team except Presbyterian has no trouble picking up key third downs against GT, and neither will UVA or UGA. That one play was a microcosm of where we are on offense. It was a scared give up pop warner play against a bad defense. If Fuente really is "Fuente".. We line up- at home- big game , block their sorry ass DL (5 sacks coming into saturday-lol) and throw for the damn first down. That's what big boy offenses do- especially nowadays in college football. I saw a scared, timid play call reminiscent of Mike O'Cain... THAT needs to improve
Yes because Fuente is out there replacing Conte and his poor pass blocking.
No argument here- I said the line played soft.. But good luck with Vice's plan to go will smaller, skinnier guys... we'll see how that works out in the P5
Can anyone sauce this? It's news to me.
It's been mentioned quite a few times... Vice is a zone scheme guy... he says we need to get more "athletic" up front, which unless you are Alabama is code for skinny, smaller guys - think 285 instead of 305 . It can work if you have Steve Slaton at RB and 3 Isiah Fords out wide and just go hurry up all game.. Obviously we are not there yet.
So he hasn't actually said we need "smaller, skinnier guys".
Yes he has - I'll try to find the High Def video for you. Its no secret- look at their Memphis rosters
This is a little odd considering the OL we offer are definitely on the larger side
I love how much you hate Clemson
Born and raised in the upstate will do that to you if you aren't a fan. It's universal among all non-Clemson fans around here.
As a G-Vegas native I concour. Although their fan base has gotten much worse the past few years as they have emerged as a national power. Also I have to says that I will always hate the Shamecocks more. From their fans to their coaches to their players I have always loathed them.
I hate the gamecocks as well, but I was/am primarily around Clemson fans, so have to deal with them more often.
You gotta admit, though, those Gamecocks have had some mighty funny bumper stickers over the years. "You Can't Beat our Cocks", and of course, the age old "Our Cocks are Up and Coming'' spring to mind.
Well, this loss clearly rests on my shoulders. I grew up in Christiansburg and attended games in the 80s and 90s. My dad worked the ticket gate on Saturdays and he would just let me and my middle school aged friends "slip" through the gate. We could pretty much pick our seat of choice in those days. But, I digress. Point being, despite some painful football to watch, my blood runs O&M. I did attend VT as a freshman in 1993, but circumstances had me transfer to Belmont Univ in Nashville to finish undergrad.
For the past 23 years, I have lived in Nashville. And, now, with 3 kids ages 6 to 1, my attendance at VT games has been sparse to say the least. As my sister and I (halfway) joked on Saturday, my attendance at VT games is a clear and undeniable curse on the team. I present to you the results of the last 6 games I've attended (some infamous games in this list):
2016: GT at VT, Loss
2016: UT vs. VT (BMS), Loss
2014: Miami at VT (Thu night), Loss
2013: Duke at VT, Loss
2010: JMU at VT, Loss
2009: Alabama vs. VT, Loss (with my wife and in-laws, who are YUGE Bama fans.....ugh.)
During the 2nd Q of Saturday's game, when I explained this track record to the lovely Hokie fans around me in Section 5, they (we) all agreed. I shouldn't plan on attending any more games.
Hokie Nation -- seriously, I'm very sorry.
Setting all that aside, I want to go on record to say -- I have a saint for a wife. She agreed to let me fly to ROA on Saturday morning, attend the game with my sister, and then stay Sunday to visit family in Patrick County. The mountains and foliage of Southwest VA this time of year simply cannot be beat.
And, despite how I felt on Saturday at Lane, I went out Sunday to Alumni Hall and spent $200 on Hokie gear that I clearly do not have access to in Nashville. I'm currently awaiting my flight out of Roanoke on Monday morning, sporting my new Hokie gear. I will ALWAYS love my team in Orange & Maroon.
Go Hokies!! Beat ND. Beat LOLUVA. And, let's make a run at the ACC Championship!!
That's the spirit, man!
I must share in the blame with you.
On Saturday, I work tan colored jeans to the game, instead of regular colored jeans. The wardrobe malfunction/snafu was a reason why we lost as well.
If we are owning up to it, I wore the wrong hat.
I was completely sober for the first game this year. As a result I remember every. single. play.
Ahhhh. Welp, there you have it. Now we know "the rest of the story".
I brought a bottle of home made Krupnikas to the tailgate, and frankly it made us cocky.
Krupnikas is Lithuanian Honey Liquor, and I didn't get the whole bee angle.
Sorry folks.
PS: If ever in Baltimore, find the bar called "Mums" and order a #1. Shot of Christmas and a beer.
No no, it's all my fault. I let my cousin talk me into drinking Evan Williams Honey during the game (he was buying so I wasn't arguing).
Only later did the connection dawn on me. Honey. Bees. Georgia Tech mascot. I'm fairly certain this all would have been avoided if I'd just gone with my gut and bought some Wild Turkey...
Sorry guys.
This is perfect. It's exactly how I feel looking in the mirror. Lol.
I can't believe you made us lose, and you call yourself a fan?
Don't blame yourself. I unknowingly invited a friend who has yet attend a Tech game and see us win. I found this out sometime in the middle of the second quarter when we went down 13-0 I believe. It's my fault.
I was on the road and forgot my jersey...I was watching in a random restaurant off the highway and I was not wearing any Tech gear. My Bad.
I know your pain. I had a period of 5 straight home games I attended in 2013-14 that we lost. My friends told me to stop showing up. Finally broke it against UVA at home in 2014.
This game was the first one this season that felt like the previous few seasons.
Couldn't get anything going, knowing VT was the superior team yet GT continually
possessing and moving the ball.
Seemed like at several points we had the chance to turn the game around, then
would turn it over, etc.
Agree- zero points at half against a crappy defense told the entire story. Who cares about the GT offense everyone makes such a big deal about??? How about - FOR ONCE- VT gets something going on the crappy GT defense??? we never score on these guys- but everyone else does. And the careless fumble by Greene on the opening kickoff kinda foretasted this stinker too- GT guy just simply popped the ball out with his hand- no focus by Greene, no concentration, in a huge game. Senior's did get the guys ready to play mentally
Missed the 'cuse game?
I don't get the angst.
I'd understand it if we were good. We haven't been good for four years.
Is it because you want us to be good? Ok. So do I. We aren't. We haven't been for a while. We didn't think we would be at the start of the season. (Seven or eight wins was the prediction that got thrown around the most, IIRC.) We knew we weren't going to be good before we got started. So why is there so much gnashing of teeth when we do what we've done for four straight years and drop a game to a team with a worse record?
This season, we've looked like we've looked for the last four seasons, with the exception that there have been glimpses of what we can be once the offense is fully installed and functioning properly. In that regard, this has been a replica of Fuente's first season at Memphis. The change wasn't instantaneous there. It won't be here. And we knew that.
How can people still be completely derailed by our team losing when it's happened 23 times in the last four seasons?
...ummm because GT's defense sucks and we had a grand total of zero points at half? Could that be part of the frustration? Or the fact that their 2 best players on offense did not play and they gashed Bud big time? Not all losses are equal- this one was horrendous... on par with losing to Randy Edsall at Lane- but worse given the stakes. GT is not a good football team.. no matter how many times we say they are. We were ranked 14th in the country and got smoked. Its not "just like the last 4 years" - not even close.
When you remove emotion, all losses are the same.
They all add 1 "tick" in the loss column. No more, no less.
False when you start factoring in playoffs, division championships tiebreakers etc.
Which weren't even in the cards at the beginning of this season.
Then the statement should have been "all losses are equal when you know you will not factor in the playoff discussion or have a shot at BCS bowl game", correct?
GT is not a good football team. Neither are we. Our play has been sporadic and uneven. Fuente's scheme is better than his predecessor's, but he hasn't solved the deeper issues this program faces.
The 2016 Techmo Bowl was hands down the biggest game VT has had since the 2011 ACCCG, and the first game with championship implications any current player on our roster has played in. And the moment was too large for our guys. The offense especially played tighter than I've seen them play since Bristol.
That being said, there are no sure wins with this team. We've been barely treading water above .500 football for too long to think we can't find a way to lose against anyone we play. That's who we've become. For every win at the Horseshoe, there's a 0-0 after 4 vs Wake. So far this season we gutted out tough wins vs Pitt and Duke. We couldn't do it for a third consecutive game.
I agree with you. We are not a great football team by any means. Frustration comes more from us being able to "look" like a great team by staying ranked and beating the teams we should be beating. We've already beat several teams that some of us thought would be losses coming into the season, but that doesn't mean we should then turn around and lose to lesser teams.
Also agree with no sure wins for this team. We could win the next two and just as easily lose the next two.
My biggest frustration with this team, and it's a recurring theme, is there seems to be no leadership and no emotion. I got it under Frank at the end of his run, but with a new younger HC you would think he would have them on board and playing with fire.
I got derailed because I had tickets and got way to excited about clinching after UNC lost. But a few days later its better lol.
Were 10 games in and I still can't tell how good we actually are.
This is what is to be expected with a new coaching staff, new offensive system, new expectations.
Every player on this team is accustomed to losing 5-6 games every year. That's not something that you turn around overnight.
Yes, we looked bad Saturday, but ON THE WHOLE, this team is light years improved from the last four years.
Face it, as much as we all love Frank Beamer, the last four years were a dumpster fire on offense, and there were plenty of rumors of lack of accountability, lack of discipline, etc. That doesn't change overnight. Fuente and his staff are putting their culture in place but it won't happen tomorrow.
As for the big picture, if I told you before the season that we would be 7-3 heading in to the Notre Dame game and that we would control our destiny in the Coastal, you'd take it, right?
This new coach, new offense, new scheme was ranked 14th in the playoff standings in mid-november. Be fair. That argument holds if we were 3-7, not 7-2 and playing to win the coastal. Sorry
Be fair, you are letting what you want this team to be distort what the team actually is. Look at the resume this year and tell me why the expectations for this team are to play perfect football. This is a team capable of playing at high and low levels. That's not uncommon for rebuilding teams with holes in the roster.
Thanks for stating my original post better than I did.
This is a program that went 7-6, 8-5, 7-6, 7-6 over the past four seasons. Couple that with mediocre recruiting since 2011 and this is what you get - flashes of brilliance (ECU, BC, parts of the Tenn and Pitt games) with flashes of incompetence (Tenn Q2-Q3, Syracuse, GT, Duke at times).
We are better than LY, and better by a significant margin. I have never once thought that the coaching staff was overwhelmed during a game, compared to some of our horrific offensive struggles recently (Wake 2014, clock management against Duke last year).
In my view this result rests squarely on the offense. Yeah the defense had it's issues. But you could see the panic begin in the second quarter when we went down 13-0. "Oh we have to perform. And we have to now!" This game was a mental breakdown first and foremost.
According to some of the interviews, the players felt well prepared and focused. However, they were told -- maybe warned, and warned a bit too much -- that there will be less plays and less chances to score due to the way Ga Tech plays their offense. So when they fell behind, the curse set in. They began to try too hard. And when they did make a mistake, the mistake got magnified because "there will not be another chance."
It appears to me the players were spooked going into the game. Afraid that every play must count and afraid to make a mistake. Maybe there was too much pressure from the coaches along those lines.
Great point. We didn't play comfortable. They knew if they win that game they lock up the Coastal. Pressure right there. Now to your point of that it may have been over emphasized that we need to make things count because the number of plays will be limited. So as you stated a small mistake gets magnified due to the fact that they think they will only get small number of snaps. Them they start to force plays and maybe play hard and tough but not necessarily smart.
Perhaps it should have been emphasized, go out and play our game. Defense get the ball back so we can score again.
I was really angry leaving the game Saturday and still upset on Sunday. But now, after reading this and having a Monday morning coffee, I'm over it. Let's head up to South Bend on Saturday and beat the Domers. I'm really interested to see how the team responds after this disappointing defeat. We don't have distractions of outside shots at the playoff and top 15 rankings to derail us now, since I suppose we just can't have nice things, so we have nothing to look ahead to except the next game. I also really want to see if this offense can get out of the funk it has been in the past few weeks. We need to come out hot and seize control of the game early. We still control our division, just need to take care of business the next two weeks.
Will we be seeing these t-shirts in the press conferences this week?
I'm thinking election hangover.
Duke - UNC hangover...literally
There was no fear for making mistakes from the opening KO!
First time poster here.....been a Hokie since 89 and have been blessed to be a part of the entire Beamer era. Many valid points have been made here about Saturday's game and this season. We are 7-3 right now. This has been an exciting season. First time I have felt confident in the close games, having the feeling that we are going to win them (PITT & Duke). In all of the year's past, no so much.
Two points in this game that I thought were the daggers to the heart (there are others, but these two, IMO, sum it up):
- Turnovers: Don't know too many teams that are going to win a game when they turnover the ball 4 times. Doesn't matter who the opponent is, "99%" of the time, you lose.
- The second pass interference call that I thought was bogus was a tough one. Instead of a punt, the drive is kept alive and GT follows that up with a TD.
I was at the game and overall, had a great time. My son is a recruit and we were there on an official visit. I am here to tell everyone, that this coaching staff is a complete and utter class act. There are so many facets to this program that make it special. Even with the game result, it was an excellent experience. I could go on, but that would be for another topic.
Let's reflect on our down years for a moment. Each of those years, we have ended with a winning record and went to a bowl. Let's look at a couple of schools this year. Michigan State 3-7, Notre Dame 4-6, Oregon 3-7. All once powerhouses and they are having a bad year. Hind sight, I will take our down years any day. We have an excellent foundation. This team has improved and will continue to do so. Heck, we are talking about going to the ACCCG in Fuente's first season. Never in my wildest Hokie dreams... GO HOKIES!!!
Welcome to TKP. Without giving too much away could you describe the recruiting process both in large view terms and narrow focus on how VT does it?
I will do my best....We have made two visits and overall, the entire coaching staff is very personable. They make it very clear that they are here for you. They treat every recruit like this and there have been many on hand both times. They are extremely well organized. The entire day is well run and flows easily. The attention to detail regarding a players student experience and molding them from boys to young men is a major focal point. The academic resources and results are impressive to say the least. I don't know how a parent could not walk away from an official visit and have a significant comfort level regarding their son's well being if they were to choose VT.
The presentation also spoke of Blacksburg being the number one rated town to raise a family. Also highlighted that VT was recently rated the number 1 school in the U.S. regarding a student's quality of life. Their food, as we all know, is number one in the U.S. When you couple, the overall student experience, the academic, nutrition, S&C resources as a player, the graduation rate, the facilities, the coaching staff, etc, one will leave in a very good state and will understand that their son will be in great hands if they were to choose VT.
I am not even including the game day experience, which was incredible....walking through the tunnel and touching the Hokie stone, being on the field during warm ups, having great seats, attending the game wrap up talk (that was way cool even after Saturday's result) was fantastic. I was on cloud nine. Lastly, and even after that horrible loss, the coaches still looked you in the eye, shook your hand, were very appreciative of our attendance and wished us well. Like I said earlier....complete class act. Overall, a very sharp and well executed recruiting experience.
Oh yeah, and BTW, the facilities are sick!!!
So I guess the real question is, once your son commits to VT, because.... c'mon, you know he's declaring to VT.... how are you and Mr Mook going to divvy up the responsibilities of being the official insider of TKP
I will leave that to Mr Mook. I enjoy reading the TKP banter too much to get too involved with posts. But, if the day comes that my son is a Hokie (no bias here s/) I will be more than eager to share little nuggets as they present themselves.
How does it compare to other schools visits?
I won't make mention of the other school visits that he still has interest in and vice versa, but will say that they have been positive experiences. However, I will talk about our visit to LOLUVA briefly. My son and I were totally unimpressed with the entire experience. Having gained that level of access clearly showcases why LOLUVA begins with LOL. It was so bad, that we almost walked out and went home. I am not saying this because I am a Hokie and biased. Plain and simple, it was that poorly run. Highly unorganized. I will say that the only bright point was when Coach Mendenhall addressed the group. He was excellent. He made me a believer in him, but that man has a large cultural shift ahead of him if he wants LOLUVA to become relevant. And, their indoor practice facility doesn't hold a candle to ours.
Without naming names can you at least grade compare how Tech does the weekend in terms of planning, tours etc to other P5 schools? Is Tech showing you the family and your son the things you need to see? Responsive to questions or communications?
and just for reference, please use LOLUVa as the worst. For example:
School A
School B
VT
School C
School D
...
School M
LOLUVa
Without naming names, the general recruiting experience has been similar outside of LOLUVA. From the HS visit to the communication prior to official visit and the official visit, they have been comparable. VT has been the most consistent and all around together. When we made our first visit to the performance camp, there was a administrator waiting for us at the front walk of the Merryman Center. She proactively greeted us, gave us our parking pass, provided us a quick tour and guided us to the registration area. In a nutshell, great first impression and the best we have experienced. On both visits to VT, I have taken my entire family (4 kids) and the staff not only paid attention to my son but were kind and engaging with my wife and daughters. VT is the most personable. My son has had two main recruiters and they have been very responsive and engaging via twitter and in person. They make their way to you. Very impressed. I don't want to name names at the moment out of respect for the other programs and as to not take away from their efforts and good nature. Let me put it to you this way, if my son doesn't play at the college level and our VT recruiting experience is what we have left to embrace, well, I'm sold.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think most of that organization is because of Danielle Bartelstein, VT's Senior Director of Football Operations.
Another quality hire by this group.
Yep. She is extremely well qualified.
Yep, I've only ever heard great things about her work ethic and effectiveness.
Jokes about coaches introducing themselves to the recruit's mother aside; I'm very happy to hear this straight from the horse's mouth.
You mean the horse on a treadmill's mouth?
You thought she was mad when we didn't say hello. Wait til she hears you called her a horse!
Anyone else get a game experience survey?
Just remembered that during our 10-win season years there were a couple that we didn't get that 10th win until the bowl. Too lazy to look it up. But you know why I'm saying.
2008 and 2009. Weird because 2009 was actually one of our better teams during the 10 win streak.
There is no doubt that the Virginia Tech program is in a better place today than one year ago
Last years team had 7 wins (including the bowl) with arguably a tougher schedule and way more critical injuries to deal with. I think we' win a few more to surpass last years squad but time will tell. In January the 2015 and 2016 teams may look very similar in the record book.
I'm not so sure last years schedule was really harder.
Ohio start > Tennessee
Ecu 2015 > ecu this year
@notre dame seems tougher than at home against Purdue
Coastal seems like a wash with Pitt up, duke down, NC state is the same as Syracuse.
Plus we lost a starting qb and first round cb.
We also beat the big dogs in the Coastal, teams that all beat us last year in UNC, Miami, and Pitt. We blew out ECU like we should, blew out BC like we should, and are left with clunkers against Syracuse and GT. I think it's very fair to say that this season has been better than last season and we can reasonably assume it will continue to get better.
Have to wonder if ECU is regretting firing the coach now.
I'm waiting to see how this team does @ND and vsLOLUVA before I judge where it is. From what I've seen the last few weeks, there is no guarantee that we won't drop duds in both of the remaining games.
Even if we lose both of those games, we beat UNC, Pitt, and Miami who are the teams we will need to consistently beat in the Coastal. Plus we still have fewer losses if we lose to both of them, which I don't think is going to happen.
Losing to the ACC bottom feeder @ home is indicative of a step back...period
Cool, we lost to 6 teams last year and we've only lost to three this year with a chance to play for the ACC championship. How is that a step back? We were all but eliminated this time last year and needed to make a comeback against Virginia to go to a bowl game. We also lost to G5 East Carolina who went 5-7.