Now, Where Do We Go From Here?

The Hokies' regular season is two-thirds over. In the first eight games there were some bumps along the way. Oh, and the Clemson game too. That was a head-on collision into a Jersey barrier that no one saw us speeding into. Or maybe we didn't care to notice? The airbags deployed, and we moved on from the wreck, but it hurt like hell. Don't drink the Kool-Aid and drive. Now, where do we go from here?

Forward. OK, that was an obvious answer, but all of realistic goals --beating Virginia, earning a spot in the ACC Championship Game, playing in the Orange Bowl-- set by the team at the start of the season (and even the unrealistic one, but I'm not mentioning that) are in front of us, just starting to come into view over the horizon. A better question, what's it going to take to get there?

A Healthy Defense

We lose defensive tackles Antoine Hopkins and Kwamaine Battle for the year, Corey Marshall and Luther Maddy step up. The Hyphen's turnaround season got cut short, Alonzo Tweedy shows he can play, then tweaks his ankle. Detrick Bonner made All-American Jayron Hosley's absence a little more tolerable. Tyrel Wilson earned the Frankinator's praise trying to fill James Gayle's large shadow against Boston College. Tackling machine Bruce Taylor went down, Barquell Rivers didn't skip a beat. Kyle Fuller and Cris Hill have been human Band-Aids, treating any and all trauma suffered by the secondary.

I'm unbelievably proud of this next man up defense. However, if the injuries continue to pile up we're going to run out of ready-to-play men, and that's no slight against the backups. Some of the kids popping up on the two-deep weren't meant to play this year, it's not how Beamer Co. operates. Even if we avoid more personnel losses, there are still plenty of question marks.

Can Barquell move from sideline to sideline like he did in 2009? Will Gayle and/or Jayron be 100, 90, or even 80 percent for the final stretch? Can the young, undersized linemen hold their own against Georgia Tech and North Carolina? Is Kyle Fuller going to have to play Whip? We'll get the answers to these questions Saturday against a very good Duke offense.

Logan Thomas Doesn't Turn Into a Pumpkin

Through the first five games it looked like Logan's learning curve would be steep. A quarterback that'd just manage things while getting his feet wet, making mistakes along the way, and comfortably leaning back on the defense. In the last three outings, he's played like an upperclassman with a couple of years starting under his belt. He's seeing the field, making tough throws, converting first downs with his arm and legs and not turning the ball over. The offense will be difficult to stop if he keeps it up, it'll flutter if he regresses.

Punts that Hang in the Air, and Travel a Long Distance

Looking past Duke for a second, Georgia Tech and North Carolina are going to be grinds. The Bee's offense takes the air out the ball. The Heel's defense is NFL-sized and suffocating. In either case, our opportunities with the football will probably be limited, and we'll be caught up in a game of field position. The kicking game could make or break us.

A successful drive doesn't need to end up with a score, setting up the next possession will be just as important. You can move the ball forwards by moving the opposing offense backwards. Branthover can boot the ball, but he's prone to shanking it too. He'll need to be more consistent if we want to win those games.

Mike Octane

This season the Frankinator has become more comfortable outside of his "pro-style/multiple" bubble. The offense is starting to develop a successful "spread" identity. For the most part the game plans, and play calling have been better this season than in recent years. Credit to Stinespring and O'Cain. I have no reason based on facts from 2011 to believe the offense will regress, just a long history of futility polluting my mind.

Virginia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina are ranked 19th, 33rd and 52nd nationally in total defense. Consider me cautiously optimistic that we'll stick to the plan --keep Logan Thomas involved in the running game, get David Wilson his touches, spread the field and utilize our talented receivers-- and have success moving the ball against the better defenses we're about to face. If Beamer pulls his head into his shell when things gets tight and gets all conservative it won't be good for business.

Yes, moving forward there are issues to address. However, they're manageable. I have to think the law of averages (and the training staff) will keep the team healthy, and Beamer Co. can do the rest. I truly believe we are capable of winning out and successfully defending our ACC Championship. Whether we live up to our potential remains to be seen, but the rest of the ride is going to be a lot of fun.