Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6, 4-4 ACC) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2, 6-2 AAC)
When: Monday, December 31, 2018 at 12:00 PM EDT
Where: Annapolis, Maryland | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000)
Watch/Listen: ESPN / Virginia Tech IMG
Spread: Cincinnati -5.5
Weather: 44°F, 90% chance of rain
Series: Virginia Tech holds a slim 6-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Hokies and Bearcats last met in the 2014 Military Bowl, where Shane Beamer led Tech to a 33-17 victory.
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Comments
Fuente looses his job next year after going 3-9. Calling it now.
Have you seen the schedule next year? If he goes 3-9 with that schedule then he should be fired out of a cannon out of Blacksburg.
Well, maybe 4 wins will tighten it a little bit?
I'm sort of glad you don't know how to spell "loses".
I'm kind of glad he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.
Thanks Fuente. You accomplished something we haven't done in 25 years. I'd understand if we legitimately were terrible, but being outprepared by ODU, and the lack of adjustments and conservative play calling throughout the entire season starts and ends with you.
That Offensive PI was BS call, and changed the outcome of the game.
Keene was jammed at the line (the Defense assumed he was getting another screen), he tries to fight of the jam with minimal contact (jamming the hands of the defender, which is legal), and gets called for PI. Bad call. Takes away a critical first down. Gives the ball back to Cincy and they convert.
The refs were pretty aggressive in looking for penalties to call.
They missed the holding call on the OL on the same play....
Agreed and the last pass was a horrible no-call PI. The DB clearly interferes with Hazelton's ability to run under the ball. I bet they call that 10/10 times if it's earlier in the game and they hadn't already called back an INT on the drive.
If the outcome of a game (as well as your game scheme) is dependent upon a fairly called game by the officials, then you're in deep shit.
Was a close game.
Different calls by the refs change the game at that point.
I'm still thinking they cost us the game when they pinned us on the two yard line.
It's a game of inches.
We're only in that position because we didn't control the things we were supposed to.
you expected a blowout? VT was underdogs according to every advanced statistical measure. I'm not really surprises it was a close game.
I would like to see a thread just for this play. Some kind of analysis of what exactly the rule is. And how it was interpreted on this particular play. Also on the non-touchback play. They say he had possession at the 2. I thought a few years ago if the momentum carried into the endzone it was a touchback. What about possession through to the ground? Somebody smarter than me needs to explain these things.
Kicks field goal on 4th and short: "where's the aggression??"
Goes for it on 4th and short: "why not take the points there??"
Conservative call on 3rd and long: "why not trust your QB to make a play????"
QB tosses the ball up for grabs into double coverage on consecutive plays... 😑
Fucking preach
This fan base sooooo much.
I don't think anyone said 'we should have taken the points' that wasn't saying it sarcastically. We should have gone for it on both 4th and 1s. The questioning comes when we're running some silly motioning pass play out of shotgun when we've run for 230+ yards on the day. The offensive playcalling has sucked all year. Cornelson is in way over his head and doesn't have close to the resume or experience for the job and role he's in.
We were under center. But why bother with facts when you can pretend to be the best armchair OC in the country.
Well, the crazy part of Corneson's play calling is that he is excellent for much of the game- I thought the calls - mixing in runs, screens, fades, crosses, etc - was really good. Cincy was on their heels. But they either go into a turtle shell if we have our backs near the endzone or they get too cute when we are near the endzone. Why? Is it Cornelson or Fuente?
Frankly, there were some good plays that were lost on execution.
Including going for it on 4th and 1. There were receivers open, if Willis weren't fumbling the ball instead of throwing it.
It wasn't double coverage at the end. If the DB doesn't cut off Hazelton's route, he's under that ball. Safety comes over late off zone coverage.
And a PI call gives us a first down inside the 30......sad way for this game to end......but we left points off the board earlier
We were sort of doomed when the refs made that inexplicable touchback call.
Normal human refs just let that be a touchback.
Hell if anything he got control at the half foot line!
But that was the correct call. It wasn't even that close. I'm more upset with the OPI call on Keene when he didn't even initiate the contact.
All you who are pissy for us losing on the final drive to a 10-2 team in one of our worst years ever are ridiculous.
Fire everyone all the players suck burn it down. Get real.
We had some missed opportunities sure but cmon. The defense was who they were all season and people act like they are schooled by it. It's like we were ACC runner ups and lost this game.
People here can be so delusional. Shit.
The thing that stings is that we did have a chance to win...and crumbled horribly. If they do something with that Rivers pick we're all in a different place now. The fact is that it's clear changes need to happen.
What changes?
That's for people smarter than me to figure out...but the fact that defense didn't improve at all from a fundamental standpoint should says something. We scored 31 points on a Top 25 defense and lost not because of play calling but execution, especially on defense....who was also playing against a 2nd string QB
Most of us aren't pissed about losing on the final drive to a 10-2 team. We're pissed that this is one of our worst years ever. There's no reason for the VT D to ever be this soft. Ever.
We just lost to a highschool AAC team meanwhile UVA wins 28-0 to an SEC team. This is our ceiling now.
Nope. We lost to a 10-2 division 1 team. I assume you'd be pissed if this same exact team lost to UCF who's currently undefeated in two years to include a win against SEC runner up Auburn and apparently a high school team as well.
Somewhere Frank is staring off into space with his mouth hanging open thinking ... is this what we've become?
He didn't do anything to help it his last few years. Get real.
Agreed
is this really worse 2012 with a 10-7 win in OT of the Russel Athletic Bowl vs Rutgers? We set a record of punts in that bowl game.
Yes! Because we actually won that game & sustained a winning record.
what if there was some call by the ref that changed the outcome of the game with a Rutgers win?
Then you could make an actual legitimate case.
Frank surely remembers his 1992 season and how 6-7 would have been cause for celebration for the Hokies back then.
We've never really left...losing late to Cinci with a backup half-athletic QB is where he left us.
Ultimately, the problem is Fuente has really made limited progress (see today's result). And with obvious holes (CB, DT, RB) heading into next year, its hard to see where we make alot of positive progress next year.
I actually thought our running backs looked pretty good today. Showed some good vision and quickness. It also seems that downfield blocking was an emphasis in the bowl practices because it was much better than the rest of the season.
www.hireshanebeamer.com
/s
I know you said /s but don't even start
Hey Richt is available.
What coach would all those calling for Fu to be canned like please???
Plus Beamer wasn't great in his bowl record. In fact it's pretty atrocious.
Yes the refs sucked all game and crushed us at the end but that 4th & 1 foot too cute play call was the back breaker... we had momentum and just needed to fall forward one yard and somehow in a driving rainstorm we call some too cute roll out bull that results in a crushing goal line fumble / turnover on downs... I'm tired of losing games we should not. Give Bud the keys and move on Corn Fu chokes every time
Lots of hate on Willis online. Let me put this out there: with Josh Jackson (or any other QB on the roster), does anyone seriously believe we would have scored more than 31 points today?
Willis did the best he could, and that's all you can ask for. QB wasn't really the problem today, or this entire year, really. Even when JJ was playing
Our receivers and running game looked pretty good, so maybe if Jackson had been healthy and improving all year, but Willis did fine.
Quarterback competition next year will be interesting. Willis with another off-season of experience or somebody better will be taking snaps next year.
Yes.
Other than forcing to Hazelton on that game sealing pick I thought Willis did okay, this loss was on the defense
QB was not the problem although not converting after interception was disappointing. Young defense again. In fact word has it Jackson perfectly healthy but not dressed out. Willis odds on favorite in eyes of coaches as QB in spring game and afterwards.
I think 9 months should be just enough time for my blood pressure to come down after this season.
I think the hate for Willis is ridiculous. Having said that, it is clear that we don't have a P5 QB on the roster who can run (what must be a terribly complicated system) what FuCorn whats/needs him to run. And that isn't a knock on any of the guys who play for VT, its more of an observation about what FuCorn have or have not done in the recruiting and developing arenas.
If we make a TD on either of the 4th and 1 plays we win that game.
Scored 31 on a top 20 defense.
The D got a turnover that could have sealed the game but the O couldn't take advantage
Need some help on the d line. JC transfers?
Did Walker play in the 2nd half.
I still feel good about next year.
they ran the ball at Vinny the entire game. You can see he's still not healthy enough to take on the blocks and fit the gap.
...and I think that's the real root of the problem this year. Poor personnel on defense. Vinny was out there playing on one leg most of the year. Previously he wouldn't have been playing that much, but there's just nobody else behind him. And don't look now, but recruiting DL isn't looking great right now. This is going to get worse before it gets better
I don't, but if I had the money I'd throw some at the program right now. That's the only way we as fans can help stop the sucking around.
Sorry to everyone who got annoyed at my whinging this year. 2018 has kind of been a lost year for me personally and I'm guilty of taking it out on here as much as anything. Help me Buzzi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.
Feel ya. Really, my last "good" year was 2010. Way too much personal stuff going around since then, so I completely understand.
Hope things get better for you.
I am afraid Tech, by bringing in Fuente who is known to be primarily focused on offense has compromised our defense. Saw a recent quote from Beamer where he felt defense wins ball games. Well, his success tends to confirm that. Where is Foster - in press box again. Miss his intensity on sideline. Something just not right. A team in turmoil all year it seems with people leaving. Again, something is up.
He kept the entire defensive staff. How is Fuente responsible for the defensive shortcoming this year???? Plus it's not a defense chocked full of seniors and upper class men.
Not really referencing the coaching staff. I Totally appreciate keeping the D staff - that being said it may have been a bit polital to keep everyone. I just can't figure how we became so young on defense and wonder if recruiting over the last few years focused more on offense than a balance in recruiting. May just be a total change in philosophy that I will have to accept. Two big areas that Tech has been known for has been defense and special teams. Both have struggled. Oh well, on to next year.
Foster was required by his doctors to be in the booth for the UVA game, felt he still wasn't 100% and stayed up there for Marshall. He opted for "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" by staying in the booth today.
I understand why you're doing it, but I think you're reading into things that aren't there.
I hope you are right. I understand the superstitious aspect, but you can't beat Foster's intensity. I believe it infectious and something those young ball players could learn from. I think ball players in the past would go through a brick wall for him because his actions showed he would do the same for them. Leadership.
I thought the refS were fine as a whole. I thought that fat ref who called PI against Farley then called Offensive PI against Keene obviously had $$$ Cincinnati. Those were huge calls and screwed us in the end. That guy should be investigated. Then the touchback thing...that seemed bad, but maybe that's the correct rule?
Outside of him cheating, I thought that was a good game. We looked pathetic tackling on many plays and missed gaps just as we have all season, but I also saw some good hits and good coverage.
Offensively, ran the ball really well, were McClease and People's hurt at one point? Not that Holston was bad, thought he looked good too, but just wasn't sure why he solely took over.
Thought our passing game looked a little scared of the rain where Cincinnati, to me, looked like they didn't pay attention to the rain. For the record, I got the feeling that the fear of god was put in Willis that it was slippery conditions "so don't throw a ball that can slip"...thought he looked hesitant throwin on a number of plays that could've turned out better.
Sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks to lose when I thought we had won that game after the pick. However, our players fought to the end and looked competitive with a decent Cincinnati team. This was probably our worst or second worst team in 25 years, future looks bright that being the case. Go Hokies!!!
Well Hokie family, I'll be signing off for awhile. I will check in to see scores on the other sports, but I am primarily a football fan and not much into the other events.
Happy New Year to all.
Might want to check out the NCAAM basketball team this year... just saying.
Not going to have much substance for all the 2019 hype videos next year LOL
When they are made... can't wait to hear people say 8-4 at worst!!! /s but not really because we have those fans exist.
Seems a fitting end to a terrible year. Let's hope for better things in 2019
1) We lost 3 big time players on defense to the NFL that were impact players.
2)We lost two other bigtime players to grade and off field issues on defense.
3)we lost multiple players on defense, that shouldn't have had to start, due to injuries.
4)Beamers last few years left us with a significant depth issue, at nearly every position that left Fuente struggling to fill.
5)the team is basically a JV squad that made it to a bowl game.
Sure, Fuente has made errors. He's only 42. If he continues to slide next year, then we have a problem, otherwise I would bet the farm that we get at least 8 wins next year.
Calling for his firing is just so damn dumb that its incomprehensible.
Did anyone else notice that the laces were in on the missed FG at the end of the 2nd?
First losing in a very long time. Hopefully we will see improvements in these young players and no longer have to use that as our excuse for sloppy play.
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