Not an ounce of pass rush. Running game average 2 yards a carry.-6 in the turnover margin. Dax and Hunter on skates the entire game. The next play they make will be their first.
Things aren't good.
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A very uninspiring win....but it is a win. The defense better do some damn tackling drills over the week because it was frustrating as hell watching them get pressure, but not finishing the job.
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I wouldn't even bother. This is the same dood that called the team trash in the game thread. He's a keyboard warrior. He doesn't have the balls to stand in front a single one of those players and call them trash to their face but he'll do it behind the safety of his keyboard and computer screen.
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Question: is it healthier for the human body to hold in a: fart/shit/belch/piss? Most medical experts would agree that it's unarguably not.
In all seriousness though (pitchforks & torches aside) it is certainly therapeutic to release the anger & frustration.
And what you posted is correct. A win (for the most part) feels a lot better than a loss.
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If it's so healthy to get this shit off your chest perhaps you should find a mirror and watch yourself saying it out loud and see how silly/childish you are letting it spill out....
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eh... we've had our share of uncomfortable wins, many of which I have blocked from memory and needed some past schedules to remind me:
2008: 24-7 W against Furman, 27-13 W against Western Kentucky
2011: 17-10 W against ECU, 26-7 W against Arkansas St., 14-10 W @ Duke
2013: 15-10 @ ECU, 29-21 W in 3OT against Marshall
2017: 27-0 W against Deleware
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Are you sure that you know a whole lot about how the team SHOULD be performing? I think we as a fan base overlooked a lotttt of things heading into this season....like Ryan Willis actually might have been better than Jackson...WRONG. With some unfortunate injuries out of the gate, there are freshmen everywhere and some of those kids are playing really, really well.
If you can't get pumped up about the team playing cohesively and coming together after a very tough year on the field, and an even worse year off the field, you should just turn the tv off for the rest of the season. It will be tough but it will get better.
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I hope we hire a DC who coaches tackling. Our tackling has been pretty poor for years
Our offense still doesn't have an answer to the running game riddle. Managing just a hair over 100 yards against ODU doesn't inspire confidence.
There is certainly a lot of work left to do. A win is a win but it doesn't make me feel great about our prospects. 31 offensive points against ODU has me pretty concerned. Unless something changes Chris will be pointing out that our offense is incapable of scoring more than 4 TDs against P5 teams come December
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I hope we hire a DC who coaches tackling. Our tackling has been pretty poor for years
I wonder if some of this is generational. Bud sounded genuinely frustrated with the way his young players are approaching practice throughout the week and subsequently how they play on Saturday.
Over in Hooville, Bronco and his staff do in depth work on each players personality profile so they can coach each player as best they can. What I'm getting at is I think coaching that coaching this generation is much more difficult, and maybe Bud and Co. struggle with certain aspects of that.
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Wow. Between this and the "Who is our next coach?" thread, I'm really starting to feel like everything special that originally attracted me to TKP is dead.
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The fun has been sucked out of the program. Cutting the fans out was digestible when Tech was whooping ass Year One and Two-ish, but as it stands now there isn't an on-field product to fall back on.
With Frank's later years it felt so much different. He was still a guy that was easy to get behind and support, even without hope of turning it around.
There's definitely a gloomy tone around here, but I can't fault people for feeling that way.
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I'm with you here. I understand people being upset about the negativity, but as a reasonable, objective fan, there's not a ton to be overly excited about with VT football right now. It's looking like another 6-6 type of year with the product we are seeing on the field. I try to be as objective as possible, but I can't fault people for being upset about the state of the program.
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I was in section 9 on the east sideline today and there was not a single person around me standing and yelling on 3rd and 4th down in a 14-point game. This happened several times. Nobody was making noise on defense the majority of the game. It was frustrating and disappointing.
Apathy has set in. I can't believe how far we've fallen. It was not that long ago that everybody would be on their feet screaming on 3rd and 4th down in the 4th quarter. Now I stand up and yell and I feel like I'm blocking the view of all the people sitting on their hands. It felt like Scott Stadium. It's sad because it feels like a huge part of my life is dying.
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frank had credit built up with fans because of time put in, but please dont tell me losing 6-3 in 2OT to wake or beating rutgers 13-10 in OT,or losing to ECU on home coming after winning in the horse shoe is "fun" ; the fun was gone before fuente got here
i see no discernible reason why people can't get behind fuente aside from lack videos of him doing extraneous stuff
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But I think you're undervaluing the amount of credit Frank built up. And Frank embraced the fans and community. Most importantly even when hope was gone he would turn it around, at least there was hope about hiring his replacement. It's a different scenario now.
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Agreed. I feel like so many people don't want to give Frank credit anymore. Or when they do it's followed by some qualifier that backhandedly discredits him. Like, of course those losses aren't fun, but you know what is fun? ACC Championships. Those are a hell of a lot of fun. Being the big bad in the division and conference is fun.
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lol ok, no one is trying to take away credit from what Frank Beamer did, but to sit and say that the last 3-4 years of VT football under frank beamer was "fun" is at best revisionist history. and saying that there was hope in those bad years at the end? yeah there was hope because Beamer was pushing 70 and everyone knew he was going to retire eventually
there are positive signs and negative signs under Fuente, it's up to each individual fan to choose what they want to focus on
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last 3-4 years of VT football under frank beamer was "fun"
I was a student during exactly those years. I can tell with 100% confidence that they were still fun. Of course, nothing like when we were winning ACC championships, but the team was still playing with passion. We had players that we were excited about and stood behind. Frank was still a coach that you wanted to support, even when you knew it was time to let him go. There was still hope that we were just on the cusp of being a great team. Foster's defense was still elite and people were constantly scared to play against it. It was fun still, as college football should be. Players just seemed to love Frank in a way that Fuente can't replicate.
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I agree that the fun has been sucked out but I think (maybe hope) we're staring a post-hurricane cleanup in the face which means the real storm has passed. I am not sure Fuente is going to open the floodgates to the media or fans any time soon, but I do believe he will become less rigid in his policies and how he handles players as he adapts. If he does, I think things start to clear up pretty quickly. A ways to go.
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Just to add, I think that TKP is naturally at it's height of influencing fan perceptions, but I think it's also to the point that what gets circulated on these boards matters to Whit and whether he'd admit it or not, Fuente as well. As far as I'm concerned, if you want to get a round perspective from the fan base, this is the place to do it.
I really hope that because of that, the community makes a decision to rally around the staff and team. We can do that....you know what I mean? The TKP community can say, hell or high water, we care about this staff and this team, we've got their backs, with nothing expected in return, because that's what it's all about, and that's what we do.
Perhaps that's wishful thinking.
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No, expectations are not different. I expect to beat a very low end G5 team by more than 2 TDs and have some moments where the game was in the balance. We have the talent to do so. I'm not sure what you're watching, but apparently we have two totally different views, one reality.
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I especially agree when it comes to really getting excited about/pulling for a specific player. Back in the days everyone would be buying up Vick/Tyrod/Wilson/Williams/Evans/etc. jerseys, getting stupid excited when those guys are on the field. Right now, if I had to buy a new jersey, I'd be pretty indifferent to the number that was on it. Some guys like Turner or Patterson or Hollified have been climbing that list. But the poor receivers are being hamstrung by a Swiss cheese OL and just a serviceable QB, and I don't know who was wearing Hollifield's jersey yesterday, but that didn't seem like the kid who Bud fell in love with. So yeah, nothing special it seems...just waiting and praying that we survive 4 quarters each week!
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Sorry, I didn't mean to imply literal player jerseys, like actual equipment, nor customized/named jerseys. I just meant a VT jersey with the matching number for the current player.
My #5 jersey worn next Saturday would most certainly not be worn because I am a huge Willis fan, but for good ol' Tyrod!
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You can only buy "7", "25, and "00" currently for jersey sales. They don't sell any jerseys with player numbers. Sometimes they will sell the year number Jersey so "19". You can buy a custom jersey from some places but not the school.
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Watching the broadcast, they did a segment where the announcers spent the day before with Prof. Boyer. Now I know he's a really cool professor, but the takeaway of their time with him was sipping wine and eating cheese. Watching a team lack physicality at times and struggle with ODU and announcers discussing wine tasting and cheese in Blacksburg, meanwhile UVA has a very disciplined, blue collar ethic team with a talented dual threat QB...
What in the world is going on?
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I understand having a vanilla offensive/defensive strategy against teams like ODU so you don't show too much and all that, but getting flat out stuffed in the run game is fucking ridiculous.
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Here's the deal. In the first couple of years of the Fuentes tenure a few people were pointing out the roster management issues and then that was compounded by some sever misses on the defensive line.
Last year when we added injuries and discord to that recipe the outcome was, well what we all saw. We now seem to be playing catch-up with our roster every single year.
I'm going to call it like I see it. The run blocking on the offensive line is still bad. The play calling by Cornelson is still not good. The defensive line has a hard time creating pressure. Our tackling is still poor. We don't have a game breaking player to mask the problems (like a Settle).
Our best hope is that these players play as hard as they can for every second of every game because there are some serious problems and we are in trouble when we head in to ACC play.
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Seriously, I started watching the game halfway through the 3rd qtr - 1st half of the 4th while taking the BIGGEST SHIT I've had in awhile (partly because I skipped a BM yesterday).
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Lane stadium felt different today. Maybe other people who went to the game could corroborate my feelings, but there was a lack of energy in the air. Enter sandman was hype but the techno jumpy song they played after, nobody cared. Nobody was stomping/chopping for the kickoff. People weren't doing the first down chants. People had their keys out for 3rd down but very few people where shouting. Most of the east stands student section watched the second half sitting down. A ton of the students poured out at half.
It was different. Honestly it made me really sad. Like we've lost a part of our culture or identity or something. I'm hoping it was just the heat or the noon kickoff, but today was jarring.
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I disagree. I was in section 1 with the students directly behind me, and they were hype the entire time. Did a lot of them leave at half time? Yes, but it was hot AF and the concessions in our area was out of everything cold and wet. Fans near us were standing and cheering for all the downs the entire game and it was great. I hate that you had a lackluster experience, but it definitely was not that way in the entire stadium.
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I get if that's how you felt, but I didn't get that feeling at all. To me it felt like what it was: a sleepy nooner against a non-marquee opponent in the late summer heat. It felt no different from the same types of nooners I experienced in the Beamer era.
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Yeah I think it's more a product of the time and opponent, but also part of the larger conversation about declining attendance in general. Unfortunately, the students are only going to show up when we are either really good ("ranked") or playing a good team. They had no reason to leave at halftime yesterday other than it being 80 degrees but dont have the attention spans to sit through a 3 1/2 hour game. That's not to mention how many times energy was sucked out fo the stadium by all those reviews.
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It didn't show on the camera, but I thought I heard the crowd doing the wave sometime in the second quarter during a pretty crucial defensive series. That's just embarrassing if so.
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First and foremost, college football is entertainment. If it's not entertaining, it will be hard to cultivate that kind of loyalty. Remember, these students pretty much just came into their fandom and this is what they know. And this is pretty much what VT football has known for 8 years now. That's why the energy, the rabid fans, and the intensity has leaked out like a flat tire.
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The last time that this sight was in this kind of meltdown mode was 2014-2015 at the end of Beamer's tenure. Even then we were blowing out lowly teams like this. We just lost so many close games back then. Between watching us get blown out a few times last season and barely beating ODU today, we might be entering worse territory.
Best case scenario for us is that we sleepwalked through today's game after being 0-1. Our guys really wanted to get through the first part of the season 5-0, and now that that is out of the question, the players will just coast to the Duke game, maybe even the Miami game before coming out with energy again.
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i think there is definitely a disconnect with the Fans. Beamer and his staff(s) were completely different in terms of reaching out to players, alumni, fans, etc
As for the on-field product - I think we as fans have voiced our opinion to the head ball coach..."hey you promised us a great offense, so where is it" - my personal beef is with the running game...4 years and its still not quite there. I'd also like to see the Jet Sweeps, pop passes, fake Jet Sweeps, etc...seems like some of these just dissapeared.
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I think we should be fine overall in the season. Its going to take some effort and tight wins to get close to 8-9 win mark (yes that means 3.5 hour stomach ache on some saturdays). Most of our mistakes are correctable so look for improvements each week.
I'd like to see Hendon Hooker play a little more, seems like even he had a little bit of a nick as he came off the field. WRs are looking really good. Loved seeing Keshawn King, Mclease for the most part was good except the fumble and Steward with a little run in Junk time.
I'm a little worried about our Safeties tackling but for every mistake floyd/Deablo made, they also made some nice plays. Hollifield needs to keep his foot moving before attempting to make a tackle. Loved Conner and Ashby. Jermaine Waller is looking good at CB, Farley is great at breaking up plays but gotta watch the Pass interference.
Most of all I really like the Defensive line, what a turn around from a year filled with injuries and we are talking about true Freshmen and Junior transfers. Great seeing Porcher getting in there on some tackles.
And don't forget special teams, that run by Wheatley, that was missing last week.
Let's go Hokies.
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You know what was Meh today, paper airplanes starting before kickoff even happened and the number of people with Jules or other E cigarette type devices in the stands.
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I'm thinking Whit needs to pull a David Braine and tell Coach Fu to change up some of the assistants. I'm still waiting for this vaunted offense to show itself. All this talent and Cornelsen just cannot get many sustained drives. I also cannot figure out why we bunch into these tight formations when we cannot block very well. There are 4 people in the backfield 6 feet apart and a standing read option is about the maximum of the misdirection.
The defense played OK. They could have had a great game but the first tackler missed a bunch of times. When they get that cleaned up, they'll be good.
It'll be interesting to see what the spread is for next week.
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I would like to see more TE use to get creative; more sweeps or tosses to get our shifty rbs in space instead up straight up the gut on every first down. Maybe we're just saving the playbook for future opponents but still seems a little too predictable. I did see more use of the middle of the field in the passing game today which was refreshing.
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I'm negative because I see the same issues we had last year: bad tackling, bad d line, bad o line, crappy RBs, a senior QB who makes 3 brain fart plays every game, CBs who can't win one on one battles, an OC who makes terrible play calls, an offensive scheme that doesn't match our QB
What is the coaching staff doing?
On the plus side, we are still the 3rd youngest team in FBS.
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You know what I'm meh about? I am realistically asking myself what happened to the greatest fanbase in the country? I think we could improve the atmosphere if we put as much energy into cheering and supporting the team as we do bitching and moaning. That used to be a given.
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The thing I am forcing myself to remember is as much as I love TKP, this place is an echo chamber and not representative of the fan base as a whole. I would wager most of the people here were not at the game and on the whole do very littler to materially support the program. If more people where putting their money where their mouth is then I would put more stock in what they had to say but they are not.
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I do not see why a poll related to our support of VT sports was a violation of community guidelines.
The poll ask anonymous questions related to:
Attending games vs watching on TV
Allowed for comparing the ratios of emotional only commitment fans and emotional & financial commitment fans
I think many on this site wonder about the prism others view VT sports through. I think that understanding this may lead to a more productive dialogue. This site is fracturing into divisive camps and I hope that it remains a site where we come for other's insights instead of arguing and rehashing the same items ad nauseum.
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At this point, I just want to see continued growth in areas week to week. Knew we were young but didn't realize how young. That makes me optimistic for the next few years but less optimistic for this year. We need a QB though - for the future. At this point, if we can somehow beat UVA this season (at this point I would say if we do that UVA is cursed) and extend the bowl streak — it may be all we can hope for.
I'm disappointed. Playcalling and game planning is lazy and not great but let's be honest — if we had top 20 talent on our roster, our game plans would be just fine.
Our bigger issue short term is coaching and execution. I don't care what any coach says - execution is more on them than the players when it's an issue across the board.
Long term - our recruiting or lack of is going to catch up with us. I'm not advocating that Fu be cut loose but my concern is that we improve over the next few years due to having a higher-than-normal roster of upperclassmen just to be followed up with poor talent and poor results - and we are on the hook. We have talent on the roster NOW but the level of talent that we are bringing is considerably lower I think.
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Based on current form I don't think we'd beat UNC or UVA without some serious luck, and that doesn't fill me with joy. Zero ACC teams on our schedule look like "sure things" as of right now. And that's not because I think they're good.
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Unless we improve drastically and clean up the myriad of mental mistakes, the only ACC game on the schedule that I think is a clear win is Georgia Tech.
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I don't want to sound like a jerk but give me a break. We didn't really execute last year and I didn't expect us to knock the rust off and be leaps and bounds better by week 2 of this year, REGARDLESS of who we've played. We lost by 7 to a better than we realized BC team. We beat an opponent we lost to last year.
As "Meh" as I am about the win, I'm not nearly as despondent as some of the folks here. Blinders be damned we won and we improved some. We have opportunity to hang some serious pointage on Furman and then we have a night game against an ACC opponent.
Get over it. Get excited. LETS GO. #1-0
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You don't sound like a jerk. You do sound unrealistically optimistic though. That's not a bad thing. I kind of wish I could see our glass as half full. Four years of completely failing to develop a running game has me down in the dumps. When French says the bad news has him worried I have a real hard time feeling good about the future. I liked Fuente when he was hired but the lack of offensive improvements are pretty startling. I just don't think this staff is going to bring offense to Blacksburg. And our defense is about to get a whole lot worse when Bud leaves. Rough years ahead, I'm afraid
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I'll be honest, I'm down on the direction of the program overall, but Bud leaving isn't a reason. The defense has been mediocre for a while now. As much as I love Bud and everything he's done for us, it's certainly time for a change.
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Our defense has only been bad for the last 15 games. Last year was an outlier and this season hasn't gotten off to a great start. But Bud Foster is still a remarkable DC and our defense is certain to take steps backwards in his absence. If you think it's bad now, just wait until he's gone. It's going to be ugly
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I don't have enough legs to create a post, so decided to put this here since it makes me feel meh. I pulled down the forecasts from Massey Ratings and ESPN and simulated win totals for VT for each. The graph shows the probability of getting "at least X wins" for each source. While the season is very early and these forecasts will probably change quite a bit, the predictions aren't promising. Massey gives about a 25% chance of bowl eligibility. ESPN is higher on VT at ~50%.
Have a leg! Hopefully you'll be up and running soon enough.
Joel actually does a weekly column with these win projections. He uses the FPI until week 4, when the S&P goes live. (Not a ton of reliance on Kenneth Massey's index here; even though we do tout his Virginia Tech ties from time to time!)
I may have possibly made the mistake of focusing on predictive modeling by week two of last season, and that was a very painful lesson indeed. I'm going to hold off until at least the S&P goes live this year.
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Right - I've seen the weekly columns before, was just curious what the projections showed now and thought I'd share.
Agree that the predictions are noisy this early in the season. I think that's probably why the chance of bowl eligibility is so different between the two. Hopefully things start looking up!
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Being in ODU land they aren't happy they lost. They're not feeling any moral victory.
I'm very happy we won. It is something to build on. There were still many mistakes that can be corrected. I feel this team can still get better. Will always root for the Hokies. These guys need our support more then ever.
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Sums up what I took away from that game. There's no combination of OL, RBs and QB that make this ok. Corny needs to get the boot
Since 2016, VT ranks 124th in yards/rush on non-QB runs, 81st in % stopped for loss/no gain and 125th in % going for 10+ yards. (Duke and Cuse are actually worse). Overall VT is 77th in explosive play rate in that span. https://t.co/tIJFgaUTBJ— THE™️ David Hale (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 10, 2019
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Yep. I wasn't a big Trayvon McMillian guy, but going from 1k yards, to really struggling under Fuente, back to being a 1k yard back, all while we've gotten zero out of the position now with quite a few backs, has really made me come around to it being our scheme. Additionally, Vice has shown he can recruit OL, but man, we've consistently looked soft across the front.
I've said since he was hired that Corn's lack of experience made me very nervous. I'm hoping CJF realizes his own job may be on the line soon and can make the tough call.
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I was worried about Vice, I liked Searels. Vice can recruit, but I am not sure he can actually coach. While pass protection has gotten much better we are a completely one dimensional offense.
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Comments
It's definitely a win if you're rooting for a Hokie win but also took ODU +28.5 !
I put $40 on ODU to win outright because the payout was over $1000
Be honest- who were you cheering for at 24-17?
Tech. I put more money on us hitting the over for the season. I just wanted something to cheer me up if we lost.
Kiss from your sister! We have work to do. If we don't get a rush, gonna be a long season!
Not an ounce of pass rush. Running game average 2 yards a carry.-6 in the turnover margin. Dax and Hunter on skates the entire game. The next play they make will be their first.
Things aren't good.
5 sacks and 7 QB hurries = no pass rush?
running game average was actually 3.4 yards per carry.
A very uninspiring win....but it is a win. The defense better do some damn tackling drills over the week because it was frustrating as hell watching them get pressure, but not finishing the job.
The arm tackling low key kept them in this game, as much as turnovers.
Seriously
Not even a little. And our opponents have no reason to be either. #BIGFACTS
If were gonna sit here and accept wins like this because of dumbass "a win is a win" logic then we've lost as a program.
But we're going to take it, right??!!
Yeah.
Yet somehow, whining about it is better?
How about some pitchforks and torches?
I feel a LOT better about a win than a loss.
I wouldn't even bother. This is the same dood that called the team trash in the game thread. He's a keyboard warrior. He doesn't have the balls to stand in front a single one of those players and call them trash to their face but he'll do it behind the safety of his keyboard and computer screen.
Ah, still can't help being the fan police I see, "dood"
Just calling people like you out who think it's ok to call our team trash.
Question: is it healthier for the human body to hold in a: fart/shit/belch/piss? Most medical experts would agree that it's unarguably not.
In all seriousness though (pitchforks & torches aside) it is certainly therapeutic to release the anger & frustration.
And what you posted is correct. A win (for the most part) feels a lot better than a loss.
If it's so healthy to get this shit off your chest perhaps you should find a mirror and watch yourself saying it out loud and see how silly/childish you are letting it spill out....
Negative plaid. Nice
This is the first time I have seen the blue and orange plaid.
Should be an overlay of two sabers making a giant "X" sans the UVA "V" above them...
Then Harbaugh is about to get run out of town.
He is also sitting on an uncomfortably warm seat
That's the most uncomfortable 14 point win I recall watching!
eh... we've had our share of uncomfortable wins, many of which I have blocked from memory and needed some past schedules to remind me:
2008: 24-7 W against Furman, 27-13 W against Western Kentucky
2011: 17-10 W against ECU, 26-7 W against Arkansas St., 14-10 W @ Duke
2013: 15-10 @ ECU, 29-21 W in 3OT against Marshall
2017: 27-0 W against Deleware
Not discounting any of those games. I'm simply saying as long as ODU was close it was mighty uncomfortable.
24-23 @Temple in 2003. Won because they missed an xp in ot. Nothing comes anywhere near this
Winning these games sure feels better than losing them.
Are you incapable of admitting that we're not performing as we should be?
If you don't identify that you have a problem, you can't fix it
Really?! My post says winning is better than losing and you read all of that other crap in there.
Are you sure that you know a whole lot about how the team SHOULD be performing? I think we as a fan base overlooked a lotttt of things heading into this season....like Ryan Willis actually might have been better than Jackson...WRONG. With some unfortunate injuries out of the gate, there are freshmen everywhere and some of those kids are playing really, really well.
If you can't get pumped up about the team playing cohesively and coming together after a very tough year on the field, and an even worse year off the field, you should just turn the tv off for the rest of the season. It will be tough but it will get better.
I disagree that JJ is better than Willis... but I agree they are improving slightly and that is a good thing.
Every single last one of these chucklefucks that thought Bizarro Superman was better than JJ need to go take the dunce seat in the corner.
I'm actually not sure JJ vs RW has a clear "champion"...JJ sure seems to have a better OC or scheme or both.
I hope we hire a DC who coaches tackling. Our tackling has been pretty poor for years
Our offense still doesn't have an answer to the running game riddle. Managing just a hair over 100 yards against ODU doesn't inspire confidence.
There is certainly a lot of work left to do. A win is a win but it doesn't make me feel great about our prospects. 31 offensive points against ODU has me pretty concerned. Unless something changes Chris will be pointing out that our offense is incapable of scoring more than 4 TDs against P5 teams come December
I wonder if some of this is generational. Bud sounded genuinely frustrated with the way his young players are approaching practice throughout the week and subsequently how they play on Saturday.
Over in Hooville, Bronco and his staff do in depth work on each players personality profile so they can coach each player as best they can. What I'm getting at is I think coaching that coaching this generation is much more difficult, and maybe Bud and Co. struggle with certain aspects of that.
I know it's getting bad when we're looking at Bronco's techniques for suggestions on coaching styles.
Wow. Between this and the "Who is our next coach?" thread, I'm really starting to feel like everything special that originally attracted me to TKP is dead.
The fun has been sucked out of the program. Cutting the fans out was digestible when Tech was whooping ass Year One and Two-ish, but as it stands now there isn't an on-field product to fall back on.
With Frank's later years it felt so much different. He was still a guy that was easy to get behind and support, even without hope of turning it around.
There's definitely a gloomy tone around here, but I can't fault people for feeling that way.
I'm with you here. I understand people being upset about the negativity, but as a reasonable, objective fan, there's not a ton to be overly excited about with VT football right now. It's looking like another 6-6 type of year with the product we are seeing on the field. I try to be as objective as possible, but I can't fault people for being upset about the state of the program.
I was in section 9 on the east sideline today and there was not a single person around me standing and yelling on 3rd and 4th down in a 14-point game. This happened several times. Nobody was making noise on defense the majority of the game. It was frustrating and disappointing.
Apathy has set in. I can't believe how far we've fallen. It was not that long ago that everybody would be on their feet screaming on 3rd and 4th down in the 4th quarter. Now I stand up and yell and I feel like I'm blocking the view of all the people sitting on their hands. It felt like Scott Stadium. It's sad because it feels like a huge part of my life is dying.
That's really disappointing to hear, I generally try to sit in 5, 7, or 9. Don't let the lames bring you down!
frank had credit built up with fans because of time put in, but please dont tell me losing 6-3 in 2OT to wake or beating rutgers 13-10 in OT,or losing to ECU on home coming after winning in the horse shoe is "fun" ; the fun was gone before fuente got here
i see no discernible reason why people can't get behind fuente aside from lack videos of him doing extraneous stuff
I'll get behind him when he gives me a reason to get behind him
Those losses sucked.
But I think you're undervaluing the amount of credit Frank built up. And Frank embraced the fans and community. Most importantly even when hope was gone he would turn it around, at least there was hope about hiring his replacement. It's a different scenario now.
Agreed. I feel like so many people don't want to give Frank credit anymore. Or when they do it's followed by some qualifier that backhandedly discredits him. Like, of course those losses aren't fun, but you know what is fun? ACC Championships. Those are a hell of a lot of fun. Being the big bad in the division and conference is fun.
lol ok, no one is trying to take away credit from what Frank Beamer did, but to sit and say that the last 3-4 years of VT football under frank beamer was "fun" is at best revisionist history. and saying that there was hope in those bad years at the end? yeah there was hope because Beamer was pushing 70 and everyone knew he was going to retire eventually
there are positive signs and negative signs under Fuente, it's up to each individual fan to choose what they want to focus on
I was a student during exactly those years. I can tell with 100% confidence that they were still fun. Of course, nothing like when we were winning ACC championships, but the team was still playing with passion. We had players that we were excited about and stood behind. Frank was still a coach that you wanted to support, even when you knew it was time to let him go. There was still hope that we were just on the cusp of being a great team. Foster's defense was still elite and people were constantly scared to play against it. It was fun still, as college football should be. Players just seemed to love Frank in a way that Fuente can't replicate.
I agree that the fun has been sucked out but I think (maybe hope) we're staring a post-hurricane cleanup in the face which means the real storm has passed. I am not sure Fuente is going to open the floodgates to the media or fans any time soon, but I do believe he will become less rigid in his policies and how he handles players as he adapts. If he does, I think things start to clear up pretty quickly. A ways to go.
Just to add, I think that TKP is naturally at it's height of influencing fan perceptions, but I think it's also to the point that what gets circulated on these boards matters to Whit and whether he'd admit it or not, Fuente as well. As far as I'm concerned, if you want to get a round perspective from the fan base, this is the place to do it.
I really hope that because of that, the community makes a decision to rally around the staff and team. We can do that....you know what I mean? The TKP community can say, hell or high water, we care about this staff and this team, we've got their backs, with nothing expected in return, because that's what it's all about, and that's what we do.
Perhaps that's wishful thinking.
That's because everything special that originally attracted you to VT football is basically dead.
This is actually not true. I've seen the team through a few changes.
The fan expectations are a bit different than they used to be.
Fair enough, I'm on the younger end so all I know is good VT football. I'd argue than higher expectations isn't necessarily a bad thing though.
No, expectations are not different. I expect to beat a very low end G5 team by more than 2 TDs and have some moments where the game was in the balance. We have the talent to do so. I'm not sure what you're watching, but apparently we have two totally different views, one reality.
So to paraphrase: you're cool with us returning to mediocrity because you remember us being mediocre before?
Bbbbut it was the good ole days, right?
That's because there is nothing special with VT football anymore.
I especially agree when it comes to really getting excited about/pulling for a specific player. Back in the days everyone would be buying up Vick/Tyrod/Wilson/Williams/Evans/etc. jerseys, getting stupid excited when those guys are on the field. Right now, if I had to buy a new jersey, I'd be pretty indifferent to the number that was on it. Some guys like Turner or Patterson or Hollified have been climbing that list. But the poor receivers are being hamstrung by a Swiss cheese OL and just a serviceable QB, and I don't know who was wearing Hollifield's jersey yesterday, but that didn't seem like the kid who Bud fell in love with. So yeah, nothing special it seems...just waiting and praying that we survive 4 quarters each week!
You can't buy current player jerseys anymore. Been that way for a few years.
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply literal player jerseys, like actual equipment, nor customized/named jerseys. I just meant a VT jersey with the matching number for the current player.
My #5 jersey worn next Saturday would most certainly not be worn because I am a huge Willis fan, but for good ol' Tyrod!
You can only buy "7", "25, and "00" currently for jersey sales. They don't sell any jerseys with player numbers. Sometimes they will sell the year number Jersey so "19". You can buy a custom jersey from some places but not the school.
Wow, interesting. I hadn't noticed that. Again, haven't been in the market for one in a long time! Thanks for the clarification.
Happy to get a W, but man was that painful.
Watching the broadcast, they did a segment where the announcers spent the day before with Prof. Boyer. Now I know he's a really cool professor, but the takeaway of their time with him was sipping wine and eating cheese. Watching a team lack physicality at times and struggle with ODU and announcers discussing wine tasting and cheese in Blacksburg, meanwhile UVA has a very disciplined, blue collar ethic team with a talented dual threat QB...
What in the world is going on?
I understand having a vanilla offensive/defensive strategy against teams like ODU so you don't show too much and all that, but getting flat out stuffed in the run game is fucking ridiculous.
Here's the deal. In the first couple of years of the Fuentes tenure a few people were pointing out the roster management issues and then that was compounded by some sever misses on the defensive line.
Last year when we added injuries and discord to that recipe the outcome was, well what we all saw. We now seem to be playing catch-up with our roster every single year.
I'm going to call it like I see it. The run blocking on the offensive line is still bad. The play calling by Cornelson is still not good. The defensive line has a hard time creating pressure. Our tackling is still poor. We don't have a game breaking player to mask the problems (like a Settle).
Our best hope is that these players play as hard as they can for every second of every game because there are some serious problems and we are in trouble when we head in to ACC play.
The bottom line is that this team is not fun to watch anymore. Every Saturday is a three and a half hour stomach ache.
Seriously, I started watching the game halfway through the 3rd qtr - 1st half of the 4th while taking the BIGGEST SHIT I've had in awhile (partly because I skipped a BM yesterday).
Wait a minute, how did we get to 101 down votes in 5 minutes time? Thats some serious action right there!
Joe probably hit him with the nuke.
Correct, I am done with dumb things.
Always takes me atleast 4 previews to post a gif correctly.
Joe, you don't have a sig line. "I am done with dumb things." should be it.
Joe, of House Lanza.
Sigil: PBR with lime
House Words: I am done with dumb things
I feel like something that gets -100 should be given Cavalier argyle as punishment.
Joe has mentioned he may work on it. May have been a joke but wouldn't be surprised if it sneaks in eventually.
Damn another negative plaid. Nice
Goddammit Joe, you beautiful bastard.
Lol now we are gonna egg people on to get -100 so we can see it more.
Screw you!
Hey I don't like your attitude. Downleg.
It's...beautiful. Well, it's disgusting, but the premise is beautiful!
Dammit Joe
you owe me a new keyboard for this. I was NOT expecting to see that this morning, and now there's coffee everywhere!
Joe decided he'd had enough of that shit.
That comment brought new meaning to the term "shit posting."
Alright that's all I've got for now.
Lane stadium felt different today. Maybe other people who went to the game could corroborate my feelings, but there was a lack of energy in the air. Enter sandman was hype but the techno jumpy song they played after, nobody cared. Nobody was stomping/chopping for the kickoff. People weren't doing the first down chants. People had their keys out for 3rd down but very few people where shouting. Most of the east stands student section watched the second half sitting down. A ton of the students poured out at half.
It was different. Honestly it made me really sad. Like we've lost a part of our culture or identity or something. I'm hoping it was just the heat or the noon kickoff, but today was jarring.
100% agree with all of this. It's depressing.
I disagree. I was in section 1 with the students directly behind me, and they were hype the entire time. Did a lot of them leave at half time? Yes, but it was hot AF and the concessions in our area was out of everything cold and wet. Fans near us were standing and cheering for all the downs the entire game and it was great. I hate that you had a lackluster experience, but it definitely was not that way in the entire stadium.
I was in section 3 right next to you (row CCC) so I'm a little surprised it was that different, but I'm really glad to hear that
I get if that's how you felt, but I didn't get that feeling at all. To me it felt like what it was: a sleepy nooner against a non-marquee opponent in the late summer heat. It felt no different from the same types of nooners I experienced in the Beamer era.
I'm sincerely glad to hear that
Yeah I think it's more a product of the time and opponent, but also part of the larger conversation about declining attendance in general. Unfortunately, the students are only going to show up when we are either really good ("ranked") or playing a good team. They had no reason to leave at halftime yesterday other than it being 80 degrees but dont have the attention spans to sit through a 3 1/2 hour game. That's not to mention how many times energy was sucked out fo the stadium by all those reviews.
I saw students leaving after the first TD.
It didn't show on the camera, but I thought I heard the crowd doing the wave sometime in the second quarter during a pretty crucial defensive series. That's just embarrassing if so.
Started by the corps of all places! The wave has not place at football games.
I don't care when the wave happens during a commercial break, but not during the active part of the game.
First and foremost, college football is entertainment. If it's not entertaining, it will be hard to cultivate that kind of loyalty. Remember, these students pretty much just came into their fandom and this is what they know. And this is pretty much what VT football has known for 8 years now. That's why the energy, the rabid fans, and the intensity has leaked out like a flat tire.
So this is where i post my "rare" and one off MEH?
The reaction you all are having to this game is really bumming me out
The on field quality of this team is really bumming me out.
Fortunately, I am certain you will be happier with the quality of play as the season progresses
Lol. Yea, our recent history definitely supports this outlook
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I hope so
Bright side is that I don't have to think about VT football for another week. Downside is that I don't get to think about VT football for a week.
The last time that this sight was in this kind of meltdown mode was 2014-2015 at the end of Beamer's tenure. Even then we were blowing out lowly teams like this. We just lost so many close games back then. Between watching us get blown out a few times last season and barely beating ODU today, we might be entering worse territory.
Best case scenario for us is that we sleepwalked through today's game after being 0-1. Our guys really wanted to get through the first part of the season 5-0, and now that that is out of the question, the players will just coast to the Duke game, maybe even the Miami game before coming out with energy again.
2014-15 we lost to ECU... twice
In close games at least, aside from 2015 which I think was a two touchdown game.
I'm as levelheaded about VT football as one can get, but I think putting blinders on and being ok with the product on the field is a bit misguided.
There's just something different, I won't say wrong, with the state of the program.
I think we all miss that "edge" we used to play with even in ugly wins.
i think there is definitely a disconnect with the Fans. Beamer and his staff(s) were completely different in terms of reaching out to players, alumni, fans, etc
As for the on-field product - I think we as fans have voiced our opinion to the head ball coach..."hey you promised us a great offense, so where is it" - my personal beef is with the running game...4 years and its still not quite there. I'd also like to see the Jet Sweeps, pop passes, fake Jet Sweeps, etc...seems like some of these just dissapeared.
Jet sweeps? That's 100% juice man!!!
I think we should be fine overall in the season. Its going to take some effort and tight wins to get close to 8-9 win mark (yes that means 3.5 hour stomach ache on some saturdays). Most of our mistakes are correctable so look for improvements each week.
I'd like to see Hendon Hooker play a little more, seems like even he had a little bit of a nick as he came off the field. WRs are looking really good. Loved seeing Keshawn King, Mclease for the most part was good except the fumble and Steward with a little run in Junk time.
I'm a little worried about our Safeties tackling but for every mistake floyd/Deablo made, they also made some nice plays. Hollifield needs to keep his foot moving before attempting to make a tackle. Loved Conner and Ashby. Jermaine Waller is looking good at CB, Farley is great at breaking up plays but gotta watch the Pass interference.
Most of all I really like the Defensive line, what a turn around from a year filled with injuries and we are talking about true Freshmen and Junior transfers. Great seeing Porcher getting in there on some tackles.
And don't forget special teams, that run by Wheatley, that was missing last week.
Let's go Hokies.
You know what was Meh today, paper airplanes starting before kickoff even happened and the number of people with Jules or other E cigarette type devices in the stands.
Lol. Bruh
I know I couldn't believe how disgusting it was either. Bruh
I'm ashamed to see so many kids using these devices. Hell, not even kids, adults in my med school use them and they know better.
WE DIDN'T LOSE! FAM!!!
I'm thinking Whit needs to pull a David Braine and tell Coach Fu to change up some of the assistants. I'm still waiting for this vaunted offense to show itself. All this talent and Cornelsen just cannot get many sustained drives. I also cannot figure out why we bunch into these tight formations when we cannot block very well. There are 4 people in the backfield 6 feet apart and a standing read option is about the maximum of the misdirection.
The defense played OK. They could have had a great game but the first tackler missed a bunch of times. When they get that cleaned up, they'll be good.
It'll be interesting to see what the spread is for next week.
I would like to see more TE use to get creative; more sweeps or tosses to get our shifty rbs in space instead up straight up the gut on every first down. Maybe we're just saving the playbook for future opponents but still seems a little too predictable. I did see more use of the middle of the field in the passing game today which was refreshing.
I'm negative because I see the same issues we had last year: bad tackling, bad d line, bad o line, crappy RBs, a senior QB who makes 3 brain fart plays every game, CBs who can't win one on one battles, an OC who makes terrible play calls, an offensive scheme that doesn't match our QB
What is the coaching staff doing?
On the plus side, we are still the 3rd youngest team in FBS.
Too bad NBA doesnt apply to fans posting on TKP... amirite?
We would lose about 90% of the posters at the moment.
You know what I'm meh about? I am realistically asking myself what happened to the greatest fanbase in the country? I think we could improve the atmosphere if we put as much energy into cheering and supporting the team as we do bitching and moaning. That used to be a given.
The thing I am forcing myself to remember is as much as I love TKP, this place is an echo chamber and not representative of the fan base as a whole. I would wager most of the people here were not at the game and on the whole do very littler to materially support the program. If more people where putting their money where their mouth is then I would put more stock in what they had to say but they are not.
I always wonder the same. I have added a poll:
https://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2019/september/8/poll-quantify-our-in...
I do not see why a poll related to our support of VT sports was a violation of community guidelines.
The poll ask anonymous questions related to:
I think many on this site wonder about the prism others view VT sports through. I think that understanding this may lead to a more productive dialogue. This site is fracturing into divisive camps and I hope that it remains a site where we come for other's insights instead of arguing and rehashing the same items ad nauseum.
At this point, I just want to see continued growth in areas week to week. Knew we were young but didn't realize how young. That makes me optimistic for the next few years but less optimistic for this year. We need a QB though - for the future. At this point, if we can somehow beat UVA this season (at this point I would say if we do that UVA is cursed) and extend the bowl streak — it may be all we can hope for.
I'm disappointed. Playcalling and game planning is lazy and not great but let's be honest — if we had top 20 talent on our roster, our game plans would be just fine.
Our bigger issue short term is coaching and execution. I don't care what any coach says - execution is more on them than the players when it's an issue across the board.
Long term - our recruiting or lack of is going to catch up with us. I'm not advocating that Fu be cut loose but my concern is that we improve over the next few years due to having a higher-than-normal roster of upperclassmen just to be followed up with poor talent and poor results - and we are on the hook. We have talent on the roster NOW but the level of talent that we are bringing is considerably lower I think.
If you asked their fans, uva is definitely cursed when it comes to the Hokies in football. May it ever be so.
Some good, some bad. The bad worries me.
I would say a win over BC would be "MEH".
An uninspiring win over ODU is a bit less than "MEH".
The receivers and tight ends looked good. Willis did okay.
The running game has pretty much looked exactly the same since 2012. Not sure what's up there.
I am deeply concerned about how this team will look against ACC teams.
Have you seen the rest of the ACC teams? Besides Clemson?
Based on current form I don't think we'd beat UNC or UVA without some serious luck, and that doesn't fill me with joy. Zero ACC teams on our schedule look like "sure things" as of right now. And that's not because I think they're good.
Unless we improve drastically and clean up the myriad of mental mistakes, the only ACC game on the schedule that I think is a clear win is Georgia Tech.
I don't want to sound like a jerk but give me a break. We didn't really execute last year and I didn't expect us to knock the rust off and be leaps and bounds better by week 2 of this year, REGARDLESS of who we've played. We lost by 7 to a better than we realized BC team. We beat an opponent we lost to last year.
As "Meh" as I am about the win, I'm not nearly as despondent as some of the folks here. Blinders be damned we won and we improved some. We have opportunity to hang some serious pointage on Furman and then we have a night game against an ACC opponent.
Get over it. Get excited. LETS GO. #1-0
You don't sound like a jerk. You do sound unrealistically optimistic though. That's not a bad thing. I kind of wish I could see our glass as half full. Four years of completely failing to develop a running game has me down in the dumps. When French says the bad news has him worried I have a real hard time feeling good about the future. I liked Fuente when he was hired but the lack of offensive improvements are pretty startling. I just don't think this staff is going to bring offense to Blacksburg. And our defense is about to get a whole lot worse when Bud leaves. Rough years ahead, I'm afraid
I'll be honest, I'm down on the direction of the program overall, but Bud leaving isn't a reason. The defense has been mediocre for a while now. As much as I love Bud and everything he's done for us, it's certainly time for a change.
Our defense has only been bad for the last 15 games. Last year was an outlier and this season hasn't gotten off to a great start. But Bud Foster is still a remarkable DC and our defense is certain to take steps backwards in his absence. If you think it's bad now, just wait until he's gone. It's going to be ugly
I don't have enough legs to create a post, so decided to put this here since it makes me feel meh. I pulled down the forecasts from Massey Ratings and ESPN and simulated win totals for VT for each. The graph shows the probability of getting "at least X wins" for each source. While the season is very early and these forecasts will probably change quite a bit, the predictions aren't promising. Massey gives about a 25% chance of bowl eligibility. ESPN is higher on VT at ~50%.
Have a leg! Hopefully you'll be up and running soon enough.
Joel actually does a weekly column with these win projections. He uses the FPI until week 4, when the S&P goes live. (Not a ton of reliance on Kenneth Massey's index here; even though we do tout his Virginia Tech ties from time to time!)
I may have possibly made the mistake of focusing on predictive modeling by week two of last season, and that was a very painful lesson indeed. I'm going to hold off until at least the S&P goes live this year.
Right - I've seen the weekly columns before, was just curious what the projections showed now and thought I'd share.
Agree that the predictions are noisy this early in the season. I think that's probably why the chance of bowl eligibility is so different between the two. Hopefully things start looking up!
Being in ODU land they aren't happy they lost. They're not feeling any moral victory.
I'm very happy we won. It is something to build on. There were still many mistakes that can be corrected. I feel this team can still get better. Will always root for the Hokies. These guys need our support more then ever.
Sums up what I took away from that game. There's no combination of OL, RBs and QB that make this ok. Corny needs to get the boot
Yep. I wasn't a big Trayvon McMillian guy, but going from 1k yards, to really struggling under Fuente, back to being a 1k yard back, all while we've gotten zero out of the position now with quite a few backs, has really made me come around to it being our scheme. Additionally, Vice has shown he can recruit OL, but man, we've consistently looked soft across the front.
I've said since he was hired that Corn's lack of experience made me very nervous. I'm hoping CJF realizes his own job may be on the line soon and can make the tough call.
I was worried about Vice, I liked Searels. Vice can recruit, but I am not sure he can actually coach. While pass protection has gotten much better we are a completely one dimensional offense.
I get the feeling that for better or worse, Corny and Fuente are a package deal and tied at the hip.
Sorta feels like Trey Edmund's got this memo before anyone......no wonder he left as soon as Fuente was hired.