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Reminds me of this:
I was thinking the candle was lit when Arya walked in there, which means it would have had to burn for some indeterminable time. But that isn't what is shown. Presumably Wounded Arya lit the candle with ......magic matches? There isn't a fire in the room, so I'm not sure how they lit candles in this era besides having a fire burning all the time.
So, my bad, slightly less ridiculous. It's not that she lit a candle that slow burned for 24+hrs, it's that she magically lit a candle with no apparent source of flame. Best not to think about the details too much, like Littlefingers jet pack.
How so? I thought that was the best part of it. Arya had to learn to fight while blind; it was the only advantage she had over the waif, and she knew she could use it and made it part of her trap. The waif kicked Arya's butt during training, but she had all of her senses, which made her arrogant.
Ahh, the candle. That makes that sequence even more ridiculous. Not their best writing.
Traditional rivalries die hard in the hearts of we older fans. VMI was our main rival when I first attended VT, but I was in the Corps at the time and it was, indeed, a real rivalry. In those days, UVA wasn't on my radar as a rival, although I already disliked the school for many reasons I'll not bother with here. Suffice it to say, it is about who we, as fans, dislike and want to beat more than any metric or statistic or hypothetical scenario you can present us. Since you don't feel that way, please leave us to decide for ourselves who we love to hate and just stop trying to twist our arms to your perceptions. I don't really think we all think UVA is always our biggest game of a given year, but it is one we just don't want to lose, period. You don't have to agree with it, or even try to understand it, but no, it is no joke. The dislike is deep seated and I, for one, absolutely revel in it.
I never once called it our biggest game. I said it's the most important one to win.
Tenn is most definitely our biggest game. ND would be a close second. But at this stage it is more important not to lose to UVA than it is to win against Tenn and ND. In 3 years, when Fuente is established, winning the Big games will be more important. But right now in the climate that we're in currently it is more important to avoid taking steps backwards than it is to take steps forward. You have to walk before you run.
No win is a sure win. I think as VT fans we should be very aware of that even as sure as UVA seems to be. Two teams in the ACC have drastically improved over the last 7 years. The rest of the league? Up and down.
Thinking a big time coach should come in and lose more games than a coach who just didn't have the energy to do the job any more just seems apathetic to me. Especially when you didn't lose a ton from the previous year. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I just think telling someone they are being unrealistic for expecting the status quo is a bit over the top. No one is seriously calling for this team to be a 10+ win team that I've seen.
Just curious the last few years how many games did you predict us to win prior to the season? Were you in the 10+ win every year camp that was so prevalent?
show me a list of college coaches who have shown improvement in year 1. How many of those coaches came in and took over teams coached by a legend? How many of those coaches took over a team which hadn't had a losing record in over 20 years? Justin Fuente's situation is different from all others. Improvement is on a curve. It's a whole lot easier to turn a 3 win team into a 6 win team than it is to turn a 6 win team into an 8 win team. Especially when you're in a competitive league which is also improving at the same time.
Our schedule is not soft this year. With the improvement of the ACC coupled with our OOC schedule we don't have as many "sure wins" as we're used to having. No body laughs at Duke anymore. Miami has a super star QB. Pitt has a stud RB and a stout defense. UNC is an offensive machine.
I really don't think expecting 6 wins is setting the bar too low for a first year coach with the schedule we have. I honestly think if Beamer and Loeffler were still on the sidelines in 2016 it would be the first time in over 20 years that we miss a bowl game. Beamer retired at exactly the right time. I just don't think this team would manage more than 4 or 5 wins with the offense we had and the question marks we're going into this season with. I'm expecting our offense to improve this year. I think Justin breathes fresh air into the program and I sense that there is more excitement around VT football than there has been in a while. I still believe that making a bowl game this year is going to be quite the accomplishment for him. Without Fuente, I truly believe we'd be home for the holidays by season's end.
when you look at our schedule and factor in all of the question marks we have I just don't see how you can see 8 sure wins without being a homer. The ACC has improved drastically over the last 7 years and there are lots of coaches with promising careers in the league right now.
As much as we like to rag on UVA and how weird Bronco Mendenhall is, he's still a proven coach with a good track record. Mark Richt is no slouch. Larry Fedora has turned UNC into a Coastal Champion. David Cutcliffe always has the Blue Devils punching above their weight. Pat Narduzzi has clearly done a good job with Pitt and I only expect them to improve. Paul Johnson's teams always play us tough. And that is just on our side of the division. Dino Babers has shown that he can turn a team into an offensive juggernaut fairly quickly and I don't really expect anything different from him at Syracuse. By the time we play them in the Carrier Dome they should be half-way competent offensively.
Our schedule consists of:
Liberty - FCS - most definitely should win
Tenn - SEC favored to win the East - loss
BC - ACC bottom dweller - this should be a win but they play good defense and it's early in the season. That has me concerned
ECU - AAC - this has been a tough out for us lately but I think we win this year since they inexplicably fired Ruffin
@ UNC - ACC 2015 Division winner - I honestly don't see how you can mark this as a sure win. We could easily lose this game
@ Syracuse - ACC should be improved - I think we can win this game but Dino Babers is the X-factor IMO
Miami - ACC have beaten us multiple times, have a good coach and a potential #1 draft pick at QB - I would be surprised if VT won this game TBH
@ Pitt - ACC with Connor returning - loss (we never win at Pitt) Narduzzi is a good coach, Connor is a man among boys
@ Duke - ACC well coached by Cutcliffe - I think we have more talent (marginally) and should be able to win this game but it'll be closer than the experts think
GT - ACC - I think we win this. Bud has PJ's number and if they get behind the ball early they struggle to come back and win
@ ND - Independent - loss. Well coached, deep and talented. Winning in Southbend is not a realistic expectation for VT this year. You're crazy or stupid if you think otherwise.
UVA - ACC instate rival with promising new coach - We've won 12 straight. You can look at this one of two ways. 1. They can't beat us. 2. The streak has to end sometime.
I have a much harder time figuring out which games we'll win than I do figuring out which ones we'll lose. That's not a pleasant place to be but that is our reality right now. 8 wins is an insane expectation for this team's floor. I don't honestly see how anybody would be upset with a 7 win season given our circumstances.
ya I already mentioned that was messed up if it was planned out. I guess it could be argued it was a means to an end and she did already save her life. maybe she didn't account on taking the "milk of the poppy" or whatever she gave her and being knocked out.
She saved the actress's life, then asked her to take care of her (i think she got real stitches, etc), all so she could have a crisis of concience to have her end up dead? Doesn't fit with me
that's the part that makes me think it's plausible that she knew exactly how it was going to unfold. she led her exactly where she wanted with the conditions she wanted with a candle burning etc.
What has beating UVA gotten us? No one seems to want to answer that question. Did we dominate in state recruiting because of it? Understand no one wants to lose to them, but it's not a pitch that anyone cares about apparently other than VT fans/students.
I don't want to lose to them either I just think calling them our biggest game is a joke.
in 2012 they were actually tied for first in the coastal, but were not eligible for postseason due to self-sanctions.
the following year they were 2nd. they've been closer than we have lately sadly.
while you think his are unrealistic I think yours are setting the bar as low as possible. Plenty of college coaches come in and show improvement in year 1 and it's not like our teams lately have shown much fire. With a younger, more energetic HC leading the charge I don't think it's unrealistic at all to expect to win at least as many games as we've been accustomed to in the last 4 years.
I do agree it's mostly going to hinge on qb play, but with some of the talent we have at skill positions if CJF has to "dumb" down his offense somewhat to account for first year qb play I think that is what he will do and put our players in positions to make plays. He won't be bullish like loeffler and force a system on people who can't handle it and then blame the players every game for not executing what he knew they weren't able to execute.
you can struggle and still be over middle of the pack in the ACC. if you haven't noticed there haven't been standout qbs aside from the top 2 teams lately. no one is calling/asking for a superstar in year 1. Just need someone who isn't going to turn the ball over 18+ times and can stretch the field from time to time.
Setting your expectations at 6 wins is a cop out to me so we don't have to question the hire. If frank could motivate this team to win 7 games a year over the last 4 (one 8 win season) then that should be the minimal expectation even with a slightly more difficult schedule. Talent is there on offense and that's where CJF earned his money.
Yeah when I watch this gif a few times two big things pop into my head.
One, Belgium's defenders are picking dandelions. I would be furious with them if I were their coach.
Two, the biggest problem with the shot Wondo takes is that it isn't on frame. I would be less disappointed in the effort if he had played it directly towards the keeper, who is a bit outside his line of sight as he focuses on the ball, but he should at least get it on frame. If the keeper stops it, it's better. But he missed the whole goal.
I will never take a loss over any other loss. There are no moral victories! Having said that, close losses sting more because you are just a FG or TD score away from winning. Double digits are a "Oh well!!!, maybe next time".
Dwayne Lawson was supposed to be a super-star and he's shown relatively little since arriving. In the same respect Evans is supposed to be this supremely talented QB but we just haven't seen it yet. He and Motley were basically on even footing by the end of Spring Practice. I think it's silly to assume that we have anything better than Motley (who we had last year and would still have if Beamer were still coaching) until we see otherwise. I hope that Evans is better than what we know but I'm not holding my breath. If your argument is that Evans is the difference between 5 wins and 8 I think you're misguided.
But we wouldn't have our JUCO QB if the Beems was still here so I doubt 6 wins would be easy with the other QBs we have.
It is almost an entirely new staff. Its not "far from the case" when only 3 people were retained and one changed the position he coaches.
I wish it was a yearly rivalry also. 3 of my cousins graduated from A&M. I've only been to college station once. It's similar to blacksburg though which is something that I love. Fans and allumni are nice also. Some of their fans want to play us actually. The A&M allumni that I know are cheering for the Hokes when they play the Vols in the battle at bristol. Hopefully Whit Babcock and the A&M athletic director can talk something out if we play them in the direct tv wooden legacy challenge in late November.
Brady Hoke's one successful season at Michigan (2011) was with Rich Rod's recruits (yes, Danny Coale caught that ball, too). Recruiting stagnated significantly under Hoke. His first two classes were highly ranked, but mostly under performed. His last two saw a noticeable drop followed by a drastic drop off. The cupboard definitely wasn't bare when Harbaugh took over, but to say they still had loads of talent because it's Michigan isn't exactly true. Harbaugh really got every ounce out of that roster last year. We aren't exactly loaded with depth going into the season, but I also feel that the cupboard hasn't been left completely bare for Fuente in year one.
A lot of clout within the state that our coaches have completely squandered with their inability to recruit. And its held UVa back, which is a good thing, because if they get any momentum over us, their ability to recruit in elite players within the state could snowball fast, at our complete detriment. Trust me, you do not want to see the VT-UVa status quo change, especially right now.
Intra-division, Intra-Conference, In-state rival, They might not be the biggest name on the schedule, but its absolutely the one game that is annually circled as a 'you cannot lose this game'. I remember that 2003 game when Schaub kicked our ass. I do not want to experience that again. And that one didn't even have conference title implications.