http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1742069-virginia-tech-football-game-b...
Interesting article. My take, as always, is you play the game for a reason...to disprove articles like this.
I think it is a decent article but with a few caveats:
-I think we can beat UNC and I think we can stop their offense, so I see the score being reversed.
-Historically Pitt has always played VT tough so i don't see that game being that lopsided
-Bud is good at defending a triple option threat but with 4 days...that is tough
-I think we can also take Miami
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IMO, UNC and Bama are our two hardest games this year. Fortunately, we have 10 days to prepare to play UNC at home, so I'm hopeful we can pull that one out. GT is never easy after a short week, and as mentioned in the OP, Pitt always seems to play us tight. I'm not sure why there's so much talk about Miami... They lost 5 games last year, only one less than us (one of which was to UVA).
One thing is for sure, I can't wait to watch this season pan out!
I agree, bama and UNC will be the hardest. I think every loss will be close (unlike last year), but I think with the 10 days we can come out on top. But as I said, as well as you, just gonna have to wait and see.
I would be peachy with a 9-3 season. I'd rather not lose to Miami though....
Miami does have duke Johnson though and he scares me more than any player on our schedule
I agree, but both Amari Cooper and TJ Yeldon are in that same category for me.
Our toughest ACC games are UNC, Pitt, GT and Miami, and I think we split those. If we do, I'd be happy going into bowl season with 8 wins, but 9 would be nice.
I'd rather lose to gt than to unc and Miami, but I like the sound of 9-3 to build into next year
Agreed. I'd be just fine with 9 wins headed into the bowl game. I actually think this article is pretty fairly written compared to the slop that the Hoo fan wrote a little earlier.
Bama 23VT 7. Not enough offense for VT, but enough defense to force Bama into FG's.
VT 44 WCU 0. Jim Weaver stealing season tix holders $$$.
VT 37 ECU 10. Offense starting to come together, defense setting them up with many short fields.
VT 41 Marshall 7. Ditto.
VT 31 GT 14. Bud all over that option, 150+ yards from Edmunds.
VT 24 UNC 13. Gayle sacks Renner 3x, LT with 3 rushing TD's.
VT 34 Pitt 7. We're due. They lost Shel.
VT 27 Duke 20. Cutcliffe always has a good game plan for Bud. Duke isn't awful this year.
VT 23 BC 10. Tough to go to Boston, LT is loose w/ the ball.
Miami 27 VT 23. Miami has a couple other loses, so we still win the division.
VT 24 uva 6. Offensively they will be a mess by the end of the year.
VT 17 Clemson 14. We can't let Tajh Boyd go undefeated against us.
VT 28 Texas 10 in Orange Bowl. Woody Baron scores a TD on a fumble return.
Seems legit, but I'd prefer we beat Miami to prove they still can't beat us back-to-back in the ACC.
You're forgetting our win over Maryland.
Also, not sure how I feel about the idea of this squad being the first to deliver a 12-win season to Blacksburg....
Oh yeah, we'll beat Maryland about 27-7 on senior night.
I don't see anything wrong with this team. Great defense and a senior QB, that's a recipe for success. Need the OL to come along and we need time for a WR or two to step up. Edmunds will get every chance to be a bull in this offense, if he holds on to the ball he can put up a season on par with Darren Evans in 2008.
I think when others say 7-5 is our basement, this is probably our season's ceiling. I see the loss to Miami being traded for a win and a loss to UNC. I don't see us going undefeated through ACC play but that is why we play the game and I think we have the potential.
The offensive line seems to be gaining a bit of cohesion and Shane said the scrimmage was only 2% of what we have. That, coupled with a young and talented defense, can put us into contention with all of the teams we play, except maybe bama. If it all comes together right, it can be a surprising season for the Hokies...but that energy and intensity is back and I love it.
Also, I don't see bama being 23-7, though I don't see them scoring more than 28.
Optimist:24-17 W
Realist: 14-24 L
Pessimist: 7-28 L
I think the realist version has to be close to the Vegas spread. I'd say this...
Insane Optimist: 21-20 W
Normal Optimist: 24-17 L
Realist: 28-10 L
Pessimist: 41-7 L
So my worst case scenario is about LSU 2007 and best case scenario is USC 2004 minus the bogus pass interference call.
I'm thinking anywhere between 7-5 and 10-2. 7-5 if we suffer even one more injury and have to shuffle people around and throw young guys into the fire. 10-2 if we lose to Alabama (but gain confidence), then gel as a team, rally, and suffer one more loss to a good team over the course of the year (thinking Miami, because they're going to score 45 a game, or UNC, because of course some bullshit will happen at some point).
You're forgetting 12-0, where we #BEATBAMA, and ride that high through the season.
But then again, if you're considering that, then you might consider lowering the floor as well. I could see a season where we go 5-7, if half of our defense ends up hurt by October.
I uhhh...did forget that. I don't think we'll sink that low, though. But I think it will take a few seasons to get back to 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 wins. Next year could be a rough year with the graduations we'll see at the end of the year. And I think it will take until McLaughlin is a junior until we build a championship-caliber offensive line.