As I sit here and lose brain cells reading ESPN's ACC bowl projections, including Georgia Tech finishing ahead of us in the division, I'm wondering who really is our strongest competition to make the ACCCG. I really think it's UNC and Miami, and really I think we have a better chance against the team with the weaker defense. GT does not have a strong defense, and da U's offense is lacking at the moment.
So who ya got as the team who has the best shot to challenge us for the division title?
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UNC and Miami, just like you said. Miami will put up points eventually - Morris is too good of a QB not to be effective. Also, Duke Johnson is always a threat. Then with UNC, they may not play well defensively, but they can hang with anyone in terms of putting up points, and if it's us vs. them in a shootout, we saw what will happen with the results of last year's game.
You can't just write-off these two because of deficiencies on one side of the ball. I mean, the Hokies aren't effective on offense thus far this season but without the Speshul Teems mistakes, we're within two scores of Bama at the end of that game.
I kind of wish people would stop with the 'speshul teams' references...
Anyway, I think any of the three teams could be our competition this year.
I'd actually put GT over Mia. I think handling the triple option is probably harder than a turn over prone Stephen Morris..
I haven't used it since Bama. That was not Beamerball.
Also I love that you said "any of the three," completely discrediting Duke and LOLUVA. Turkey leg for you.
And Pitt. F&%$ Pitt.
Also, f#*@ conference realignment.
Except @VT4SEC. Once that happens then we're done. Right?
triple option is hard, especially on a short week heading into ATL
Probably Miami. But every team in this division has a major flaw. UNC hasn't looked great yet this year, so they could be in for a worse year than people think. Hopefully they tire out GT this weekend though because going to Atlanta on a short week is going to be tough.
I fear GT the most. We have to play them on a short week. Miami doesn't know what home field advantage is. UNC and PITT we have at home and both of their defenses look pretty underwhelming. We can definitely win all of those games but I'm afraid that we'll drop a dumb one. I could see us beating GT and then losing to UNC..which wouldn't make any sense...but that's how it goes sometimes.
Dunno about that. Miami hasn't had home field advantage since the 80's....unless you count that Florida game last weekend. That might wake the sleeping giant, even though a lot of those fans were UF fans, the U definitely had home field advantage.
they were expected to show up for an "in state rivalry" that's on its way out. When will they play florida at home again? They've had us 2 years in a row....and if we don't make it through the GT UNC PITT stretch unscathed I don't see any reason for thUgz fans to show up for that game.
Anyone is our strongest compeition as long as our offense proves to be inept. The offense has got to execute extremely well against Marshall for me to have any good ACC hopes. If the offense keeps stalling on drives, and playing subpar, the defense can only do so much for us. The offense has to at least score on 3-4 drives. It didn't help that Journell massively stunk it up...but points have to be in the board from offense to be winning against a team like UNC, GT, Miami who we know will put up at least 14 points.
Journell had a tough game, and to his credit he didn't mention his back spasms earlier in the week. He's been money for us in the past, and he's certainly no Ray Finkle (which, by the way, on one kick, the laces weren't out!).
I agree--but I will use the sugarbowl argument. Should that game have only been field goal kicks until someone missed? No...but it was. This offense was moving the ball but couldn't finish drives.
All four teams do something well and stand a chance of winning the division. VT has overall the strongest unit (defense) and maybe the weakest (offense). Miami has probably the best gamebreaking player in Duke Johnson. It's tough to sort the QB's out, all four are pretty good and you have to consider the talent around them. GT plays Clemson and Miami plays FSU, also very important. UNC plays NCSU, a game that is traditionally very tough to call. Miami and GT get 2 of the 3 tough division games at home whereas VT and UNC get only 1. GT, interestingly, plays UNC/VT/Miami in consecutive weeks, with an off Saturday due to the Thursday nighter.
I don't see any team with a significant advantage. It's anybodies game. It may come down to QB play.
I like this, not merely a "how do the Hokies stack up" vs. these teams, but what does each team face throughout the season. Every conference game counts! Although, if we beat them all, none of that matters...
Yeah, the difference maker might be a loss to Duke or Pitt or .....gasp....uva.
LOLuva??? Never happen.
Could be GT, UNC, Miami, or VT on top:
GT- brutal 3 week schedule (UNC, VT, @Miami) and plays @Clemson
UNC - hasn't beaten GT since 2008. Plays @VT, then vs Miami on short week. Easy Atlantic opp (NCSU, BC).
Miami - plays GT, then short week @UNC, plays @ FSU, terrible D but many playmakers on offense
VT - short week @ GT, weak Atlantic opp (BC & UMD*), terrible O but great D
Could go any way, really. My homer is analysis is VT, because Hokies going to Hokie.
*UMD may be better than expected, but definitely not on par with Clemson and FSU.
If GT throws often like they have in the last few games, it could get rough for them
Facyson and the Fullers would probably be ok with that. I think Kyshoen will be too busy up at the line introducing himself to Mr. Lee to play much pass defense though.
While most seem to believe that we are more of a darkhorse than a contender, I don't see any team that is that much better than us. GT scares me only because the triple option is tough. We have held it well, but it's still tough to play against since one mistake can make you pay. Miami though, their offense had 212 yards against UF. Duke Johnson is good, but I think Stephen Morris is similar to Jacory Harris. UNC, well I can't really tell with them. They appear to be a struggling defense and a slightly above average offense. They shredded us last year, but they haven't shown much this year that puts them as a huge threat in my books. Then again, they played a good USCe and then gave up 20 to Middle Tennessee. When it comes down to those three teams, I'm glad we play GT and UNC early since it could be before they are running on all cylinders and I'm glad we get Miami at the end so that we can be moving better. I have faith that our defense can hold UNC and GT for us to win and that our offense will come along enough for us to win against Miami.
Nobody is giving Georgia Tech the Respect they deserve. Vad Lee is a beast! He is 100x the QB Tevin Washington will ever be annd he is 10x better than Nesbitt. HE runs an easy 4.5 and has a cannon of an arm. WE struggled when GT had an athletic QB with Nesbitt, let alone a great athlete. Not to mention the fact that we are playing them on a short week. GT is our main problem, but UNC is not too far behind. They have beaten us 2 out the last 4 meetings. Also, DUKE JOHNSON is a FREAKING TANK!
Ah, yes, but is Tank Johnson a freaking Duke? That's the real question here.
But GT is going to be tough. Good thing Calvin Johnson's eligibility has run out.
GT has yet to play a team with any sort of a defense. We will reserve judgment on Vad Lee until he plays a full season against some teams that actually can tackle well and line up with some talent. That being said, he does look like a bigger threat than his predecessors, but his body of work in minimal. GT will be a big test, especially on a short week, but I suspect the story of that game will be if our offense is productive enough to give our D some rest and put enough points on the board to keep us competitive. Turnovers will kill us, a strong running game will save us.
I think Georgia Tech is going to be out first real test in conference plays. Playing them has always gone down to the wire, and I expect this game to follow the trend. Past trend has shown the winner of the Techno Bowl goes on to represent the Coastal, yet last year completely changed the trend with Miami self-imposing a ban and UNC ineligible due to their academic scandal which still is going on. So the question this fall is - is this a start of a new trend where the loser of the Techno Bowl represents the Coastal, or was it an anomaly?
As others have stated, playing their triple-option are a pain in the posture to defend, but Foster has done well after visiting with Iowa and studying the film. The words on the web is the Bumble Bees are tinkering with their triple-option. As we saw last fall, Johnson has added the pistol to his playbook for the misdirection and down-hill running style that the pistol is, theoretically, supposed to do. Also, we won't be seeing Logan Thomas going up against grandpa Groh, but against Ted Roof. Now, I don't know Roof or his style, but I think I have read that Roof loves to be aggressive on defense and blitz happy. Should be an interesting match up.
UNC is a bit of a mystery. As we have seen in week one, UNC don't have the defense to slow down aggressive, quick-hitting offense, but I would counter that South Carolina's offensive line outweighed UNC's defensive line. So, I think this is gonna be a push. Fortunately, with Foster's 4-4 and 46 defense along with our secondary who are playing beyond their years, I believe that we can win this game. It will be up to our offense to redeem themselves after last year's debacle. I do not think they are a serious contender for the Coastal crown...yet.
Miami is one of those cases where they are on fire, and the next game they are just a cluster. I'll give Golden credit because he got the Hurricanes trending in the right direction. I like Golden because he's classy, but don't like him because he's coaching the Hurricanes, go figures. I'm not sold on Stephen Morris as a sure-fire quarterback in spite of what Mama Giraffe will have us believing. Not sure if Miami's defense are that good or just average.
Pittsburgh is my dark horse. I can't really explain why, but I think they may make noise.
In short, the Coastal is a mess. I don't think it will be settled until maybe November after Hate Week.
Jameis Winston would love Pitt to be the darkhorse in the Coastal
I think you're right that GT will be our first real test in conference play...being as they're the first ACC team that we'll play this year. Nailed it!
Fact!
Thank you for saying that because I was about to say it myself.
thanks...nice GIF...here's a leg
btw..loved that movie as a kid..watched it more than home alone
It's GT all the way..that's the team that will win the division if VT is unable to do so. Did anyone watch the Florida Maimi game? Miami wasn't able to move the football, they couldn't run it, and they couldn't throw it. Florida doubled them in total yard aged, turned it over in the red zone, had 5 gift wrapped turnovers, gave Miami a turn over inside the 10, and basically gave Miami the game. Did anyone see UNC not move the ball on USC? Did you also see Gerogia and Vanderbuilt more the ball at will against USC? Yes, that's a snapshot of a few games but so is it on the VT offense. With GT now able to throw the football if makes them more difficult to defend.
Admittedly that Florida defense will probably be the toughest they see until they run into us. Miami was able to put up points last year so I suspect their offense will be at least good enough.
Yeah, those are valid points..Florida looks good n that side of the ball.
with this O, every week is competition. the defense can not slip up, a bit.
The Coastal is really The Tech Division. Miami fans say they're "back" which means they'll slip up and likely lose to UVA. UNC just isn't the same team as last year. I see the Hokies out for some vengeance against both teams.
That being said, playing GT on a short week, with our offense still not firing on all cylinders frightens me. Special Teams and Defense may very well be what decides if we win or lose.
Yeah- somehow Mike London has managed to own Da U, an utterly inexplicable 3-0 against them.
It's because he watched the 30 on 30 about them. You know, the one he uses to recruit the 757 kids. He found the secret to their "swagger" and realized that there is no "U" in "back".
Probably everyone at Miami is too afraid London is going to arrest them to focus on football.
I laughed
Darn right the Heels ain't the same team..one word, Bernard.
So where are we talking about how impressed we are with how NC State is playing against Clemson so far?
Doesn't seem like we have a mirroring Atlantic thread going, but yeah, NC State is spending a extraordinary amount of time in Clemson's backfield. I've been watching with no audio though, so I can't tell when that timeout before the nonexistent pick was called.
The long TD that got called back was nonsense. Then, two plays later, Clemson picked up a fumble and scored on the subsequent drive. I'm calling shenanigans, but the Doeren (sp?) should have gotten that play reviewed.
I almost think a review should be triggered when it isn't even clear what the call on the field was. The first signal I saw was touchdown, then out-of-bounds, then a whole bunch of confusion as everyone stared at each other sort of dumbfounded. I guess the officials agreed on the out-of-bounds call and that's what was technically the call on the field. In any case, a bit of video review would have helped there, and it certainly should have been challenged by the coach.
Here's what the confusion was...
Head Ref:"What the hell, dude? He was in bounds by at least half a foot!"
Line Judge:"Swofford's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."
Head Ref: "Oh."
#goacc
Clemson is doing what needs to be done on the road and I'm hopping they win out so the Hokies can knock them off in the ACCCG.
We owe it to ourselves to retake the Coastal. Then settle the score with the hated tigers of clemson
Amen
I don't trust the GT offense at all. All it takes is a good defensive strategy and you beat it. Between us, Celmson, UNC, and Miami, they will lost at least two of those so that pust them behind in the division.
UNC can score, but their defense is suspect. Miami should beat them no problem and if our defense can contain them, we have a shot, especially playing at home.
Miami is our biggest threat, they have the most playmakers and probably the best coach out of this list of compeition. They have FSU, who they can beat, but even if they lose that doesn't put them out of it.
With us, anything is possible and we can lose to anyone but to me our season will come down to three games: GT, UNC, and Miami.
We have to beat Miami because I think they will lose only one ACC game outside of us, and we have to split with GT and UNC at worst to have a chance.
If the offense continues to sputter, all our opponents are our biggest competition. Can't win if you can't score at least a few points.
I am cautiously optimistic about this season. If we can get past the injury bug and the offense comes together this weekend against Marshall then I think we win a close one with GT. UNC can score but at home I am less worried about them. Miami may be over-hyped but they have loads of Talent on offense and their defense is only going to get better over the season. I think it is very possible that we make it to Miami as a 1 loss team and the division rides on that game. It's a rivalry and I can't stand the "u" or its fans but that one is going to be tough. Otherwise we have to avoid a letdown against a scrappy Pitt or Maryland. At this point there is never a reason why UVA should matter or beat VT. Nothing would make me happier than staring down Clemson of FSU in the ACC Championship! Revenge either way would be sweet! Go Hokies!!!