What If...

Gents,

For over a week now I have witnessed the tidal wave of negativity pouring forth from our great fanbase. It seems to me that we've come to a consensus on several items. To my wit, they are:

• The team has quit on the head coach.
• A wave of opt-outs and transfers are coming.
• The head coach is getting fired in a few weeks.
• Clemson will beat us by a large margin – I've seen 40+ in several places.
• We are likely to lose to UVA for the second year in a row.
• We will face two or three down years before we can hope to be competitive again.

Now, I'm not the wisest monk in the temple. But my experience is that whenever everybody is 100% certain that something is going to happen, the opposite usually occurs. The Universe has a wry sense of humor in that way.

Then I look at the fact that our guys had no Spring camp, no real Fall camp due to quarantines, and no bye week for nine straight weeks... all while being subjected to COVID-related rules, restrictions, protocols, and testing... and I can't help but ask: what if the sky isn't falling?

What if what we saw in the second half of the Pitt game was simply the result of physical wear and tear paired with mental exhaustion?

After all, we have never before asked our guys to go through such a grind, for so long, without them even getting proper conditioning in the offseason. What's more, we've asked them to do this despite the fact that we can't fill the stands to offer our energy and support.

Then I notice that no players slated for major playing time went home for Thanksgiving and never came back... as so many people said they would do. And I have to ask: what if the team hasn't quit on the head coach?

Then I look at Penn State's record... 1-5.

Nebraska's record: 1-4.

Stanford's record: 1-2.

Tennessee's record: 2-5.

Michigan State's record: 2-3.

Michigan's record: 2-4...

Obviously, other traditionally strong programs are struggling mightily under the circumstances we've all been dealt this year as well. In fact, Virginia Tech has had a far better year than Penn State and Michigan, both of whom were highly ranked to start the season.

And I must ask once again: what if the sky isn't really falling?

Thinking about the question...

If the sky isn't falling, then that means we probably have a hungry football team right now.

We have a team that's come off three gut-wrenching losses. We have a team that has been bombarded with negativity on social media for nearly two weeks. This includes reading random strangers claim that certain individuals are going to opt out. It includes reading about how their coaches are going to be fired in a few weeks... how the team is going to lose the rest of its games... and how Virginia Tech won't be good for at least two or three more years while the new coach rebuilds.

Come to think of it, hungry probably isn't strong enough of a word.

If the sky isn't falling, we probably have a football team with their backs against the wall. A team in which every player knows that nobody else believes in them. A team that knows it is us against the world.

What's more, we have a team that finally got a much-needed bye week. They got a chance to heal up some of the bumps and bruises. A chance to recharge their mental and spiritual batteries.

And for the defense, the bye week may have been the first non-game week all season where the entire unit was available to practice. If that's the case, I would expect that the defense has taken a big step forward since we have last seen them.

Yes, I recognize that there's a chance I am wrong about all this. It is possible that the team has quit, the sky is falling, the coach is getting fired, and Clemson wins by 40+ on Saturday.

But if I'm right... if the mainstream consensus is almost always wrong... and if our guys are dialed in with their backs to the wall...

Well, that means we are in for a battle on Saturday. A battle which the opposing team thinks will be a cake walk... A battle in which even our own fans think we will get blown away.

I, for one, say bring it on. No surrender, no retreat.

See you Saturday night.