Drenched & Freezing but proud to be a Hokie: Game Analysis & More

I hung in there through the entire game, sans poncho, despite being completely drenched and freezing. My fingers were pruned and my hands were blue. People around me said that my lips were turning purple and it was freaky. Coming away with a win made it all worthwhile. It was truly an unforgettable game. Here's my story & some purely observational analysis.

Oh yeah, let me just get this over with really quickly: I wrote a somewhat-popular post two years ago about how North Endzone is embarrassing (back when I sat in it) - you can click my profile and find it easily. I won't complain any further, because everyone is complaining about it now, and the behavior will never change.. It's so sad!

1. Today I sat in "lower South" which essentially completes my tour of seating around the stadium (Upper south, first game Freshman Year, against Ohio; North for two seasons; East for two seasons & single games; and lower West for one game). I was extremely fortunate to get free club-level south tickets for this game, so I had access to the suite-level concession area which is ridiculously nice and was a great place to dry off. The dudes at the concession bar were awesome so if you guys read this, you rock.
2. I dried off briefly at halftime and got a not-ice-cold water and a kosher hotdog (Not Jewish; all-beef is just vastly superior). The second half weather was almost unbearable. I had lost my really incredible Maroon poncho a while ago and I'm very dumb for not having replaced it. In a sea of alumni, Hillary and I were about the only people who didn't have any ponchos, and some of them still left. The rain picked up pretty hard and it was honestly really brutal. My hands were pruned and purple. The old folks in front of us pointed out my lips turned purple. I eventually just became numb to everything. I think I would have died of hypothermia had it not been for one amazing thing: GORE-TEX shoes ... they're worth every penny. My feet were completely dry.
3. On to my analysis of various facets of the game:
   • I really know nothing about Marshall, and I know nothing about CFB, especially this year. I follow VT and VT alone, but I don't keep track of stats etc and don't know people's numbers like I used to. I'm trying to cut down on my information diet. So my statements are pure observation.
   • Defense:
     DL looked great, and the entire front-7* looked good pressuring the quarterback and stopping the inside run (except that one play) I don't know how Marshall's offense generally works and how good they are (except that they're probably worse than us), but the reason the game was so close, and IMO was not a "bad sign", was because they took advantage of our injured and thinned out secondary. How many times did they run 4WR sets? With injuries, the Hokies currently don't have the personnel to stop that. The lack of Exum has Bonner playing CB which sure didn't help. Losing Ronny Van Dyke and Exum leaves pieces out of places - even when the DL forces pocket collapse, a fast QB can scramble because the LBs can't seem to stop him in space, and a lack of rover is killer.
   • Offense:
     What's new here... Logan Thomas can only run in straight lines and can only throw the ball on a rope. He has very little passing touch. The unfortunate part is that his decision making is poor, and he is constantly staring down his intended receiver. Despite his laser throws, which are generally accurate though occasionally thrown behind, the defense can see it coming from a mile away. Unless he makes some pretty dramatic improvements, he's not a quarterback. He isn't a "mobile QB" nor is he a "pocket QB". The underneath pass to the wide open guy out of the backfield, that was entirely Logan's fault. No touch :(
     Our offensive line looks better than it ever has, from what I can remember. They get some holes for the runners, and they give Logan Thomas all the time he needs to make the decisions he isn't making. Trey Edmunds is a very good RB and is INCREDIBLY young. Our receiving corps is young and not great but Josh Stanford looks very good on the field. He has great hands and isn't afraid to catch the ball and get slammed. I think the dearth of RBs and Joel Caleb having to switch back and forth has actually helped him develop into a role that really helps the team. He can play both positions well and is very successful with plays in motion, i.e. lining up as a WR and then cutting across to take the handoff (sweep play?).
     Maybe I am wrong on this, but the play calls leading up to the FG attempts were not that good. To me, running the ball and centering it up for the kicker is pretty important. I'm also a fan of the "attempt a high-probability kick on third down, so that any issue with the snap or hold can be rectified on the second try" philosophy, but if that's not going to happen, centering the ball seems pretty important. There were some odd situations where the Hokies were on the hashmark and kept running it outside.
   • Special Teams:
     The punt block and score was extremely exciting, though a VT 10-man front against the Marshall special teams, at the start of the game against a loud crowd, it's really not that mind-blowing. Great play though. Kyshoen Jarrett made a mistake when he didn't call for a fair catch. On a punt block attempt, he should be aware that there's no one there to block for him.
   • Play of the day by my eye: Kyshoen Jarret's touchback INT, where he managed to catch the ball while simultaneously giving the wideout a good lick.
     Though the blocked punt, blocked field goal, and crazy fumble recovery were also epic and very important; I had a good angle on the INT and it was one of the best individual plays I've seen.