Week 7: Virginia Tech vs. Duke (Oct. 13, 2012)

[hokiegrad]

I need someone to make me a Luther Maddy pic that is small enough for an avatar. he was the player of the game, IMO.

just for you. That's Renfree underneath him.

 

[m477hokie]

Lol, made that long post and made a crucial mistake, for some reason, because of the GT game I thought there might be 9 games vs. ACC teams. Disregard that. I guess the only scenario aside from us beating Miami is them dropping two bad games and us beating Clemson or FSU. I hope we can stay pumped for that even if we lose to Clemson.

 

[Hokie Swagger]

Lol, made that long post and made a crucial mistake, for some reason, because of the GT game I thought there might be 9 games vs. ACC teams. Disregard that. I guess the only scenario aside from us beating Miami is them dropping two bad games and us beating Clemson or FSU. I hope we can stay pumped for that even if we lose to Clemson.

even if we lose to clemson and miami beats fsu, we'd still control our own destiny. miami will be tough, but if we play like we did the last 3 quarters today then we have a good chance. miami is just as hot and cold as we are

 

[hokiegrad]

I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but what needs to happen for us to win the Coastal division?

UNC would be, but due to their regulations, they are out of the picture (and the team I was rooting for today). That leaves Miami, which, after the loss to UNC today, is 3-1 in the ACC. We are 2-1 in the ACC now.

Miami (3-1) remaining ACC schedule
-FSU
-Virginia Tech
-UVA
-@Duke

VT (2-1) remaining ACC schedule
-@Clemson
-@Miami
-FSU
-@BC
-WhoVA (0-3 ACC, maybe I should just add this and make us 3-1 ACC above)

This leaves a lot of scenarios that could play out. I think we have a decent shot at Clemson, but lets just say we lose and drop to 2-2, and Miami loses to FSU, putting them at 3-2.

Then, we play Miami on the road on a Thurs night game. A win for us makes us 3-2, with them at 3-3; a loss makes it 2-3 and 4-2, respectively. I think we win that, and are then 3-2 going into FSU, BC, and UVA - giving us 8 conference games. My question is, if we have the tie breaker, and we are 5-3 and Miami is 5-3, will we win via the head to head tiebreaker? Obviously this is not how it will likely play out, but I just like looking down the road. I think we probably win either Clemson or FSU if we can play a whole game like we did vs. Duke.

FIFY.

Yes, if we beat Miami and we both end the season 5-3 (let's say we lose to Clemson and FSU but win the rest, and Miami loses to us and FSU and wins the rest), we would go to the ACCCG off the tiebreaker. Assuming Duke isn't 6-2.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Thanks! Beer is on me for the SportsHoopla tailgate.

 

[m477hokie]

And Duke still plays UNC, FSU, Clemson, GT and Miami. LOL

 

[hokiegrad]

And Duke still plays UNC, FSU, Clemson, GT and Miami. LOL

I think they've got a good shot to win 1 or 2 of those (GT and Miami, cough cough), but they're not going to be 6-2, I agree.

 

[Ragingcroc]

I'm actually rooting for Duke to get to a bowl game. I hope they manage to win another game to become bowl eligible.

 

[wildturkey]

Random thought. The girl from the Mexican national team on that Fifa commercial = kinda hawt!

Read the whole topic. ^ is the most quote worthy post.



As for the game, it was like it was two different teams out there. 1st quarter was the shit team we've seen so many times this year. The rest of the game, especially the 2nd half, we actually produced something that looked like VT football. For the first time all year, the d-line got consistent QB pressure. It started with some slight hurries in the 2nd quarter...which lead to a few QB hits...and then finally a full on assault with multiple sacks typical of our defenses in the past. It's about damn time these guys woke up and kicked some ass instead of getting knocked back on their own asses every down.

Secondary played pretty well imo. I know people will be upset with some of the throws given up, but honestly, some of it were just great throws/catches that beat tight coverage. For whatever reason this year, Foster is leaving our guys one on one with no safety help. While is wasn't perfect, most of our DBs did a decent job staying with guys. It certainly helped that we finally got some QB pressure to bail them out. Also, I still don't understand Cole and Bonner being on the field so much. Is RVD going to have to get 5 sacks, 6 INTs, and 4 TDs in one game to stay on the field or something?

O-line (I'm included FBs and TEs here) did the best job they've done all year blocking. Logan had time to throw and more importantly, they opened up great holes for the RBs. I've been on the JC for starter bandwagon since Spring so I'm glad to see him get the bulk of the carries this game. I hope it continues.

And a big positive is for the 2nd game in a row, LT looked good. Maybe he's finally worked himself out of that disasterious funk he got himself into.

I just hope the team isn't feeling great about themselves after this win. One game looking like what we expected at the beginning of the season doesn't mean everything has been corrected. Duke, while better, is still Duke (meaning lower tier talent). This game should be seen as just a step in the positive direction. There's still a ways to go meet the standards expected of this team.

 

[hokiegrad]

im talking specifically about rehabbing it and being ready for next year. if he shredded his knee, who knows if hed be the same player next year. witha broken ankle im confident he will be good to go next year. with the knee, you never know.

I'm not sure this is better than a knee injury. If it's really a Maisonneuve fracture, which is what someone posted in AB's blog comments, he's got a pretty bad break and torn ligaments. I'm not expert, so I hope it's not as bad as it sounds to me.

 

[Ragingcroc]

I was really thrilled to see the comeback but I feel like I have to a little bit pessimistic here. Duke played a big part in their self destruction. They blew deep coverage 2-3 times on Marcus Davis. Duke WRs were dropping balls left and right. Duke QB and WRs gifted us two interceptions.
However, you could still see amazing improvement. I was glad to see good blocking from the oline, FBs and TEs. I was also really excited to see TEs involvement in the passing game.
Once the offense got going, it was like a switch went off on the dline and they were getting pretty good pressure on the QB. I thought the secondary and LBs played well all game.

 

[hokiegrad]

completely agree, croc. Well, except maybe about the secondary playing well all game.

 

[Hokie Swagger]

I'm not sure this is better than a knee injury. If it's really a Maisonneuve fracture, which is what someone posted in AB's blog comments, he's got a pretty bad break and torn ligaments. I'm not expert, so I hope it's not as bad as it sounds to me.

didnt realize it was torn ligaments as well, thats what i feared with the knee. definitely looked very bad on the replay. hopefully he can rehab and get back for next season. sounds like a broken fibula as well.

 

[VTfoozball]

To me Miller never seemed more than average and I never understood why he got preseason All ACC honors. At least I think he did. Still he was the #1 center

 

[NickVT10]

So nice to see the OL and DL play well. OL opened some holes finally and the DL had pressure we havent had all year.

 

[757Hokie83]

man, well it took 6 1/4 games, but damn it it feels good to see us play like we should be playing. Here's hoping we carry this forward to the stretch with Clemson, Miami, and FSU

 

[VTfoozball]

Did anyone notice on the INT that was intended for Gregory that Marcus Davis ran a route that ended up in the same area as Gregory? Is that what you want to do with your receivers? Have them in the same spaces to bring more defensive players together and make it easier for the defense?

 

[Ragingcroc]

 

[hunzworth]

Did anyone notice on the INT that was intended for Gregory that Marcus Davis ran a route that ended up in the same area as Gregory? Is that what you want to do with your receivers? Have them in the same spaces to bring more defensive players together and make it easier for the defense?

It looks like they are in the same area because the play slowed down when Gregory bobbled the catch. When logan releases the ball gregory is in the flat to the right side of the field on about the 15, davis is over the middle at about the 25, 10 yards of north south space and about 20 yards of east to west between them.

Davis is actually running a drag from the opposite side of the field and if gregory catches the ball without bobbling it davis would have crushed the guy who made the pick and sprung gregory for a big gain.

 

[VTfoozball]

What matters is when the ball gets to him. When it gets there Davis is 5 yards away from Gregory and bringing a defensive player with him. It's either a wrong route by Davis or a stupid play drawn up by one of the offensive masterminds at VT. Let's say Gregory catches it...what if Davis makes that block but the guy covering Davis makes the tackle on Gregory