College Football Quick Picks: Week 9

After the Hokies lost last night I'm pretty despondent with regards to college football. I'm just going to make lazy hasty picks with no explanation whatsoever. I'm just really bummed that Hokie football seems to be repeating the same story over and over again every season.

On a bright note, I took great pleasure in realizing if you google image search for Bryan Stinespring, The picture of Brian and I on the right comes up on the first page. At least someone with a sense of play-calling flow pops up on there.

My picks this week are as follows:

Auburn defeats No. 25 Ole Miss

No. 1 Florida defeats Georgia

Duke defeats Virginia

No. 3 Texas defeats No. 14 Oklahoma State

No. 10 Oregon defeats No. 5 USC

Fire Bryan Stinespring

I admit that this is like beating a very, very dead horse, but in order for the Virginia Tech football program to reach the levels Frank Beamer and the fan base desire Bryan Stinespring must be relieved of his offensive coordinator duties. It was painfully obvious during the Hokies' hard-fought 34-24 loss to No. 5 Alabama Saturday night that Stinespring has made absolutely no progress as a coordinator.

Tech ran the ball effectively but Stinespring only called traditional rushing plays sporadically. The coaching staff raved about true freshman tailback David Wilson before the game, but he only touched the football once on a 3-yard pass reception. Stiney continued to call standard option plays (which failed to work every time) and insisted on calling deep passing plays that failed to materialize.

The Hokies mustered just 155 yards of total offense. Sure they were matched up against a terrific defense, but so were the Crimson Tide and they managed 498 yards.

I'm convinced Stinespring is the worst, most unqualified coordinator in the country and as a result I'm adding a link to another blog called appropriately, Fire Bryan Stinespring.

Hokies Outlast Heels

It was ugly and at times downright embarassing, but the Hokies found enough offense in the second half to sneak past ACC foe North Carolina 20-17 in Chapel Hill Saturday.

Tyrod Taylor struggled in his second outing after being named the sole starter. Taylor finished 11 of 21 for 125 yards and 2 interceptions while rushing 12 times for 35 yards before leaving the game with an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter.

Despite that, Taylor is now 7-0 in his young career as the starter in Blacksburg.

Tech's offense was anemic in the first half, but found some rhythm on some good drives in the second half. Darren Evans ran the ball well, especially late, toting the rock 14 times for 61 yards and an all-important touchdown.

Despite a wildly inconsistent offense, the Hokies managed one of the best comebacks in the Frank Beamer era scoring 17 unanswered points and climbing out of a 14-point hole.

“We never claim to be pretty,” Beamer said. “But I give our players and coaches credit for hanging in there and finding a way to win. And that’s the bottom line – to be able to win. And win together as a football team. I thought our team did a great job of that.”

Next up for the Hokies they step out of conference and head to the "Sea of Red" to take on Nebraska in an 7pm primetime match up on ABC.


ANALYSIS

At the risk of beating a dead horse, the most villified man in Blacksburg (not Sean Glennon) offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring did little to help his case in this game. The Hokies managed less than 100 total yards in the first half, but managed to finish the game with 268 to UNC's 307. UNC also lost starting quarterback T.J. Yates to a sprained ankle in the third quarter. That seemed to be the turning point for both teams though UNC backup freshman Mike Paulus (brother of Duke hooper Greg Paulus seen here doing what he does best) played well before learning what his family knows so well, that feeling of getting owned by the Hokies. Tech desperately needs to find some offensive consistency before the journey to the midwest. I'd like to think that Tech will start moving the pocket more with Taylor and give him chances to throw down field. More likely, get ready for a whole lot of running next week in Linclon.

OTHER NOTES

-Virginia Tech is now 16-1 all-time in ACC road games and won its 18th straight conference road opener. Tech is also 5-0 against North Carolina since joining the ACC.

-Dustin Keys kicked what turned out to be the game-winning field goal on a career long attempt of 45 yards.