A Look Ahead: Virginia Tech vs. Miami

By Justin Cates

Maybe it's my fault.

It certainly appears ominous now that I left the Duke preview hovering at the top of the page this past week.

After that miserable 13-10 loss, the Hokies looked to rebound against Boston College. The folks from Chestnut Hill did not cooperate.

For the second consecutive week, Tech put up some big numbers and largely dominated the stat sheet but also once again made far too many mistakes to win.

The Hokies racked up 446 yards of total offense to BC's 289 but lost by seven thanks largely to four turnovers by quarterback Logan Thomas.

Thomas threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns becoming Tech's all time leader in total offense, but also lost two fumbles and tossed two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

That makes eight turnovers for Logan in the two losses. Whatever happened during the Hokies' bye week has had disastrous consequences for the senior signal caller.

The only real bright spot on offense Saturday came from receiver Joshua Stanford. The redshirt freshman had a breakout game with six catches for 171 yards. He's shown a great deal of improvement over the season and continues to make tough catches when needed.

Demitri Knowles on the other hand is a puzzling case.

The redshirt sophomore has shown tremendous potential but has struggled at times this season. His kick returns have been terrible—an area where he excelled as a freshman—and he seems reluctant to make tough catches over the middle.

Against BC he blew a wide open catch when it appeared he didn't look for the ball, instead flailing his arms at the last second and knocking the pass in the air for a defender to grab for an interception.

It's easy to blame Thomas for everything—and he's playing really poorly at present—but the supporting cast continues to have its issues.

The defense played as one would expect, though one could argue it was an off day. Subtracting the pick six, the Hokie defense gave up 27 points and got run all over by the Eagles' outstanding senior tailback Andre Williams.

The Hokies will be glad to see Andre Williams graduate. I sure as Hell will.

Williams finished with 33 carries for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

That took all the pressure off quarterback Chase Rettig and allowed him to simply manage the game. Rettig completed 11-of-14 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-2 ACC) is now tasked with taking down Coastal Division leader Miami (7-1, 3-1 ACC).

The rival Hurricanes are coming off a tough loss to Florida State, a result made worse by a key injury against the Seminoles.

All-ACC tailback Duke Johnson suffered a broken ankle late in the game and will be lost for the rest of the season. That puts backup Dallas Crawford in the starting role.

Crawford played exceptionally well when Johnson was injured against North Carolina putting together 33 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Crawford is very good, but not nearly at the level of Johnson.

The injury hurts, but the 'Canes will win or lose based on the play of quarterback Stephen Morris.
 
Morris and Logan Thomas are basically the same person. Both are talented, athletic passers responsible for many great plays and victories. They also both make bonehead plays and ill-advised throws that hurt their teams.

Morris has 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the season. Thomas now has 11 touchdowns and 12 picks.

Which Stephen Morris will show up Saturday? Definitely the one with this awful tattoo.

You get the idea.

These are two strong defenses so whichever team can get better quarterback play stands the best chance to win.

I have absolutely no idea who that will be and expect it to vary from quarter to quarter or even drive to drive.

For the second straight year Miami plays this one at home in prime time. That may well be the advantage that puts them over the top.

No. 14 Miami hosts Virginia Tech at 7 PM Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. The game will be shown on ESPN.

No Really, My Bracket was Great for a Minute

By Justin Cates

I only filled out one bracket this year so that, in theory, I could remember the teams I picked while sitting in a noisy bar or watching games at a birthday bash while distracted by a pantless push-up contest.

As it turns out, I can't help but forget how far I had Syracuse going or if I should be rooting for or against Minnesota because I have the short term memory of a goldfish.

None the less, for the first two days of the tournament I was living high off the hog. My bracket was almost perfect complete with the correct upset selections of LaSalle, Minnesota and California. Yeah I missed Harvard and Florida Gulf Coast, but so did nearly everyone else. I should have been giving interviews on TV explaining my methods.

In fact I was surprised to wake up and check my standing in the ESPN bracket challenge Saturday morning was as follows.

That's right, I had one of the best brackets in the country and it was then I realized I was doomed. 

No bracket goes long without a catastrophic misfire unless you've made proper sacrifices at the alter of the basketball Gods. But I'm a Hokie, the basketball Gods hate me. 

Saturday started off fine with a beer downtown and a Michigan State victory. Then back to the house for a little drinking game during the Louisville win that kept my show rolling.   

The game was basically one drink for a made three-pointer and two drinks for an alley-oop. We quickly ruled that a made two-pointer combined with a made free throw counted as a three, then we added dunks to the list, then charges, then commercial breaks and soon it was, "Hey let's play beer pong!"

That brings us to the evening and that's when things went south on a number of fronts. 

Why exactly I picked Gonzaga to make a run is beyond me. They've been one and done in the tournament every year since I was in high school and somehow I decided they were getting to the Final Four. Perhaps it's best I hadn't been giving interviews.

I figured I was done even though it was the only Final Four team I'd missed on—in fact it still is. 

But then the Syracuse game happened and like a dummy I'm cheering along with all the other 'Cuse fans I was hanging with, thinking I had picked them over Cal.

That was incorrect.

It turns out I somehow had Cal over the Orange and didn't realize until the following morning when I found my challenge ranking hovering around 700,000. 

Now, as I rest comfortably just below 3 millionth I can finally just watch and enjoy the mayhem. 

I've been enjoying the bittersweet triumphs of Virginia Tech transfer (seriously they mention this constantly) Tyrone Garland as he's helped LaSalle to the Sweet Sixteen with his, 'Southwest Philly Floater'. 

Everyone loves Florida Gulf Coast, even though I'm not convinced it's a real school. I'm game for more of this bunch as they seem to have a blast ruining everyone's bracket. Plus, I'm sick of hearing how loyal Billy Donovan is to Florida. 

Am I the only one who remembers him taking to Orlando Magic job for a day? Actually, yeah I probably am. 

"I'm happy to be here....NOT....Rickrolled NBA style!!!!"

I'll continue to disregard the many rodent faces of coach K and his boring Blue Devils and I'll keep enjoying my guilty pleasure by kind-of, sort-of rooting for Miami. I can't help it, that Jim Larranaga is so darn likable!

It should be fun even if your bracket, like mine, has taken a turn for the worst. 

In fact, that's probably for the best. At least that's what I'll keep telling myself.

"You WILL respect me!!! EEEEEEEK"

  

Logan Thomas and the Hokies Need a New Mindset

Quarterback Logan Thomas was visibly upset in the waning moments of Virginia Tech's disheartening 30-12 loss to the Miami Hurricanes Thursday in Miami Gardens.

The frustration was understandable given how Logan played and the number of blown opportunities by the Tech offense.

For his part, Thomas threw for 199 yards and added 124 yards on the ground that included a lumbering 73-yard touchdown straight up the middle on a busted play. 

The problem for Thomas were his two interceptions and a fumble on the Miami goal line. He also overthrew a wide open fullback on a 4th and 1 play that was an excellent call that simply lacked execution from the QB.

Something has been off for Thomas all season, and I've come to think that a big part of it is he's putting too much pressure on himself. 

Granted, the entire weight of the Hokie offense is on his shoulders because there simply aren't enough playmakers out there, but LT needs to relax a bit.

Logan Thomas can still change games and the season with plays like this one.

It's never fun when you're losing, but it's hard to win when you aren't having some fun.

Smiling doesn't  have to mean you're happy, but it does speak to a better overall mindset.

Sometimes, there's not much you can do but laugh and move on when things aren't going your way. It's a heckuva lot better than sulking and getting down on yourself.

While I generally dislike cross-sport comparisons, a golf contrast works here as does baseball. Great golfers and pitchers have short memories and quickly get over mistakes. You can let a bad performance stick with you and motivate you after the fact, but in the moment there's no room for dwelling on mistakes.

Logan is a very young QB and just as his mechanics and ability to read defenses will likely improve, so too will his maturity and leadership abilities.

It may not be an enormous deal that Thomas declined to talk to the media after the Miami loss, but just think of the uproar had former Tech quarterback Sean Glennon done that a few years ago.

Glennon was one of the most criticized athletes in Hokie history, but time and time again he went out under the glare of the media lights and addressed those critics regardless of his performance.

Logan will learn from this experience both on and off the field.

This is Frank Beamer's most trying season in 20 years so it's no surprise that his players have struggled at times with processing what's happening.

Despite Tech's 4-5 overall record and a 2-3 ACC mark, there are still things to play for.

This group will go down either as a underachieving bunch that completely collapsed during a lost season, or as a team that struggled a great deal but finally made a push toward respectability in the final stretch.

It will be a tall order, but it's possible with better execution and a little more energy.

Who knows, they might even have fun doing it.   

Editor's Note: I'll have some stuff about Notre Dame's big win tomorrow since I assume Brian's media blackout is still in effect. 

Notre Dame and Virginia Tech Heading in Opposite Directions

As you may or may not have noticed, Brian and I have entered a period of extreme silence during what is one of the great times of the year—college football season.

We haven't kept in proper contact recently, in fact our first verbal communication came after Notre Dame's surprising victory last Saturday over the mighty Oklahoma Sooners.

I had been anticipating a great deal of Irish coverage as the team somehow continued winning, but there was silence.

Brian explained this weekend that he had stopped writing because he had convinced himself if he published, ND would finally lose.

In a strange ironic twist, I had stopped writing because the Hokies are flat out terrible and frankly, I'd largely run out of helpful suggestions.

So there's the update. One blogger overcome by failure, the other success.

Miami coach Al Golden has plenty to sweat about. 

The Hokies face the Miami Hurricanes Thursday in south Florida. Brian claimed he would be shocked if Tech didn't rush for 300 yards against the 'Canes and I can see his point.

Miami ranks No. 119 out of 120 teams in rushing defense. That's great news to a Hokie rushing attack just 70th best in the nation.

Despite that, the 2012 Techmen are incapable of giving a beating like the one Notre Dame gave "da U" back in Chicago.

Expect a floundering Hokie performance and a narrow victory that could easily go the other direction with one or two wayward bounces.

As for the Irish, what can I add that hasn't already been said?

They should win every game left on the schedule. But clearly, that isn't how college football works.

Pittsburgh may well roll right on over for the freshly awakened echoes, or they might muster the all-world effort they showed against the Hokies—not that they needed that kind of effort.

I expect another close one with ND pulling it out late because, well, that's just how they do it.

It's nice to have something reliable like that isn't it?

At least, until the next game...and the week after that...

2012 College Football Predictions

The college football season is once again under way meaning I breathe a little easier while somehow also stressing out more.

While Brian is off gallivanting about Europe on his way to Notre Dame's match up with Navy in Ireland, I've been tasked with informing everyone of our picks for this year's editions of Virginia Tech and Notre Dame football.

On a brief side note, if I don't see web hits from ISPs in Ireland this week someone is due for a beating.

First Brian's picks:

Brian is a bit bullish on ND, which isn't shocking, but I was a little surprised he picked both squads to finish with an 8-4 record. In this scenario, Tech would still likely qualify for the ACC Championship game giving them a shot at another win before the bowls. 

I can't wait for the Irish to get some kind of bizarre exemption into our championship game despite not actually playing in the conference. Clearly, I'm not still bitter about the Big East's stupid bowl arrangement from years past.

Now for my picks:

Again, these aren't shocking picks. I pegged the Irish at 7-5, but I think that would be an outstanding season. I was very close to predicting 6-6 with a loss to Navy. Coming from a fellow fan whose team opens against the crazed triple-option attack, there's plenty of reason to be nervous. 

I clearly have more confidence in my alma mater than some, predicting just one loss to the Clemson Tigers. Until Tech proves they can outdo Dabo (who is a gum-flapping idiot) that game gives me apoplectic fits of rage just envisioning it.

One interesting note, Brian seems to think far more highly of Miami than I do. I think both teams should defeat the Hurricanes because I just don't think they're very good. 

Of course that won't stop all 17 'Canes fans from "packing" whatever the Dolphins call their stadium now when Tech rolls into town. 

There will be no Miami fans at Notre Dame's game in Chicago because no such people live there. 

Anyone seen with 'Canes swag will probably have an ibis hat from 1985 to go with a Bears Ditka-style sweater they dug out of their closet. Those folks are the worst kind of bandwagon cast-offs from the last time both teams were simultaneously relevant and they are bad people.      

I hate Miami.

Offense Rules As Hokies Stop 'Canes

One week after a dismal offensive outing in a loss to Clemson, Virginia Tech got a nearly perfect game from quarterback Logan Thomas who led the Hokies to a 38-35 victory over Miami.

Thomas completed 23 of 25 passes on the day for 310 yards and three touchdowns. One incompletion was a drop and the other was a ball thrown away on purpose.

Thomas also ran for two scores including the game-winning touchdown (above) to cap Tech's final 77-yard drive.

David Wilson added a typical 23 carry, 128-yard performance to pace Tech rushers and helped the Hokies (5-1, 1-1) to 482 yards of total offense.

Miami played outstanding in the second half gashing Tech for big gains, outrushing the Hokies 236-172.

The Hurricanes (2-3, 0-2) amassed 519 total yards in the defeat and exposed Tech's weakness along the injured Hokie defensive line.

The defense still played well however, and with the emergence of Tech's offense the Hokies now look like a team to be feared.

Thomas showed tremendous poise down the stretch and seemed to benefit from the difficult experience against Clemson. Tech once again looks like the team to challenge No. 12 Georgia Tech for the ACC's Coastal Division title.

The Hokies now head to Winston-Salem for a date with Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons are fresh off a victory over #23 Florida State and are now 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 next Saturday on ESPN3.

Straight Talk From 'Da U'

It's Wednesday which means Miami players have already been running their mouths talking trash for Saturday's huge match up between No. 9 miami and No. 11 Virginia Tech.

"(Beamer ball) don’t mean nothing to me I don’t even know what it is. They are good in special teams, I can say that. If that is what they call Beamer Ball then they are good in special teams, but last year we beat them in special teams and every year we have played them we beat them in special teams, so I guess it is coach Shannon Ball.”

-Randy Phillips, CB, Miami

Ahem. Never mind that the Hokies currently rank 18th in punt returns and 11th in kickoff returns.

True freshman Jayron Hosley currently sits at 7th in the nation in punt returns averaging 21 yards per return with one touchdown. Meanwhile sophomore Dyrell Roberts ranks second nationally in kickoffs averaging 48 yards a touch with one touchdown and a second near miss.

Keep running your mouths Hurricanes and buy into your own hype. That noise you hear is the sound of Miami's collective heads swelling.

Week 3 Recap

Ugh. 3-5 was my total for this weekend's games. I told you something didn't feel right. I mean things were screwy all over the place. Notre Dame won but lost their best receiver Michael Floyd for the season. Elsewhere, Virginia Tech had less than 50 yards of total offense in the second half, then managed an 88-yard "drive" to beat Nebraska (Video below...thank you Danny Coale!).

I managed to get fooled into thinking Georgia Tech didn't suck. I love how after Miami thumped a lethargic group of Yellow Jackets, suddenly the "swagger" is back and "the U" jumped 11 spots in the media bowl. Give me a break. The football media has really been getting on my nerves this season, but more on that as the week progresses.

My overall season record now stands at a miserable 11-10. On the bright side, UVA still sucks. Thanks as always coach Groh!

This is really the only part of the Tech game you needed to watch. Absolutely one of the most exciting plays in Lane Stadium history. Here's the link as it will likely cut the video off. Pretty outstanding HD quality.

College Football Quick Picks: Week 3

I've got a strange feeling about this weekend. Things are too quiet. I sense turmoil brewing, probably because No. 19 Nebraska at No. 13 Virginia Tech will only be viewed by about 16% of the country. We aren't getting the weekend's only top 25 match up here in New York, so we had to order ESPN GamePlan. Bastards. Something's afoot though, we'll see if it's reflected in my picks.


No. 14 Georgia Tech @ No. 20 Miami

Georgia Tech ran for a crazy amount of yards on the 'Canes last season, and I don't really see any reason why they can't repeat that. Miami is much improved, but I'm not putting too much stock in their Labor Day win over Florida State, because FSU sucks (more on that later). Look for the option to run wild in Miami, no doubt the least important "home field advantage" in sports. Miami fans are terrible and often fail to show up. I've seen it first hand.

Georgia Tech Wins


East Carolina @ No. 24 North Carolina

I thought UNC would be much improved this season, but after what I saw from them in their 12-10 win over UConn, I'm not sold. I had the Pirates in an upset over WVU which didn't pan out, but I've got a better feeling this time around.

East Carolina Wins


Louisville @ Kentucky

I don't think either of these teams are particularly good despite being 1-0. But of course it's a rivalry game so it should be close and hard-fought. Kentucky shut out a Miami (OH) team that has yet to score on offense this season and Louisville only beat Indiana State by 20 points.

Kentucky Wins


Virginia @ Southern Miss



I feel like this one is kind of cheating, but it's too tempting to pass up and I wanted an excuse to post that video. Virginia is just awful. I'm not just saying this as a Hokie. Watching part of the UVA-TCU debacle showed me that the 'Hoos just don't have much going in their favor. The spread offense appears to be a disaster and the only real question in Charlottesville is does Al Groh get fired now or at the end of the season?

Southern Miss Wins


Arizona @ Iowa

Iowa has had their share of adversity early in the season, losing running backs to injury and nearly losing their opener to FCS opponent Northern Iowa. Ricky Stanzi is a good quarterback though and he gives the Hawkeyes a chance. Arizona has posted some good early season stats and beat a good Central Michigan team in the opener.

Arizona Wins


Florida State @ No. 7 BYU

Florida State couldn't stop Miami if they wanted to on Labor Day, and they struggled to stop Jacksonville State in their last outing. FSU just isn't very good at all and now there are reports trickling out of Tallahassee saying there is unrest among the players, with some negative feelings directed at the coaching staff. The 'Noles are going to get embarrassed in this one, at home no less.

BYU Wins


Navy @ Pittsburgh

It's no secret to frequent readers that I like Navy and their offense. Pitt looked good against Buffalo, but I'm not sure how they'll defend the tricky offense of the Midshipmen.

Navy Wins


Northwestern @ Syracuse

This is it folks. This is the week that Syracuse breaks into the win column. The Orange probably should have won their opener, and didn't fare too badly last week against Penn State in Happy Valley. I think Greg Paulus will have a break out game and 'Cuse will scratch one out against the Wildcats.

Syracuse Wins