A Look Ahead: Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh

By Justin Cates

The Hokies finally cracked the top 25 this week coming in at No. 24 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after defeating North Carolina 27-17.

That makes plenty of Hokies—this one in particular—more than a little nervous, especially with the Pittsburgh Panthers coming to town.

Pitt has beaten the Hokies four straight times dating back to 2001. I'm quite certain Ronyell Whitaker still has nightmares about Larry Fitzgerald.

Larry Fitzgerald had 3 touchdowns in 5 catches to help beat the No. 3 Hokies in 2002.

Last year of course, the 13th ranked Hokies were absolutely embarrassed as the Panthers thumped Tech 35-17 at Heinz Field.

That's not the only negative history heading into this one.

Saturday marks the first game I will attend in person this season and I'm in a bit of a slump myself.

Last season, the Hokies lost both games I saw in person (Cincinnati, Florida State) and they've stumbled in three of the last four. We have to go all the way back to Tech's 38-35 thriller over Miami in 2011 for a victory I've witnessed firsthand.

It's imperative for me to perform at a high level in this one. I'm already hydrating.

As for the men on the field, Pitt quarterback Tom Savage has been cleared to play after suffering a concussion in the Panther's win over Virginia.

Savage was sacked seven times in Charlottesville and the Wahoo defense has been suspect at times, especially against Ball State.

That bodes well for a Tech defensive front hoping to continue harassing quarterbacks. They'll need to in order to disrupt a potent Pitt passing game.

The Panthers have two outstanding receivers in Devin Street (21 catches, 445 yards, 3 TDs) and freshman Tyler Boyd (23 catches, 425 yards, 4 TDs).

Tyler Boyd hopes to keep flying high against the Hokie defense.

Tech leads the nation in interceptions, so this will be a fun match up to watch on the outside.

On the ground, Pitt freshman James Conner is off to a fast start. So far he's racked up 353 yards at a rate of 5.7 per carry.

It's a balanced attack, though they struggled against Florida State in the only real test this season. 

The Hokies rank fifth in the nation in total defense—two spots ahead of FSU—despite being on the field 85 more plays than top-ranked Michigan State.

The Tech defense has been asked to do a lot because of the oft-troubled offense.

Logan Thomas had a strong outing against Carolina, throwing for nearly 300 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Willie Byrn had the first 100 yard receiving effort of the season and Josh Stanford made some very nice catches.

Still, the Hokies can't run the football. They will have to keep passing until teams respect the run game. It's a frustrating, vicious cycle.

This might just be the game to break that cycle a bit. The Panthers are 66th against the run and 52nd versus the pass. It's a defense that has struggled in all facets which makes for a fine salve for a sputtering run game.

And if that doesn't work? Throw it all over the yard and hope.

Virginia Tech hosts Pittsburgh Saturday at Noon on ESPNU.

Oh That Irish Luck; Notre Dame Still Undefeated

For three and a half quarters Saturday Notre Dame was beaten by the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The trouble for Pitt came in those final minutes and subsequent overtimes when the Irish defense stiffened and the offense suddenly remembered what they were doing.

The results were a 29-26 3OT thriller in South Bend ending with a Notre Dame comeback sparked by a phantom pass interference call.

The comeback was very impressive, no doubt, but the unsuccessful 4th down play that might have otherwise ended ND's chances should never have seen a flag.

My apologies for a lack of angles, but this is clearly the best one. Even the reverse view looked questionable but this one is just brutal. 

Everett Golson struggled much of the game until after head coach Brian Kelly briefly inserted Tommy Rees into the game.

Following an awful interception thrown by Rees, Golson returned with renewed vigor eventually scoring the winning touchdown on a QB sneak. I don't like playing musical chairs with your quarterbacks, but in this case Brian Kelly played that game quite well.

Golson took a step back from his coming out party against Oklahoma, but he's clearly still the only thing that makes the Irish offense go.

Rees is a wonderful safety blanket, but he shouldn't really see the field. This is Golson's team and even when he struggles he gives ND the best chance to win.

The Irish defense is a treat to watch when they're playing well, and even when Pitt was controlling the game, the defense never gave them much.

The Panthers' Ray Graham is a special back, so his 172 rushing yards are nothing to be overly concerned with. He does that to just about everyone.

The passing game for Pitt was pedestrian as well accounting for just 164 yards and a touchdown. When the game was on the line late, the Irish D put heavy pressure on Panther QB Tino Sunseri and he was rendered ineffective both in regulation and overtime.

Next up for Notre Dame is a rivalry clash with the miserable Boston College Eagles.

I get that it's a rival and emotions will be running high, but there are zero excuses for struggling in this game.

BC has a solid quarterback in Chase Rettig accounting for their No. 27 passing offense, but their rushing offense is No. 122, scoring is 98th and scoring defense is 87th.

Head coach Frank Spaziani has exactly three games before he is unceremoniously fired.

Unless the Irish hasten that process come Saturday, which is entirely possible.
 

Hokies Smashed by Pittsburgh, But Not "Upset"

Virginia Tech was absolutely dominated by the Pittsburgh Panthers Saturday, a team that entered the game with an 0-2 record that included a loss to Youngstown State of the FCS.

To say the No. 13 Hokies were upset would be incorrect. That implies that the result is unexpected or even unprecedented, neither of which is true.

Losing football games to "inferior" opponents has become an unnervingly consistent part of Virginia Tech football. If it isn't Pittsburgh, it's James Madison or East Carolina upending Tech in early season match ups.

True there's still the ACC title to aim for as these are almost always non-conference missteps, but after seeing the Hokies completely outclassed on both sides of the line of scrimmage against Pitt, one can't help but be pessimistic about the odds of Tech beating Florida State or Clemson.

The Hokies currently have no offensive identity whatsoever. The much ballyhooed pistol formation has been a total flop. The running game has been completely nonexistent and each game has been a blur of formations and personnel swaps.

No one has rushed for more than 54 yards in a game—Michael Holmes in the opener against Georgia Tech—and the last two games have seen the leading rusher come in the form of a wide receiver and a quarterback.

That leaves the Hokies currently ranked 96th in the nation in rushing offense. Bad news for a program known for running the football.

Pitt freshman Rushel Shell (4) gashed Tech for 157 rushing yards

This is bad, but even worse given the total regression of quarterback Logan Thomas.

Thomas has struggled this season save for his fourth quarter performance against Georgia Tech. The Pitt game however was his worst game as a starter, missing basic throws, open receivers and getting rattled in a half-empty stadium.

One has to wonder exactly what if any tinkering went on at quarterback "guru" George Whitfield's passing workouts this past spring, but Thomas is just not the same QB from last season.

His throws are consistently missing high not surprisingly his completion percentage has dropped and two of his career-high interceptions against the Panthers were not even close to receivers.

The pressure of being a pre-season Heisman candidate and having to carry the entire offense may well be a factor, but something seems a bit off in his mechanics.

So time for solutions.

Tech needs to simplify on offense. They're trying to do too many things without perfecting any. The pistol formation was supposed to signify the Hokies modernizing the offense, but the philosophy remained the same.

The Frank Beamer recipe for success is simple, control the clock by holding the ball on offense, don't make mistakes on special teams, score what you can and play suffocating defense to eek out victories.

This works well, but Tech can't control the clock. Currently, they rank 111th in time of possession and 70th in turnover margin with a mark of -.33.

The pass protection has been pretty solid so keep throwing, but the Hokies need fewer formations.

Tech almost always looks great in the two-minute offense because it limits the play-calling to the top handful of plays. Expand on that a bit and toss the rest. Just because you have a ton of plays and looks doesn't mean the defense will be confused by your "complicated" offense.

The Hokies need to start Martin Scales at tailback because he is the most decisive runner and most likely to hit the holes in Tech's zone blocking scheme.

The lack of depth on defense was exposed against Pittsburgh after injuries forced a major shuffle in the secondary.

There's not much you can do about that, but I suspect Bud Foster has more than just injuries to deal with after his defense allowed 537 yards of total offense to a Pitt squad that scored more points against the Hokies (35) than they did against Cincinnati and Youngstown State combined (27).

In one more negative sidebar, it occurred to me after Saturday's thumping at Heinz Field that Tech seems to lose an awful lot in professional stadiums.

I did some digging and sure enough, since 2000, the Hokies are just 9-15 in such games.

I don't think there's a particular trend to read into there but it is slightly worrisome for a team poised to face a game Cincinnati club at FedEx Field in two weeks, a place where Tech is 0-2.

The good news getting back to my original point is this is nothing new for the Hokies. They've lost early in the season many times, including the last FedEx game against Boise State and the ensuing disaster of James Madison.

Tech usually rallies and finishes strong, but this season may be the biggest challenge yet.

Thoughts On ACC Expansion

The college conference landscape has been shifting for years now. The ACC was a catalyst the first time conference members started bolting when Miami, Boston College and Syracuse originally tried to head to the ACC in 2003 to bring that conference to 12 members.

Ultimately, thanks in large part to heavy pressure from regional politicians, the University of Virginia helped pressure conference leadership into accepting Virginia Tech along with Miami instead. That of course made sense based on being a good geographical fit, and the similar academics and athletic programs involved.

Syracuse fell out of the deal leaving Boston College to wait a year before tagging along thanks largely to University of Miami President Donna Shalala, who spearheaded the entire process.

Once again, the conference is being proactive in solidifying membership numbers before there are no other options. The ACC is now officially an east-coast super conference and may not be done adding teams.

I've heard a number of complaints from Syracuse supporters upset over losing traditional basketball match ups like Georgetown or Villanova.

UConn appears to be trying desperately to follow along to the ACC, perhaps bringing along the underwhelming choice of Rutgers. There will only be a few traditional Big East rivalries in danger, and I'm sure those few important games can be added to the non-conference schedule in hoops.

While I'm overwhelmingly biased having long disliked the Big East and strongly enjoyed the ACC, I see far more positives than negatives in this latest move.

I'm still uncertain about the viability of a 16-team league, but it would appear that's the direction things are headed.

One thing is certain, the ACC now moves to the forefront of conferences in college basketball. With Duke, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Maryland, Florida State etc., NCAA tournament bids look as if they will be plentiful in the new ACC.

Lacrosse will improve an already powerful conference line up with the addition of Syracuse and frankly the Big East schools moving over stand to improve all of their "olympic sports" programs with the move.

The Big East foolishly turned down a fairly lucrative television deal months back rumored to extend through 2022-2023 and worth between $110-130 million annually.

The ACC's current deal negotiated pre-expansion is already worth $155 million annually, that's approximately $1.86 billion over the same 12-year span mentioned above.

Large, evenly distributed revenue sharing leaves more money for non-revenue sports and has a beneficial effect on all conference members.

It'll take some getting used to the new, and in some cases old rivalries brought on by a new conference, but there's a lot to be said for having a stable home in these uncertain times.

Sometimes things don't always go as planned. I went 5-1 in my picks this week missing only on Stanford's drubbing of Southern California. Virginia Tech defeated Maryland as expected 36-9. On the other hand Notre Dame lost another tough one, this time to No. 9 Pittsburgh 27-22.

Golden Tate is an absolute menace, I'm not sure that you can really stop him. I don't know why Notre Dame doesn't run some hurry-up offense when they get in a rut though. It's much easier for Clausen to get in a rhythm that way. I've been suggesting that the Hokies do it all year with Tyrod Taylor who seems to be the same way.

I was most impressed with Dion Lewis of Pitt. That kid is special. He and Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams are without a doubt the two best freshman backs in America.

A tough week for Charlie who appears to be in serious trouble now. Talk about a must win against UConn.