Our 100th Post Is A Real Downer...

AP Photo/Joe Raymond


Optimism is a commodity in short supply around here today. Both Virginia Tech and Notre Dame turned in real stinkers on the gridiron yesterday, Notre Dame inexplicably falling to Syracuse 24-23 and Virginia Tech winning a war of attrition with the Duke Blue Devils 14-3.

First let's dissect the Irish.

GOOD

Notre Dame had zero turnovers Saturday in South Bend and Jimmy Clausen turned in another solid performance completing 22 of 39 passes for 291 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Golden Tate continues to impress during his sophomore season. Tate caught 7 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the year, Tate has 50 catches for 888 yards and 7 touchdowns.

That's about all the good I could find in this one (granted I missed the end to go to the Tech game).

BAD

This should be pretty obvious. The Irish led Syracuse 23-10 and looked pretty good doing it up to that point. 'Cuse looked like the hapless shell of a once great program that they are but something strange happened on the way to 7-4 for the Irish...

Notre Dame suddenly couldn't muster any offense. Starting inside the Orange 23-yard line on 4 possessions, the Irish managed just 6 points.

"I really don't know why that happened," said a bewildered Clausen after the game.

The only way to rationalize this game is to chock it up to the dreaded "look ahead" factor with the #6 USC Trojans on the docket next weekend. In the end, it's a matter of executing consistently on offense which has been a problem throughout the season.

Now for the Hokies.

GOOD

The Virginia Tech defense played one of its best games of the season holding Duke to just 136 total yards. The Blue Devils were able to complete just 2 passes for 20 yards and quarterback Zack Asack threw 4 interceptions, though he did run for 87 yards and was effective on the ground most of the night.

Sean Glennon played well again, completing 12 of 22 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. It was the first touchdown pass of the year to a wide receiver, freshman Jarrett Boykin who led the Hokies with 67 yards receiving.

Darren Evans also had another good game rushing 24 times for 111 yards. Evans needs just 74 yards to eclipse 1,000 for the season.


BAD

The Hokies offense scored just 7 points on a frigid evening in Blacksburg. I would have to say it was among the worst performances by a Virginia Tech team that I've seen end in victory.

Tyrod Taylor had an alarmingly off night. Taylor was just 2 of 5 passing for 15 yards and two interceptions. He also lost two fumbles. Couple that with the unlucky interception on Sean Glennon's first passing play and Tech turned the ball over 5 times, in the first half.

Tech coaches will decide who starts against Virginia during the week. Based on recent performance, it's hard not to pull for senior Sean Glennon to get the start in his final game at Lane Stadium.


FINAL THOUGHTS

The Irish are now 6-5 and will head out west to take on USC (9-1, 7-1). Virginia Tech is 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the ACC. If the Hokies can retain possession of the Commonwealth Cup and defeat Virginia (5-6, 3-4) on Saturday they will go to the ACC Championship for the third time in four years.

Notre Dame has a tough challenge ahead of them but I expect a game effort come Saturday. The result could get ugly, but I expect the team will rally around head coach Charlie Weis who has come under tremendous fire recently. Also, the Irish want to cement their bowl hopes. They could certainly go to a bowl at 6-6, but would be heavily criticized in the press in such a scenario. They don't want to limp into the postseason, but neither do the Trojans.

The Hokies are in an unbelievable position. The ACC has been an outrage of inconsistency this season, as a result, the Hokies are one win away from a pretty big accomplishment. Rivalry games are always tough, and this weekend should be no different. I actually give the Hoos a better shot at victory this year in Lane Stadium than last year up in Charlottesville. Just the nature of the conference and of these two teams this season lead me to expect the unexpected.

Plenty more to come on both these games as the week progresses.

Hokies Run Past Terps

PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/Don Petersen

Redshirt freshman Darren Evans surprised everyone, perhaps even himself, when he exploded for a school-record 253 yards rushing in a 23-13 victory over #23 Maryland Thursday night.

Evans also had 2 catches for 20 yards to go along with his 32 carries and a touchdown on the ground.

Sean Glennon made the start for the Hokies(6-3, 3-2) coming off an injury at Florida State. Glennon played well completing 14 of 20 passes for 127 yards and a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Boone.

Boone was another interesting story on the night. Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring implemented his new "Wild Turkey" formation, which puts the former high school and Tech quarterback in the shotgun formation. Boone ran on every play, carrying the ball 6 times for 22 yards.

All in all it was a very impressive night for the Hokies. Tech's much maligned offense piled up 400 total yards while the defense held Maryland (6-2, 3-2) to just -12 yards rushing.

Tech improved to 15-3 all-time in Thursday night games and they'll have another such game next Thursday when the Hokies head to Miami for an important ACC Coastal Division match up.

Tyrod Taylor Burns Red Shirt...Again

In a situation almost identical to last season, following an ineffective season opener against East Carolina sophomore Tyrod Taylor's red shirt will once again be removed and he will return to action Saturday in Lane Stadium against Furman.

Both Taylor and the much maligned Sean Glennon will play Saturday head football coach Frank Beamer announced Tuesday, but there's no word yet on who will start.

Work Left To Do In Blacksburg

Coming into its season opener the Virginia Tech football team had many questions to answer, and after losing to East Carolina 27-22 Saturday in Charlotte, most of those questions remain unanswered.

Sean Glennon looked mediocre, completing 14 of 23 passes for 139 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. The offensive lines protection wasn't very good either, leaving big questions while others were partly answered.

Kenny Lewis Jr. led Tech's rushers with 11 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Darren Evans added 12 carries for 37 yards and another touchdown. The Hokies were still out rushed by ECU 158-104, but the two eased some minds concerned with the tailback position.

True freshman Dyrell Roberts may have had the play of the day on offense for the Hokies, hauling in an impressive 62 yard pass from Sean Glennon on which he blew by the defender and was wide open for a beautifully thrown ball by Glennon.

I would like to point out that I called the play- Eric can attest to that- right before it happened. Roberts was isolated one-on-one and the Hokies hadn't called a pass downfield yet. In fact, that play would turn out to be the only real success Tech had on longer passes all afternoon.

The defense didn't look very impressive, lots and lots of arm tackles. Kam Chancellor seemed to be off and lacked the killer instinct and ability to finish tackles as did most of the defense. They were of course without starter Macho Harris at corner. His return from an ankle injury will really help the energy level on defense and hopefully provide some leadership on a very young, but talented unit. Stephan Virgil showed he has loads of ability and will be a big player for Tech this season at the other corner spot.

By the end of the season, Bud Foster will have yet another excellent defense on his hands.

In the mean time, it's back to the drawing board for Frank Beamer and Co. and time to move on to next week's special white out game against the Furman Paladins. More to come throughout the week.

Hokies Name Starting Quarterback

The quarterback controvery is over in Blacksburg, at least for now as head football coach Frank Beamer named redshirt senior Sean Glennon the starter and said the team planned to redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor who burst onto the college football scene last fall and led to the Hokies using a two QB rotation much of the season.

The move to start Glennon and redshirt Taylor has led to an uproar among the fanbase, but really if it works out, the move will be great down the line for the Tech program.

With no proven receivers, either quarterback could struggle finding reliable targets so the Hokies look to run the ball a lot with a stable of young running backs and the prospect of bruising tight end Greg Boone both catching passes and rushing the ball in certain situations.

Next season, Taylor will have a more seasoned receving corps to work with in his first full season as the uncontested starter. Brandon Dillard will return and the youngin's won't be so green anymore more.

Of course if Glennon struggles during the first few weeks of the season, we could see the whole plan unravel and watch Tyrod lose the redshirt and come back to be a major contibutor (like last season).

Either way it proves as an interesting lead in to what should be a decent match up in the season opener in Charlotte against East Carolina this Saturday at Noon on ESPN.