On Saturday the eleventh-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies scalped the twentieth-ranked Florida State Seminoles by a final score of 44 to 33 in Charlotte to win the ACC Championship.
The Hokies have now won 4 ACC Championships out of the 7 years that they have been in the conference. That's right, Tech has won over half (57%) of the ACC Football Championships since joining the conference in 2004. I guess you could say we like being in the ACC.
This game was a re-match of the inaugural ACC Championship in 2005, where a lowly 7 and 4 Florida State team upset the 5th-ranked Hokies by a final of 27 to 22. The Noles have always been a thorn in Tech's side, especially in the last decade. They dashed our hopes in the 2000 National Championship game, they beat us in the '02 Gator Bowl, they undeservedly upset us in the '05 ACC Championship, they handed us a road loss in '08, they have the most annoying chant in all of college football. All I can say is REVENGE IS SWEET.
The Hokies came into this one with a decade of motivation on their mind, and they smacked the war paint right off the Noles' faces. I'm talking they beat the spots off of FSU's dalmation horse.
Jeron Gouveia-Winslow started the beating when he picked off an E.J. Manuel pass, and took it to the house for six. It gave Tech an early 7 to 3 lead at the 8:05 mark in the first quarter, and it was a lead that the Hokies wouldn't relinquish. They just added some style points.
No one broke more spears (or ankles) in this game than...Tyrod Taylor. The Senior QB showed the Noles exactly why he was voted the ACC Player of the Year. Early on in the game Tyrod found a hole in the FSU defense's tee pee, and he ripped it right open. He finished the game 18 of 28 for 263 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Can you say torched defense? Taylor threw long passes, short passes, bullet passes, and even a high-arching rainbow pass to David Wilson for a TD, and the Noles couldn't stop any of them. He also did some damage on the ground, as he had the FSU defense running in circles...literally. Tyrod rushed for 24 yards and a TD off of 11 carries. His rushing touchdown was so embarrassing to FSU that it made Jimbo Fisher wish that Bobby Bowden was still the head coach, and that's pretty dad-gum bad. Tyrod looked like a magician on the play. He rolled out to the right, cut it back (thus leaving a defender on the ground), then he put on an invisibility cloak and danced across the nose of two more defenders into the endzone.
Once again, the Tech passing attack was Coale-powered...Danny Coale that is. He had a fantastic day receiving. Coale led all receivers in the game, as he reeled in 6 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. The Noles defense couldn't cover him...heck they couldn't even find him. Time and time again Danny would go into stealth mode, run his traditional crossing pattern, and find himself wide open for a huge gain. It reminds me of the miraculous Nebraska come-back every time. I always have this sigh of relief when I see the ball going through the air, and Coale is the guy waiting at the other end for it. I just know he's going to catch it every time, and he does. It's a thing of beauty. He's our Mr. Reliable.
Tech's Three-Headed Monster rushing attack had the Noles' defense doing a rain dance in hopes that it would slow up the ground-gaining Gobblers. Too bad for them, the only rain in this game was their tears.
Darren Evans ",The Punisher," led all-rushers in the game. He finished with 69 yards and a touchdown off of just 6 carries. That's a staggering 11.5 yards-per-carry average. The Punisher got loose on a 51 yard ramble that set up Tech at the FSU 9 yardline. One play later he was in the endzone celebrating his lone touchdown of the night.
David Wilson continued his role as a dual threat. He rushed for 43 yards off of 14 carries, while racking up 42 yards and a touchdown receiving. Wilson has the speed and big-play potential to become a Reggie Bush/C.J. Spiller type player.
Ryan Williams rounded out the attack. He rushed for 45 yards off of 11 carries, and picked up a 5 yard grab on a pass from Tyrod. His contribution brought the trio's total to 157 yards and 2 TD's on the day.
The only flubs for Tech in this game was letting the Noles block an extra point and return it for 2 points, and of course they let them score a TD late in the fourth quarter. It kills me when the Hokies slack up late in the game, and let the other team add on a late score. It depreciates the magnitude of the whooping, and makes the game look closer than it actually was. So don't be fooled by the 11 point margin, this game wasn't close. Tech should have won by 21.
I really can't complain though. I'll take a win over the Noles any time, anywhere, and any way that I can get it. Whether it be by 1 point or 100, but just know that I would prefer it be by 100. I'll tell you what, it never gets old hearing another teams' fans mock the Seminole chant/chap. It's a thousand times better when those fans are Hokie fans, and that was the case on Saturday.
One final jab, I would just like to point out that Florida State's Seminole logo is screaming because he has hot bacon on his face.
Now not to be overlooked, this win marked Tech's 11th straight win after starting 0 and 2. It's a miraculous turn-around, and a huge accomplishment for Frank Beamer. Some teams would have laid down and died after having such high hopes and losing the first two games of the season. Frank made sure that his didn't. His team won 11 straight games, and their conference's championship. I think he is more than deserving of the coach of the year award.
The Hokies will now take on the 4th-ranked Stanford Cardinal in the Orange Bowl. Tech will have a whole lot more than just a silver bowl of oranges riding on the line. The Hokies will have the chance to do what no other team in Tech history has done before...win 12 games in a season. Tech's match-up with Stanford is also the first meeting between an ACC school and a Pac-10 school in the Orange Bowl. Here's to hoping the ACC goes up 1-0 in the series. In other news, the Hokies are looking for a big Christmas tree to put up in the Merryman Center. What's Stanford's mascot again? How convenient.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
A Duck + A Beaver=...A Platypus?
On Saturday the number one team in the nation, the Oregon Ducks, will travel to Corvallis to take on their arch-rivals the Oregon State Beavers in what is known to college football as "The Civil War."
The first Civil War rivalry game between the University of Oregon and Oregon Agricultural College (present-day Oregon State) was played in 1894, making it the fourth-oldest rivalry in Division 1 College Football and the seventh-oldest rivalry in all of College Football.
The rivalry's name,"The Civil War," couldn't be more appropriate for the annual showdown, as the game has proven to be just that...a war. Plenty of green/yellow and black/orange blood has been spilt on and off the field between these two universities. Fans pelting opposing fans with vegetables, brawls between the two sides, and even students "capturing" a student from the opposing school and parading them around their campus has been common ground in this war.
While the rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State is bitter, the reward to the winner of the annual game is sweet...really sweet.
Beginning in 1959, the winning team would receive a trophy for its victory on the battlefield. Not just any trophy, but one of the best rivalry trophies in college football and definitely the one that makes the most sense.
It's name: The Platypus Trophy. It's a 2-foot wide, 1.5-foot tall platypus sculpted out of pure maple wood. The Platypus was selected for the trophy because it contains features from each of the teams mascots. It has the bill of a Duck, and the tail of a Beaver. Pure genius is all I can say.
Oregon State won the inaugural trophy and took it to Corvallis with them in '59. The 1960 game ended in a tie, but Oregon students stole the trophy and took it with them to Eugene. Oregon State won the trophy back in 1961, and took it back to Corvallis...only to have it stolen back from those pesky U of O students again.
The trophy then disappeared in Eugene...until 1986. The Platypus was found in a trophy case at the University of Oregon's pool complex. It was being used as a trophy between the two schools' water polo teams. Talk about falling from grace. The trophy disappeared once again when the pool facility was ruled outdated, and demolished in 2000.
Four years later a sportswriter in Oregon wrote an article that sparked a search for the mysterious missing maple Platypus. The search proved a success. The old platty was found in a utility closet at the University of Oregon's basketball arena, McArthur Court (better known as "The Pit").
In 2007 the Alumni Associations of each school decided to take over the exchanging of the wooden masterpiece, as the trophy had a strange habit of going missing when the two football teams performed the exchange. So since '07 the winning school's Alumni Associations gets the fine pleasure of displaying the slippery souvenir.
This year the Ducks have a lot more riding on line than just the enchanting Platypus Trophy. If Oregon can defeat their unranked underdog rivals, they'll play in the National Championship game for the first time in school history.
Now this may sound like an easy task since the Ducks are the top-ranked team in the land, while the 5 and 6 Beavs are no where to be found in the polls. But I must say not so fast. In the past thirteen UO/OSU meetings, the home team has won 11 of those 13 games. Did I mention the game is in Corvallis this year?
The Ducks have the all-time lead in the series with a 57-46 record, with 10 ties between the two teams. We'll see if the Quack Attack can win their third straight over the Beavs, and more importantly make it to the National Championship Game and play for a crystal football to go with their wooden platypus.
The first Civil War rivalry game between the University of Oregon and Oregon Agricultural College (present-day Oregon State) was played in 1894, making it the fourth-oldest rivalry in Division 1 College Football and the seventh-oldest rivalry in all of College Football.
The rivalry's name,"The Civil War," couldn't be more appropriate for the annual showdown, as the game has proven to be just that...a war. Plenty of green/yellow and black/orange blood has been spilt on and off the field between these two universities. Fans pelting opposing fans with vegetables, brawls between the two sides, and even students "capturing" a student from the opposing school and parading them around their campus has been common ground in this war.
While the rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State is bitter, the reward to the winner of the annual game is sweet...really sweet.
Beginning in 1959, the winning team would receive a trophy for its victory on the battlefield. Not just any trophy, but one of the best rivalry trophies in college football and definitely the one that makes the most sense.
It's name: The Platypus Trophy. It's a 2-foot wide, 1.5-foot tall platypus sculpted out of pure maple wood. The Platypus was selected for the trophy because it contains features from each of the teams mascots. It has the bill of a Duck, and the tail of a Beaver. Pure genius is all I can say.
Oregon State won the inaugural trophy and took it to Corvallis with them in '59. The 1960 game ended in a tie, but Oregon students stole the trophy and took it with them to Eugene. Oregon State won the trophy back in 1961, and took it back to Corvallis...only to have it stolen back from those pesky U of O students again.
The trophy then disappeared in Eugene...until 1986. The Platypus was found in a trophy case at the University of Oregon's pool complex. It was being used as a trophy between the two schools' water polo teams. Talk about falling from grace. The trophy disappeared once again when the pool facility was ruled outdated, and demolished in 2000.
Four years later a sportswriter in Oregon wrote an article that sparked a search for the mysterious missing maple Platypus. The search proved a success. The old platty was found in a utility closet at the University of Oregon's basketball arena, McArthur Court (better known as "The Pit").
In 2007 the Alumni Associations of each school decided to take over the exchanging of the wooden masterpiece, as the trophy had a strange habit of going missing when the two football teams performed the exchange. So since '07 the winning school's Alumni Associations gets the fine pleasure of displaying the slippery souvenir.
This year the Ducks have a lot more riding on line than just the enchanting Platypus Trophy. If Oregon can defeat their unranked underdog rivals, they'll play in the National Championship game for the first time in school history.
Now this may sound like an easy task since the Ducks are the top-ranked team in the land, while the 5 and 6 Beavs are no where to be found in the polls. But I must say not so fast. In the past thirteen UO/OSU meetings, the home team has won 11 of those 13 games. Did I mention the game is in Corvallis this year?
The Ducks have the all-time lead in the series with a 57-46 record, with 10 ties between the two teams. We'll see if the Quack Attack can win their third straight over the Beavs, and more importantly make it to the National Championship Game and play for a crystal football to go with their wooden platypus.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Cheese To Go With That Wine
In Spanish the word uva means grape, and it's very appropriate because every year Virginia Tech crushes UVA as if they were grapes. Wine anyone?
On Saturday, the thirteenth-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies pummeled the Virginia Cavaliers by a final score of 37 to 7 in Blacksburg.
With the win, Tech caps off a season turn-around of epic proportions. After starting 0 and 2 the Hokies finished the regular season undefeated, as they won 10 straight games to clinch the Coastal Division title of the ACC. This marks the first time since 2000 that an ACC team has gone undefeated in conference play in the regular season, and the very first time since the league expanded to 12 teams. Tech now owns the NCAA record for most consecutive 10-win seasons with this season being their seventh.
From a Commonwealth perspective the win marks the Hokies' seventh consecutive win over UVA, and extends the Commonwealth Cup's stay in Blacksburg for another year. Tech has now held continuous possession of the Commonwealth Cup for 2,193 straight days.
The traditional rivalry game against the Wahoos has now turned into a traditional win for the Hokies, and that's just fine with me. It's so nice not having to worry about my team losing to its arch-rival. I can't even remember what it feels like to lose to the French, and I would probably go in shock if we lost to them any time in the near future. I don't think we've got anything to worry about for a good while. The Hoos have a new coach, but he uses the same approach. Before the game every year, Virginia replaces their players' names on the back of their jerseys with "Kick Me," and Tech follows the directions.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Hokies commenced the annual kicking. Scrutinized Virginia quarterback Mark Verica gave the French faithful a reason to throw tomatoes at him. On a 2nd and 17 from the UVA 8 yardline, Verica completed a pass to Eddie Whitley...who of course plays for the Hokies. One play later Ryan Williams was in the endzone, and the rout was on. Sacre Bleu!
Tech's three-headed monster rushing attack showed its full potential, as the trio ran amok on the Virginia "Laissez-faire" defense. Laissez-faire translated from French means "let do," and Williams, Evans, and Wilson did exactly what they wanted to do on Saturday...run and score.
The three backs combined for 177 yards and 5 touchdowns on the day.
David Wilson led the attack, as he racked up 83 yards and a touchdown off of 13 carries. Wilson also caught a screen pass and took it 20 yards to the house to put the Hokies up 14 to zip. His maroon #4 jersey in the endzone looks a million times better than a redshirt on the sideline would.
Darren Evans bullied the Cavalier defenders all day long. On one play Evans treaded over a defender like it was roadkill. Talk about getting thrown under the bus. Evans finished the game with 70 yards and a touchdown off of 13 carries.
Ryan Williams started Tech's scorefest, and he finished with the most rushing touchdowns with 2. His second touchdown was truly Predator worthy. He took the handoff, ravaged through the defense, and reached the ball over the goal line with about 5 UVA defenders hanging off of him. He finished the day with 24 yards and the 2 TDs off of 7 carries.
Senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor went out in style on Senior Day. He went 13 for 23 passing for 176 yards and a touchdown. On the ground he matched Ryan Williams with 24 yards on seven carries, just minus the two touchdowns. He left Worsham Field with more records than any other quarterback in Tech history. He holds the records for the most career passing yards, career rushing yards, career rushing touchdowns, and career total offense by a quarterback. He also holds the records for most wins by a quarterback with 33. Today Tyrod was named the first team All-ACC quarterback selection. He certainly deserves it.
Bud Foster's defense pitched a shut-out up until there was just three minutes left in the ballgame. Of course by then the game was all but over, and second and third-stringers were cutting their teeth on the Frenchmen. The defense gave up 291 yards, but held the Hoos to just 70 yards rushing and the one late touchdown. The Tech D sacked Mark Verica 4 times, and forced the game's only turnover (Verica's interception to Whitley). Bud Foster's crew defended the Lane against our arch-rivals, and inched closer to Lunch Pail status. We'll see if they can make it official in the ACC Championship and the bowl game.
Once again it was another impressive win against UVA. It was like deja vu, and for a good reason. We've done it seven times in a row, but it never gets old. I love seeing the Tech players hoist the Commonwealth Cup high in the air. This year the Seniors actually filled the Cup with water and drank from it. What a way to go out.
A final farewell goes out to the Frenchmen, or should I say Au Revoir.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Who Are U?
On Saturday the fourteenth-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies calmed the twenty-fourth ranked Miami Hurricanes by a final score of 31 to 17 in Miami.
It was truly a game of Jekyll and Hyde, with both teams taking the role of Hyde...at least when it came to uniforms.
When I first saw the two teams, I didn't recognize either one of them. Each team came out disguised in uniforms that were different than their usual uniforms.
The Hokies broke out the tainted all-white uni's from this year's devastating "White Out" game. Tech added a band-aid to the uniform to patch up the scars from that unthinkable loss, as they plastered a stripe on the center of the helmet. The stripe featured an orange stripe surrounded by two maroon stripes, which perfectly matched the stripes on Tech's white jerseys. The stripe was cut off a few inches short of the back of the helmet, and the two maroon stripes were tailored with diagonal cuts that faced each other like so \__/ giving it a "techy" look. I liked it a lot. It was a good look for the Hokies. Also added to the helmet was an orange crown with a white number 9 placed in the center of it. (My only guess for the reasons behind the crowns is that this win would mark Tech's ninth straight win, and give the Hokies the ACC Coastal crown. That's the best guess I can give you.)
The Hurricanes donned a uniform that they've never unleashed before. They came out in orange jerseys with matching orange pants. Both featured dark green accents, and dark green socks. The Canes also broke out some new helmets...helmets that they should have left in the equipment room. They were all green with no stripes, with a matching green facemask, and the iconic "U" logo on the sides. It was yUck. Now green is my favorite color, but this wasn't just any color green...it was much uglier. It was pond scum green, or maybe old slimy alligator green. It didn't match their jerseys, and it sure didn't look good. You know it must have been pretty gross for a green lover like myself to dislike it so much.
Miami is definitely not the the team that they used to be. They're not the same caliber team that put "The U" on the map, so I can understand them cloaking themselves in unidentifiable clothing. They didn't look like the "U," and they certainly didn't play like the "U."
The Hokies, on the other hand, were their same old selves. The same old Hokies who had won 10 of the last 15 versus Miami. The same old Hokies who destroyed the tenth-ranked Hurricanes in a monsoon in Blacksburg last year. The same old Hokies who just won their ninth-straight ballgame.
Tech started out this game with their usual tactic, which entails letting the other team score first and then acting offensively challenged on the first possession. The Hokies and Canes went tic for tac with each other for three quarters. The box score read 7-3-7 for both teams after the third quarter (meaning each team had 17 points). This is when Tech became their same old selves.
Ryan Williams busted the game wide open on his first carry of the fourth quarter, which was also Tech's first offensive play of the fourth quarter. He took the hand-off and exploded up the middle of the field for an 84-yard touchdown run, obliterating everything in his path. The traditionally speedy Miami defense got left in the dust by the Predator.
Not to be outdone by Mr. Williams, the Tech defense held as strong as iron. They forced three interceptions from Miami's second-stringer Stephen Morris, who was filling in for the injured Jacory Harris. Jayron Hoseley lapped up the first pick of the quarter at the Tech 43, and returned it 23 yards to the Miami 25 yardline. It was Hoseley's eighth pick of the season, and he leads the nation in interceptions. Davon Morgan halted the Cane's best chance to score in the quarter, as he intercepted Morris at the Tech 19 yardline. Tariq Edwards recorded his first career interception, as he scooped the final pick of the game from Morris to seal the deal.
Ryan Williams is back. Just ask the Miami defense, who got a good look at his back during this game. He looked 100% healthy to me. The strength, speed, and power are all back to Predator status. He led the Hokies in rushing, as he racked up 142 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries. That includes the 84-yard bottle rocket that he set off in the Canes' faces in the fourth quarter.
Tyrod Taylor once again had a solid game as the Hokies' field general. He finished the game 7 of 14 for 94 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on the ground. Tyrod was uncharacteristically sacked 5 times though, but I don't blame him for that. That's on the O-line. At least he didn't turn the ball over.
Danny Coale went from being the sneaky receiver who catches a pass every now and then to being the sneaky receiver who led the team in receiving. To put it briefly, you could just say that our passing attack was Coale powered on Saturday. He finished with 83 yards and a touchdown off of 4 catches. His touchdown was a thrilling 43-yarder. He was running his traditional route across the middle of the field, and being the sneaky guy that he is he got wide open...as usual. He made the catch, turned upfield, and took it all the way to the house. He left the Canes' defense scratching their heads, and wondering "who was that?"
Once again the Hokies defeat the Hurricanes, and once again they score 31 points en route. This marked the third time in the series that Tech had scored 31 points in wins against the Canes. The Hokies defeated Miami by final scores of 31-7 both in 2009 (last year) and in 2003.
With the win, Tech clinches the Coastal Division title of the ACC and can pack their bags for Charlotte for the conference championship. The Hokies have rattled off 9 straight wins after starting with a dismal 0 and 2 record. Tech will have a chance to win their 10th game for the seventh consecutive season, as they take on arch-rival Virginia in the Battle for the Commonwealth Cup on Saturday. The Hokies have won 10 of the last 11 match-ups against the Wahoos, including the last 6 in a row. As Tech Sideline points out, today marks day 2,187 of Tech's continuous possession of the Commonwealth cup. It'll be 2,191 by Saturday. Take that Frenchmen.
It was truly a game of Jekyll and Hyde, with both teams taking the role of Hyde...at least when it came to uniforms.
When I first saw the two teams, I didn't recognize either one of them. Each team came out disguised in uniforms that were different than their usual uniforms.
The Hokies broke out the tainted all-white uni's from this year's devastating "White Out" game. Tech added a band-aid to the uniform to patch up the scars from that unthinkable loss, as they plastered a stripe on the center of the helmet. The stripe featured an orange stripe surrounded by two maroon stripes, which perfectly matched the stripes on Tech's white jerseys. The stripe was cut off a few inches short of the back of the helmet, and the two maroon stripes were tailored with diagonal cuts that faced each other like so \__/ giving it a "techy" look. I liked it a lot. It was a good look for the Hokies. Also added to the helmet was an orange crown with a white number 9 placed in the center of it. (My only guess for the reasons behind the crowns is that this win would mark Tech's ninth straight win, and give the Hokies the ACC Coastal crown. That's the best guess I can give you.)
The Hurricanes donned a uniform that they've never unleashed before. They came out in orange jerseys with matching orange pants. Both featured dark green accents, and dark green socks. The Canes also broke out some new helmets...helmets that they should have left in the equipment room. They were all green with no stripes, with a matching green facemask, and the iconic "U" logo on the sides. It was yUck. Now green is my favorite color, but this wasn't just any color green...it was much uglier. It was pond scum green, or maybe old slimy alligator green. It didn't match their jerseys, and it sure didn't look good. You know it must have been pretty gross for a green lover like myself to dislike it so much.
Miami is definitely not the the team that they used to be. They're not the same caliber team that put "The U" on the map, so I can understand them cloaking themselves in unidentifiable clothing. They didn't look like the "U," and they certainly didn't play like the "U."
The Hokies, on the other hand, were their same old selves. The same old Hokies who had won 10 of the last 15 versus Miami. The same old Hokies who destroyed the tenth-ranked Hurricanes in a monsoon in Blacksburg last year. The same old Hokies who just won their ninth-straight ballgame.
Tech started out this game with their usual tactic, which entails letting the other team score first and then acting offensively challenged on the first possession. The Hokies and Canes went tic for tac with each other for three quarters. The box score read 7-3-7 for both teams after the third quarter (meaning each team had 17 points). This is when Tech became their same old selves.
Ryan Williams busted the game wide open on his first carry of the fourth quarter, which was also Tech's first offensive play of the fourth quarter. He took the hand-off and exploded up the middle of the field for an 84-yard touchdown run, obliterating everything in his path. The traditionally speedy Miami defense got left in the dust by the Predator.
Not to be outdone by Mr. Williams, the Tech defense held as strong as iron. They forced three interceptions from Miami's second-stringer Stephen Morris, who was filling in for the injured Jacory Harris. Jayron Hoseley lapped up the first pick of the quarter at the Tech 43, and returned it 23 yards to the Miami 25 yardline. It was Hoseley's eighth pick of the season, and he leads the nation in interceptions. Davon Morgan halted the Cane's best chance to score in the quarter, as he intercepted Morris at the Tech 19 yardline. Tariq Edwards recorded his first career interception, as he scooped the final pick of the game from Morris to seal the deal.
Ryan Williams is back. Just ask the Miami defense, who got a good look at his back during this game. He looked 100% healthy to me. The strength, speed, and power are all back to Predator status. He led the Hokies in rushing, as he racked up 142 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 carries. That includes the 84-yard bottle rocket that he set off in the Canes' faces in the fourth quarter.
Tyrod Taylor once again had a solid game as the Hokies' field general. He finished the game 7 of 14 for 94 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on the ground. Tyrod was uncharacteristically sacked 5 times though, but I don't blame him for that. That's on the O-line. At least he didn't turn the ball over.
Danny Coale went from being the sneaky receiver who catches a pass every now and then to being the sneaky receiver who led the team in receiving. To put it briefly, you could just say that our passing attack was Coale powered on Saturday. He finished with 83 yards and a touchdown off of 4 catches. His touchdown was a thrilling 43-yarder. He was running his traditional route across the middle of the field, and being the sneaky guy that he is he got wide open...as usual. He made the catch, turned upfield, and took it all the way to the house. He left the Canes' defense scratching their heads, and wondering "who was that?"
Once again the Hokies defeat the Hurricanes, and once again they score 31 points en route. This marked the third time in the series that Tech had scored 31 points in wins against the Canes. The Hokies defeated Miami by final scores of 31-7 both in 2009 (last year) and in 2003.
With the win, Tech clinches the Coastal Division title of the ACC and can pack their bags for Charlotte for the conference championship. The Hokies have rattled off 9 straight wins after starting with a dismal 0 and 2 record. Tech will have a chance to win their 10th game for the seventh consecutive season, as they take on arch-rival Virginia in the Battle for the Commonwealth Cup on Saturday. The Hokies have won 10 of the last 11 match-ups against the Wahoos, including the last 6 in a row. As Tech Sideline points out, today marks day 2,187 of Tech's continuous possession of the Commonwealth cup. It'll be 2,191 by Saturday. Take that Frenchmen.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
InVickable
On Monday night, Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback Michael Vick had the best game of his career, and possibly the best single-game performance that the NFL has ever seen.
The Eagles took on NFC East rivals the Washing Redskins in a Monday Night Football showdown, which matched Vick up against the man who basically recruited him back into football, Donovan McNabb.
McNabb, who was ousted by Philly and replaced by Kevin Kolb and ultimately Michael Vick, got revenge on his former franchise in the two teams first meeting in October. But on Monday night McNabb just had a ticket to the Michael Vick show like everyone else in attendance.
Vick was unstoppable, incredible, and though it might sound a bit cliche...Invinceable.
You could tell he was going to have a stellar game from the start. How you may ask? Well it could have been the glimmer in his visor that gave it away, or perhaps it was the 88-yard touchdown pass to Desean Jackson on the first play from scrimmage. You be the judge.
Vick led the Eagles to touchdowns on every one of their possessions in the first quarter. That's right I said the first quarter. No one could believe what they were watching. It was 28-0 Philadelphia in the first quarter. But hey, teams have had some pretty phenomenal quarters before right? Maybe it was just luck? Nope.
First play in the second quarter Vick drops back to pass, looks right, and fires a bomb to Jeremy Maclin. It's a 48-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles are now up 35-0 with 3 quarters left to be played. That's right Vick gets almost 3 more full quarters to pad his stats.
He finished the game with unthinkable statistics. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 333 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. That's a passer rating of 150.7, can you say MVP? It's hard to believe Vick put up those numbers passing isn't it? He's supposed to be known for his running. Well he did some of that too. He racked up 80 yards on 8 carries, and added 2 more touchdowns on the ground. That's 6 touchdowns total in the game. That's ridiculous...ridiculously awesome. The kind of awesome that sets and breaks records.
With the performance, Vick became the first player in NFL history to have 300 plus passing yards, 50 plus rushing yards, 4 passing TD's, and 2 rushing TD's in a single game. He also surpassed Steve Young (who just happened to be commentating this game) for second place on the All-time Quarterback Rushing Yards list. He now trails only Randall Cunningham, who was considered the first "Ultimate Weapon" quarterback, and who ironically enough also played for the Philadelphia Eagles. We definitely know who the "Ultimate Weapon" is now.
The NFL Hall of Fame requested Vick's jersey from him after the game, which will be put on display in Canton. Talk about foreshadowing. If Vick keeps up this level of play, he'll certainly join his jersey in the Hall one day. He's got plenty of time left before that though, with plenty of records to break (along with defenders' ankles).
One things for sure though, it'll be hard for him to surpass the night he had against the Redskins. Then again, he is Michael Vick. He makes the impossible possible.
The Eagles took on NFC East rivals the Washing Redskins in a Monday Night Football showdown, which matched Vick up against the man who basically recruited him back into football, Donovan McNabb.
McNabb, who was ousted by Philly and replaced by Kevin Kolb and ultimately Michael Vick, got revenge on his former franchise in the two teams first meeting in October. But on Monday night McNabb just had a ticket to the Michael Vick show like everyone else in attendance.
Vick was unstoppable, incredible, and though it might sound a bit cliche...Invinceable.
You could tell he was going to have a stellar game from the start. How you may ask? Well it could have been the glimmer in his visor that gave it away, or perhaps it was the 88-yard touchdown pass to Desean Jackson on the first play from scrimmage. You be the judge.
Vick led the Eagles to touchdowns on every one of their possessions in the first quarter. That's right I said the first quarter. No one could believe what they were watching. It was 28-0 Philadelphia in the first quarter. But hey, teams have had some pretty phenomenal quarters before right? Maybe it was just luck? Nope.
First play in the second quarter Vick drops back to pass, looks right, and fires a bomb to Jeremy Maclin. It's a 48-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles are now up 35-0 with 3 quarters left to be played. That's right Vick gets almost 3 more full quarters to pad his stats.
He finished the game with unthinkable statistics. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 333 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. That's a passer rating of 150.7, can you say MVP? It's hard to believe Vick put up those numbers passing isn't it? He's supposed to be known for his running. Well he did some of that too. He racked up 80 yards on 8 carries, and added 2 more touchdowns on the ground. That's 6 touchdowns total in the game. That's ridiculous...ridiculously awesome. The kind of awesome that sets and breaks records.
With the performance, Vick became the first player in NFL history to have 300 plus passing yards, 50 plus rushing yards, 4 passing TD's, and 2 rushing TD's in a single game. He also surpassed Steve Young (who just happened to be commentating this game) for second place on the All-time Quarterback Rushing Yards list. He now trails only Randall Cunningham, who was considered the first "Ultimate Weapon" quarterback, and who ironically enough also played for the Philadelphia Eagles. We definitely know who the "Ultimate Weapon" is now.
The NFL Hall of Fame requested Vick's jersey from him after the game, which will be put on display in Canton. Talk about foreshadowing. If Vick keeps up this level of play, he'll certainly join his jersey in the Hall one day. He's got plenty of time left before that though, with plenty of records to break (along with defenders' ankles).
One things for sure though, it'll be hard for him to surpass the night he had against the Redskins. Then again, he is Michael Vick. He makes the impossible possible.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Above The Tar Heel State
On Saturday the sixteenth-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies stumped the North Carolina Tar Heels by a final score of 26 to 10 in Chapel Hill.
Virginia Tech is above the Tar Heel State in a geographic sense, and more importantly in a football sense.
With the win, the Hokies have now defeated all five FBS schools from the Tar Heel State this season. East Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, and most recently North Carolina have all fallen victim to the Hokies. You can honestly say that Tech has single-handedly whipped the state of North Carolina, and in just one season.
The Hokies' success against the Tar Heel State reaches far beyond just this season though. Since joining the ACC in 2004, Tech is 22 and 3 against the Division 1 schools from North Carolina. The three losses came in 2004 at home against NC State, in 2008 in Charlotte against East Carolina, and last year (2009) at home against North Carolina. Wake Forest and Duke have yet to beat the Hokies, while the other three teams have failed to defend their own stadiums against Tech. That's right the Hokies have won every away game in the state of North Carolina since 2004, including the one on Saturday against UNC.
The first half of this game looked almost as bad as last year's lackadaisical 20-17 loss at home to the Tar Heels. The most exciting thing that happened in that game was when Tech students launched paper airplanes from the stands onto Worsham Field. The most exciting thing about Saturday's game was the second half...at least for the Hokies.
North Carolina carried a 10-9 lead into halftime, as the fans took a nap. The Tar Heels scored the only touchdown of the first half on the first drive of the game. The rest of the half was a soccer match between Tech's Chris Hazley and UNC's Casey Barth, which Hazley won by a count of 3 to 1.
I don't know what Frank Beamer said at halftime, but it woke the Hokies up. In the second half Tech's offense put up 17 unanswered points, as Bud Foster's defense pitched a shut-out.
Tyrod Taylor and T.J. Yates entered the game in a battle for the ACC's best passing efficiency. Without a doubt, Tyrod won that battle. Taylor went 13 of 28 for 249 yards, and two touchdowns, while Yates finished 18 of 33 for 197 yards, and 4 interceptions. So at the end of the day, Tyrod Taylor > T.J. Yates. There's just no contest. Unless it's a Tony Romo look alike contest, then Yates has the advantage.
Tech's defense may have helped out Tyrod a little bit in that battle. They sacked Yates 4 times, while forcing him to throw 4 picks to the Tech secondary. Jayron Hoseley racked up 2 of those picks. Both of his interceptions were dangerous deep balls that would have set the Tar Heels up for scores. On the second pick Hoseley looked like the receiver on the play. He's got 8 interceptions on the season, maybe we should try him out on offense?
Eddie Whitley had the best face-guarding interception that I have ever seen, and in the endzone no less. I mean I really really hate face-guarding, but Whitley made me hate it a little less for a moment with that pick. He mirrored the receiver, saw where his hands were set up, and grabbed the ball away from him when it got there. It was textbook face-guarding. It was an incredible catch. It was nerve-racking. Next time do me a big favor and turn around Mr. Whitley, unless you can do that every time. Then you can face-guard all you want.
Davon Morgan had the other interception of the day, as he picked it off at the 12 and ran it back to the 37 yard-line. Morgan has a nice collection of interceptions on the season. He's broken quarterbacks' hearts...and arms...literally.
Tech's defense also racked up some huge stops on the day. The biggest stop of the day came in the last quarter of the game on the Hokies' last yard of defense. It was first and goal North Carolina from the VT one yard-line. UNC tailback Anthony Elzy takes the hand-off and dives for the endzone. Jeron Gouveia-Winslow has a big name, and he makes a big play. He smashes into Elzy and dis-lodges the ball. That slippery pigskin eludes multiple Tech defenders, and squirts out of the endzone. It doesn't matter though, it's a touchback for the Hokies! First down...Hokies! (in Lane Stadium announcer voice)
With Dyrell Roberts injured, Marcus Davis got the chance to start and he had a career day. He really stepped it up for the receiving corps. Davis was instrumental in Tech's offensive production, and the win. He was on the receiving end of both of Tech's touchdowns. Davis also led Tech in receiving with 4 catches for 81 yards. It's good to see that we have another solid receiver that we can count on and go to when our other receivers are having a bad day.
Speaking of receivers having a bad day, how about Jarrett Boykin? Boykin is usually Tech's go to guy, but in this game it seemed like every ball that went to him went to the ground. He dropped three catchable passes from Tyrod, and each one would have given the Hokies a first down. Boykin did somewhat redeem himself with a long 43-yard catch, and he did gain more yards than any other Tech receiver with 85. Everyone has a bad day, and I guess Boykin's really wasn't that bad. It was just unexpected. Luckily Marcus Davis had an unexpectedly good day to make up for it.
The David Wilson-less rushing duo of Ryan Williams and Darren Evans carried the load for Tech. Their stats were almost identical. Evans hammered away at the Tar Heel defense, forcing 5 UNC defenders to take him down on one play. He finished with 90 yards off of 14 carries with his longest run being 33 yards. A solid performance. Almost equally solid was Ryan Williams. He rushed 15 times for 83 yards with his longest run being 31 yards. Talk about a balanced rushing attack.
From a Beamerball perspective, things couldn't have been much better (well maybe with a blocked kick). Senior kicker Chris Hazley made all 4 of his field goal attempts, including a career long 52-yarder. He also converted on kicks from 38, 26, and 23 yards out. Punter Brian Saunders averaged 44.6 yards off of 5 punts. His longest was a 65 yard boomer. And to top things off. The punt team recovered a fumble from UNC's punt returner. The returner signaled for the fair catch, he muffed it, and the ball bounced right to a Tech gunner. It was one of those trademark Beamerball plays. We'll see that on a highlight video one day.
The Hokies won this game fair and square, but at one point it looked like the officials tried to slow things up. The referees called a pretty fair game, as they flagged 8 penalties on UNC and 9 penalties on Tech. On paper it looks fair, but on tape it looked bizarre. A colleague of mine, a certain Mr. Whitesell, alerted me to the strangeness of three of Tech's penalties. Between the two of us we had never seen any of these calls before, or at least not in the context in which we saw them called on Saturday. The first was an illegal fair catch signal by Jayron Hoseley. I've seen plenty of times when a guy called for a fair catch and then tried to run, but Hoseley just called for the fair catch and caught it. The refs said his signal just wasn't good enough. The second was offensive encroachment on tight end Andre Smith. Offensive Encroachment? I thought encroachment was only for the defense. I've seen an overabundance of false starts and a fair share of lining up in the neutral zone calls, but never an offensive encroachment. The third was a sideline interference call on Frank Beamer. The refs said he was on the field, and hence interfering with the play. Beamer may have barely been on the field, but he was over 20 yards away from where the play was taking place. It was a ridiculous call. It forced a patented "Who Farted?" look from Beamer, and it was much deserved.
But not even bogus calls could stop Virginia Tech's magical momentum. The Hokies have now won their eighth-straight game, and are undefeated in conference play with a 6 and 0 record. Tech only needs to win one of their last two games to win the Coastal Division, and punch their ticket to Charlotte for the ACC Championship. I expect them to win both, and the ACC Championship.
Virginia Tech is above the Tar Heel State in a geographic sense, and more importantly in a football sense.
With the win, the Hokies have now defeated all five FBS schools from the Tar Heel State this season. East Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, and most recently North Carolina have all fallen victim to the Hokies. You can honestly say that Tech has single-handedly whipped the state of North Carolina, and in just one season.
The Hokies' success against the Tar Heel State reaches far beyond just this season though. Since joining the ACC in 2004, Tech is 22 and 3 against the Division 1 schools from North Carolina. The three losses came in 2004 at home against NC State, in 2008 in Charlotte against East Carolina, and last year (2009) at home against North Carolina. Wake Forest and Duke have yet to beat the Hokies, while the other three teams have failed to defend their own stadiums against Tech. That's right the Hokies have won every away game in the state of North Carolina since 2004, including the one on Saturday against UNC.
The first half of this game looked almost as bad as last year's lackadaisical 20-17 loss at home to the Tar Heels. The most exciting thing that happened in that game was when Tech students launched paper airplanes from the stands onto Worsham Field. The most exciting thing about Saturday's game was the second half...at least for the Hokies.
North Carolina carried a 10-9 lead into halftime, as the fans took a nap. The Tar Heels scored the only touchdown of the first half on the first drive of the game. The rest of the half was a soccer match between Tech's Chris Hazley and UNC's Casey Barth, which Hazley won by a count of 3 to 1.
I don't know what Frank Beamer said at halftime, but it woke the Hokies up. In the second half Tech's offense put up 17 unanswered points, as Bud Foster's defense pitched a shut-out.
Tyrod Taylor and T.J. Yates entered the game in a battle for the ACC's best passing efficiency. Without a doubt, Tyrod won that battle. Taylor went 13 of 28 for 249 yards, and two touchdowns, while Yates finished 18 of 33 for 197 yards, and 4 interceptions. So at the end of the day, Tyrod Taylor > T.J. Yates. There's just no contest. Unless it's a Tony Romo look alike contest, then Yates has the advantage.
Tech's defense may have helped out Tyrod a little bit in that battle. They sacked Yates 4 times, while forcing him to throw 4 picks to the Tech secondary. Jayron Hoseley racked up 2 of those picks. Both of his interceptions were dangerous deep balls that would have set the Tar Heels up for scores. On the second pick Hoseley looked like the receiver on the play. He's got 8 interceptions on the season, maybe we should try him out on offense?
Eddie Whitley had the best face-guarding interception that I have ever seen, and in the endzone no less. I mean I really really hate face-guarding, but Whitley made me hate it a little less for a moment with that pick. He mirrored the receiver, saw where his hands were set up, and grabbed the ball away from him when it got there. It was textbook face-guarding. It was an incredible catch. It was nerve-racking. Next time do me a big favor and turn around Mr. Whitley, unless you can do that every time. Then you can face-guard all you want.
Davon Morgan had the other interception of the day, as he picked it off at the 12 and ran it back to the 37 yard-line. Morgan has a nice collection of interceptions on the season. He's broken quarterbacks' hearts...and arms...literally.
Tech's defense also racked up some huge stops on the day. The biggest stop of the day came in the last quarter of the game on the Hokies' last yard of defense. It was first and goal North Carolina from the VT one yard-line. UNC tailback Anthony Elzy takes the hand-off and dives for the endzone. Jeron Gouveia-Winslow has a big name, and he makes a big play. He smashes into Elzy and dis-lodges the ball. That slippery pigskin eludes multiple Tech defenders, and squirts out of the endzone. It doesn't matter though, it's a touchback for the Hokies! First down...Hokies! (in Lane Stadium announcer voice)
With Dyrell Roberts injured, Marcus Davis got the chance to start and he had a career day. He really stepped it up for the receiving corps. Davis was instrumental in Tech's offensive production, and the win. He was on the receiving end of both of Tech's touchdowns. Davis also led Tech in receiving with 4 catches for 81 yards. It's good to see that we have another solid receiver that we can count on and go to when our other receivers are having a bad day.
Speaking of receivers having a bad day, how about Jarrett Boykin? Boykin is usually Tech's go to guy, but in this game it seemed like every ball that went to him went to the ground. He dropped three catchable passes from Tyrod, and each one would have given the Hokies a first down. Boykin did somewhat redeem himself with a long 43-yard catch, and he did gain more yards than any other Tech receiver with 85. Everyone has a bad day, and I guess Boykin's really wasn't that bad. It was just unexpected. Luckily Marcus Davis had an unexpectedly good day to make up for it.
The David Wilson-less rushing duo of Ryan Williams and Darren Evans carried the load for Tech. Their stats were almost identical. Evans hammered away at the Tar Heel defense, forcing 5 UNC defenders to take him down on one play. He finished with 90 yards off of 14 carries with his longest run being 33 yards. A solid performance. Almost equally solid was Ryan Williams. He rushed 15 times for 83 yards with his longest run being 31 yards. Talk about a balanced rushing attack.
From a Beamerball perspective, things couldn't have been much better (well maybe with a blocked kick). Senior kicker Chris Hazley made all 4 of his field goal attempts, including a career long 52-yarder. He also converted on kicks from 38, 26, and 23 yards out. Punter Brian Saunders averaged 44.6 yards off of 5 punts. His longest was a 65 yard boomer. And to top things off. The punt team recovered a fumble from UNC's punt returner. The returner signaled for the fair catch, he muffed it, and the ball bounced right to a Tech gunner. It was one of those trademark Beamerball plays. We'll see that on a highlight video one day.
The Hokies won this game fair and square, but at one point it looked like the officials tried to slow things up. The referees called a pretty fair game, as they flagged 8 penalties on UNC and 9 penalties on Tech. On paper it looks fair, but on tape it looked bizarre. A colleague of mine, a certain Mr. Whitesell, alerted me to the strangeness of three of Tech's penalties. Between the two of us we had never seen any of these calls before, or at least not in the context in which we saw them called on Saturday. The first was an illegal fair catch signal by Jayron Hoseley. I've seen plenty of times when a guy called for a fair catch and then tried to run, but Hoseley just called for the fair catch and caught it. The refs said his signal just wasn't good enough. The second was offensive encroachment on tight end Andre Smith. Offensive Encroachment? I thought encroachment was only for the defense. I've seen an overabundance of false starts and a fair share of lining up in the neutral zone calls, but never an offensive encroachment. The third was a sideline interference call on Frank Beamer. The refs said he was on the field, and hence interfering with the play. Beamer may have barely been on the field, but he was over 20 yards away from where the play was taking place. It was a ridiculous call. It forced a patented "Who Farted?" look from Beamer, and it was much deserved.
But not even bogus calls could stop Virginia Tech's magical momentum. The Hokies have now won their eighth-straight game, and are undefeated in conference play with a 6 and 0 record. Tech only needs to win one of their last two games to win the Coastal Division, and punch their ticket to Charlotte for the ACC Championship. I expect them to win both, and the ACC Championship.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Battle Of The Techs
Last Thursday, the twentieth-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies stung the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by a final score of 28-21 in Lane Stadium.
In my opinion, "The Battle Of The Techs" has become the Hokies' biggest rivalry game. Unlike VPI's traditional rivalry with UVA, the Va. Tech/Ga. Tech match-up is always competitive...and it actually means something. When the Gobblers take on the Ramblin' Wreck, it's a war. It's a war that determines not only who the best "Tech" is, but also who's the best team in the Coastal Division. Since the inception of the ACC Championship Game in 2005, the winner of the annual VT/GT match-up has gone on to represent the Coastal Division in the conference title game. The Hokies defeated the Jackets in 2005, 2007, and 2008 to advance to the ACC Championship in each of those years. Georgia Tech won in 2006 and last year (2009) to head to the conference title game. With the way things are shaping up, this year will be no different.
With the latest win over the Jackets, the Hokies gain a commanding two-game lead in the Coastal Division and control the road to Charlotte. Va Tech also picks up their seventh straight win, and garner the best record in the ACC at 5 and 0. Now to the game...
We've seen some amazing games between the two Techs since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004. Whether it be Bryan Randall leading the Hokies to a comeback win in 04, or Calvin Johnson putting on a wide receiver clinic to give the Jackets a win in 06...they've all been exciting. This year's game followed suit.
Georgia Tech jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead thanks to quarterback Josh Nesbitt. Nesbitt, who scored 3 TD's in last year's 28-23 GT win, looked to be on pace to dominate the Tech defense again. Things looked dismal. It appeared that Bud Foster had yet again failed to figure out a way to stop the Jackets' triple-option attack. The Hokies' offense was halted and forced to punt on their first possession, but no one gave up.
On the Hokies' second possession Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams led the offense downfield on a 77-yard scoring drive. Williams capped off the drive with a 4-yard TD run, and Tech was back in business. Bud figured out how to slow up the GT rushing attack, and forced a 3-and-out. Tyrod paired up with David Wilson this time to march down the field. The Hokie offense made it all the way down to the GT 8 yardline. On third down Tyrod drops back to pass. The Jackets only rush three, he has all day to throw, eleven seconds to be exact. It's like a backyard football game, he just has to wait for someone to get open. He finds his target, fires it into the endzone, and it's...picked off by the Jackets. Talk about a Buzzkill.
Bud's defense comes back out and stimey's Ga Tech. It's another 3-and-out. The Jackets punt it away to the always dangerous Jayron Hoseley, but it turned out to just be dangerous for the Hokies. Hoseley fumbles it away to the Jackets, and in VT territory no less. The Ramblin' Wreck is set up at the Tech 47, and ready to drive up the score. Second play of the drive, GT tailback Anthony Allen breaks off a huge 33-yard run. The Jackets have a first and goal from the VT 10 yardline. Tech's defense holds on first and second down. It brings up a crucial third down for both teams. Then the Hokies get their biggest break of the game.
Nesbitt drops back to pass, he rolls left, he fires to the front corner of the endzone, and he's...picked off by Davon Morgan. Morgan flies out of the endzone and down the sideline. Nesbitt tries to make the tackle, Morgan jukes him and runs through Nesbitt's arm before he's tackled. Nesbitt's still down. The impact of the blow broke his right forearm. He's out. It's a huge break for the Hokies, and an unfortunate one for the Jackets. The first half expires. Georgia Tech takes a 14-7 lead into halftime, but the damage is done.
A stalemate ensues in the third quarter. The GT offense clearly misses their starting playcaller, while the VT offense is smothered by the "straight-Jacket" defense. The Hokies finally find a rythm, as David Wilson jets for a 15-yard score to tie the game. Bud stumps Paul Johnson's offense again for another 3-and-out, and the Tech offense comes to life. Darren Evans bruises his way down the field. Evans carries the ball five consecutive times, and drives the Hokies all the way down to the GT one yardline. On third and goal Tyrod fakes the handoff and hits tight end Andre Smith for the score. It's 21-14, and Tech takes their first lead of the game with around six and a half minutes in the ballgame.
The Jackets won't go away quietly though. They ramble all the way down the field, and Orwin Smith scrambles 9 yards for a touchdown. The game is all tied up at 21 with just two and a half minutes remaining. The Tech offense will have a chance to put this one away...or will they?
Georgia Tech kicks off, but it's a short kick. David Wilson grabs it at the ten, and proceeds to do what he does best...run fast. He flies past the Yellow Jackets' special teamers, and cuts it up the sideline all the way to the house. It's a 90 yard kickoff return touchdown to put the Hokies back up immediately. It's 28-21 Va Tech.
That should do it right? Case closed? Nope, not quite yet. The pesky Yellow Jackets keep buzzing around. Georgia Tech magically finds a passing attack through back-up QB Tevin Washington. Since it is Georgia Tech, the passing attack was just one pass but it was a big one. Washington dials in a 38 yard pass to Kevin Cone to bring the Jackets down to the VT 37. The clock is just ticking away. Paul Johnson haphazardly sandbags all three of his timeouts, as the clock goes down under a minute. Washington rushes down to the Tech 16 yardline. Fourteen seconds left. Timeout GT. The Jackets have two chances at the most to get in the endzone. Washington drops back, he's got a man open. He fires to the corner of the endzone...and it's intercepted by Rashad Carmichael. Game over. Hokies WIN! It's the fly-swatter for the Jackets.
This is by far the most resilient Virginia Tech team I've ever seen. Not only have the Hokies bounced back from an 0 and 2 start, they've also come from behind to win games. That's something Tech just hasn't been able to do in the past. In the opener against Boise State, the Hokies came back from being down 17 to take a lead until the final minute of the game. Against East Carolina, Tech trailed by 10 points twice in the game, and then bounced back to win 49-27. Once again Tech fell behind by 17, this time against 25th-ranked NC State. The Hokies rallied back for a 41-30 win in Raleigh. And of course in this game Tech was down 14-0, but battled back to win 28-21. This team just won't give up. Resiliency is a hard trait to obtain, but it's a great trait to have. It sure makes me sleep a lot better at night. But with that being said...
The beginning of this game was scary. I was like, "here we go again." Luckily Bud figured out how to slow up the triple option attack just enough to where our offense could outscore them. Davon Morgan helped him out a bunch when he crushed Nesbitt's forearm. Bottom Line: Bud's got to figure out a better way to stop that rag tag triple option attack, for my sake at least. I hate watching those jobbers rattle off huge runs against us. It's bad for our reputation. We need to tighten up the defense overall, as we have a habit of giving up huge plays this season. I'm not too worried though, Bud will get it done.
The offense also scared me. Seven points in the first half doesn't cut it for me. Not when we have the athletes that we have. With that being said, the three-headed running back scheme is working out well. We've been spreading the wealth, and everyone's been sharing the load. Evans, Williams, and Wilson each had a distinctive drive of their own in this game that resulted in a touchdown. If we keep triple-wielding with the runningbacks, we may keep all of them for 4 years because they want have the stats to go pro. It's a good situation to be in. Our receivers need to step it up to keep our offense balanced. Other than Jarrett Boykin, no one is really doing much.
Not red-shirting David Wilson is the best decision of the year. He came through and won this game for us with the big kick-off return TD. It was a big relief for Tyrod and the offense, and a big relief for me when he ran that puppy back. I'm assured that we would'nt have won that game if it made it to overtime. They had momentum. They could score once they reached the red-zone, and we were slowing up. Thanks Frank for not red-shirting David Wilson, and thanks David for winning the game for us.
Once again history repeats itself with another Va Tech/Ga Tech thriller. Hopefully history will also repeat itself when it comes to the winner of this battle going on to the ACC Championship. One thing's for sure though, it's up to the Hokies to decide.
In my opinion, "The Battle Of The Techs" has become the Hokies' biggest rivalry game. Unlike VPI's traditional rivalry with UVA, the Va. Tech/Ga. Tech match-up is always competitive...and it actually means something. When the Gobblers take on the Ramblin' Wreck, it's a war. It's a war that determines not only who the best "Tech" is, but also who's the best team in the Coastal Division. Since the inception of the ACC Championship Game in 2005, the winner of the annual VT/GT match-up has gone on to represent the Coastal Division in the conference title game. The Hokies defeated the Jackets in 2005, 2007, and 2008 to advance to the ACC Championship in each of those years. Georgia Tech won in 2006 and last year (2009) to head to the conference title game. With the way things are shaping up, this year will be no different.
With the latest win over the Jackets, the Hokies gain a commanding two-game lead in the Coastal Division and control the road to Charlotte. Va Tech also picks up their seventh straight win, and garner the best record in the ACC at 5 and 0. Now to the game...
We've seen some amazing games between the two Techs since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004. Whether it be Bryan Randall leading the Hokies to a comeback win in 04, or Calvin Johnson putting on a wide receiver clinic to give the Jackets a win in 06...they've all been exciting. This year's game followed suit.
Georgia Tech jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead thanks to quarterback Josh Nesbitt. Nesbitt, who scored 3 TD's in last year's 28-23 GT win, looked to be on pace to dominate the Tech defense again. Things looked dismal. It appeared that Bud Foster had yet again failed to figure out a way to stop the Jackets' triple-option attack. The Hokies' offense was halted and forced to punt on their first possession, but no one gave up.
On the Hokies' second possession Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams led the offense downfield on a 77-yard scoring drive. Williams capped off the drive with a 4-yard TD run, and Tech was back in business. Bud figured out how to slow up the GT rushing attack, and forced a 3-and-out. Tyrod paired up with David Wilson this time to march down the field. The Hokie offense made it all the way down to the GT 8 yardline. On third down Tyrod drops back to pass. The Jackets only rush three, he has all day to throw, eleven seconds to be exact. It's like a backyard football game, he just has to wait for someone to get open. He finds his target, fires it into the endzone, and it's...picked off by the Jackets. Talk about a Buzzkill.
Bud's defense comes back out and stimey's Ga Tech. It's another 3-and-out. The Jackets punt it away to the always dangerous Jayron Hoseley, but it turned out to just be dangerous for the Hokies. Hoseley fumbles it away to the Jackets, and in VT territory no less. The Ramblin' Wreck is set up at the Tech 47, and ready to drive up the score. Second play of the drive, GT tailback Anthony Allen breaks off a huge 33-yard run. The Jackets have a first and goal from the VT 10 yardline. Tech's defense holds on first and second down. It brings up a crucial third down for both teams. Then the Hokies get their biggest break of the game.
Nesbitt drops back to pass, he rolls left, he fires to the front corner of the endzone, and he's...picked off by Davon Morgan. Morgan flies out of the endzone and down the sideline. Nesbitt tries to make the tackle, Morgan jukes him and runs through Nesbitt's arm before he's tackled. Nesbitt's still down. The impact of the blow broke his right forearm. He's out. It's a huge break for the Hokies, and an unfortunate one for the Jackets. The first half expires. Georgia Tech takes a 14-7 lead into halftime, but the damage is done.
A stalemate ensues in the third quarter. The GT offense clearly misses their starting playcaller, while the VT offense is smothered by the "straight-Jacket" defense. The Hokies finally find a rythm, as David Wilson jets for a 15-yard score to tie the game. Bud stumps Paul Johnson's offense again for another 3-and-out, and the Tech offense comes to life. Darren Evans bruises his way down the field. Evans carries the ball five consecutive times, and drives the Hokies all the way down to the GT one yardline. On third and goal Tyrod fakes the handoff and hits tight end Andre Smith for the score. It's 21-14, and Tech takes their first lead of the game with around six and a half minutes in the ballgame.
The Jackets won't go away quietly though. They ramble all the way down the field, and Orwin Smith scrambles 9 yards for a touchdown. The game is all tied up at 21 with just two and a half minutes remaining. The Tech offense will have a chance to put this one away...or will they?
Georgia Tech kicks off, but it's a short kick. David Wilson grabs it at the ten, and proceeds to do what he does best...run fast. He flies past the Yellow Jackets' special teamers, and cuts it up the sideline all the way to the house. It's a 90 yard kickoff return touchdown to put the Hokies back up immediately. It's 28-21 Va Tech.
That should do it right? Case closed? Nope, not quite yet. The pesky Yellow Jackets keep buzzing around. Georgia Tech magically finds a passing attack through back-up QB Tevin Washington. Since it is Georgia Tech, the passing attack was just one pass but it was a big one. Washington dials in a 38 yard pass to Kevin Cone to bring the Jackets down to the VT 37. The clock is just ticking away. Paul Johnson haphazardly sandbags all three of his timeouts, as the clock goes down under a minute. Washington rushes down to the Tech 16 yardline. Fourteen seconds left. Timeout GT. The Jackets have two chances at the most to get in the endzone. Washington drops back, he's got a man open. He fires to the corner of the endzone...and it's intercepted by Rashad Carmichael. Game over. Hokies WIN! It's the fly-swatter for the Jackets.
This is by far the most resilient Virginia Tech team I've ever seen. Not only have the Hokies bounced back from an 0 and 2 start, they've also come from behind to win games. That's something Tech just hasn't been able to do in the past. In the opener against Boise State, the Hokies came back from being down 17 to take a lead until the final minute of the game. Against East Carolina, Tech trailed by 10 points twice in the game, and then bounced back to win 49-27. Once again Tech fell behind by 17, this time against 25th-ranked NC State. The Hokies rallied back for a 41-30 win in Raleigh. And of course in this game Tech was down 14-0, but battled back to win 28-21. This team just won't give up. Resiliency is a hard trait to obtain, but it's a great trait to have. It sure makes me sleep a lot better at night. But with that being said...
The beginning of this game was scary. I was like, "here we go again." Luckily Bud figured out how to slow up the triple option attack just enough to where our offense could outscore them. Davon Morgan helped him out a bunch when he crushed Nesbitt's forearm. Bottom Line: Bud's got to figure out a better way to stop that rag tag triple option attack, for my sake at least. I hate watching those jobbers rattle off huge runs against us. It's bad for our reputation. We need to tighten up the defense overall, as we have a habit of giving up huge plays this season. I'm not too worried though, Bud will get it done.
The offense also scared me. Seven points in the first half doesn't cut it for me. Not when we have the athletes that we have. With that being said, the three-headed running back scheme is working out well. We've been spreading the wealth, and everyone's been sharing the load. Evans, Williams, and Wilson each had a distinctive drive of their own in this game that resulted in a touchdown. If we keep triple-wielding with the runningbacks, we may keep all of them for 4 years because they want have the stats to go pro. It's a good situation to be in. Our receivers need to step it up to keep our offense balanced. Other than Jarrett Boykin, no one is really doing much.
Not red-shirting David Wilson is the best decision of the year. He came through and won this game for us with the big kick-off return TD. It was a big relief for Tyrod and the offense, and a big relief for me when he ran that puppy back. I'm assured that we would'nt have won that game if it made it to overtime. They had momentum. They could score once they reached the red-zone, and we were slowing up. Thanks Frank for not red-shirting David Wilson, and thanks David for winning the game for us.
Once again history repeats itself with another Va Tech/Ga Tech thriller. Hopefully history will also repeat itself when it comes to the winner of this battle going on to the ACC Championship. One thing's for sure though, it's up to the Hokies to decide.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Haunted Hats
Ah yes, tis almost time for Halloween. The perfect time of the year for ghosts, ghouls, witches, black cats, and...fitted hats. Yes fitted hats. In my usual hat browsing for this month, I came across two particular hats that are just to die for.
Both happen to be from Minor League Baseball teams, but that's no surprise. The Minors always have the rarest mascots, the coolest color schemes, the best gimmicks, and of course the sharpest-looking hats. Unfortunately for me and probably most of you, the only size left in each hat is a size 7 3/4. If your Jack-O-Lantern (head) happens to be that size, then you are in luck. These festive fitteds got gobbled up faster than the good Halloween candy.
The first hat is a special Halloween edition of a fan favorite Minor League hat, which comes from the Lake Elsinore Storm. The Storm are the Single A affiliates of the San Diego Padres, and reside in Lake Elsinore, California. You've probably seen a Lake Elsinore Storm hat before, but you probably didn't even know it was theirs. Their hat features an iconic set of angry eyes, which looks very similar to the No Fear eyes or the Mighty Ducks Duck mask. One of my favorite New Era sellers, Cap City, really dressed this hat up nice for the season. If it entered a costume contest, it would surely bring home the grand prize.
It captures the original colors of Halloween, as if features a black base with an orange bill and button. They place the iconic Storm eyes on a traditional orange pumpkin with kelly green vines sprouting from it. The New Era flag logo and the underbill are cleverly colored kelly green to bring a smooth sense of balance to the hat. To finish it off, the Storm eyes are outlined in orange on the back. This hat goes down smoother than warm pumpkin pie. Now that I've teased your tastebuds, click here to view this treat of a hat.
The second hat is equally awesome and festive, but in it's own unique way. I mean unique as in it's the only hat to do what it does. I know it sounds kind of sketchy, but hey it's Halloween. You've got to be able to sort through the tricks to get the treats. Really this hat is a treat though.
It happens to be the official on-field hat of the Casper Ghosts. Yes I said Casper, and yes I said the Ghosts. Remember what I said about the Minors having the rarest mascots and the best gimmicks? The Ghosts are the Colorado Rockies Single A affiliate, and are located in Casper, Wyoming. This Minor League team celebrates Halloween year-round...well at least during baseball season.
While they're name immediately brings a friendly ghost to mind, they're hat is anything but friendly. It's wicked...wicked awesome. Famed Cap Designers the Clink Room bring you this extra special treat. The hat has an all-black base, including the bill, underbill, eyelets, and button. The team's Ghost Rider-like logo is featured on the front. It's a white, laughing skull that has orange baseball laces for its eyebrows and an ink-dot smoke pattern surrounding its head. It's a very clever, well done design. The New Era hit on the side is orange, and the Minor League baseball logo on the back is split orange and black. It gives you that Halloween feel on first glance.
And now for the trick...that's really a treat. It's what you've all been waiting for. What makes this hat different from any other hat out there...the dark. That's right the dark. Because it glows in it. When you turn out the lights, a hidden G (for Ghosts) glows from within the skull logo. I don't care what season it is, it just doesn't get any better than that. This hat is too cool for ghoul. So here you go. Reap thy Harvest, and feast your eyes on the real prize. (Be sure to click through all the pictures. The third pic on the bottom is concepts from the brainstorming process for the hat. The fifth is the money shot.)
I hope you've enjoyed this fitted hat costume contest. I have to say it comes out a draw. We really do have two winners here. So if you find yourself hard-pressed over what costume to wear, breathe easy. Forget about the masks, choose a fitted instead. People may think you're madder than a hatter, but then again that's the idea isn't it? After all it is Halloween. (insert deep, spooky sounding laughter here)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Welcome Back To The Terrordome
On Saturday the Virginia Tech Hokies retired the jersey of one of the best football players to ever pass through the tunnel into Lane Stadium. The jersey= #56, The player= a quarterback's worst nightmare, Corey Moore.
Moore played defensive end for the Hokies from 1997 through the magical season that was 1999, and he was a force to be reckoned with to say the least. In 1999, Moore racked up 17 sacks, 62 tackles, 25 quarterback hurries, 4 forced fumbles, and he returned a fumble for a touchdown (against Clemson). He was the fearless leader of the best Lunch Pail defense to ever patrol Worsham Field. What Michael Vick was to the offense, Corey Moore was to the defense...and maybe even a little more. Moore was the difference between having a National Championship caliber team and not having one, just ask the 2000 Hokies who came one game short of making it back to the big game.
Moore's accomplishments from the 1999 season alone won him more awards than any other player in Virginia Tech history. Corey was a unanimous All-American selection at the Defensive End position. He won the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is awarded to the nation's best defensive player. He won the Lombardi Award, which goes to the nation's best lineman. He was voted the defensive player of the year for the Big East Conference. And to top things off he won the Dudley Award, which is awarded to the best football player in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
His career statistics are staggering. He finished his illustrious tenure at Tech with 172 tackles, 58 quarterback hurries, 37 sacks, 3 recovered fumbles (1 returned for a TD vs. Clemson), 8 forced fumbles, and 4 blocked kicks (got to get the Beamerball in there). As you can see, he deserved every one of the awards he received. He was the best D-lineman since Bruce Smith, and that speaks for itself.
As a player, he was undersized for his position. At 6 foot 225 pounds, He had the size of a linebacker but the speed of a runningback. He was dangerous. He was a head-hunter. At the snap of the ball he would dip his shoulder and come barreling off the corner like a stampede of bulls. No one could dip the shoulder like Corey Moore. He would get so low, but yet still be moving so fast. It was textbook football at its best.
Like his last name, he was MORE than just an outstanding player. He was a character. Corey Moore had possibly the most colorful personality of any player to ever wear the Maroon and Orange. He was always excited. He stayed wired up. He was amped...all day, every day. One look inside his helmet would tell you that. He had crazy eyes. They were as wide open as any eyes could be, and they moved feverishly back and forth. They were like the headlights of a Mack truck. They were the last thing that quarterbacks saw before they were face to face with grass. After each sack or tackle, he would celebrate. Maybe a chest bump with a fellow defender, maybe a yell in someone's face, maybe a dance. He celebrated without reprocussion. The refs were too scared to throw the flag on him, but can you blame them? When he had his helmet off he resembled Sinbad, but believe me he was never joking around. Corey Moore even un-officially re-named Lane Stadium. He called it "the Terrordome," and he couldn't have picked a more suitable name. He made it just that for opposing teams, a Terrordome.
I really can't capture the aura of Corey Moore in words, so with Halloween just a few days away I have a little treat for you. It's a highlight reel of Mr. Moore...from one game. And not just any game. It's a Thursday night game. And it's not just any Thursday night game. It's the 1999 Thursday nighter against Clemson, which was the first game I ever watched in Lane Stadium. If you've ever wondered why I'm a Hokie...well this is why.
Here's a few things to look for in this video:
Look at Tech's awesome endzones. They were sweet. Way better than the lackluster Arial font "VIRGINIA TECH" that we have now.
@ :50 The announcers saying Corey Moore is a man
@ 2:08 He hyperextends his back trying to block a pass, look at that hustle. How many D-Ends can get up like that?
@ 3:02 The crazy eyes. Look at the eyes!
@ 4:44 Moore forces the qb to throw a pic 6 to "Iceman" Ike Charlton. Watch Moore beat Ike to the endzone. Always hustlin.
@ 7:47 The hallmark Corey Moore play. He smashes the qb, picks up the ball and takes it to the house. Lane Stadium went bonkers. I remember this play more vividly than anything else that happened in this game. I'll never forget this play
@ 8:47 Corey Moore talking smack. (can you see the Sinbad resemblance, or is it just me?)
@ 9:39 Welcome to the Terrordome: the legendary statement
@ 10:25 Moore Exits Sandman into the stands
@ 10:35 Collage of Moore's highlights on the night
I hope you enjoyed this educational, instructional, and highly entertaining video. It showcases the Legend that is Corey Moore. I'm overjoyed to have him in Tech's Hall Of Fame, and to see his jersey number at the top of the North Endzone. That's where Corey Moore belongs...at the top of the Terrordome.
Moore played defensive end for the Hokies from 1997 through the magical season that was 1999, and he was a force to be reckoned with to say the least. In 1999, Moore racked up 17 sacks, 62 tackles, 25 quarterback hurries, 4 forced fumbles, and he returned a fumble for a touchdown (against Clemson). He was the fearless leader of the best Lunch Pail defense to ever patrol Worsham Field. What Michael Vick was to the offense, Corey Moore was to the defense...and maybe even a little more. Moore was the difference between having a National Championship caliber team and not having one, just ask the 2000 Hokies who came one game short of making it back to the big game.
Moore's accomplishments from the 1999 season alone won him more awards than any other player in Virginia Tech history. Corey was a unanimous All-American selection at the Defensive End position. He won the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is awarded to the nation's best defensive player. He won the Lombardi Award, which goes to the nation's best lineman. He was voted the defensive player of the year for the Big East Conference. And to top things off he won the Dudley Award, which is awarded to the best football player in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
His career statistics are staggering. He finished his illustrious tenure at Tech with 172 tackles, 58 quarterback hurries, 37 sacks, 3 recovered fumbles (1 returned for a TD vs. Clemson), 8 forced fumbles, and 4 blocked kicks (got to get the Beamerball in there). As you can see, he deserved every one of the awards he received. He was the best D-lineman since Bruce Smith, and that speaks for itself.
As a player, he was undersized for his position. At 6 foot 225 pounds, He had the size of a linebacker but the speed of a runningback. He was dangerous. He was a head-hunter. At the snap of the ball he would dip his shoulder and come barreling off the corner like a stampede of bulls. No one could dip the shoulder like Corey Moore. He would get so low, but yet still be moving so fast. It was textbook football at its best.
Like his last name, he was MORE than just an outstanding player. He was a character. Corey Moore had possibly the most colorful personality of any player to ever wear the Maroon and Orange. He was always excited. He stayed wired up. He was amped...all day, every day. One look inside his helmet would tell you that. He had crazy eyes. They were as wide open as any eyes could be, and they moved feverishly back and forth. They were like the headlights of a Mack truck. They were the last thing that quarterbacks saw before they were face to face with grass. After each sack or tackle, he would celebrate. Maybe a chest bump with a fellow defender, maybe a yell in someone's face, maybe a dance. He celebrated without reprocussion. The refs were too scared to throw the flag on him, but can you blame them? When he had his helmet off he resembled Sinbad, but believe me he was never joking around. Corey Moore even un-officially re-named Lane Stadium. He called it "the Terrordome," and he couldn't have picked a more suitable name. He made it just that for opposing teams, a Terrordome.
I really can't capture the aura of Corey Moore in words, so with Halloween just a few days away I have a little treat for you. It's a highlight reel of Mr. Moore...from one game. And not just any game. It's a Thursday night game. And it's not just any Thursday night game. It's the 1999 Thursday nighter against Clemson, which was the first game I ever watched in Lane Stadium. If you've ever wondered why I'm a Hokie...well this is why.
Here's a few things to look for in this video:
Look at Tech's awesome endzones. They were sweet. Way better than the lackluster Arial font "VIRGINIA TECH" that we have now.
@ :50 The announcers saying Corey Moore is a man
@ 2:08 He hyperextends his back trying to block a pass, look at that hustle. How many D-Ends can get up like that?
@ 3:02 The crazy eyes. Look at the eyes!
@ 4:44 Moore forces the qb to throw a pic 6 to "Iceman" Ike Charlton. Watch Moore beat Ike to the endzone. Always hustlin.
@ 7:47 The hallmark Corey Moore play. He smashes the qb, picks up the ball and takes it to the house. Lane Stadium went bonkers. I remember this play more vividly than anything else that happened in this game. I'll never forget this play
@ 8:47 Corey Moore talking smack. (can you see the Sinbad resemblance, or is it just me?)
@ 9:39 Welcome to the Terrordome: the legendary statement
@ 10:25 Moore Exits Sandman into the stands
@ 10:35 Collage of Moore's highlights on the night
I hope you enjoyed this educational, instructional, and highly entertaining video. It showcases the Legend that is Corey Moore. I'm overjoyed to have him in Tech's Hall Of Fame, and to see his jersey number at the top of the North Endzone. That's where Corey Moore belongs...at the top of the Terrordome.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A Breath Of Fresh...Teams
The 2010 World Series begins tonight, as the Texas Rangers travel to the Bay to take on the San Francisco Giants.
I must say that seeing the Rangers and the Giants in the Series is a breath of fresh air. It's nice to see two different unthought of teams in the spotlight.
I think I would have barfed if I had to watch another Yankees/Phillies snoozefest. I mean everyone except for true New Yorkers and bandwagoners hate the Yankees. Everyone is sick and tired of the "Evil Empire." It's poetic justice every time "the Best Team Money Can Buy" craps out, and doesn't make it to the Series. It's like a revolution. You can hear pilgrims rejoicing in the streets screaming, "the Yankees didn't make it, the Yankees didn't make it!"
On the other side, the Phillies are by far the most boring team to watch in the league. Their "do it by the book" gameplan puts me to sleep faster than warm milk. They don't even give you anything stimulating to look at, as their uniforms match their flavorless style of play. Their all red hats with the white P is almost as bad as Penn State's helmets in College Football, and that's bad because Penn State has nothing but a strip of navy blue electrical tape on their helmet. Add in the fact that their number one "slugger" Ryan Howard can't hit the side of a barn, and the Phillies are blander than grits without butter. Pass the salt and pepper please.
Now to the interesting teams that matter.
This marks the first World Series appearance ever for the Texas Rangers franchise, and it's much deserved. Nolan Ryan, probably the greatest pitcher to ever play the game, couldn't lead the Rangers to the Series as a player, but now he does as an owner. What a story. Ryan helped the New York Mets win their first World Series in 1969, and now through some savvy managing moves he's helped his Rangers to the Fall Classic. All aboard the Von Ryan Express!
The Giants franchise has been to its fair share of World Series, and its won five. Yet the City by the Bay hasn't seen any of those championships. That's because the last time the Giants won the Series was way back in 1954, four years before the franchise moved to San Francisco. The last time San Fran has been to the World Series was in 2002, as they were led by the enhanced slugger Barry Bonds. The Giants came up just short in game seven versus the Angels. I guess steroids can only take you so far. The now Bondsless Giants team has the opportunity to bring San Fran its first baseball championship, and they won't even have to worry about putting an asterisk* beside it.
Now to the preview.
The Rangers are heavily favored to take home the grand prize despite having a slightly worse record than the Giants (T=90-72, SF=92-70). They have the highest batting average of all the major league teams, and are fifth in runs scored. They're batting attack is led by outfielder Josh Hamilton, who has a .359 batting average with 32 home runs, and seasoned veteran designated hitter Vlad Guerrerro, who has a .300 batting average with 29 homers respectively. To put it simply they've got more firepower than well...the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers also have a knack for fielding the best pitcher in baseball. In the past the top gunslinger was of course Nolan Ryan, but now there's a new sheriff in town. His name is Cliff Lee. Lee has had the best postseason that a pitcher could ever ask for. He finished with 3 wins off of 3 starts with 34 strike outs, while giving up just 2 earned runs. You heard right, 2 earned runs. That's an ERA of 0.75. Take a picture, because you just don't see that everyday. That's lights out.
While the Rangers look unstoppable, I'm definitely not counting the Giants out of this one.
As I stated earlier the Giants do have a slightly better record, but that means peanuts and cracker jacks at this point. They do however have home field advantage thanks to the National League finally winning an All Star game. That could be big. The Bay is an exciting place to play, and it brings a crazy fan base with it. (See the guys in kayaks with fishing nets carousing around in the Bay waiting anxiously for homer balls like hungry sharks waiting on slow seals.)
The Giants also have momentum after winning an NLCS that no one thought they would win, and did I mention they have a pretty good bullpen? No? Well let me get to that. If you've ever seen the movie Major League, the Giants have a real-life version of the "Wild Thing" pitcher Rick Vaughn in Tim Lincecum. And while Lincecum doesn't have the same outrageous haircut as Vaughn, he does have an outrageous haircut. He also doesn't have Vaughn's trademark glasses, but he has the accuracy and speed that Vaughn had with the glasses on. Personally, I think Lincecum looks like Pee Wee Herman with long hair. What he really has in common with Vaughn is the same hard rock attitude and persona, and the same convict coolness when he's on the mound. Lincecum has led the Giants through the postseason with a 2-1 record, 30 strikeouts, and ERA of 1.93. That's pretty dang good, and what's even better is who he has behind him.
San Francisco's closer is Blackbeard thePirate Giant...literally. Brian Wilson, the fiery right-hander, has a full, thick, jet-black beard. It's quite intimidating...especially to opposing teams. And believe me his pitches, like his beard, are Just For Men. His fastball can reach up to 100 mph. He has 48 saves on the season with 93 strikeouts, and just a 1.18 ERA. In the postseason he was relentless. He recorded 5 saves and a win, while his ERA was a 0.00. We're talking a Mr. Blutarsky Zero Point Zero. Fear the Beard is real...real scary...real scary for batters.
In game one we'll see Cliff Lee take on "The Franchise" Tim Lincecum in a pitchers' duel that will be more suitable for pay-per-view than a Tyson/Holyfield rematch. Willie Mays will throw out the first pitch, which automatically elevates this Series to legendary status.
With the first pitch just hours away, I can actually say I'm excited to see this World Series. It's full of legends, colorful characters, good stories, but no villains (like I said, the Yankees didn't make it.) So no matter what the outcome of the Series is, we'll all be winners this time.
I must say that seeing the Rangers and the Giants in the Series is a breath of fresh air. It's nice to see two different unthought of teams in the spotlight.
I think I would have barfed if I had to watch another Yankees/Phillies snoozefest. I mean everyone except for true New Yorkers and bandwagoners hate the Yankees. Everyone is sick and tired of the "Evil Empire." It's poetic justice every time "the Best Team Money Can Buy" craps out, and doesn't make it to the Series. It's like a revolution. You can hear pilgrims rejoicing in the streets screaming, "the Yankees didn't make it, the Yankees didn't make it!"
On the other side, the Phillies are by far the most boring team to watch in the league. Their "do it by the book" gameplan puts me to sleep faster than warm milk. They don't even give you anything stimulating to look at, as their uniforms match their flavorless style of play. Their all red hats with the white P is almost as bad as Penn State's helmets in College Football, and that's bad because Penn State has nothing but a strip of navy blue electrical tape on their helmet. Add in the fact that their number one "slugger" Ryan Howard can't hit the side of a barn, and the Phillies are blander than grits without butter. Pass the salt and pepper please.
Now to the interesting teams that matter.
This marks the first World Series appearance ever for the Texas Rangers franchise, and it's much deserved. Nolan Ryan, probably the greatest pitcher to ever play the game, couldn't lead the Rangers to the Series as a player, but now he does as an owner. What a story. Ryan helped the New York Mets win their first World Series in 1969, and now through some savvy managing moves he's helped his Rangers to the Fall Classic. All aboard the Von Ryan Express!
The Giants franchise has been to its fair share of World Series, and its won five. Yet the City by the Bay hasn't seen any of those championships. That's because the last time the Giants won the Series was way back in 1954, four years before the franchise moved to San Francisco. The last time San Fran has been to the World Series was in 2002, as they were led by the enhanced slugger Barry Bonds. The Giants came up just short in game seven versus the Angels. I guess steroids can only take you so far. The now Bondsless Giants team has the opportunity to bring San Fran its first baseball championship, and they won't even have to worry about putting an asterisk* beside it.
Now to the preview.
The Rangers are heavily favored to take home the grand prize despite having a slightly worse record than the Giants (T=90-72, SF=92-70). They have the highest batting average of all the major league teams, and are fifth in runs scored. They're batting attack is led by outfielder Josh Hamilton, who has a .359 batting average with 32 home runs, and seasoned veteran designated hitter Vlad Guerrerro, who has a .300 batting average with 29 homers respectively. To put it simply they've got more firepower than well...the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers also have a knack for fielding the best pitcher in baseball. In the past the top gunslinger was of course Nolan Ryan, but now there's a new sheriff in town. His name is Cliff Lee. Lee has had the best postseason that a pitcher could ever ask for. He finished with 3 wins off of 3 starts with 34 strike outs, while giving up just 2 earned runs. You heard right, 2 earned runs. That's an ERA of 0.75. Take a picture, because you just don't see that everyday. That's lights out.
While the Rangers look unstoppable, I'm definitely not counting the Giants out of this one.
As I stated earlier the Giants do have a slightly better record, but that means peanuts and cracker jacks at this point. They do however have home field advantage thanks to the National League finally winning an All Star game. That could be big. The Bay is an exciting place to play, and it brings a crazy fan base with it. (See the guys in kayaks with fishing nets carousing around in the Bay waiting anxiously for homer balls like hungry sharks waiting on slow seals.)
The Giants also have momentum after winning an NLCS that no one thought they would win, and did I mention they have a pretty good bullpen? No? Well let me get to that. If you've ever seen the movie Major League, the Giants have a real-life version of the "Wild Thing" pitcher Rick Vaughn in Tim Lincecum. And while Lincecum doesn't have the same outrageous haircut as Vaughn, he does have an outrageous haircut. He also doesn't have Vaughn's trademark glasses, but he has the accuracy and speed that Vaughn had with the glasses on. Personally, I think Lincecum looks like Pee Wee Herman with long hair. What he really has in common with Vaughn is the same hard rock attitude and persona, and the same convict coolness when he's on the mound. Lincecum has led the Giants through the postseason with a 2-1 record, 30 strikeouts, and ERA of 1.93. That's pretty dang good, and what's even better is who he has behind him.
San Francisco's closer is Blackbeard the
In game one we'll see Cliff Lee take on "The Franchise" Tim Lincecum in a pitchers' duel that will be more suitable for pay-per-view than a Tyson/Holyfield rematch. Willie Mays will throw out the first pitch, which automatically elevates this Series to legendary status.
With the first pitch just hours away, I can actually say I'm excited to see this World Series. It's full of legends, colorful characters, good stories, but no villains (like I said, the Yankees didn't make it.) So no matter what the outcome of the Series is, we'll all be winners this time.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Hokies Beat 'em Black and Blue
On Saturday the twenty-third ranked Virginia Tech Hokies torched the Duke Blue Devils by a final score of 44-7 in Lane Stadium.
Saturday was deja vu. It was last week all over again. While it was a different high class, private ACC university from North Carolina, the result was the same...a big Tech victory.
As expected, the Hokies came out and dominated this game from the start. They beat Duke black and blue (pun intended) on all facets of the game.
Tyrod Taylor was almost flawless. He led the Hokies in both passing and rushing. He went 13 of 17 for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air, while adding 54 yards on the ground. (I would like to point out that no Tech tailback had more than 9 carries, but Tyrod still had the highest yard-per-carry average with 7.8). Needless to say, the senior QB had a stellar day. He made it look easy too. If you didn't know better, you would think it was just day at practice for number five.
While it may look like Tyrod's just going for a stroll in the park, he's actually doing some serious work. Tyrod is quietly creeping up in the record books of both Virginia Tech and the ACC. He currently has the most rushing yards by any Tech quarterback, and is tied with the great Bob Schweickert for Most Rushing TD's by a QB and Career 100-yard rushing games by a QB. Taylor is second in Career Total Offense only to Bryan Randall, and he's less than 100 yards from owning that record. He sits fifth on the all-time passing list, but he's still got some throwing to do. From an ACC standpoint, Tyrod is third on the all-time list for rushing yards by a quarterback behind Georgia Tech's Jonathan Nesbitt and Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler. Taylor currently leads the conference in passing efficiency as well. The way Tyrod is playing, he's going to be the proud owner of multiple records when he leaves VPI. Not bad for a guy who was once Sean Glennon's back-up (insert uncontrollable sarcastic laughter here).
Back to the game. Darren Evans was his usual Punisher self. He rumbled for 36 yards and a score off of 8 carries. In this game, Evans put his own spin on a popular Van Halen Song. Instead of "Running With the Devil," He ran over the Devils. His hallmark from this game was when he almost completely hurdled a Duke defender. Wow deja vu again...Deron Washington anyone?
It was good to see Ryan Williams back on the field after taking a few games off to rehab his hamstring. He was a little rusty, but who wouldn't be? He came through when it counted though...in the red zone. He scored on a 1-yard run to ease back into his old self. He'll be back to Predator status in no time.
Logan Thomas got some much needed reps in on Saturday. He had a shaky start, but was looking good by the end of the game. He went 6 for 14 for 52 yards, but he could have had a lot more. Thomas threw two lasers that his receivers couldn't hang onto. The first was to back-up tight end Randall Dunn, who could only get one paw on the ball. The other was to Xavier Boyce, who dropped it after a defender wrapped him up. You can't really blame the receivers though. Thomas' passes have a little more pepper on them than the average pass does. He's got a cannon. He's got potential. The force is strong in this one.
Bud Foster's defense played lights out. The Blue Devils were averaging almost 400 yards a game coming into this one. Tech's D held them to just 208 yards. The secondary was swarming around back there. Both starting corners got interceptions. Jayron Hoseley picked off one and returned it 17 yards, while Rashad Carmichael scooped one and returned it 19 yards. The Hokies are starting to get more and more pressure, and that's a good thing. The D is getting closer to looking like a real Lunch Pail Defense, but look who we were playing. We'll see how they stack up against those pesky Yellow Jackets next Thursday.
You've got to give the Dukies credit though. They played tough, and pulled out all the stops trying to beat us. Going for it on fourth down on their opening drive was a stupid but brave move, and I commend them for that. They knew if they were going to have a chance that it was then. The onside kick to start the second half was a clever ruse, but it just ticked Frank off. I knew that when the cameras showed Beamer and he had his patented "Who Farted?" look on his face that Duke had made a grave mistake. Two Tech passing touchdowns later, the Blue Devils knew it too. Stick a (pitch)fork in 'em, they're done.
In closing I'll give Duke one valuable piece of advice: Athletes beat Mathletes every time.
Charlie Daniels says the Devil plays a mean violin...but that doesn't mean much when it comes to pigskin.
Saturday was deja vu. It was last week all over again. While it was a different high class, private ACC university from North Carolina, the result was the same...a big Tech victory.
As expected, the Hokies came out and dominated this game from the start. They beat Duke black and blue (pun intended) on all facets of the game.
Tyrod Taylor was almost flawless. He led the Hokies in both passing and rushing. He went 13 of 17 for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air, while adding 54 yards on the ground. (I would like to point out that no Tech tailback had more than 9 carries, but Tyrod still had the highest yard-per-carry average with 7.8). Needless to say, the senior QB had a stellar day. He made it look easy too. If you didn't know better, you would think it was just day at practice for number five.
While it may look like Tyrod's just going for a stroll in the park, he's actually doing some serious work. Tyrod is quietly creeping up in the record books of both Virginia Tech and the ACC. He currently has the most rushing yards by any Tech quarterback, and is tied with the great Bob Schweickert for Most Rushing TD's by a QB and Career 100-yard rushing games by a QB. Taylor is second in Career Total Offense only to Bryan Randall, and he's less than 100 yards from owning that record. He sits fifth on the all-time passing list, but he's still got some throwing to do. From an ACC standpoint, Tyrod is third on the all-time list for rushing yards by a quarterback behind Georgia Tech's Jonathan Nesbitt and Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler. Taylor currently leads the conference in passing efficiency as well. The way Tyrod is playing, he's going to be the proud owner of multiple records when he leaves VPI. Not bad for a guy who was once Sean Glennon's back-up (insert uncontrollable sarcastic laughter here).
Back to the game. Darren Evans was his usual Punisher self. He rumbled for 36 yards and a score off of 8 carries. In this game, Evans put his own spin on a popular Van Halen Song. Instead of "Running With the Devil," He ran over the Devils. His hallmark from this game was when he almost completely hurdled a Duke defender. Wow deja vu again...Deron Washington anyone?
It was good to see Ryan Williams back on the field after taking a few games off to rehab his hamstring. He was a little rusty, but who wouldn't be? He came through when it counted though...in the red zone. He scored on a 1-yard run to ease back into his old self. He'll be back to Predator status in no time.
Logan Thomas got some much needed reps in on Saturday. He had a shaky start, but was looking good by the end of the game. He went 6 for 14 for 52 yards, but he could have had a lot more. Thomas threw two lasers that his receivers couldn't hang onto. The first was to back-up tight end Randall Dunn, who could only get one paw on the ball. The other was to Xavier Boyce, who dropped it after a defender wrapped him up. You can't really blame the receivers though. Thomas' passes have a little more pepper on them than the average pass does. He's got a cannon. He's got potential. The force is strong in this one.
Bud Foster's defense played lights out. The Blue Devils were averaging almost 400 yards a game coming into this one. Tech's D held them to just 208 yards. The secondary was swarming around back there. Both starting corners got interceptions. Jayron Hoseley picked off one and returned it 17 yards, while Rashad Carmichael scooped one and returned it 19 yards. The Hokies are starting to get more and more pressure, and that's a good thing. The D is getting closer to looking like a real Lunch Pail Defense, but look who we were playing. We'll see how they stack up against those pesky Yellow Jackets next Thursday.
You've got to give the Dukies credit though. They played tough, and pulled out all the stops trying to beat us. Going for it on fourth down on their opening drive was a stupid but brave move, and I commend them for that. They knew if they were going to have a chance that it was then. The onside kick to start the second half was a clever ruse, but it just ticked Frank off. I knew that when the cameras showed Beamer and he had his patented "Who Farted?" look on his face that Duke had made a grave mistake. Two Tech passing touchdowns later, the Blue Devils knew it too. Stick a (pitch)fork in 'em, they're done.
The Hokies have now won six straight games since the devastating 0 and 2 start, and have finally crept their way back into the polls.
Tech has been a focused and determined team ever since the second half of the East Carolina game. This game marks the fourth game in a row that the Hokies have put up 40 or more points.
The Hokies have now beaten Duke 10 consecutive times. The Blue Devils were formidable opponents in the past two contests, as the Hokies won by scores of 34-26 last year and 14-3 in 2008. They sure didn't have a chance in this one.
In closing I'll give Duke one valuable piece of advice: Athletes beat Mathletes every time.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Havoc Reekin' On The Deacons
On Saturday the Virginia Tech Hokies blasted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by a final score of 52-21 for a big Homecoming victory in Lane Stadium.
This brings both good news and bad news for VPI...
The Bad News: Environmental Police from the state of North Carolina have charged Virginia Tech with deforestation, after the Hokies burnt down Wake Forest on Saturday.
The Good News: Tech picked up their fifth straight win, and sit alone atop the ACC Coastal Division with a clean 3-0 conference record. More good news: the Hokies play Duke this week, which should equal a continuance of Tech's offensive explosion.
I've got to say I was very happy with the win. The only bad part about it was who we destroyed. I wish it could have been Miami, Florida State, or the French who we hung half a century on. I hate that it was Wake who we thrashed, bashed, and left floating helplessly in our...wake. I really respect the Deacs, they are a classy bunch. Winston Salem is a great city. You can go from strolling in the countryside to staring up at skyscrapers in a matter of a few minutes drive. Wake's fans aren't jerks, they have class. They don't really care if they win or lose, but I think that's just because they know they're richer than everyone else. Their mascot the Demon Deacon just looks dapper with that top hat/bow tie combo. Jim Grobe, Wake's head coach, is a classy guy who reminds me a lot of our coach Frank Beamer. He's very respectful, he never gets too worked up over bad calls, and he never speaks badly about other teams. The only bad thing (and surprising thing) about Grobe is his Alma Mater...Virginia. Like Beamer, Grobe has turned around a once dismal program and made them competitive. He guided the Deacs to their best season in school history in 2006. Wake went 11-3 that year, and won the ACC Championship. The Demon Deacons have steadily went downhill since that season though. Can you tell?
The Hokies had an offensive field day, which was very much welcomed. This is how we should have been playing from the start of this season. We knew all along that we had phenomenal players on offense. It was great to see them put to use for once.
Tech scored touchdowns on all but one drive in the first half. From a numerical standpoint that's 7 of 8, which means 7 touchdowns. Seven touchdowns equals 49 points. Forty-nine points in THE FIRST HALF. That's unbelievable. That's unheard of. That's what we've all been waiting for.
The last Tech team to score 49 points in a half...the 1999 Hokies, who happened to make it to a certain big game called the National Championship. In 1999 Tech put 49 points up on Rutgers in the first half, which included five consecutive TD's in the second quarter. The then fifth-ranked Hokies would cruise to a 58-20 victory. Fun Fact: Rutgers was a pretty bad program until current coach Greg Schiano took the reigns. ESPN's abbreviation on the in-game scoreboard and bottom line for the Scarlet Knights was RUTS, which to Hokie fans meant Run Up The Score.
Back to the game. Tyrod Taylor keeps getting better by each game. He went 19 of 27 for 292 yards, and 3 TD's through the air. On the ground, he added 39 yards and a touchdown off of just 7 carries. Tyrod has found a rythm, and continues to be the leader of this now productive offense. He's balanced out all aspects of his game for a fine, well-tuned finished product. In this game, we saw a lot of what we saw in the waning minutes of last season's thrilling win over Nebraska. That consists of Tyrod evading pressure, escaping from the pocket, creating a new pocket, and then drilling wide open receivers. That's when Tyrod's at his best. Is it too late to rule Tyrod out of the Heisman race? Not if he keeps this up.
Dyrell Roberts quietly had a career day receiving. It seems like he's been flying under the radar all season, until this game. You definitely notice it when he catches a pass though, as he's usually pretty amped up and shows it. He had a lot to be amped about on Saturday. He hauled in 6 passes for 134 yards, which included a 42 yard bomb. Way to go One One.
The Ryan Williams-less runningback stable once again looked unstoppable. David Wilson is freaky fast. He had the Wake defense chasing him around like a jack rabbit all game. Speaking of jack rabbits and freaky fast, Wilson chased down and caught a live rabbit that got loose on Tech's practice field this week. That's what legends are made of (like Rocky Balboa catching a chicken in Rocky 2). He also dropped a shoulder on a couple of unfortunate Deacs. Wilson finished the day with a team high 105 yards off of 15 carries. Darren Evans rounded out the rushing attack, as he pounded his way through the Deacon defense. He rumbled for 57 yards and 3 touchdowns off of 12 carries. He's not the guy you want to see in the red zone if your on the opposing team's defense. Over the past few weeks, Evans has inspired me to give him a new nickname...The Punisher.
And how about that forgotten runningback from a year ago. The one we converted to a fullback. What was his name? Yes Josh Oglesby. He had a fantastic outing. He racked up 44 yards on just 4 carries. That's a more than healthy 11 yard-per-carry average. He's always came through for us when we've called on him. Maybe now we won't forget that we have him, and actually use him. Let's line up Tyrod, Oglesby, Evans, and Wilson in the Maryland I Formation and ruin an opposing defensive coordinator's life. Al Groh in a week and a half. Sounds like a plan.
Jayron Hosley had a sweet 58 yard punt return to set up Tech's first TD. He then proceeded to muff every other return on the day. What was up with that? I was scared to death. We've got to get him back on the right track. I guess that's why he plays defense. He made up for it though in the secondary. He's got a 4-day long date with the Jegs machine coming up in practice this week.
Once again the defense did their job of keeping the other team out of the endzone. They held the Deacs to just 92 yards passing. It was the Sneaky Deac rushing attack that caught the Hokies on their heels. Wake Forest runningback Josh Harris reeled off big run after big run on the Tech defense. He tore off 247 yards and two touchdowns in the game. That includes an 87 yard TD scamper. A big reason for this was the alignment of our defense. We had 8 or 9 guys stacked in the box, so if Harris could break through the first line of defenders...it was the open road for him. We've got to tighten up on that. We've been giving up big plays to every team we've played this year. This is extremely alarming with Georgia Tech bringing their triple-option attack to Blacksburg in a week and a half. Let's just hope and pray that Bud has learned how to stop the option.
It was a very honorable move by Beamer to call off the dogs at halftime. The game was well over with, the Deacs looked bleak. The Beam showed them some mercy, well done. This is why Frank is one of the most respected coaches in the country. Like I said before, I would love to hang a hundred on a few selected teams...just not Wake Forest. The Deacs are very good to us. They always reek havoc on the Atlantic side of the conference. It's always fun to see them knock off teams like Florida State and Clemson. They've also got good colors, a cool mascot, and most importantly...they never beat us. I mean it's hard to dislike a team when we always beat them. We've beaten them all three time we've played them since joining the ACC. They even let us beat them in basketball when they were ranked number 1 in the nation back in 2009. The Deacs are such good sports. They've got a friend in me...at least until they beat the Hokies.
This brings both good news and bad news for VPI...
The Bad News: Environmental Police from the state of North Carolina have charged Virginia Tech with deforestation, after the Hokies burnt down Wake Forest on Saturday.
The Good News: Tech picked up their fifth straight win, and sit alone atop the ACC Coastal Division with a clean 3-0 conference record. More good news: the Hokies play Duke this week, which should equal a continuance of Tech's offensive explosion.
I've got to say I was very happy with the win. The only bad part about it was who we destroyed. I wish it could have been Miami, Florida State, or the French who we hung half a century on. I hate that it was Wake who we thrashed, bashed, and left floating helplessly in our...wake. I really respect the Deacs, they are a classy bunch. Winston Salem is a great city. You can go from strolling in the countryside to staring up at skyscrapers in a matter of a few minutes drive. Wake's fans aren't jerks, they have class. They don't really care if they win or lose, but I think that's just because they know they're richer than everyone else. Their mascot the Demon Deacon just looks dapper with that top hat/bow tie combo. Jim Grobe, Wake's head coach, is a classy guy who reminds me a lot of our coach Frank Beamer. He's very respectful, he never gets too worked up over bad calls, and he never speaks badly about other teams. The only bad thing (and surprising thing) about Grobe is his Alma Mater...Virginia. Like Beamer, Grobe has turned around a once dismal program and made them competitive. He guided the Deacs to their best season in school history in 2006. Wake went 11-3 that year, and won the ACC Championship. The Demon Deacons have steadily went downhill since that season though. Can you tell?
The Hokies had an offensive field day, which was very much welcomed. This is how we should have been playing from the start of this season. We knew all along that we had phenomenal players on offense. It was great to see them put to use for once.
Tech scored touchdowns on all but one drive in the first half. From a numerical standpoint that's 7 of 8, which means 7 touchdowns. Seven touchdowns equals 49 points. Forty-nine points in THE FIRST HALF. That's unbelievable. That's unheard of. That's what we've all been waiting for.
The last Tech team to score 49 points in a half...the 1999 Hokies, who happened to make it to a certain big game called the National Championship. In 1999 Tech put 49 points up on Rutgers in the first half, which included five consecutive TD's in the second quarter. The then fifth-ranked Hokies would cruise to a 58-20 victory. Fun Fact: Rutgers was a pretty bad program until current coach Greg Schiano took the reigns. ESPN's abbreviation on the in-game scoreboard and bottom line for the Scarlet Knights was RUTS, which to Hokie fans meant Run Up The Score.
Back to the game. Tyrod Taylor keeps getting better by each game. He went 19 of 27 for 292 yards, and 3 TD's through the air. On the ground, he added 39 yards and a touchdown off of just 7 carries. Tyrod has found a rythm, and continues to be the leader of this now productive offense. He's balanced out all aspects of his game for a fine, well-tuned finished product. In this game, we saw a lot of what we saw in the waning minutes of last season's thrilling win over Nebraska. That consists of Tyrod evading pressure, escaping from the pocket, creating a new pocket, and then drilling wide open receivers. That's when Tyrod's at his best. Is it too late to rule Tyrod out of the Heisman race? Not if he keeps this up.
Dyrell Roberts quietly had a career day receiving. It seems like he's been flying under the radar all season, until this game. You definitely notice it when he catches a pass though, as he's usually pretty amped up and shows it. He had a lot to be amped about on Saturday. He hauled in 6 passes for 134 yards, which included a 42 yard bomb. Way to go One One.
The Ryan Williams-less runningback stable once again looked unstoppable. David Wilson is freaky fast. He had the Wake defense chasing him around like a jack rabbit all game. Speaking of jack rabbits and freaky fast, Wilson chased down and caught a live rabbit that got loose on Tech's practice field this week. That's what legends are made of (like Rocky Balboa catching a chicken in Rocky 2). He also dropped a shoulder on a couple of unfortunate Deacs. Wilson finished the day with a team high 105 yards off of 15 carries. Darren Evans rounded out the rushing attack, as he pounded his way through the Deacon defense. He rumbled for 57 yards and 3 touchdowns off of 12 carries. He's not the guy you want to see in the red zone if your on the opposing team's defense. Over the past few weeks, Evans has inspired me to give him a new nickname...The Punisher.
And how about that forgotten runningback from a year ago. The one we converted to a fullback. What was his name? Yes Josh Oglesby. He had a fantastic outing. He racked up 44 yards on just 4 carries. That's a more than healthy 11 yard-per-carry average. He's always came through for us when we've called on him. Maybe now we won't forget that we have him, and actually use him. Let's line up Tyrod, Oglesby, Evans, and Wilson in the Maryland I Formation and ruin an opposing defensive coordinator's life. Al Groh in a week and a half. Sounds like a plan.
Jayron Hosley had a sweet 58 yard punt return to set up Tech's first TD. He then proceeded to muff every other return on the day. What was up with that? I was scared to death. We've got to get him back on the right track. I guess that's why he plays defense. He made up for it though in the secondary. He's got a 4-day long date with the Jegs machine coming up in practice this week.
Once again the defense did their job of keeping the other team out of the endzone. They held the Deacs to just 92 yards passing. It was the Sneaky Deac rushing attack that caught the Hokies on their heels. Wake Forest runningback Josh Harris reeled off big run after big run on the Tech defense. He tore off 247 yards and two touchdowns in the game. That includes an 87 yard TD scamper. A big reason for this was the alignment of our defense. We had 8 or 9 guys stacked in the box, so if Harris could break through the first line of defenders...it was the open road for him. We've got to tighten up on that. We've been giving up big plays to every team we've played this year. This is extremely alarming with Georgia Tech bringing their triple-option attack to Blacksburg in a week and a half. Let's just hope and pray that Bud has learned how to stop the option.
It was a very honorable move by Beamer to call off the dogs at halftime. The game was well over with, the Deacs looked bleak. The Beam showed them some mercy, well done. This is why Frank is one of the most respected coaches in the country. Like I said before, I would love to hang a hundred on a few selected teams...just not Wake Forest. The Deacs are very good to us. They always reek havoc on the Atlantic side of the conference. It's always fun to see them knock off teams like Florida State and Clemson. They've also got good colors, a cool mascot, and most importantly...they never beat us. I mean it's hard to dislike a team when we always beat them. We've beaten them all three time we've played them since joining the ACC. They even let us beat them in basketball when they were ranked number 1 in the nation back in 2009. The Deacs are such good sports. They've got a friend in me...at least until they beat the Hokies.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
2001...More Like 2010
2001, the musical score from Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, is of course the famous entrance song (and anthem) of the South Carolina Gamecocks. They may want to consider composing their own rendition of the song, and name it 2010.
That's because 2010 looks every bit to be the year of the spur. The Gamecocks have defeated the top-ranked team in the nation in the NCAA's three biggest sports: Basketball, Baseball, and the biggest...Football. In January, Carolina knocked off top-ranked Kentucky in basketball by a final score of 68-62. In June, The Gamecock baseball team defeated number one Arizona State by a score of 11-4, eliminating them from the College World Series. The Gamecocks would later win the CWS, gaining their first National Championship. And now for the crown jewel...
On Saturday the South Carolina Gamecocks won the biggest football game in their school's history, as they stunned top-ranked Alabama by a final score of 35-21 in Williams-Brice Stadium.
In this game we saw something that we haven't seen in over two years...Alabama getting overpowered. The Tide has been the roughest, toughest team in the nation for years, but they weren't on Saturday. South Cack came out of the tunnel and railroaded Bama.
Carolina had a bye week coming into this game, and they made use of every bit of it. Usually Coach Spurrier lets the team out of practice a little early on Thursdays, but not last week. He kept them til the whistle blew, and then a little longer. At the end of the day, all the hard work paid off.
That goes for the fans too. They put in a hard days work themselves, and they've fought through many heartbreaks (and the "Chicken Curse") to get this win. I've never seen or heard Williams-Brice as lively as it was for this game. You guys kept it loud to the very end. I liked the "you can't stop us" chant that was belted at the security officers. They had no business trying to stop you in the first place. You had beaten number one. Rushing the field was more than appropriate. It was necessary. There was no other option.
Now to the game. The Gamecocks came out smoking just like Cocky's 2001 entrance, but minus the curtain. They didn't try to mask anything. They went right after the Tide. No smoke, no mirrors...just smashmouth football. Carolina was up as much as 21-3 at one point, and took a 21-9 lead into halftime.
Stephen Garcia was the X factor in this game. If he played bad USC would lose, if he played well they could win, and if he played great they would win. Well he came through, and in the biggest way possible. He had without a doubt the best game of his career. He finished the day 17 of 20 for 201 yards, and 3 touchdowns (and 1 interception). The Ole' Ball Coach couldn't believe what he saw, but he liked it. Garcia was flawless, except for the lone pick and the shovel pass out the back of the endzone for a safety. That may have been the weirdest/stupidest play I've ever seen. He could have just fallen on the ball, and it would have been 2nd down and long...minimal damage done. I guess he just didn't want to give up an easy TD. I guess I can't blame him, it was the biggest game of his life. It doesn't matter though. He recovered well, didn't let it get him down, had a career day, and most importantly led his team to victory.
Alshon Jeffery is a beast. Enough said, but I'll say a little more. He was literally unstoppable in this game. No one in the stadium could cover him. That goes for both teams, the fans in the stands, and any blankets in attendance. He just wasn't getting covered. Jeffery finished the game with 7 receptions for 127 yards and two scores. Included in that mix was a sick one-handed catch that set up the Gamecocks' final gamebreaking touchdown. He made a bold Joe Namath-like statement prior to this game. He said it was going to be fun beating Alabama. Like Namath, Jeffery delivered.
Speaking of beasts, how about freshman sensation Marcus Lattimore. He's a stud, and by stud I mean horse because this kid gallops, and by horse I mean work-horse because he carries the team. He finished the day with 93 yards off of 23 carries, with 3 TD's (2 rushing, 1 receiving). Lattimore scored the Gamecocks' first touchdown, and he scored their last touchdown of the day. It was only appropriate. He started the scoring party, and ended it. He could be a great runningback, if Carolina doesn't run him to death first.
The Carolina defense played lights out as well. They did three crucial things in this game that no team has done in the past two years. 1. They sacked Greg McElroy 7 times. Seven times, that's unheard of against Bama. USC reaked havoc all day long in the backfield. 2. They held Mark Ingram, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, and explosive back Trent Richardson to just 64 yards. That Roll Tide rushing tandem...silenced. And most importantly: 3. They survived the Tide's fourth quarter surge. The Tide should have a helmet with the number 4 on it as their logo instead of a number 13. That's because they own the fourth quarter...of every game. The opposing team can be up by 1 or 100, and it doesn't matter. The Tide overtakes them. Bama scored on the first play of the fourth quarter in this one. It was the all too familiar comeback, and everyone was like "well here it comes." But the Tide finally went out. The Gamecock D stepped it up, and held Bama scoreless through the rest of the game. They did it through a brilliant scheme of blitzes and stunts, which yielded two big sacks in the quarter. They stopped the unstoppable. They beat the unbeatable. They won the game.
As I sat in the dense traffic leaving from the stadium, I see a cop car and an ambulance leading five large tour buses through the sea of cars behind me in my rearview mirror. They speed right by me. I happen to catch a glimpse of the back of the last bus. It had Alabama plates. In those very buses sat the disappointed Bama players, and in the ambulance...their broken hearts. Poetic Justice at its best.
When it comes to an analysis of this game, Offensive Line Coach Shawn Elliot said it best, "this was a team effort." It truly was a team effort, and it was a team win. A team win that reached across the Palmetto State and beyond. A win that will never be forgotten. After the game I interviewed Gamecock fans of all ages, shapes, and sizes. My job was to capture the fans' reactions to this historic win. The last question that I asked each fan was an easy one, "where does this win rank on your win list?" Without hesitation every one of them, young and old, replied: "Number One."
On Saturday the South Carolina Gamecocks won the biggest football game in their school's history, as they stunned top-ranked Alabama by a final score of 35-21 in Williams-Brice Stadium.
In this game we saw something that we haven't seen in over two years...Alabama getting overpowered. The Tide has been the roughest, toughest team in the nation for years, but they weren't on Saturday. South Cack came out of the tunnel and railroaded Bama.
Carolina had a bye week coming into this game, and they made use of every bit of it. Usually Coach Spurrier lets the team out of practice a little early on Thursdays, but not last week. He kept them til the whistle blew, and then a little longer. At the end of the day, all the hard work paid off.
That goes for the fans too. They put in a hard days work themselves, and they've fought through many heartbreaks (and the "Chicken Curse") to get this win. I've never seen or heard Williams-Brice as lively as it was for this game. You guys kept it loud to the very end. I liked the "you can't stop us" chant that was belted at the security officers. They had no business trying to stop you in the first place. You had beaten number one. Rushing the field was more than appropriate. It was necessary. There was no other option.
Now to the game. The Gamecocks came out smoking just like Cocky's 2001 entrance, but minus the curtain. They didn't try to mask anything. They went right after the Tide. No smoke, no mirrors...just smashmouth football. Carolina was up as much as 21-3 at one point, and took a 21-9 lead into halftime.
Stephen Garcia was the X factor in this game. If he played bad USC would lose, if he played well they could win, and if he played great they would win. Well he came through, and in the biggest way possible. He had without a doubt the best game of his career. He finished the day 17 of 20 for 201 yards, and 3 touchdowns (and 1 interception). The Ole' Ball Coach couldn't believe what he saw, but he liked it. Garcia was flawless, except for the lone pick and the shovel pass out the back of the endzone for a safety. That may have been the weirdest/stupidest play I've ever seen. He could have just fallen on the ball, and it would have been 2nd down and long...minimal damage done. I guess he just didn't want to give up an easy TD. I guess I can't blame him, it was the biggest game of his life. It doesn't matter though. He recovered well, didn't let it get him down, had a career day, and most importantly led his team to victory.
Alshon Jeffery is a beast. Enough said, but I'll say a little more. He was literally unstoppable in this game. No one in the stadium could cover him. That goes for both teams, the fans in the stands, and any blankets in attendance. He just wasn't getting covered. Jeffery finished the game with 7 receptions for 127 yards and two scores. Included in that mix was a sick one-handed catch that set up the Gamecocks' final gamebreaking touchdown. He made a bold Joe Namath-like statement prior to this game. He said it was going to be fun beating Alabama. Like Namath, Jeffery delivered.
Speaking of beasts, how about freshman sensation Marcus Lattimore. He's a stud, and by stud I mean horse because this kid gallops, and by horse I mean work-horse because he carries the team. He finished the day with 93 yards off of 23 carries, with 3 TD's (2 rushing, 1 receiving). Lattimore scored the Gamecocks' first touchdown, and he scored their last touchdown of the day. It was only appropriate. He started the scoring party, and ended it. He could be a great runningback, if Carolina doesn't run him to death first.
The Carolina defense played lights out as well. They did three crucial things in this game that no team has done in the past two years. 1. They sacked Greg McElroy 7 times. Seven times, that's unheard of against Bama. USC reaked havoc all day long in the backfield. 2. They held Mark Ingram, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, and explosive back Trent Richardson to just 64 yards. That Roll Tide rushing tandem...silenced. And most importantly: 3. They survived the Tide's fourth quarter surge. The Tide should have a helmet with the number 4 on it as their logo instead of a number 13. That's because they own the fourth quarter...of every game. The opposing team can be up by 1 or 100, and it doesn't matter. The Tide overtakes them. Bama scored on the first play of the fourth quarter in this one. It was the all too familiar comeback, and everyone was like "well here it comes." But the Tide finally went out. The Gamecock D stepped it up, and held Bama scoreless through the rest of the game. They did it through a brilliant scheme of blitzes and stunts, which yielded two big sacks in the quarter. They stopped the unstoppable. They beat the unbeatable. They won the game.
As I sat in the dense traffic leaving from the stadium, I see a cop car and an ambulance leading five large tour buses through the sea of cars behind me in my rearview mirror. They speed right by me. I happen to catch a glimpse of the back of the last bus. It had Alabama plates. In those very buses sat the disappointed Bama players, and in the ambulance...their broken hearts. Poetic Justice at its best.
When it comes to an analysis of this game, Offensive Line Coach Shawn Elliot said it best, "this was a team effort." It truly was a team effort, and it was a team win. A team win that reached across the Palmetto State and beyond. A win that will never be forgotten. After the game I interviewed Gamecock fans of all ages, shapes, and sizes. My job was to capture the fans' reactions to this historic win. The last question that I asked each fan was an easy one, "where does this win rank on your win list?" Without hesitation every one of them, young and old, replied: "Number One."
Monday, October 11, 2010
Hokies Tomahawk the Chippewas
On Saturday the Virginia Tech Hokies smoked the Central Michigan Chippewas by a final score of 45-21.
For the first time this season the Hokies did exactly what they were expected to do. They came out, handled business, and didn't allow the jobbers to stick around. This 24-point scalping was more than expected by everyone in the stadium, including the visiting Chippewas.
I bet you're wondering what a Chippewa is. It always makes think of a chipmunk, but in reality a Chippewa is an Indian tribe. Central Michigan chose the Chippewas as their mascot because of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which happens to be neighbors to the university.
The Chippewas had their best football season in school history last year, as they posted a 12-2 record. They won the MAC Championship with an unbeaten conference record of 8-0, and defeated Troy by a final score of 44-41 in overtime of the GMAC bowl. In contrast Central Michigan entered this game with an even 2-2 record, and left with their third loss of the season. How (pun intended) could they have went downhill so fast after last season? That's an easy one. The Chips lost their best spear-chunker, Dan LeFevour, to the NFL Draft. LeFevour was a fifth-year senior last year, and his experience made him one of the best passers in the nation. He finished his illustrious career with 12,905 passing yards, and 102 touchdowns. He was the best quarterback to ever play for CMU, and he was irreplaceable. That my friends is why the Chippewas are up a creek in their canoe without a paddle this season. They knew they were bringing tomahawks to a gunfight on Saturday, but they fought bravely to the end.
The Chippewas came out with war drums thumping and smoke signals blazing, as they scored on the first drive of the ballgame. The Hokies would soon extinguish their flames though. The Tech defense held the CMU offense scoreless from that point up until the fourth quarter when the second-teamers started filtering in. I will give credit where credit is due though. The Chippers are one of the rare teams in the country who have a contract with Adidas. They play with Adidas footballs with their flying C logo etched on it. Everyone knows I'm a Nike guy, but I'd sure like to have one of those rare Adidas footballs. And while this is irrelevant and has no impact on CMU's athletic performance, they do get some cool points from me. Back to the game.
On the Hokies first possession, Tyrod Taylor scored on a 72 yard option keeper on just the second play of the drive. The rout was on. Five different Hokies scored touchdowns, as Tech put a John Wayne whoopin' on the Chippers. Tyrod Taylor played like a man possessed. He picked up just where he left off against NC State last week. Taylor finished 12 of 23 with 161 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in rushing with 130 yards and two TD's on the ground. It was a pretty complete performance from Tyrod. He had a little bit of trouble connecting with his deep passes, but he scored 3 TD's on the day. I can't complain.
David Wilson had a great game as well. He finished with 86 yards off of just 7 attempts. That's a 12 yard average per carry. That's ballin'. He also had a touchdown, which came from a 68 yard dash to the endzone. I love having a trackstar as a tailback. Way to go Running Man.
Darren Evans added a solid performance to round out Tech's rushing attack. He tallied up 36 yards on 7 carries, and added a 6 yard TD. He looks stronger every week. With his strong bursts, tough running, and absence of a knee brace...you would never guess that he had a knee injury. Alright STOP...HAMMERTIME.
Jayron "To Tha House" Hoseley was back in a big way. He ran a punt back 80 yards To Tha House. It was glorious, reminded me of the good ole' days. Jayron looked just like DeAneglo Hall, as he trotted effortlessly to the endzone behind a wave of Tech blockers. He wasn't even running full speed. I quote the great Frank Beamer when I say, "This guy's a special player."
Speaking of John Wayne, Tech has their own man who's tougher than nails. That being offensive guard Greg Nosal. Nosal had the tip of his pinkie finger ripped off early in the game...and he kept playing. His finger got caught in a D-lineman's facemask, and it took the tip of it right off. Nosal said when he took his glove off, he could see bone poking out. You could say he was getting an early jump on Halloween. The team surgeon found his fingertip in his glove and said it could be reattached. Nosal told them to tape up his hand, and he headed back on the field. Once the game was in hand (no pun intended), Nosal came off the field and had his fingertip stitched back on. Now that's tough. That's built Ford tough. (To read Heather Dinich's story on Nosal's incident, click here)
Tech got it done on the ground, through the air, and on...punt returns. It was so refreshing to see the Hokies score through multiple facets again. However, there were some not-so-hot moments. For instance, Tech failed to convert on a single 3rd down in the game. We finished 0 of 8 on 3rd down conversions. On multiple occasions the Tech O-line failed to win the line of scrimmage, leaving our tailbacks with no where to go. And as I stated earlier, Tyrod couldn't buy a long pass. That stemmed a lot from Stiney wanting to throw the ball a mile downfield on third downs. Our offense still has a lot of work to do before they play a decent defense. Wake and Duke should give us enough time to get the kinks out.
Bud Foster's defense did its job. The Hokies kept the Chippewa offense out of the zone, until it was too late to matter. Central Michigan had two late scores in the fourth quarter to soften up the score deficit. Don't you hate it when that happens? I know I can't stand it when we let up or put fresh kids in the game to get experience, while letting the other team score and make the game look closer than it really was. Like the Marshall game in 2002. The Hokies were running the 24th-ranked Herd out of the stadium. It was 33-0 in the fourth quarter. The highly potent Byron Leftwich offense was stopped dead...until the second stringers came in. Leftwich picked on the new guys, scoring 3 TD's in the last quarter. The final score was 47-21, but it would have been 47-0 if we just left the starters in. Back to Saturday's game. The defense bended, but it didn't break. The Chippewas racked up 401 yards of offense, which was 7 yards more than the Hokies. To the defense's defense, the Chippers had the ball a lot longer than Tech. This was thanks to the quick scoring by the Hokie offense. Tech had some lucky breaks too, as CMU missed two field goals. At least there was no threat of a loss in this one. The defense has a long way to go though before I consider them a legitimate Lunch Pail defense.
At the end of the day, it was a good team win for the Hokies. Everyone pitched in and did their job. They looked snazzy getting the job done too. The all white helmets with the throwback jerseys and white pants was a very classy combo. I'd like to see some maroon or orange pants thrown in the mix, but hey we look good. The Hokies are on a roll, and the poor Chippewas are off to see the Medicine Man.
For the first time this season the Hokies did exactly what they were expected to do. They came out, handled business, and didn't allow the jobbers to stick around. This 24-point scalping was more than expected by everyone in the stadium, including the visiting Chippewas.
I bet you're wondering what a Chippewa is. It always makes think of a chipmunk, but in reality a Chippewa is an Indian tribe. Central Michigan chose the Chippewas as their mascot because of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which happens to be neighbors to the university.
The Chippewas had their best football season in school history last year, as they posted a 12-2 record. They won the MAC Championship with an unbeaten conference record of 8-0, and defeated Troy by a final score of 44-41 in overtime of the GMAC bowl. In contrast Central Michigan entered this game with an even 2-2 record, and left with their third loss of the season. How (pun intended) could they have went downhill so fast after last season? That's an easy one. The Chips lost their best spear-chunker, Dan LeFevour, to the NFL Draft. LeFevour was a fifth-year senior last year, and his experience made him one of the best passers in the nation. He finished his illustrious career with 12,905 passing yards, and 102 touchdowns. He was the best quarterback to ever play for CMU, and he was irreplaceable. That my friends is why the Chippewas are up a creek in their canoe without a paddle this season. They knew they were bringing tomahawks to a gunfight on Saturday, but they fought bravely to the end.
The Chippewas came out with war drums thumping and smoke signals blazing, as they scored on the first drive of the ballgame. The Hokies would soon extinguish their flames though. The Tech defense held the CMU offense scoreless from that point up until the fourth quarter when the second-teamers started filtering in. I will give credit where credit is due though. The Chippers are one of the rare teams in the country who have a contract with Adidas. They play with Adidas footballs with their flying C logo etched on it. Everyone knows I'm a Nike guy, but I'd sure like to have one of those rare Adidas footballs. And while this is irrelevant and has no impact on CMU's athletic performance, they do get some cool points from me. Back to the game.
On the Hokies first possession, Tyrod Taylor scored on a 72 yard option keeper on just the second play of the drive. The rout was on. Five different Hokies scored touchdowns, as Tech put a John Wayne whoopin' on the Chippers. Tyrod Taylor played like a man possessed. He picked up just where he left off against NC State last week. Taylor finished 12 of 23 with 161 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in rushing with 130 yards and two TD's on the ground. It was a pretty complete performance from Tyrod. He had a little bit of trouble connecting with his deep passes, but he scored 3 TD's on the day. I can't complain.
David Wilson had a great game as well. He finished with 86 yards off of just 7 attempts. That's a 12 yard average per carry. That's ballin'. He also had a touchdown, which came from a 68 yard dash to the endzone. I love having a trackstar as a tailback. Way to go Running Man.
Darren Evans added a solid performance to round out Tech's rushing attack. He tallied up 36 yards on 7 carries, and added a 6 yard TD. He looks stronger every week. With his strong bursts, tough running, and absence of a knee brace...you would never guess that he had a knee injury. Alright STOP...HAMMERTIME.
Jayron "To Tha House" Hoseley was back in a big way. He ran a punt back 80 yards To Tha House. It was glorious, reminded me of the good ole' days. Jayron looked just like DeAneglo Hall, as he trotted effortlessly to the endzone behind a wave of Tech blockers. He wasn't even running full speed. I quote the great Frank Beamer when I say, "This guy's a special player."
Speaking of John Wayne, Tech has their own man who's tougher than nails. That being offensive guard Greg Nosal. Nosal had the tip of his pinkie finger ripped off early in the game...and he kept playing. His finger got caught in a D-lineman's facemask, and it took the tip of it right off. Nosal said when he took his glove off, he could see bone poking out. You could say he was getting an early jump on Halloween. The team surgeon found his fingertip in his glove and said it could be reattached. Nosal told them to tape up his hand, and he headed back on the field. Once the game was in hand (no pun intended), Nosal came off the field and had his fingertip stitched back on. Now that's tough. That's built Ford tough. (To read Heather Dinich's story on Nosal's incident, click here)
Tech got it done on the ground, through the air, and on...punt returns. It was so refreshing to see the Hokies score through multiple facets again. However, there were some not-so-hot moments. For instance, Tech failed to convert on a single 3rd down in the game. We finished 0 of 8 on 3rd down conversions. On multiple occasions the Tech O-line failed to win the line of scrimmage, leaving our tailbacks with no where to go. And as I stated earlier, Tyrod couldn't buy a long pass. That stemmed a lot from Stiney wanting to throw the ball a mile downfield on third downs. Our offense still has a lot of work to do before they play a decent defense. Wake and Duke should give us enough time to get the kinks out.
Bud Foster's defense did its job. The Hokies kept the Chippewa offense out of the zone, until it was too late to matter. Central Michigan had two late scores in the fourth quarter to soften up the score deficit. Don't you hate it when that happens? I know I can't stand it when we let up or put fresh kids in the game to get experience, while letting the other team score and make the game look closer than it really was. Like the Marshall game in 2002. The Hokies were running the 24th-ranked Herd out of the stadium. It was 33-0 in the fourth quarter. The highly potent Byron Leftwich offense was stopped dead...until the second stringers came in. Leftwich picked on the new guys, scoring 3 TD's in the last quarter. The final score was 47-21, but it would have been 47-0 if we just left the starters in. Back to Saturday's game. The defense bended, but it didn't break. The Chippewas racked up 401 yards of offense, which was 7 yards more than the Hokies. To the defense's defense, the Chippers had the ball a lot longer than Tech. This was thanks to the quick scoring by the Hokie offense. Tech had some lucky breaks too, as CMU missed two field goals. At least there was no threat of a loss in this one. The defense has a long way to go though before I consider them a legitimate Lunch Pail defense.
At the end of the day, it was a good team win for the Hokies. Everyone pitched in and did their job. They looked snazzy getting the job done too. The all white helmets with the throwback jerseys and white pants was a very classy combo. I'd like to see some maroon or orange pants thrown in the mix, but hey we look good. The Hokies are on a roll, and the poor Chippewas are off to see the Medicine Man.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Tis' The Season To Be Jolly
Well folks its officially my favorite season of the year. No not Fall. Not Halloween. Not Deer Season. Football season is close, but still too broad. The best season of all is...Rivalry Trophy Season! There's just nothing better than watching two fierce rivals bash each others' brains out for some ridiculous(ly awesome) object like a bronze boot, a wooden turtle, or a telephone painted two different colors. Of course we all know that the teams aren't just playing for these glorified pawn shop items, but it's fun to pretend that they are. Man I sure do love rivalry trophies. They truly are an overlooked yet very important part of College Football. These trophies embody the spirit of competition in College Football Rivalries.
My personal favorite rivalry trophy is by far Paul Bunyan's Axe. It is awarded to the winner of the annual Minnesota Golden Gophers/ Wisconsin Badgers match-up. The trophy represents the axe of the legendary lumberjack of the Midwest, Paul Bunyan. As the story goes, Bunyan lived and logged in the uppermost states of the country. This makes Paul Bunyan's Axe perfect for the Minnesota/Wisconsin border war. And truth be told, the trophy might just be big enough to fit the giant tree-feller. It is a LARGE axe to say the least. How big you ask? Well, it has a 6 foot handle. That's taller than the average man. The axe's head is colored differently on each side. One side is red with white letters, which represents Wisconsin. The opposing side is yellow with burgundy letters, representing Minnesota. Both sides feature an inscription in the center which reads,"Paul Bunyan's Football Trophy Presented by the National W Club 1948." The names of each school/state surround the inscription, as they are written on opposing blades on each side of the axe. The winner of the game get's the year and score printed on the handle on their side of the axe. Since Wisconsin vs. Minnesota is the longest standing series in College Football with 119 meetings, the axe's handle is full on both sides. (This trophy is so awesome that I created a 3-foot replica of it when I was in high school. You gotta love art class. Here's some pics of my replica, for reference. Not too shabby eh?)
My most memorable battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe reaches back to the 2003 game. This game took place in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, and featured possibly the best Golden Gopher team I've ever seen burrow on the turf. The Gophers came into the game ranked 20th in the country. They were led by the two-headed monster runningback tandem of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney, both are Pro backs today. Barber finished the game with 139 yards and a score, while Maroney added 135 yards and a touchdown. They were scary good. The Gophers quarterback was their veteran Asad Abdul-Khaliq. Say that three times fast. He was quite a good QB for the Gophers, and added a rushing TD of his own in this one before getting injured close to halftime. The Gophers were up as much as 17-3 at one point, but the Badgers being Badgers came clawing back. Wisconsin tied the game up for the second time of the afternoon with 7:15 left in the ballgame. The two teams had back-to-back unsuccessful drives, but Goldy Gopher would have one last chance to win the axe. They had 2:49 to "bring home the bacon." Back-up quarterback Benji Kamrath and star runningback Marion Barber III led a gutsy drive down the field. Minnesota made it all the way down to the Badgers' 19 yardline, and called a time out with just one second left on the clock. The Gophers bring on senior placekicker Rhys Lloyd, a British chap from Dover, England. Would Lloyd make the kick and be the "Bee's Knees", or would he fail and be just another "duffer." Well...the lad came through! He nailed the 35 yarder, Minnesota wins 37-34! Fish and Chips for the Gophers! As soon as Lloyd kicked the ball he took off running towards the Wisconsin sideline with a host of Gophers in tail. They were going to claim the axe...and claim it they did. The image of Lloyd and the rest of the Gophers celebrating with the legendary axe is one that I'll never forget, nor will the North Star State.
Unfortunately for the Gophers, 2003 was the last time that they've won the precious trophy. The Badgers have won the last six meetings since that faithful game, but 4 of the 6 Wisconsin wins have been by a touchdown or less. That includes the Badgers' back-to-back 3 point wins in the past two years. The two teams will battle it out again this Saturday, and it's guaranteed to be axe-citing. I'm not really pulling for one side or the other. That's because no matter who wins, I still get to see that awesome axe plastered all over SportsCenter as the winning team hoists it proudly in the air. It's the most axe-cellent trophy of them all, and I can't wait to see it in axe-ion this weekend. I love this season.
My personal favorite rivalry trophy is by far Paul Bunyan's Axe. It is awarded to the winner of the annual Minnesota Golden Gophers/ Wisconsin Badgers match-up. The trophy represents the axe of the legendary lumberjack of the Midwest, Paul Bunyan. As the story goes, Bunyan lived and logged in the uppermost states of the country. This makes Paul Bunyan's Axe perfect for the Minnesota/Wisconsin border war. And truth be told, the trophy might just be big enough to fit the giant tree-feller. It is a LARGE axe to say the least. How big you ask? Well, it has a 6 foot handle. That's taller than the average man. The axe's head is colored differently on each side. One side is red with white letters, which represents Wisconsin. The opposing side is yellow with burgundy letters, representing Minnesota. Both sides feature an inscription in the center which reads,"Paul Bunyan's Football Trophy Presented by the National W Club 1948." The names of each school/state surround the inscription, as they are written on opposing blades on each side of the axe. The winner of the game get's the year and score printed on the handle on their side of the axe. Since Wisconsin vs. Minnesota is the longest standing series in College Football with 119 meetings, the axe's handle is full on both sides. (This trophy is so awesome that I created a 3-foot replica of it when I was in high school. You gotta love art class. Here's some pics of my replica, for reference. Not too shabby eh?)
My most memorable battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe reaches back to the 2003 game. This game took place in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, and featured possibly the best Golden Gopher team I've ever seen burrow on the turf. The Gophers came into the game ranked 20th in the country. They were led by the two-headed monster runningback tandem of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney, both are Pro backs today. Barber finished the game with 139 yards and a score, while Maroney added 135 yards and a touchdown. They were scary good. The Gophers quarterback was their veteran Asad Abdul-Khaliq. Say that three times fast. He was quite a good QB for the Gophers, and added a rushing TD of his own in this one before getting injured close to halftime. The Gophers were up as much as 17-3 at one point, but the Badgers being Badgers came clawing back. Wisconsin tied the game up for the second time of the afternoon with 7:15 left in the ballgame. The two teams had back-to-back unsuccessful drives, but Goldy Gopher would have one last chance to win the axe. They had 2:49 to "bring home the bacon." Back-up quarterback Benji Kamrath and star runningback Marion Barber III led a gutsy drive down the field. Minnesota made it all the way down to the Badgers' 19 yardline, and called a time out with just one second left on the clock. The Gophers bring on senior placekicker Rhys Lloyd, a British chap from Dover, England. Would Lloyd make the kick and be the "Bee's Knees", or would he fail and be just another "duffer." Well...the lad came through! He nailed the 35 yarder, Minnesota wins 37-34! Fish and Chips for the Gophers! As soon as Lloyd kicked the ball he took off running towards the Wisconsin sideline with a host of Gophers in tail. They were going to claim the axe...and claim it they did. The image of Lloyd and the rest of the Gophers celebrating with the legendary axe is one that I'll never forget, nor will the North Star State.
Unfortunately for the Gophers, 2003 was the last time that they've won the precious trophy. The Badgers have won the last six meetings since that faithful game, but 4 of the 6 Wisconsin wins have been by a touchdown or less. That includes the Badgers' back-to-back 3 point wins in the past two years. The two teams will battle it out again this Saturday, and it's guaranteed to be axe-citing. I'm not really pulling for one side or the other. That's because no matter who wins, I still get to see that awesome axe plastered all over SportsCenter as the winning team hoists it proudly in the air. It's the most axe-cellent trophy of them all, and I can't wait to see it in axe-ion this weekend. I love this season.
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