Things are not always what they seem.
Posted at 8:00 pm on Friday, September 28th, 2007 by Vince[The following post was published at HokieHaven.com on September 28, 2007.]
A couple of weeks ago, in my post following the LSU game, I seemed to have ruffled the feathers of some of the readers of HokieHaven.com. Many took my thoughts to be that I was down on Tyrod Taylor. I just want set the record straight.
First off, I’m not down on Tyrod – I’m down on the offense. Secondly, I’ve officially drank the Tyrod Taylor kool-aid. Tyrod has been very poised the last few games, and he doesn’t look like a true freshmen out there on the field. He has made some great plays, and, I admit, he gives our offense better opportunities to score. That said, I stand by the statement that our offensive line is bad. The fact that we couldn’t stick it in the endzone from inside the 20 against William & Mary our first two drives really makes me nervous about our tougher games this year.
If we can’t get a touchdown in the redzone against a Division I-AA opponent, what’s going to happen when we play Boston College, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Miami? The good news is that many of those games are a month or so away, so the offensive line has some more time to improve. The bad news is that I just can’t shake the feeling that we’re looking at a four-loss year. North Carolina and Duke are the only ones I can mark down as wins with a high degree of confidence, but I just can’t help to think that between road trips to Clemson, Georgia Tech, & Virginia and home games versus Boston College, Florida State, & Miami that we’ve got three losses waiting for us.
But hey, what do I know? I’m just a Virginia Tech fan like the rest of you. I follow our Hokies with passion, and I think Blacksburg is heaven on earth. Hopefully this year’s team will prove me a fool for doubting. When I start to think negatively about this year’s offense, I just need to remind myself about last year. Last season, Hokie Nation was in meltdown mode after back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and Boston College. Tech fans were in a state of despair, and many were expecting to see a few more losses. Things weren’t what they seemed, and the team ripped off six wins in a row.
The uncertainty surrounding the rest of this season feels very similar to the uncertainty we felt at the midway point last year. With UNC and Duke book ending the trip to Clemson, followed by an off week, there is time for the offense to get going before they hit that nasty stretch of the schedule starting with Boston College (who, by the way, is playing extremely well).
This is my suggestion for everyone who is letting our stagnant offense get them down (including myself): take a deep breath and relax. There is one very difficult game in the next four weeks, so we have good chance to get things together before we make our run at a division title.
Before I sign off, I’ll leave you with some items from the things are not always what they seemed department:
- Do yourself a favor and forget about last week’s box score. Yes, we barely out gained William & Mary, and our rushing stats were not good. However, don’t forget that the second string defense was in the game by the second quarter, and the second string offense started the second half. We took our foot off of the gas, and then the game was about getting reps. If you look at the first quarter when the starters were in the game, our offense often had a short field, and that helped skew the box score for the first quarter. The only part of that game that worries me is our inability to get two touchdowns in the first two redzone appearances.
- Everyone expected Branden Ore to be a league leading running back this season. Unfortunately, he is having a sub par year so far. What happened? Is it our offensive line? Is he out of shape? I hate to say it, but Kenny Lewis, Jr. looks like our best tailback right now. I hope Branden can get it turned around.
- LSU gained 598-yards against Virginia Tech on September 8th. Ohio and William & Mary combined for 376 yards the last two weeks. I think we can all agree that Bud Foster got things turned around defensively.
- Virginia beat Georgia Tech last weekend … and it absolutely stunned me. With Notre Dame going to 0-4, Georgia Tech’s win over them doesn’t look so good. The Yellow Jackets, whom I thought would compete for the Coastal Division title, might be a pretender this year. UVA, who looked absolutely horrid in the first few weeks, got a nice quality win at home. With a favorable conference schedule this year, you have to admit that the Wahoos have a shot at the division.
- Miami rolled up and smoked and Texas A&M last Thursday (Sep 20). Miami looked much better on Thursday than they did in the first few weeks, although it was obvious to me that A&M did not deserve their #20 ranking. Miami is not as bad as they looked against Oklahoma.
- Someone forgot to tell me not to sleep on Boston College this year. They’re 3-0 in conference play with a win over defending ACC champ Wake Forest and a dominating win over then #15 Georgia Tech. I figured that they’d finish in the middle of the pack with a new coach. Now, I’m thinking they’re the team to beat in the Atlantic division. (By the way, I still have to look up which division is called what.)
- Michigan got a nice win over Penn State in the big house. The rumors of doom & gloom in Ann Arbor following Appalachian State’s and Oregon’s wins over the Wolverines have been exaggerated. Look at their schedule; they have a relatively soft schedule until they finish up with Wisconsin and Ohio State. The Wolverines will be competing for the Big Ten championship going into their final two weeks, and those last two weeks may decide Lloyd Carr’s fate as their head coach.
- Last year I finished second at the end of the season in the College Football Pick’em I run. After two weeks (we started in week 3), I am dead last. Last weekend I finished worse than the guy that didn’t pick two games. If you’re thinking about putting money down on a college football game at some point, make sure your consult with me to ensure your pick is the opposite of mine.