Reflecting on the BC loss
Posted at 8:30 pm on Monday, October 29th, 2007 by Vince[The following post was published at HokieHaven.com on October 29, 2007.]
The build-up to Thursday night’s game was palpable during the week and a half following the Hokies victory over Duke. Boston College had reached #2 in the rankings, and the Hokie Nation was ready to knock them off in a Thursday night game on ESPN. A quiet confidence seemed to permeate the fans, the coaches, and the players. Although we were banged up, we knew we could beat Boston College, and Thursday didn’t seem to arrive quick enough. During the wait, Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski got sick of hearing about how tough it was to play in Lane Stadium on a Thursday night. He bristled at the suggestion that the crowd would affect the game. “They have lights,” Jagodzinski had stated, suggesting that’s all they needed for a night game. Virginia Tech fans took his comments as a lack of respect for the hostile environment for which they were responsible. Messages boards buzzed, Facebook groups were created, and Hokie Nation was hellbent on making Lane Stadium roar with the ferocity of past seasons
When Thursday night finally arrived with cool weather and lots of rain, the fans were not deterred, and I got to experience one of the most entertaining 55 minutes of football I’ve ever seen in Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech’s offense made few mistakes, they even had some success running the ball, the defense absolutely stifled Matt Ryan’s high powered passing attack, and the Hokie crowd was as raucous as I’ve ever seen. The driving rain seemed to stir the fans’ spirits and make us yell even louder. The cool air could not penetrate our determination to do whatever we could to positively affect the outcome of the game.
For virtually the entire game, we felt like we were succeeding.
Then it happened. I cannot pinpoint exactly when or what it was, but I realized “it” happened when it was too late. We took our collective foot off the gas. Was it when Vince Hall was whoopin’ it up on the Virginia Tech sideline during a late-game interview? Was it the faked field goal attempt where we pooched a punt inside BC’s 10 yard line? Was it during the ensuing BC drive that resulted in their first points?
When Matt Ryan completed pass after pass during the Eagles’ first scoring drive, my good friend Kevin Jones experienced a familiar feeling set in.
Kevin (not the football player) writes, “As a high school athlete, I had been in that same position so many times before. Obviously I’ve never been in a spotlight as large as the one in which the Hokies were on Thursday night, but I’ve had that same feeling none the less. The Hokies played such a heartfelt battle, and they dominated the number 2 team in the country for 55 excruciating minutes of soaking wet football. However with 4:16 left to play, they were no longer playing to win the game, they were trying not to lose. This mode of play is so hard to avoid in games that you were unsure of to begin with. You are surprised at the way you have played so far, and you try so hard just to make it to the end of the game. Once playing not to lose, it is almost inevitable that you will. You get the “dang, this can’t be happening!” feeling, and you try to stop the bleeding. Then what can go wrong, does go wrong, and the game that was once in hand turns into defeat.”
While we watched the game clock tick down towards what seemed like inevitable victory, that exact scenario played out. Matt Ryan brought Boston College back from the dead. Lane Stadium went quiet.
It was probably one of the toughest losses I’ve experienced as a Hokie. There are a few from ’98 that hurt, the letdown of 2003 was embarrassing, and last season’s Chick-fil-A Bowl loss was particularly bitter. This one is in a different category. It’s in the “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” category. We had the game won, and we blew it.
Many Virginia Tech fans are debating the causes of the loss. Was it the lack of pressure on Matt Ryan during Boston College’s last two drives that caused the loss? Maybe it was because special teams weren’t so special? Or the offensive play calling? The injuries? Maybe if it had continued to rain we would’ve won because Ryan wouldn’t have had a good grip on the football at the end.
I just can’t play that game of “what if.” As a Cleveland sports fan, I have experienced this kind of loss many times before, and there are some defeats that just seem to be inexplainable. This is not to say that we are without flaws and that the loss on Thursday night was a fluke. I know our team has their shortcomings, and I know that it will be difficult to win 4 in a row to finish the year at 10-2. I just don’t want to get into a debate to try to explain a loss where it is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of the defeat. I’d rather try to put the game behind me, and look towards the future.
The future is still bright for Hokie football, and there a number of positive things that came from this past weekend.
- Our anemic offense actually moved the ball on the ground. Brandon Ore had his best outing of the year and finished with 97 yards on 20 carries.
- Even with Vince Hall on the sidelines, our defense held Boston College to 32 yards rushing the ball. This is by far the lowest output of the year. The Eagles are averaging 131 rushing yards per game.
- Our two losses have come to two teams that were ranked #2 at the time of the games. One could argue that the Hokies are the best two-loss team in the nation because of this. (I wouldn’t make that argument.) Hold your head up high, Hokie Nation, those aren’t bad losses in the grand scheme of things.
- The Hokies still control their own destiny in getting to the ACC Championship Game. Before Virginia’s loss to N.C. State, Virginia Tech needed to win out to get there. With UVA losing, the margin of error has increased. A single loss to Georgia Tech or Florida State will not prevent them from playing in Jacksonville on December 1st.
My only advice for the Hokies is to cheer up. The loss was tough, but it’s not the end of the world. There is lots of football left to play, and we are still in the hunt for an ACC Championship.