#9 Miami is coming to Blacksburg tomorrow, and I am actually going to be at the game! It's going to be rainy and somewhat cold, but this is the first chance I have had to get to a game this season, and it's probably our biggest game of '09. So the wife and I will be donning our new maroon ponchos and rooting hard for the Hokies in what will hopefully be more of a slugfest than an ass-whooping. Miami brings the top offense in the ACC to town, and they're going to want to show that Jacory Harris and the 'Canes are no fluke. Virginia Tech will have to play their best offense AND defense of the season to get the win. Using our game last week as a barometer, that doesn't seem like a cheery proposition. Although our defense turned up the intensity in the red zone last week, they failed between the 20's and gave up some huge plays, which is a complete shocker for a Bud Foster defense. They didn't tackle well and they didn't cover their assignments. You'd better believe that Foster will whip them into shape for the game this weekend (and having Stephan Virgil back is a huge positive), so I'm going to say that we give Miami a harder time than Georgia Tech.
Unfortunately, the offense probably won't be much better. That's just being realistic... in two games against top competition this year, our offense has looked out-of-sync and pedestrian. The offensive line HAS to create holes for the running backs to get through. Ryan Williams is dynamic in the open field, but he has rarely gotten a sniff of that open field in those two games. Tyrod Taylor needs to calm down and make the throws when they're present. You get the feeling when watching him that he doesn't really check to his 2nd and 3rd options very quickly, resulting in good pass protection, but not much to show for it. Tyrod needs to make confident throws, and when I say "make" them, that also means he has to "try" them. We have good receivers and I have a hard time believing that they are never open.
With that said, there's also changes that Bryan Stinespring needs to make as an offensive coordinator. You didn't really see any play-action in the last game against Nebraska, and that's what our offense is geared towards. The run sets up the pass. That's how it's always been under both Stinespring and former OC Ricky Bustle. Miami will be keying on the run this weekend, so if we can have at least a little success there or BS notices that Miami is stacking 8 in the box, then VT needs to run play-action to catch Miami off guard. There's opportunity for long passes this weekend, and Greg Boone, Sam Wheeler, and Andre Smith have the chance to make big, big plays down the middle of the field. I'd also like to see some Wild Turkey formations now that Greg Boone is looking healthy... he was successful with those chances last year.
Miami looks leaps and bounds better this year, that is for sure, but this is still a Randy Shannon coached team, and I have a hard time believing he has suddenly figured it all out. So let's bring the pressure, bring the determination, and bring the hustle! This game is in Blacksburg with a sold-out crowd... there's no way Miami should win this game even if it's a close one. I have VT winning 23-20.
GO TECH!
No comments:
Post a Comment