| Player | Rushes | Yards | Average | Touchdowns | Fumbles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branden Ore | 14 | 59 | 4.2 | 1 | 0 |
| Elan Lewis | 5 | 19 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 |
It's safe to say Saturday's showing against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets was to be used to gauge how good (or bad) Virginia Tech really was, giving the program and its fanbase an overall understanding of how the Hokies stood amongst the national landscape. When it was all said and done, it did just that, though perhaps not in the way any Hokie fan wanted to accept.
In taking on their first opponent with respectable talent, the Hokies were unfortunately exposed, showing they might not be as good as the perception cast off by their deceiving national ranking, posting the Hokies as high as No. 11 in the AP and USA Today Polls before heading into the Sept. 30 contest.
There's no doubt about it, in order for the Hokies to live up to their expectations, (realistically, anything less than a conference championship berth is a failure), certain aspects of Frank Beamer's team will need to quickly undergo improvements, the most obvious of them being the offensive line as well as the running game.
Perhaps the biggest issue needing attention for the Hokies that arose Saturday was the blocking up front, as well as the play of tailback Branden Ore. After having a breakout performance the week before in which the redshirt-sophomore had a career day, his contributions to the Hokies' cause were minimal, and aside from his first quarter touchdown, his play was below satisfactory, causing offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring to call upon Sean Glennon and the passing game (53) nearly four times as often as he did on Ore (14).
Typically, that kind of inbalance on the offensive end doesn't amount to much success for any football team, let alone for one along the likes of Virginia Tech, a program built on its reputation for relying upon the success of the running game, defensive turnovers, and special teams' play in order to pull out wins from week to week.
So in order for the Hokies to avoid the same fate in the weeks to come (an embarrassing loss at the hands of the struggling offensive line and running game), Tech's front five has got to grow up, and grow up fast.
Having lost four of the line's starting members to graduation, the unit is obviously young, so expect senior center Danny McGrath, the only lineman with any starting experience prior to 2006, to step up and speak out in attempts to unite this young group of linemen, which, though may contain loads of potential for the years to come, looks to be in complete disarray as of the moment.
Final Thoughts: Fortunately for VT, the Hokies follow up their loss with a chance to take out their frustrations on the streaky Boston College Eagles, who (thankfully) rank amongst the league cellar in terms of yards allowed per game (327 - 11th) as well as yards given up on the ground (115 - 8th). In my humble opinion, if the Hokies can't have a big day offensively and pull this one out (BC lost to N.C. State, who lost to Akron), the season is lost.
Tailbacks Grade: C-
Offensive Line Grade: F
As always though, your thoughts, praise, and/or complaints, are highly welcomed, so do let me know what's on your mind...
| Menu |
| Sponsors |
| [blogad script will go here]
Ticket Source for Virginia Tech Hokies Football Tickets and Hokies Basketball tickets.
|