Goal smaller for Hokies after big mistakes
ATLANTA -- The chase is smaller now. Instead of winning out and hoping a one-loss season would be enough to land in the national championship game, Virginia Tech must downsize its goals after Saturday's 28-23 loss at Georgia Tech.
From No. 4 in The Associated Press poll, the Hokies fell to No. 15 yesterday. They rated as No. 14 in the BCS standings. Now, the best Tech can do -- barring absurd collapses by every national-title contender -- is win the ACC for the third straight year and play in the Orange Bowl.
That would be no small feat. And while the Hokies (3-1 ACC, 5-2) are off this week as they regroup for their final five games, starting with an Oct. 29 home game against North Carolina, some might still be regretting Saturday's mistakes. Their defense allowed long runs and third-down conversions, and their offense failed to convert on short yardage and promising field position.
Georgia Tech (4-1, 6-1) had runs of 16 and 31 yards on its first touchdown drive of the second half. The Yellow Jackets got a 33-yard run on their second touchdown drive to set up a 13-yard scoring run that gave them a 21-10 lead with 1:37 left in the third quarter. Their final touchdown, a 39-yard run by quarterback Josh Nesbitt, came five plays after a 23-yard run.
Their ground game could have caused more damage. Rushes of 12 and 14 yards on their first possession of the fourth quarter -- followed by Hokies defensive end Nekos Brown jumping offside on fourth and 1 at Virginia Tech's 21-yard line -- moved them to the Hokies' 14. But Nesbitt's pitch hit the grass, and the Hokies recovered.
In all, the Jackets had eight runs of 12 yards or longer in the second half and converted all seven of their third downs -- the last being Nesbitt's touchdown run. Their longest rush in the first half: 9 yards.
Running is the backbone of the Jackets' option-based offense -- they passed just seven times in 70 plays Saturday -- and when they do it that well to finish a game, they usually will win.
Yet the Hokies' offensive players also felt some responsibility, despite scoring touchdowns on three of their final four possessions -- drives of 66, 77 and 61 yards that featured four plays of 20 yards or longer, including tailback Ryan Williams' 66-yard touchdown run on the only play of that first possession.
They believe they could have done more and done it earlier. Their second drive of the game started on the Jackets' 42 but went three plays and out, for 7 yards. Their third began on the Jackets' 48, but quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw an interception on the first play, when defensive tackle Jason Peters tipped the ball up at the line and came down with it. Their fifth got to the 16, but they had to settle for a field goal after the Jackets stopped Williams for a 1-yard loss on a third-and-2.
But the toughest to swallow was their seventh, and first of the second half. It started on Georgia Tech's 26 -- must-score territory -- after Dyrell Roberts' 58-yard kickoff return. Williams got 2 yards on second down and none on third, setting up fourth and 2 at the 18. With the Hokies trailing 14-3, their coach, Frank Beamer, decided to go for it rather than kick the field goal. But the Jacket stopped Williams 1 yard short.
"In those situations, in these types of games, we have to score," Taylor said. "Especially when you go for it on fourth down. You have to convert that."
The Hokies had six drives before their first touchdown -- not counting a hurried possession at the end of the first half. And besides the nine-play, 56-yard field goal drive, the possessions covered 34, 7, zero, 25 and 9 yards. None lasted longer than six plays.
"If we could take it all back, I'm pretty sure we would've changed the tempo," Taylor said. "Try to go deeper quicker."
Said Williams: "We can't come out waiting for the fourth quarter to try to get intense and try to move the ball down the field."
Contact Darryl Slater at (804) 649-6026 or
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Posted by ( rcredsporty ) on October 21, 2009 at 7:34 pm
But hey, how about that call in the baseball game tuesday night!
You mean how about the three botched calls? They showed the video on ABC news with Charles Gibson.
Here’s another example:
SEC Suspends Florida-Arkansas Crew
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Oct 21, 6:58 PM (ET)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - The Southeastern Conference has suspended officials from last weekend’s Arkansas-Florida game after the crew was involved in its second controversial call of the year.
Referee Marc Curles’ crew called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter as the Gators were rallying for a 23-20 victory. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call.
The same group of officials called the LSU-Georgia game earlier this month, which included a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the league said shouldn’t have been called.
“A series of calls that have occurred during the last several weeks have not been to the standard that we expect from our officiating crews,“ SEC commissioner Mike Slive said Wednesday. “I believe our officiating program is the best in the country. However, there are times when these actions must be taken.“
SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom said this is the first time the league has publicly suspended a football crew like this.
The SEC says the crew will be removed from its next scheduled assignment Oct. 31 and will not be assigned to officiate as a crew until Nov. 14.
The league said the crew’s bowl assignments could also be impacted.
“The entire crew shoulders responsibility for each play. I have taken this action because there must be accountability in our officiating program,“ Slive said. “Our institutions expect the highest level of officiating in all of our sports and it is the duty of the conference office to uphold that expectation.“
I called the tech. football dept. tuesday and asked that they file a formal complaint about the Ref. moving the ball. Even the talking heads in the booth didn’t know what to say. I have never seen anything like that in my life and I’m sixty eight years old. Once the ball is spotted it should never be moved. But hey, how about that call in the baseball game tuesday night!
All you flamers are such total worthless losers. No college football programs are perfect. Everyone of them has their failures and successes, good students and bad apples, ups and downs. Quit flaming the forum and discuss play-calling, strategy, etc. for the VT/GT game. Or are you too stupid to do that.
And yes VT defense did not show up and there was poor-play calling from Stiney (as usual). But season is not over.
Go Hokies!
Any of you posters interested in real big time college football… move to Tuscaloosa. ROLL TIDE!!!!!
Ah…come on ,Ziggy….are you just a little jealous maybe? The Hokie Nation has a good thing going and we know it. It isn’t just about our teams….it’s about a feeling of community and support. I have been all over the states and have found that it is more likely than not that another Hokie has passed by my car, saw the bumper sticker and left me a really nice note. Thats a good feeling….won’t you join us?
I find it funny that Hokie fans always assume negative posts come from UVa fans…I don’t care for either team, I just can’t stand Hokie fans. Fans of other teams too talk about how annoying they are, always boasting about their overrated team. It’s one thing to root for your team but most Hokie fans are bandwagon fans. Most couldn’t name 3 players on the team. Just a bunch of frauds and really, jingling keys is just lame.
Boy, that Eddie Royal sure is a loser. And he must be a thug, too, if the went to VT.
Right?
Well then, his sister who also went to Tech would have to be a thug. Yeah, the one who graduated from Tech and is now an officer in our armed services.
50,000 days without an NCAA team championship? So what? It’ll happen at some point. Heisman trophy? Same thing.
Until then (and more importantly - well afterward) the majority of Tech alumni will derive greater satisfaction from the 7 Congressional Medal of Honor winners, the 100+ admirals and generals, and the distinguished accomplishments of graduates in virtually every professional field.
Man, I love football season.
I copied the following from Randy King’s article from today’s Roanoke Times
“Speaking of Williams, the standout redshirt freshman earned his fifth ACC Rookie of the Week award Monday. Williams ranks eighth nationally in rushing yards per game (119.4). Williams’ fifth 100-yard rushing performance Saturday is a school freshman record. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor ranks sixth in the nation in passing efficiency (159.86) and tops the country in yards per attempt (9.8). Tech’s Dyrell Roberts ranks second in kickoff returns (40.8). ...“
Ok…so the Hokies lost on Saturday. It’s College Football and that’s the way it goes. As a LONG TIME Hokie and a proud memeber of the Hokie Nation , I would ask everyone here to remember that these are just kids we are talking about. They get lots of press and they have a lot of pressure on them to perform. Do y’all remember what is was like to 20 years old? Give these kids a break and lets just see how the season goes and enjoy the wonderful sport of College Football…OK? Thanks and GO HOKIES!!!!!
if uva fans would actually get their nose either out from up in the air or out of their own backsides, they would do research before they post. that research would lead them to a little thing called the fulmer cup, which tracks the illegal activities of each d-1 university’s football players. uva has finished ranked higher than vt in every fulmer cup. what does that mean? while vt did have the vicks, they were two bad, highly publicized eggs. comparatively, uva has had far more criminal activity from their players than vt—remember club 216? you didn’t hear about that one on espn, did you? when you’re a bottomfeeder, it’s easy to sweep your transgressions under the rug because nobody pays attention to irrelevancy.
Does UVA ever win anything besides women’s lacrosse? Is lacrosse still played in 2009? UVA’s mascot should be a rainbow.
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