OFFENSE:
To me, it was ridiculous that it took as long as it did for Tyrod Taylor to secure the starting quarterback position. The fact that he split any time with Sean Glennon is beyond me. Regardless, he is now the definite #1 option. Despite the threat that Taylor provides to run the ball, he was largely ineffective through the air last year. He threw for 1,036 yards, and had a TD-INT ratio of 2-7. He did also rush for 737 yards and 7 TDs. (I know youre probably asking why I would be so high on Taylor over Glennon when Taylor produced bad numbers, well, Glennon didnt produce good ones last year either.) Do I even need to say it? He needs to cut down on the turnovers.
The running game will be the strength of the offense. You have the aforementioned Taylor. Secondly, you have RB Darren Evans. He rushed for 1265 yards and 11 TDs as a Freshman last year; very impressive. Guard Sergio Render is an All-American is most publications, and the Hokies return 3/5 linemen overall. Render is a projected 1st rd draft pick for the NFL draft. It will be a run first offense, and with the threat of Taylor, it could produce some good results.
WRs Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale were both freshmen last year, and they combined to catch 66 passes for 849 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those are pretty productive numbers for receivers that had inconsistent quarterback play. Boykin especially came on strong last year; he didnt even play in two of the first three games. Having another year of experience on their side (or should I say A year), and a year working with Tyrod Taylor exclusively will only help. Their touchdown numbers need to improve, but that really relies heavily on the arm of Taylor.
Virginia Tech finished 111th in passing offense last year. 103rd overall in yardage, and 90th in scoring, averaging just 22 pts/game. How did they win the ACC? Well, you can guess that it was with defense, and you would be right, but lets ignore the deficiencies they had on offense. There are two ways to look at this:
1) If their defense was just a little worse; they would barely be a bowl team. They beat Ga. Tech and UNC by a score of 20-17, and beat Virginia 17-14.
2) If their offense was a little better, they could have been in the title game. They lost 22-27 to ECU, 23-28 to BC, 20-30 to FSU, 14-16 to Miami. But, as you can see, in all of those games, the defense gave up more than their average in terms of points (they gave up an average of 16/game and they gave up 16 to Miami, the only tie.) So ironically, the offense played above average in the games that they lost.
We know that they got a punt blocked for a TD against ECU.....OMG!!!! Beamer Ball got out Beamer Balled!??!?!
They gave up a punt return for a TD against BC...but also returned a pick for a TD. They also made 2 45 yard field goals....they just got outplayed. They totaled 240 yards the whole game.....forget what I said about the offense playing better in the games they lost.
Guess how many yards they totaled against FSU? 243, close to the 240 total they had against BC. They were winning 10-0 and couldnt hold it.
They tallied up 250 yards in the loss to Miami. That, and only 14 points.
*** For the record they had 243 yards total against E. Carolina.
So how do you have a 1200 yard rusher and have your offense suck so bad? I dont know really. I will say a few things. 1) They need to obviously find a consistent passing game. They beat Ga. Tech - but in that game they threw for 48 yards. Not a misprint. They beat Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl on 84 yards passing. You dont have to totally redefine who you are or what you do, but you need to improve it. You cant throw for 129 yd/game and have a 0.5 - 1 TD-INT ratio and expect to win the ACC every year.
DEFENSE:
As said above, they have won in the past few years, including last, because of their defense. They were 9th in the nation in scoring defense, and 7th in yardage. Also, they had a +1.00 turnover ratio, which ties for 10th in the nation. They lose some important pieces however. Macho Harris is in the NFL now. They also lose LB Purnell Sturdivant and LB Brett Warren. The stars that they have coming back are S Kam Chancellor and DE Jason Worilds. CB Stephan Virgil also returns, and he tied Harris for the team lead in INTs last year with 6.
There was no margin for error for the Hokies defense last year, and for the most part, they did not disappoint. Like I said, if not for the defense, this team could have been 6-6. However, I think that the defense will take a slight step back this year. There is a hole in the middle of it that needs to be fixed. That being said, the offense cant be anything but better. Will they improve in the way that they need to? That is, if the offense stays consistent, and the defense downgrades, they are not going to win many games. If the offense improves, and the defense downgrades, will the offense improve enough? I would like to think that the offense can improve drastically this year. They have a 1200+ yd rusher, a threat to rush at QB, and some returning receivers. Also, all of the skill position players were Freshmen last year. Now if they can combine an improved offense with a similar defense, they can beat Alabama and be in competition for a national championship. I dont see it though. I still feel that they're just a bland team. They wont be anywhere near dominant on offense, and I think theyll lose a few steps on defense too.
( I dont know why the following is double spaced)
Final Predictions;
9/5 Alabama (in ATL) ..... Loss
9/12 Marshall ..... Win
9/19 Nebraska ... Win
9/26 Miami .... Win
10/3 @ Duke .... Win
10/10 Boston College ..... Win
10/17 @ Ga. Tech ..... Loss
10/29 North Carolina .... Win
11/5 @ E. Carolina ---- Loss
11/14 @ Maryland ..... Win
11/21 N.C. State ..... Win
11/28 @ Virginia ..... Win
9-3 (7-1)
This, in fact, is actually an improvement from last year. last year they went 8-4, and 5-3 in the ACC. A lot of these are again swing games. I had them losing to Miami until the very last second, and I switched it. You know I am obviously high on UNC and N.C. State this year, and would not be surprised if either team beat VT. There are going to be a lot of close games in HokieLand, just like last year. They could win em all, or they can be 7-5.
As far as the Alabama game goes, Im already on the record as saying that it looks like Alabama -4 is a trap. I actually like VT in that game. Why? Well both teams should have a good defense this year, and I guess that VT, as deficient as they were on offense, return more offensive starters than Alabama. There will be a new QB and RB for Bama week 1 against that defense, and that isnt the easiest task for a newcomer. The more and more I think about it, the more I think that it will be a very good game. As usual, its so hard to predict the first week, and I guess you have to give the initial lean to Alabama, but it should be a close, low scoring game -- 13-10 Bama? That would give Bama the win and VT the cover........
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