Brett Korpi
September 16, 2016
Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
When: Saturday, September 17, 2016, 3:30 P.M. EST
The Eagles will head into Blacksburg with a 1-1 (0-1 ACC)record after defeating UMass, in the Battle of the Bay State, 26-7. Head Coach Steve Addazzio will bring a dominant defense, but also offensive and special team units that at this point are best defined by question marks.
The will be facing a Virginia Tech team, that also is 1-1 (0-0 ACC), after losing to No. 17 Tennessee 45-24, in their battle that one taking place at Bristol Motor Speedway in front of a record crowd. The Hokie’s have also been historically known for defense, and despite racking up a ton of yardage in their opening games of 2016, have their share of question marks.
As the die hard Super Fan’s head down to the Old Dominionlooking for the Eagles to end their 9-game ACC losing skid, let’s answer some of the questions they will be pondering
Now that Frank Beamer is retired, who is the coach?
Well, first let’s remember that Beamer is still around as aassistant to the Athletic Director. You have to expect he is keeping a watchful eye over the Hokies and that “Beamer Ball” will never go away.
With that said, Justin Fuente has taken over the reigns in Blacksburg. He was the head coach at Memphis for 4 seasons and was the co-offensive coordinator at TCU before that. He turned around a struggling Memphis program by going 19-6 in his final 2 years. He has had some notable quarterbacks under his tutelage. At Memphis. he had Paxton Lynch the first-round pick of the Denver Bronco’s this past spring. Andy Dalton, the starting quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals played during his time at TCU.
Is he one of those famed quarterback gurus?
You could say that, he also played Quarterback at Oklahoma, before transferring to Murray State. He known is mainly known for running a fast-paced high scoring offense.
So, does he have a stud QB at Virginia Tech?
That is one of the question marks on offense for the Hokies. He has JUCO transfer Jerrod Evans at QB1. In the first two games Evans has been solid. He has completed 67% of his for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. He is also a very capable runner. However, VT has relied heavily on the ground game and has yet to really open up the passing game. It remains to be seen what Evans is truly capable of especially against heavy pass-rush that Boston College will bring.
Any other weapons on offense?
There is the duo of junior wide receivers Cam Phillips and Isiah Ford. The latter is coming off a season in which he had 75 catches for 1,164 yards and 11 touchdowns. Evans’ also has a big and reliable target at tight end in redshirt - junior Bucky Hodges. The 6’7” Hodges has caught 15 touchdowns in his two plus season in Blacksburg.
In the backfield, redshirt – sophomore Travon McMillian leads a unit that Fuente has relied heavily upon early in the season. McMillian rushed for 1,043 yards and 7 touchdowns, last season.
That sounds like a formidable group, what are these other question marks you spoke of?
The offense has been very sloppy. They have given away 9 fumbles already and have accumulated 12 penalties on offense. They lost Tennessee by multiple score even though they out gained the Vols’ by 70 yards. Can Fuente instil discipline? Can they overcome a defense that has made their name on forcing offenses to make mistakes?
You mentioned the Hokies defense earlier, any changes on that side of the ball?
Expect the famed “Lunch Pail Defense” to return. Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster returns for his 30th season in Blacksburg. They are a unit that is historically great at home and generally eat up mediocre offenses. They are a veteran group led by defensive end Ken Ekanem. The red shirt senior has started in 26 consecutive games, providing stability up front for the Hokies. Redshirt- junior Andrew Motuapuaka is the player to watch out for in the middle. He totaled a career high 15 tackles last week against Tennessee and has posted 7 or more tackles in 7 straight games. In the back field watch out for the duo Chuck Clark and Greg Stroman. Clark, a senior, is coming off a season in which he had 107 tackles. Stroman, a junior, already has 2 interceptions in the young season, and you will need to look out for him in the return game as well.
Ok, enough about those dang Hokies, lets talk about Addazzio’s “Dudes”, they aired it out a couple times last week to break the game open can we expect more of that?
You would think. Transfer quarterback Patrick Towles, showed he can throw a reliable deep ball when finding sophomore Jeff Smith twice for 6. Now, the question is will Addazzio and offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler trust Towles against a vaunted defense? I think they will. Going into last week I thought they needed to be more aggressive and they were. They went for it a fourth down and went down field. This week, I think they need to air it out early and often and can’t afford to get behind.
How about the run game it looked stagnant last week?
Simply, it did. If you think about it has been stagnant in both games. Jon Hilliman’s 73-yard touch down run against Georgia Tech aside, they have not gotten much movement out of the ground game. I would like to see them open up the run game a little. They need to try to get to the outside, I think that’s where the shiftier backs, like seniors Tyler Rouse and Myles Willis come into play.
So that defense, nothing to complain about there huh?
Well, I have one complaint. Last week, I mentioned how they gave up some big plays to Georgia Tech, gave up one big one to UMass that resulted in a 60 – yard touchdown. They can not afford to let up big plays, especially with an inconsistent offense. But, that critique aside, they have been truly amazing on defense. Last week they let up -23 rushing yards, had 8 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Linebackers Connor Strachan, Matt Milano and Ty Schwab seem to be around the ball on every single play. They also created turnovers none bigger then cornerback Isaac Yiadom’s forced fumble, which led to Eagles scores at the end of the first half.
So it looks like we have a kicker?!
Yes, with Colton Lichtenberg down due to injury, punter Mike Knoll took over the kicking duties. When Addazzio finally trusted him to kick a field goal after he missed an extra point, he delivered, making field goals of 37 and 40 yards. Expect Knoll to continue with the kicking duties until he loses trust.
What is your prediction this week?
With my first two predictions I expected to see an improved offense on the field. Last week, they improved but didn’t string together 4 good quarters. I need to see them put together a complete game on offense before I pick them to beat a Formidable ACC opponent.
Virginia Tech 19 – Boston College 13
Weekly Fun Facts
Virginia Tech’s nickname Hokie is not an actual physical thing, but a cheer made up by student for a contest when the school’s name was changed.
Before Boston College, Loeffler was actually the Offensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech (2013-15).
September 16, 2016
Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
When: Saturday, September 17, 2016, 3:30 P.M. EST
The Eagles will head into Blacksburg with a 1-1 (0-1 ACC)record after defeating UMass, in the Battle of the Bay State, 26-7. Head Coach Steve Addazzio will bring a dominant defense, but also offensive and special team units that at this point are best defined by question marks.
The will be facing a Virginia Tech team, that also is 1-1 (0-0 ACC), after losing to No. 17 Tennessee 45-24, in their battle that one taking place at Bristol Motor Speedway in front of a record crowd. The Hokie’s have also been historically known for defense, and despite racking up a ton of yardage in their opening games of 2016, have their share of question marks.
As the die hard Super Fan’s head down to the Old Dominionlooking for the Eagles to end their 9-game ACC losing skid, let’s answer some of the questions they will be pondering
Now that Frank Beamer is retired, who is the coach?
Well, first let’s remember that Beamer is still around as aassistant to the Athletic Director. You have to expect he is keeping a watchful eye over the Hokies and that “Beamer Ball” will never go away.
With that said, Justin Fuente has taken over the reigns in Blacksburg. He was the head coach at Memphis for 4 seasons and was the co-offensive coordinator at TCU before that. He turned around a struggling Memphis program by going 19-6 in his final 2 years. He has had some notable quarterbacks under his tutelage. At Memphis. he had Paxton Lynch the first-round pick of the Denver Bronco’s this past spring. Andy Dalton, the starting quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals played during his time at TCU.
Is he one of those famed quarterback gurus?
You could say that, he also played Quarterback at Oklahoma, before transferring to Murray State. He known is mainly known for running a fast-paced high scoring offense.
So, does he have a stud QB at Virginia Tech?
That is one of the question marks on offense for the Hokies. He has JUCO transfer Jerrod Evans at QB1. In the first two games Evans has been solid. He has completed 67% of his for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. He is also a very capable runner. However, VT has relied heavily on the ground game and has yet to really open up the passing game. It remains to be seen what Evans is truly capable of especially against heavy pass-rush that Boston College will bring.
Any other weapons on offense?
There is the duo of junior wide receivers Cam Phillips and Isiah Ford. The latter is coming off a season in which he had 75 catches for 1,164 yards and 11 touchdowns. Evans’ also has a big and reliable target at tight end in redshirt - junior Bucky Hodges. The 6’7” Hodges has caught 15 touchdowns in his two plus season in Blacksburg.
In the backfield, redshirt – sophomore Travon McMillian leads a unit that Fuente has relied heavily upon early in the season. McMillian rushed for 1,043 yards and 7 touchdowns, last season.
That sounds like a formidable group, what are these other question marks you spoke of?
The offense has been very sloppy. They have given away 9 fumbles already and have accumulated 12 penalties on offense. They lost Tennessee by multiple score even though they out gained the Vols’ by 70 yards. Can Fuente instil discipline? Can they overcome a defense that has made their name on forcing offenses to make mistakes?
You mentioned the Hokies defense earlier, any changes on that side of the ball?
Expect the famed “Lunch Pail Defense” to return. Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster returns for his 30th season in Blacksburg. They are a unit that is historically great at home and generally eat up mediocre offenses. They are a veteran group led by defensive end Ken Ekanem. The red shirt senior has started in 26 consecutive games, providing stability up front for the Hokies. Redshirt- junior Andrew Motuapuaka is the player to watch out for in the middle. He totaled a career high 15 tackles last week against Tennessee and has posted 7 or more tackles in 7 straight games. In the back field watch out for the duo Chuck Clark and Greg Stroman. Clark, a senior, is coming off a season in which he had 107 tackles. Stroman, a junior, already has 2 interceptions in the young season, and you will need to look out for him in the return game as well.
Ok, enough about those dang Hokies, lets talk about Addazzio’s “Dudes”, they aired it out a couple times last week to break the game open can we expect more of that?
You would think. Transfer quarterback Patrick Towles, showed he can throw a reliable deep ball when finding sophomore Jeff Smith twice for 6. Now, the question is will Addazzio and offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler trust Towles against a vaunted defense? I think they will. Going into last week I thought they needed to be more aggressive and they were. They went for it a fourth down and went down field. This week, I think they need to air it out early and often and can’t afford to get behind.
How about the run game it looked stagnant last week?
Simply, it did. If you think about it has been stagnant in both games. Jon Hilliman’s 73-yard touch down run against Georgia Tech aside, they have not gotten much movement out of the ground game. I would like to see them open up the run game a little. They need to try to get to the outside, I think that’s where the shiftier backs, like seniors Tyler Rouse and Myles Willis come into play.
So that defense, nothing to complain about there huh?
Well, I have one complaint. Last week, I mentioned how they gave up some big plays to Georgia Tech, gave up one big one to UMass that resulted in a 60 – yard touchdown. They can not afford to let up big plays, especially with an inconsistent offense. But, that critique aside, they have been truly amazing on defense. Last week they let up -23 rushing yards, had 8 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Linebackers Connor Strachan, Matt Milano and Ty Schwab seem to be around the ball on every single play. They also created turnovers none bigger then cornerback Isaac Yiadom’s forced fumble, which led to Eagles scores at the end of the first half.
So it looks like we have a kicker?!
Yes, with Colton Lichtenberg down due to injury, punter Mike Knoll took over the kicking duties. When Addazzio finally trusted him to kick a field goal after he missed an extra point, he delivered, making field goals of 37 and 40 yards. Expect Knoll to continue with the kicking duties until he loses trust.
What is your prediction this week?
With my first two predictions I expected to see an improved offense on the field. Last week, they improved but didn’t string together 4 good quarters. I need to see them put together a complete game on offense before I pick them to beat a Formidable ACC opponent.
Virginia Tech 19 – Boston College 13
Weekly Fun Facts
Virginia Tech’s nickname Hokie is not an actual physical thing, but a cheer made up by student for a contest when the school’s name was changed.
Before Boston College, Loeffler was actually the Offensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech (2013-15).