Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech-From a Hokies perspective

Question

Good morning Ladies and Gents,Intriguing matchup in Atlanta tonight. I went to this game in 2004 when I was still in school and watched Bryan Randall lead an awesome comeback to win. What happen to those days as a Hokie? I have no faith in our offense to come back from more than 1 td these days. Logan Thomas, while taking the brunt of the criticism, is really not the problem. The bigger issue is the wide receivers who can&#x27;t run a legitimate route and even when they do, drop the damn ball. I actually feel for Logan this year...But we own GT. We have won 3 straight against them since they ended our run at a NC in 2009. They have all been very good games but the thing that VT has that most other teams don&#x27;t is an unstoppable front 4. And they have depth within that front 4. Bud has also taught this defense how to avoid the chop blocks that Paul Johnson loves to throw at the knees of every defender. Also keep in mind that the Hokies have 3 shut down corners on this defense(4 when Exum gets back). They can put 9 in the box and let their corners defend on an island against this GT team. So GT generally has a difficult time scoring points against us.The GT defense isn&#x27;t very good but has been opportunistic this season. That is the worst scenario for a VT team that loves to turn the ball over this season. Luckily Edmunds is listed as probable and JC Coleman seems to finally be healthy for this one. Edmunds has done really well for having holes the size of vodka bottles to run but I think Coleman will help Logan a lot with his ability to catch the ball and make plays out of the backfield. This would of course hinge on Logan&#x27;s ability to check down and not force a throw...never his strongest suit.The Hokies special teams seemed to turn the corner last week as Beamer has finally started putting his starters back on Special Teams. They blocked a punt for a touchdown and blocked a field goal to prolong the game. This could be key in a game where points may be difficult to come by.So what is my play?I don&#x27;t know. I can&#x27;t pick my ass the last 3 years on VT games.I think VT has a very good shot at winning this game. They are so good on defense that they are worth a look at any spread of a touchdown or more as they will not be blown out of any games. I think laying 7 with GT is absolutely bonkers. My plays would be VT &#x2B;7, VT ML and Under

bibendi23 · Answer

Good morning Ladies and Gents,Intriguing matchup in Atlanta tonight. I went to this game in 2004 when I was still in school and watched Bryan Randall lead an awesome comeback to win. What happen to those days as a Hokie? I have no faith in our offense to come back from more than 1 td these days. Logan Thomas, while taking the brunt of the criticism, is really not the problem. The bigger issue is the wide receivers who can&#x27;t run a legitimate route and even when they do, drop the damn ball. I actually feel for Logan this year...But we own GT. We have won 3 straight against them since they ended our run at a NC in 2009. They have all been very good games but the thing that VT has that most other teams don&#x27;t is an unstoppable front 4. And they have depth within that front 4. Bud has also taught this defense how to avoid the chop blocks that Paul Johnson loves to throw at the knees of every defender. Also keep in mind that the Hokies have 3 shut down corners on this defense(4 when Exum gets back). They can put 9 in the box and let their corners defend on an island against this GT team. So GT generally has a difficult time scoring points against us.The GT defense isn&#x27;t very good but has been opportunistic this season. That is the worst scenario for a VT team that loves to turn the ball over this season. Luckily Edmunds is listed as probable and JC Coleman seems to finally be healthy for this one. Edmunds has done really well for having holes the size of vodka bottles to run but I think Coleman will help Logan a lot with his ability to catch the ball and make plays out of the backfield. This would of course hinge on Logan&#x27;s ability to check down and not force a throw...never his strongest suit.The Hokies special teams seemed to turn the corner last week as Beamer has finally started putting his starters back on Special Teams. They blocked a punt for a touchdown and blocked a field goal to prolong the game. This could be key in a game where points may be difficult to come by.So what is my play?I don&#x27;t know. I can&#x27;t pick my ass the last 3 years on VT games.I think VT has a very good shot at winning this game. They are so good on defense that they are worth a look at any spread of a touchdown or more as they will not be blown out of any games. I think laying 7 with GT is absolutely bonkers. My plays would be VT &#x2B;7, VT ML and Under

DtotheP · Answer

Bib BOL to your Hokies!  I think I&#x27;ll take the points in this spot

insatiable · Answer

Good luck buddy

Cover34 · Answer

GL

JhawkBalla · Answer

Great insight ..leaning towards that way also

SPark1 · Answer

"I don&#x27;t know. I can&#x27;t pick my behind the last 3 years on VT games."Doesn&#x27;t it seem like VT flops on national tv? I feel the same way because most of the time I ride them, they fail me. I&#x27;m confident GTech will get this. Especially after the way they played last week, a game they should have lost.

PROPHET4 · Answer

VIR TECH  &#x2B;

Arod84 · Answer

I think the bigger problem is your OC Loeffler. He's the reason Thomas is worse. He fell flat on his face at Auburn last year and appears he is doing the same at VT. I know VT has a great defense but last year they had more time to prepare. How do you feel about them only having 3 practices, really 2 with a walk through in a short week?

These are the questions that have me firmly on the fence right now.

TimTowner · Answer

I&#x27;m actually perplexed at how Gtech can be favored by 7.  This is just bonkers.

jp1lsu · Answer

That seems very honest and accurate IMO.  Pretty much how I felt about this game.&#xD;&#xA;BOL

bibendi23 · Answer

I don&#x27;t think Loeffler is the problem at all. He, like most OC&#x27;s, need a QB that fits their system. Logan definitely could have if he would have been in the system for all 4 years but Stinespring(OC for last 2 decades) put Logan so far behind the 8 ball that it is tough to recover. I&#x27;m actually excited about Loeffler and Grimes(O-Line coach) who signed 5 new linemen this offseason. I&#x27;m not going to judge Loeffler on this years offensive performance, next year he will be under fire thoughAs far as the practices go, if this was an inexperienced defense I would be concerned but all of these guys have faced and beat this triple option multiple times. The only real position where there is a lack of experience is at corner which is where they need the least help. Plus those corners are so good I don&#x27;t think it matters. Lack of practice time is not a big concern for me here on defense. Now the offense needs all the help they can get...

bibendi23 · Answer

The thing is...I bet against them on national tv and they come out and dominate. I remember this exact game 2 years ago, I dropped a Special on GT as all indications were similar to this one(Logan struggling at QB, coming off a lackluster performance) and VT came out and absolutely dominated GT in Bobby Dodd. I just think Foster has enough experience with stopping the triple option

TwoCursed · Answer

Hokies have been spending at least 30 mins per practice preparing for GT for the last three weeks. In addition, majority of our defense returns from last year and is familiar with GT's offense and the discipline necessary to effectively stop it. I'm a Hokie al

In my opinion,

TwoCursed · Answer

Sorry about that.  Meant to say...I&#39;m a Hokie alumni and do a lot of reading about our team, hence the reason I know about the extra practice time that&#39;s been allotted to preparing for GT.Was also going to say, in my opinion any bet on GT is really just a bet against VT&#39;s offense.  The Hokies run defense is very strong and will keep GT in check.  I expect a number of field goals to be attempted by both teams.  Posessions will also be very limited in this game as GT will slowly move the chains but not get the big chunk plays and Beamer will likely have a similar strategy on offense so the defense can rest (easier said than done for the Hokie offense).  All these factors will make it difficult to cover the 7 in my opinion.That being said, I think the under may be a safer play for all the same reasons I just mentioned.  Average margin of victory in this series in the last 6 meetings in 5 points.  Typically the first team to 20 points wins.

jackets7 · Answer

As far as cover corners go, The Herd&#x27;s Cato threw for TWO Tds. And, as far as the rush def goes, they gave up a TD to The Herd. We&#x27;re talking about Marshall. And with tech (not a throwing offense) I don&#x27;t know how important DBs are here except to stop a long run.I&#x27;m a techie, obviously. But the Hokies struggled to put away E Carolina on the road. Now, they travel to Bobby Dodd?Addition to a short-week this team is also coming off a triple OT situation... tired legs, and a tired defense. Could be high scoring given that I know our def has been shady over the last.... lifetime.Given that I am a techie, I know that I could (prob am) biased so im staying away from the sides, and am thinking about the over/under at 43... going over.

head_dx · Answer

[Quote: Originally Posted by bibendi23] Good morning Ladies and Gents,&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;Intriguing matchup in Atlanta tonight. I went to this game in 2004 when I was still in school and watched Bryan Randall lead an awesome comeback to win. What happen to those days as a Hokie? I have no faith in our offense to come back from more than 1 td these days. Logan Thomas, while taking the brunt of the criticism, is really not the problem. The bigger issue is the wide receivers who can&#x27;t run a legitimate route and even when they do, drop the damn ball. I actually feel for Logan this year...&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;My plays would be VT &#x2B;7, VT ML and Under&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;[/Quote]&#xD;&#xA;I think you are correct about Thomas not being the problem. There is a reason why so many in the NFL are still thinking he will be an NFL quarterback. Have heard that Kirby Smart after watching the Va Tech game film from this year was impressed at how hard he throws. His exact words after watching the first throw were (Holy S*it). CJ said it caught bama defenders off guard how hard he threw and maybe they should have had another interception or two in the game. I think the receivers don&#x27;t run correct routes and don&#x27;t have NFL quality hands. Just my thoughts on it.

daytonavol · Answer

What in the hell is an objective, insightful conversation about a game doing on this site? Supposed to be chest thumping, name calling and guarantees.....    Seriously, tho, nice thread with some good info.....changed the way I was looking at this game.....good stuff...

TwoCursed · Answer

Jackets7 - you may want to do a little research on Cato and the Marshall offense instead of assuming they are weak because there name is Marshall.  It&#39;s ignorance like yours that keeps the books happy.  Marshall has one of the best offenses in the country last year, led by Cato and are off to a good start again this year.

jtoler · Answer

Watched GT vs. UNC, gosh GT has some big fast linemen, whole team just looked bigger and faster than UNC&#x27;s. GT didnt run through UNC of course convincingly, seemed they might at first but they do have a young QB, he&#x27;s ok but he will make a mistake or two. Not sure who wins but Id lean towards&#x27; VTech at least covering, but 3 things are against them, short week, on the road, and playing that close, draining, emotional game last week. Id love to go GTech 1st half, but the spread is a little too big for me to do that, I still think it may be the right call though. Saw some VTech in a few games this year, not a fan of Thomas no doubt and were amazed at how much they throw the ball with him, he&#x27;s not good enough to have that many passing attempts IMO, he could probably be an All American tight end, qb isnt his thing if you ask me.

Dogberto · Answer

Look at Marshall&#x27;s competition.  Ohio 66th in points against and Miami O 109th.  So they may be good on offense but they aren&#x27;t playing much competition.

nikki_santoro · Answer

I agree with all this. @ ECU and Marshall weren&#x27;t pushover games.. that Marshall team is prob the best fielded offense since Leftwich was there..Vtech had so many drops vs Bama that if half of em were caught it would of been a game.(thank god they weren&#x27;t)..UNC jumped all over GTECH early..GTECH won that game bc of UNC penalties and the pouring rain..fact

nikki_santoro · Answer

A short week also means nothing against the option.. Vtech has a Veteran DEF that has worked on this in practice for a month on and off..the receivers have to catch the ball for Thomas..

jtoler · Answer

Think Renner can play at the next level perhaps, he can really put that ball in tight spaces, was very impressive in that game, but gosh those cut blocks take a toll on ya lol, I hated seeing that when I was in little league lol it really is no joke, hard enough trying to get a tackle off of a normal block.

bigvern1013 · Answer

My big question is depth for V-Tech....that defense has played a lot of football.....the triple OT game last Saturday had to be exhausting.

I like betting defense, and V-tech's is pretty good this season....but GTECH has had this game circled for awhile.

Does anybody here think this one gets away from the Hokies early? If Vtech goes down 10 pts or more they are in big trouble..

bigvern1013 · Answer

G-tech&#x27;s team total at 25 strikes me odd as well.....that is a little bit on the high side for a running team that is going against a pretty good run D.&#xD;&#xA;I had a GTECH team total around 21 ish somewhere.

Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech-From a Hokies perspective

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