At time of publication, countdown to kickoff of the 2009 College Football season is only 60 days 21 hours 20 minutes away. In order to help Hokies everywhere properly prepare for the upcoming season, I have compiled a season preview, a quick (or not so quick) look-ahead to each game of the season. We start off with the game opener, Tech vs. Alabama. For each game you will notice 4 sections.
1. Last Season’s Outcome
2. Key’s to Last Season’s Victory/Reason’s for Defeat
3. Key’s to the Victory this Season
4. Stat of the GameIn order to preview the upcoming season, we have to remember what happened last season, the good, the bad and the ugly, and know how that will affect and influence this year’s game.
So let’s get things started with the Season opener, Alabama
Sept 5 8:00pm Atlanta, GA ABC Broadcast
Hokies vs. Crimson TideIn what may be the most hyped college football season opener in recent memory, the Hokies will square off against Alabama in what is sure to be a game for the ages. This is undoubtedly the biggest season opener for the Hokies since the loss to USC (+the refs) in 2004. (Don’t forget the Hokies went on to win the ACC Championship their 1st season in ACC play that year).
Last Season’s Outcome:The Hokies and Roaming Elephants obviously didn’t play last year, so rather than compare the last time they played (1998 in the Music City Bowl with Tech winning 38-7), which would be completely irrelevant, we will compare the team’s performance in their last game, the Orange Bowl for the Hokies and the Fiesta Bowl for the Trampling Pacaderms.
The Hokies defeated the mighty Cincinnati Bearcats 20-7 in a dominating performance. Sean Glennon didn’t see the field in the game so it also gives us a good comparison for what game’s with only T-mobile at the helm will be like. Tech played dominating defense once again stuffing the Kittycats offensive attack and holding them to only 71 rushing yards per game and picking off the QB 4 times. Minus Brett Warren at LB, we got a great look at just how capable this year’s starting LB, Barquell Rivers can be. On offense the Hokies put on a dominating rushing performance to the tune of 258 yards (4.7 yards per carry). The consistent rushing attack took the pressure off Tyrod and allowed him time to ease the passing attack into the game rather than needing to force throws for completions.
Alabama however did not fair quite as well in their bowl performance. Outhustled, outplayed, outworked, out-everything-ed by a surprisingly athletic Utah side, Alabama lost big time 31-17. A poor curtain-call performance for Senior QB and future Hair Club for Men toupee model John Parker Wilson paired with poor tackling and lazy defensive play lead to the lopsided Utes victory. Will this trend continue or will Saban and the rest of the NCAA rules loving Bama coaching squad be able to rally the boys in Hotlanta?
Keys to Last Season’s Victory/Reasons for Defeat:I’ll skip this section for this game because it doesn’t apply and because this article is already 5x’s longer than I planned on.
Keys to Victory this Season:Offensive and Defensive Line Play.
If that’s all I wrote that would suffice (but it’s my blog and I have more to say).
I can
NOT underestimate, understate or underplay how critically important the line play is on both sides of the ball this season. Obviously Tyrod staying healthy is key #1 to our success, but a WVa fan can figure that out so I’m going for key #2 here.
Offensively, if we can’t run block and create time for the QB in play-action and passing plays, our offense will continue to top out at around #114th best in the country (that’s out of #120 teams). Tyrod is good, but how much better can he be with another second and a half or so in the pocket to make sound decisions? Darren Evans and Ryan Williams are great, but how much better can they be if they can get to the second level of the defense (the Linebackers) without 3 linemen hanging off of their jerseys? And let’s not forget that the Hokies will be facing a bona-fide dump-truck of a Defensive Tackle in 6’5”, 365lbs. Terrance Cody. The last time we faced a defensive tackle of his dominating stature was 2007 at LSU against 6’2” 303lbs. Glenn Dorsey and we all remember how that one turned out.
Switching sides of the ball, the Hokies defensive line should be foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to face a Bama QB that has never started a collegiate football game. The Crimson Ripples will either be sending Sophomore, Greg McElroy, Freshman, Star Jackson, or Freshman, Thomas Darrah to face the daunting Bud Foster-led defense. None have taken any meaningful snaps in college so you can be sure they are having nightmares all summer long about the Lunchpail defense smacking the mouthpiece from their helmets.
Stat of the Game:Being the first game of the season, and against an opponent we haven’t faced since 1998, this is a tough call, but I’ll have to say, watch the time of possession clock for both teams to get a good idea of how the game will play out.
If the Hokies can establish a running game against the very, very good Bama defense, the play-action pass will come alive and we might be able to establish a passing game. Getting off to a good start in the running game will limit the amount of 3 and outs with which we are all too familiar, and allow Beamer to do what he does best, play the field position game and let Bud Foster go nuts on defense.
If Bama controls the clock, our 0-man deep defensive line will wear down, our young LBs will be exposed to more plays they might not be fully prepared for and the big play likelihood starts to climb.
So, get down to Atlanta if you can (I’m going and my wife is due with our first child 21 days later so you have no excuse), yell your head off for the Hokies regardless of where you are, and get ready for the best time of the year.
