Chryst and company will face their first real road challenge of the 2013 season when they head to Blacksburg to face a Virginia Tech team eager for revenge. Last year’s win was a huge shock. Pitt was 0-2 with a loss to Youngstown State and Virginia Tech was 2-0 with a season opening victory over Georgia Tech. Even an eternal optimist like myself saw no chance of victory. Here we are a year later and while the Hokies are favored, no one would bat an eye if Pitt pulls off the win again. (more…)
October 10, 2013
Joe from The Key Play — a proudly independent Virginia Tech blog and tremendous community — and I did what I hope will continue to be our yearly Q&A exchange for the weekend’s Pitt-VT game. My answers to his questions are over here.
1. Whatever happened to the Virginia Tech running game? Take out the 1-AA Western Carolina game and the Hokies are getting under 105 yards/game on the ground. Is it with the O-line? Has it been the players. Has it been a case of Jay Paterno Syndrome at the Running Back Coach?
Well you’re right, we’ve struggled to run the ball consistently since 2011. David Wilson was a first round pick after that season, and no combination of backs have been able to replace his production. 2012 was an anomaly though. Former offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring and play caller Mike O’Cain tried implementing a wonky pistol offense that resulted in Stiney’s demotion and O’Cain’s termination. Both scheme and talent were issues two years ago.
New offensive coordinator Scot Loeffer has preached a commitment to the run from the minute he was hired last winter. However, opposing defenses have also been determined to stop Tech from rushing, forcing Logan Thomas to win games. Thomas has gotten much better at working through his progressions, and Loeffler has designed good underneath routes that exploit a loaded box, pick up good yards per catch, all while controlling the clock.
Both the o-line and tailbacks have made mistakes and left yards on the field. Tech’s running about as multiple (in every sense of the word) offense as possible. One week it’s rushing from the next spread, zone, power, inverted veer, veer, triple option, etc… I expect the rushing game to strengthen as the o-line and tailbacks become more familiar with the system, different techniques, and all the nuances.
