It will be kept simple.
After the Q&A with The Key Play was released, VT let it be known that running back Marshawn “Juice” Williams was also out for the the game. Three backs down in their depth chart. That means Caleb Johnson will be their primary back.
A couple other key injuries for the Hokies are on the defense. Starting DT Luther Maddy and CB Brandon Fascyson will not play. If you are looking for reasons why the line on the game has swung a bit. The injury list is a good place to start.
This means a bit more passing. Not deep throws, but much more of the short stuff. Slants. Quick outs. Controlled throws to create a little space. As for deep throws, they will take about as many as Iowa took. See if they can take advantage of the corners going one-on-one while the safeties play up to defend the shorter passes. Whether VT QB Michael Brewer will be accurate enough is the random roll of the die.
This doesn’t strike me as a particularly complicated game for either side. Both know what the other wants to do. Both will try to play to their strengths and hide the glaring weaknesses.
For Pitt’s offense it will start and end with the O-line. Can they clean up their unforced errors? Can they create some space for the running game and be able to protect the edges from VT’s defensive ends?
“Let me put it as bluntly to you as I did to them: I don’t care,” Hueber said when asked if the five false start or snap penalties could be blamed on players not hearing the count.
“We practice all that stuff. It’s a lack of concentration.”
Hueber equally was disappointed by having four of those penalties called against seniors Matt Rotheram and T.J. Clemmings.
“That’s not what you expect from guys with game,” he said. “That’s disappointing.”
Hueber is quickly losing tolerance with what he calls an “average” overall performance from his unit. Youth is no excuse, he said.
“I don’t like to practice to be wrong,” he said. “I think you practice to try and sharpen what you’re doing. You would like to give everybody the benefit of easing into it. We haven’t had that luxury since we’ve been here.”
There will be opportunities in the passing game — especially for receivers other than Tyler Boyd with Facyson out. But Voytik has to have some time. And, oh yes, Voytik has to see them.
The VT defense already knows that James Conner will get the carries. So either the O-line has to find itself in this game, or the passing game has to help loosen things.
As an aside, the theme of “who knows?” is thriving for the ACC Coastal:
Virginia Tech ranks 23rd nationally in scoring defense at 19.8 points per game, Pitt 17th at 19.0. With both their offenses limited, it’s little wonder the over-under of 45 points is the third-lowest established in Vegas this week — Syracuse-Wake Forest is 43, Ohio-Akron 41.5.
Before risking Junior’s college fund on the under, remember that the ACC Coastal Division continues to defy form and logic.
Virginia had lost 10 consecutive league games but upset then-No. 21 Louisville in its ACC opener.
Duke had dropped 10 straight games to Georgia Tech but defeated the previously undefeated Yellow Jackets – on the road.
Georgia Tech under Paul Johnson was 1-5 versus both Virginia Tech and Miami but bested the Hokies and Hurricanes in back-to-back outings.
Virginia Tech had not dropped home games in successive weeks since 1995, but did so to East Carolina (non-conference) and Georgia Tech. The Hokies had not defeated a top-10 team on the road since 2004 but won at then-No. 8 Ohio State.
Pitt had not endured a three-game skid since 2007, but after opening the season 3-0 lost to Iowa, Akron and Virginia.
A universal pick to finish last in the division, Virginia (4-2 overall, 2-0 ACC) enjoys the early lead, with teams such as Virginia Tech (4-2, 1-1) and Pitt (3-3, 1-1) in pursuit.
Think you know what will transpire Thursday night and during the second half of the regular season? This is the ACC Coastal. Think again.
And of course, there is the whole issue of VT trying to win for the first time at Heinz Field. The Hokies just don’t do well in NFL stadiums, having lost six of their last seven in those settings. Granted the competition may have been a factor as well, but don’t let that ruin a storyline.
It’s kind of fun to see it in the heads of VT fans, but I’m not buying it this year. At least not for the VT team.
But, these three can’t win games by themselves, they need their teammates to come ready to play and play smart, hard nosed, WPA football. And most of all, they need their “nice guy” coaches to actually have a game plan that is different than the last 3-1/2 games and to make adjustments where needed tonight.
We’re talking FOOTBALL fellas – now go kick some Hokies’ a$$ with a VT on it’s helmet!
HTP!
Do confuse what I’m saying as excuse for YSU, Navy, and Akron though – that’s all on Chryst.
One win separates those seasons and in 2010 DW was surrounded by his own, more highly rated, players. Yet when Chryst has to inherit a screwed up program and play other’s recruits, not that highly rated, and wins one less game with freshman and sophomore players – and wins the bowl game – he gets no credit at all.
Hell, just DW’s offensive players alone were much better than what Chryst had last season – Dion Lewis, Ray Graham, Jon Baldwin, Shanahan, Street as the skill players. Except for maybe Boyd none of Chryst’s 2012 players would have even started in that offense. Yet both teams scored exactly the same number of points – 26.3.. and the QBs weren’t that far apeart as far as production goes either.
On defense DW had Sheard, DeCicco, Alecxih, Holley, Gruder, Donald, etc… better players that 2013 with the exception of a SR Aaron Donald, they held teams to fine 19.0 ppg and still lost five games as opposed to Chryst’s six in ’13.
The ’13 schedule was harder than 2010 also IMO also yet, again, only one win separates the two teams. So, somehow Chryst’s 2013 season was not so great but DW’s 2010 years was?
We have to give the new-HC Chryst some credit for what he’s done in his 1st three year at the helm, especially after the previous two years chaos he followed. Experienced, been around the block 100 times, HC DW inherited a pretty talented team ‘championship’ team with a very good QB and ran it into the ground during his initial three years with a 16-19 record and still everyone loved him (“give him time”, “He’s a PITT Man”) but Chryst’s 16-16 starting record sucks?
I’ll give Chryst his full five years just like we gave DW and just like we gave Harris before him. If at the end of that we haven’t seen better days then we let Chryst go – but to assume that he’s a failure at this point is a reach – especially in light of what previous coaches did before him.
Not that we don’t have a myriad of problems to discuss – but defense as currently being played is not the primary reason for the three losses, we now have to resurrect this old argument.
I suppose the only thing to settle this high schoolish fad is just to move him over there. Let some other running backs carry the ball. Rather than be a bit humble when asked with something like “I need to focus on running the ball a bit better”, we now have resorted to gimmicks. After we have discovered that Bennett, James and maybe others can do just fine, and Conner has to play more than just a few snaps than he did in a half ass bowl game against a half ass offensive line, and suddenly realizes trying to rush the passer, tackle guys in space, stay at home on plays away vs. offensive tackles from the ACC vs. Bowling Green is not quite what he hoped for, let him stay there.
Another example of PC not being able to manage through simple little things a program must, both with his players and the media.
So that is what is going to save us? Conner moving to DE? We are going to be blessed with his presence on defense when he arguably can’t run more than twice without getting winded? Awesome. Now we’ll run the table! By the way, Boyd is the best athlete on the field, and I’d say he could do a better job than Vinopal right now. Let’s start clamoring for that.
As Clowney found out his senior year when all the “fans” criticized his “production”, minimizing a good player on defense is fairly easy – you throw quickly, run to the other side, double team, etc. Ah, but Conner is just going to run roughshod right over these ACC lines. Let’s see it. I’d also like to see other running backs get the ball – I’m tired of seeing the two hard runs and then on the third getting slammed.
Oh, well, it will add a little intrigue to the game vs. the old three yards and a cloud of dust. Anything we can do to divert attention from the fact the offense has had three straight opportunities to do something to win a game and can’t get it right.
If I were Conner I’d stop looking at this like how fun it would be go in for a few snaps to impress a few reporters and get the damn ball in the end zone.
No doubt, Voytik is the one guy that can make the most difference. But the game plan has to be there and it has to be executed.
Kind of disappointed in the article about Conner in the PG. Sounds like he is starting to believe his press clippings, worried about injury and pro-prospects. Hope he is focused on the game tonight.
Still, I like where Chryst is headed, although I still would like to see higher profile D-linemen and linebackers recruited. He is making progress overall.
The results on the field so far have been average, at this point getting a bowl game will be a victory. Sad considering the expectations after the first three games.
I suggest we hold off on all these evaluations until the end of the year since the meat of the schedule is still to come.
But remember, we all thought Pitt would have a good year this year based almost entirely on how easy the first half of the schedule was … yet Pitt stands at .500.
It is a very young team, mostly due to the program turmoil since December, 2010, but it is the 3rd year of PC’s realm and we should at least be seeing some consistency.
Next year will be his 4th, and the majority of the excuses need to go away … 4 years is plenty of time for a just evaluation. I’m not necessarily saying a division title is a ust, but we better be damned competitive. After all, we play in the weakest divsion of all the BCS conferences.
Made the crucial sideline 1st down catch against Duke late in the game when Duke was staging a huge comeback to avoid another PITT choke.
Couldn’t resist that one. Made an impact wouldn’t you say.