Friday, November 8, 2013 Print Edition

Page 1

Friday, November 8, 2013

The Collegiate Times’ comprehensive guide to Virginia Tech Football

IN LOGAN

E X f or e co T R ven n A m pa tent PO ore ge , c I N eig hec T ht k

D-BACKS REGAIN DEPTH AS MIAMI AWAITS JAMES O’HARA

Tech’s turnover troubles. From lineman to receivers, the senior gunslinger’s offensive partners are accepting their share of the criticism. “We can take a few of those (turnovers) on us,” said offensive lineman Andrew Miller, one of the team’s four permanent captains. “Giving up pressure, I think one of them was due to that. And that’s on us. It’s not acceptable to give up pressure where Logan is in a position where he has to get rid of the ball.” Joshua Stanford, Tech’s leading receiver against Boston College, said he felt “a great deal of (the

The defensive back position on the Virginia Tech defense has become a revolving door for the past two weeks. Just as senior corner Antone Exum returned from a knee injury that kept him out in the beginning of the season, fellow corners Kyle Fuller and Brandon Facyson left with injuries during the team’s bye week. Those three, along with Kendall Fuller and safeties Kyshoen Jarrett and Detrick Bonner, make up one of the most highlypraised defensive backfields in the nation. The plaudits are wellearned as the Hokies’ 17 interceptions this season are the second highest in the nation. Meanwhile, Kendall Fuller and Facyson are in the top 10 in interceptions individually. However, recently the concern has been focused more on the injuries that have befallen the unit. Kyle Fuller has been slowly recovering from a groin injury, while Facyson is dealing with a concussion suffered in practice. With the return of Exum, the Hokies still have two elite corners along with Kendall Fuller; however, the lack of depth is concerning to the coaches. “It’s not like the coverage is barren,” said defensive coordinator Bud Foster. “But all of a sudden you get another injury, you get pretty thin there with quality players, guys you feel like you can go win with.” The Hokies managed well without the two corners

see GOALS / page 2

see PASS / page 2

THEY

BEN WEIDLICH / SPPS

BEN WEIDLICH / SPPS

contributing sports reporter

TRUST

KEVIN DICKEL / SPPS

BY JACOB EMERT | sports editor

Despite plenty of criticism coming from fans, Tech is confident in their quarterback and that they can still acheive their goals this season.

F

ourteen days ago the Virginia Tech Hokies were riding a six-game winning streak, tied for the lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division, and fans were ready to proclaim that the program was “back” after its worst season in 20 years. Fresh off their bye week, the Hokies were looking at a pair of habitual ACC non-contenders before a matchup in Coral Gables with No. 7 Miami. The Tech bandwagon, which was inundated with newcomers when Tech was 6-1 and ranked 14th in the BCS, is now empty. The Hokies lost to Duke and Boston College in

consecutive weeks, and, according to fans on message boards and social media, the season is over. Fans are calling for their quarterback’s head and claiming all is lost in 2013. The struggles stem from turnovers; that’s no secret. The defense is prolific, but even the best defenses cannot win games by themselves. Over the past two games the Hokies have turned the ball over eight times — with six interceptions and two fumbles, all coming from the hands of quarterback Logan Thomas. Thomas though, isn’t the only one to blame for

DEFENSE FOCUSED ON READY TO STOP THE STORM SLOWING RUN GAME ALEX KOMA sports editor

Before the Boston College game, the Hokies insisted they were ready for the Eagles’ physical run game. The 196 yards Tech allowed on the ground seem to suggest otherwise. Running back Andre Williams accounted for 166 of those yards on his own, thanks to a combination of his athleticism and some breakdowns on defense for the Hokies. “He’s a freak, you see the way he runs it?” said defensive line coach Charley Wiles. “Are you kidding me?” Williams averaged five yards per carry and broke off a backbreaking 62-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. The Hokies know they can’t repeat that performance defending the run if they want to reverse the new losing trend. “We let that one pop at the end, which was unfortunate,” Wiles said. “It takes everybody to stop what they do.” The Eagles’ relentless running attack meant that quarterback Chase Rettig was never forced to make any throws under pressure. “They’re physical and we never got them out of their element,” Wiles said. “You’ve got to get them where they’ve got to spread it out.”

TREVOR WHITE / SPPS

Jack Tyler (58) and Luther Maddy (92) bring down Robert Godhigh (25) behind the line of scrimmage.

Tech’s defensive line looks to return to their dominant ways against No. 7 Miami. WILL GROOMS sports staff writer TREVOR WHITE / SPPS

Dadi Nicolas (90) stands up Rachid Ibrahim (29) at the line. But for all their problems, the er formidable ground game. players think their issues in the Miami currently averages 198 run game are pretty easily cor- yards on the ground thanks to rectable. a physically imposing offensive “You can learn from the few line. mistakes that we made, but “I think they’re the best offenthere were only really a few sive line we’ve seen to date,” of them,” said linebacker Jack said defensive coordinator Bud Tyler. “They were big mistakes, Foster. “They’re big, physibut they’re very correctable. cal, athletic. They get a lot of We corrected those on Sunday experience back from last year, and now it’s just get a win at so compare them to like an Miami.” Alabama or a BC.” As the Hokies turn their attention to the Hurricanes, see DEFENSE / page 2 they’re confronted with anoth-

Entering Saturday’s 34-27 loss to Boston College, defensive coordinator Bud Foster and the Virginia Tech defense were well aware of what they were facing — an experienced quarterback in Chase Rettig and the ACC’s leading rusher in running back Andre Williams. For the most part, the Tech defensive line did its part in containing the running game, recording seven solo tackles as a unit and assisting on four more. At times, however, the front four struggled to hold the

line, allowing a season high 5.2 yards per play. Williams rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries — 62 of which came on a critical run late in the fourth quarter that put the Eagles up by two touchdowns. The 196 total rushing yards recorded by BC is the highest total allowed by the Tech defense this season. “Every play in this game at this level is critical and I was disappointed with the last play,” Foster said. “That being said, I’m proud of our guys and I’m not going to let one play affect how they play.” Discounting the long run

on the Eagles’ fi nal drive, Williams averaged a pedestrian 3.25 yards per carry. “It takes a team effort from everybody to stop what (Boston College) does,” said defensive line coach Charley Wiles. “We played well and it was one run. I don’t see any issues with the way we played.” Also to be noted is the inefficiency of the pass rush. The Tech defense currently sits at second in the conference for quarterback sacks. And for the first game this season, it failed to record one. For the year, the Hokies have tallied 28 sacks on 238 passing attempts — averaging

see LINE / page 2


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Friday, November 8, 2013 Print Edition by Collegiate Times - Issuu