Joe Dexter
Guest
Gameday Morning: Ohio State @ Virginia Tech
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Every Saturday Monday before kickoff, tBBC staff corals all the reading material you need to get ready for the game. From our workings throughout the week to the internet and beyond — here are the articles and media you need to get caught up on as you enjoy your week 1 tailgate. Let’s get things started by firing up this week’s Gameday Morning playlist, compiled by tBBC staff.
Was it the football gods playing with us when they decided that the season shouldn’t start until the first week of September?
Or is it just patience reminding us that it’s a virtue to be remembered as a national champion?
Frankly, I don’t give a darn either way because college football is finally here!
The Buckeyes are in the prime time against the Virginia Tech Hokies in what promises to be a thrilling rematch from a year ago.
This time though, there’s a defending champion in the mix and the tale of the tape tells a completely different story than the last time Virginia Tech’s lightning fast defense took on Ohio State’s knock out power offense.
It’s Buckeye gameday! Fire up the music — let’s do this thing!
The Buckeye Battle Cry Hub
– Joe previews the Ohio State/Virginia Tech match up in depth
– WVaBuckeye is Rumblin’ Stumblin’ Bumblin’ over today’s game
– tBBC staffers discuss what they want to see on the field
– JC discusses the coaching staff preparing for Virginia Tech
– Jason discusses J.T. vs. Cardale in this week’s Wednesday Night Rumble
— Charles gives us his weekly TBDBITL Report on a very busy first week
This Week On Script Ohio on VSporto’s Buckeye Sports Radio
Ohio State Two Deep
As always for the Buckeyes heading into week one, there are a lot of ORs on the Depth Chart. Many of them are intentional to mask who will take the place of the suspended Joey Bosa, Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Corey Smith.
The biggest question heading into the week was who is going to start at receiver opposite of Michael Thomas. The depth chart says it could be James Clark, Johnnie Dixon, or Terry McLaurin. Eleven Warriors’ Jeremy Birmingham believes otherwise.
From a source close to @birm, expect to see RS-FR Parris Campbell starting opposite Michael Thomas as Ohio State's Z receiver Monday night.
— Eleven Warriors (@11w) September 4, 2015
Campbell is listed as Thomas’ backup on the DC, but I expect Campbell and Dixon to split the majority of the time at the position and thinking about a combination of the two on the field at the same time makes me giggle in utter happiness.
Braxton Miller and Curtis Samuel are your H-Backs by default this week with the suspensions to Wilson and Marshall. The only interesting note at the position is K.J. Hill has been named as a backup at the position behind Miller and Samuel. That tells me too things — the coaching staff believes in his ability in the slot and also buy into the fact that he can do well if needed in pass protection.
On defense, as expected — a heavy dose of the defensive line will rotate in and see a good amount of playing time. Sam Hubbard and Jayln Holmes are both listed as ones at defensive end opposite of Tyquan Lewis. Another thing that I love to see is that the backups at end and defensive tackles have or next to their name, meaning they are competing equally for playing time. That’s huge for depth at the position.
As expected, Gareon Conley has won the starting corner spot opposite of Eli Apple. There still will be plenty of playing time for others as the defensive coaching staff tries to find out who will lock down the nickel.
Marshon Lattimore, Damon Webb and Denzel Ward could all see time on the field in certain passing situations.
Finally, get your popcorn ready. Braxton Miller is listed as Ohio State’s #1 punt returner. Can you say return for touchdown?
Ohio State Injury Report
Name
Position
Injury
Status
Notes
Joey BosaDESuspended for Week 1
Noah BrownWRBroken LegOut for Season
Mike WeberRBKnee (Meniscus) OutOSU Coaches believe he could be out 3-4 more weeks after minor surgery.
Dontre WilsonH-BackSuspended for Week 1
Jalin MarshallH-BackSuspended for Week 1
Corey SmithWRSuspended for Week 1
Ohio State Gameday Links
Before we start sharing the goodness that is Gameday links, let me take this brief moment to remind you that we will not have to see videos like this for at least another season..
— My pal Shannon Sommers answers some questions the Virginia Tech football universe has been wondering at Men of the Scarlet and Gray.
FG: Do you believe the revenge factor will play a big part in this game or will the Buckeyes treat it like any other stiff non-conference foe?
MotSaG: Not going to lie there probably is, for us fans without a doubt and I can imagine the players feel the same thing. The Hokies prevented Buckeyes from getting a perfect season. Urban said that he feels a little nudge because the Hokies defeated Buckeyes. He said he doesn’t want to take anything away from VT “They have great players and team” but he has always said the Buckeyes coaching staff didn’t prepare team for the scheme Hokies came at them with.
Will be hard to treat this like any other non conference foe seeing no matter how bad Hokies looked after beating OSU they are better than Hawaii, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. Plus the game will be on national TV, the coveted Monday Night Football spot, it’ll almost be like an NFL game.
— Think Zeke will get just 8 carries like he did last season? I didn’t think so. Either does 11 Warriors’ (and tBBC alum) Tim Shoemaker.
Elliott, who is a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy in 2015, said following Wednesday’s practice he was a little surprised he only got eight carries against the Hokies, but with Ohio State’s lack of preparation against the type of defense Virginia Tech played that night, abandoning the running game was pretty much the only solution.
“At that time last year, we didn’t have a starter so we were still rotating a lot,” he said. “The defense they played, we weren’t able to run the ball and we had to take shots down the field.”
The Buckeyes faced that same style of defense from other teams throughout the course of the 2014 season, but none had the personnel to execute it flawlessly like Virginia Tech did.
Ohio State is expecting the Hokies to show a similar defense Monday night, but head coach Urban Meyer says his team doesn’t expect to see it the entire game because it has improved greatly against it.
The Buckeyes made schematical changes to their running game and will continue to attempt to have success down the field against a very good Virginia Tech secondary.
“They’ll give us something new,” Meyer said. “They’re not just going to play Bear, Cover 0 like they did last year because we’ve worked too hard on that.”
— Bob Hunter at the Dispatch believes that starting J.T. Barrett is the safer choice for head coach Urban Meyer.
The comparisons between the two are fascinating, even after about a bazillion stories, tweets and video clips the past seven months. The 6-foot-2 Barrett is a model of efficiency, a slick runner and accurate passer who runs the zone read like a smooth-purring race car. The 6-5 Jones presents less poetry and more power in getting those same yards on the ground and has a big arm that is less accurate but can stretch defenses, which opposing coaches believe had a lot to do with the Buckeyes’ postseason success.
Barrett beat out Jones for second team behind Miller a year ago because he was the safer pick, more focused and less prone to making mistakes. Meyer repeatedly has noted how much more mature Jones is now, which could be a way of either justifying a decision to start him or of convincing him that he is mature enough not to return to the “dark place” he went after Barrett beat him out the last time.
— So, Mark May is still doing Mark May things. Even though he got knocked down a couple rungs on the totem pole…
https://twitter.com/LostLettermen/status/640531247182254080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Chad Peltier at Land Grant Holy land writes that the advanced stats say Monday’s game could get very ugly.
Virginia Tech returns largely the same defense as the one that stymied the Buckeyes last year, but armed with Bear-beaters, a host of talented skill players, and still the best offensive line in the country, the Buckeyes are ready. We don’t know right away what counter Foster will employ against Warinner’s Bear-beaters, but it’s safe to assume he’ll have something up his sleeve. And with Corey Smith, Dontre Wilson, and Jalin Marshall suspended, a number of young and inexperienced receivers will need to join Michael Thomas to balance the Buckeye run game and stretch the field vertically and horizontally. Without some receiving threat, there’s very little reason for Virginia Tech to shake the cover zero look.
Virginia Tech Two Deep
Defensively, the Hokies have length and athleticism for days. Only two players on the two deep are under 6 foot tall. There isn’t a lot of experience in certain areas behind VT’s stars, but there are guys that are ready to step up if called upon.
Virginia Tech does not have a lot of depth though on offense and could be in big trouble if Michael Brewer, Bucky Hodges, Isiah Ford, or J.C. Coleman miss significant time.
No injuries as well is a key factor — the only missing player being Shai McKenzie, who was suspended for today’s game.
Virginia Tech Injury Report
Name
Position
Injury
Status
Notes
Shai McKenzieRBSuspensionWill not play vs. Ohio State.
Virginia Tech Gameday Links
The Key Play’s French60Wasp has one heck of a game preview put together. Without a doubt, it’s the most comprehensive from an X and O perspective. Including an in depth look at Bear 0.
The Buckeyes can exploit the Bear front even if they struggle on the interior. After reviewing the film over the last year, I found the Bear to be vulnerable in two areas. First, the Bear jams defenders into the interior of the defense. This allows the defense to have a numerical advantage on the interior; however it leaves the defense vulnerable on the edge (especially when the corners are playing man coverage).
The alignment of the edge defender takes away many of the jet sweeps and outside zones used by the Buckeyes,but the Bear is very susceptible to speed option. On a speed option against the Bear front, the edge defender has two choices—they can take the quarterback or they can take the pitch. The rover is aligned inside the tackle box, and the free safety has to play deep in center field. That distance leaves the edge defender isolated. If the edge defender takes the pitch, the quarterback can turn up quickly in the natural bubble created between the three-technique defensive tackle and the edge player for a solid gain. If the edge defender takes the quarterback, it leaves the safety with a ton of distance to cover to take the pitch man.
Gobbler Country’s Matt Costello breaks down the season impact of OSU/VT from a Hokie Perspective.
No one wants to see Beamer’s end come anytime soon, but reality tells us that when you get to avoid Louisville, Clemson, AND Florida State in conference play in the same year there really isn’t any excuse to justify not competing for an ACC title this season despite the GT Yellow Jackets having a dangerous offense that no one in the country wants to face-off against. At the end of the day, if VT loses to Ohio State we as fans will have to adjust our blinders a notch. Ditch the national title run dream you might have had after drinking one too many cups of VT koolaid, but sit back and enjoy because the season has many twists and turns it can take which could possibly result in the Hokies competing for another ACC title as long as they bounce back appropriately and stay focused each and every week.
— Andy Bitter, who joined Clair and I on Script Ohio this week, wrote about the physicality of this matchup at The Roanoke Times and the role it played on QB Michael Brewer’s season.
Although not technically injured against Ohio State, Brewer wasn’t quite himself the next week, throwing two picks and generating no sustained drives early against East Carolina. He didn’t outright say whether there were residual effects from playing the Buckeyes, but he intimated it.
It’s why protecting Brewer — a combination of physically holding the line and recognizing blitzes — is paramount. Although he was sacked only twice last year by the Buckeyes, he took plenty of hits.
“Honestly you just cringe looking at it,” right tackle Wade Hansen said of watching the film. “Because you can’t let him get hit like that. That’s almost disrespecting our quarterback. … So we’ll do everything we can to not make that happen.”
— Bitter also looked at the diverse role of the multi-talented Bucky Hodges, who will start at TE but play at several spots tonight.
It was last year against Ohio State that Hodges, in his second game as a tight end, made an indelible mark as the Hokies’ most dangerous playmaker. He hauled in a 10-yard pass from Michael Brewer in the fourth quarter for a go-ahead touchdown that nearly silenced the capacity Ohio Stadium crowd and held up as the game-winner in the 35-21 upset of the Buckeyes.
That only scratched the surface. It marked the first of three game-winning touchdowns Hodges caught last year, a prequel to scores that won the Duke and Virginia games.
It’s no wonder the Hokies are looking for ways to get him the ball in more ways than just a tight end this season. They haven’t had a playmaker quite like this in years.
“I really like his attitude,” offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said. “He’s working hard on releases. He’s working hard on perimeter blocking, cut blocking.
“That tight end/hybrid position, between Sam [Rogers] and those tight ends, in my opinion, besides the quarterback it’s the most difficult spot in the offense. There’s multiple job responsibilities and that’s what causes problems for the defense is that those guys are lining up everywhere.”
— SI’s Mike Harris talked about VT head coach Frank Beamer’s next chapter on Campus Rush.
He’s had a Hall of Fame career, whether it ends after this season or five seasons from now. Beamer’s final chapter still hasn’t been written, but the 2015 campaign will go a long way toward determining how soon it is finished.
To say a coach with Beamer’s credentials is on the hot seat seems harsh, given that he has turned the Hokies’ once-moribund football program into a genuine name and moneymaker in college football. Former athletic director Dave Braine, who arrived in Blacksburg in 1988, after Beamer’s first season, says he used to go to elementary schools in his early years on the job and give tickets to students. The hope, Braine says, was that the kids could convince their parents to take them to the games and that the parents would then have to buy tickets for themselves.
Now, Lane Stadium is regularly filled to capacity.
But a recent stretch of down seasons has put a damper on things. Virginia Tech won 10 games or more every year from 2004 to ’11 and played in five major bowls. But the last three seasons have seen the Hokies go 7–6, 8–5 and 7–6. In ’12 and ’14, Tech had to win low-level bowl games just to finish with a winning record. In the ACC, the Hokies have lost 12 games in the last three years. They only lost 11 in the previous eight.
One Final Thought
In case you forgot or are not familiar with how loud Lane Stadium can get, here is a little reminder below. As impressive and intimidating as that clip is, you have to love Ohio State’s chances in Blacksburg at starting their title defense on the right foot.
It’s time to buckle up folks, the Ohio State football season is here!
The post Gameday Morning: Ohio State @ Virginia Tech appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Every Saturday Monday before kickoff, tBBC staff corals all the reading material you need to get ready for the game. From our workings throughout the week to the internet and beyond — here are the articles and media you need to get caught up on as you enjoy your week 1 tailgate. Let’s get things started by firing up this week’s Gameday Morning playlist, compiled by tBBC staff.
Was it the football gods playing with us when they decided that the season shouldn’t start until the first week of September?
Or is it just patience reminding us that it’s a virtue to be remembered as a national champion?
Frankly, I don’t give a darn either way because college football is finally here!
The Buckeyes are in the prime time against the Virginia Tech Hokies in what promises to be a thrilling rematch from a year ago.
This time though, there’s a defending champion in the mix and the tale of the tape tells a completely different story than the last time Virginia Tech’s lightning fast defense took on Ohio State’s knock out power offense.
It’s Buckeye gameday! Fire up the music — let’s do this thing!
The Buckeye Battle Cry Hub
– Joe previews the Ohio State/Virginia Tech match up in depth
– WVaBuckeye is Rumblin’ Stumblin’ Bumblin’ over today’s game
– tBBC staffers discuss what they want to see on the field
– JC discusses the coaching staff preparing for Virginia Tech
– Jason discusses J.T. vs. Cardale in this week’s Wednesday Night Rumble
— Charles gives us his weekly TBDBITL Report on a very busy first week
This Week On Script Ohio on VSporto’s Buckeye Sports Radio
- Three Key Matchups vs. VT
- Breaking Down The Depth Chart
- Former Receiver Dee Miller talks Buckeyes
- VT Preview with Roanoke Times’ Andy Bitter
- TV: ESPN
- Watch Online: WatchESPN
- Radio: Ohio State Radio Network | VT Radio Network
- Listen Online: Ohio State Feed ($) | Hokies Xtra App
Ohio State Two Deep
As always for the Buckeyes heading into week one, there are a lot of ORs on the Depth Chart. Many of them are intentional to mask who will take the place of the suspended Joey Bosa, Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Corey Smith.
The biggest question heading into the week was who is going to start at receiver opposite of Michael Thomas. The depth chart says it could be James Clark, Johnnie Dixon, or Terry McLaurin. Eleven Warriors’ Jeremy Birmingham believes otherwise.
From a source close to @birm, expect to see RS-FR Parris Campbell starting opposite Michael Thomas as Ohio State's Z receiver Monday night.
— Eleven Warriors (@11w) September 4, 2015
Campbell is listed as Thomas’ backup on the DC, but I expect Campbell and Dixon to split the majority of the time at the position and thinking about a combination of the two on the field at the same time makes me giggle in utter happiness.
Braxton Miller and Curtis Samuel are your H-Backs by default this week with the suspensions to Wilson and Marshall. The only interesting note at the position is K.J. Hill has been named as a backup at the position behind Miller and Samuel. That tells me too things — the coaching staff believes in his ability in the slot and also buy into the fact that he can do well if needed in pass protection.
On defense, as expected — a heavy dose of the defensive line will rotate in and see a good amount of playing time. Sam Hubbard and Jayln Holmes are both listed as ones at defensive end opposite of Tyquan Lewis. Another thing that I love to see is that the backups at end and defensive tackles have or next to their name, meaning they are competing equally for playing time. That’s huge for depth at the position.
As expected, Gareon Conley has won the starting corner spot opposite of Eli Apple. There still will be plenty of playing time for others as the defensive coaching staff tries to find out who will lock down the nickel.
Marshon Lattimore, Damon Webb and Denzel Ward could all see time on the field in certain passing situations.
Finally, get your popcorn ready. Braxton Miller is listed as Ohio State’s #1 punt returner. Can you say return for touchdown?
Ohio State Injury Report
Name
Position
Injury
Status
Notes
Joey BosaDESuspended for Week 1
Noah BrownWRBroken LegOut for Season
Mike WeberRBKnee (Meniscus) OutOSU Coaches believe he could be out 3-4 more weeks after minor surgery.
Dontre WilsonH-BackSuspended for Week 1
Jalin MarshallH-BackSuspended for Week 1
Corey SmithWRSuspended for Week 1
Ohio State Gameday Links
Before we start sharing the goodness that is Gameday links, let me take this brief moment to remind you that we will not have to see videos like this for at least another season..
— My pal Shannon Sommers answers some questions the Virginia Tech football universe has been wondering at Men of the Scarlet and Gray.
FG: Do you believe the revenge factor will play a big part in this game or will the Buckeyes treat it like any other stiff non-conference foe?
MotSaG: Not going to lie there probably is, for us fans without a doubt and I can imagine the players feel the same thing. The Hokies prevented Buckeyes from getting a perfect season. Urban said that he feels a little nudge because the Hokies defeated Buckeyes. He said he doesn’t want to take anything away from VT “They have great players and team” but he has always said the Buckeyes coaching staff didn’t prepare team for the scheme Hokies came at them with.
Will be hard to treat this like any other non conference foe seeing no matter how bad Hokies looked after beating OSU they are better than Hawaii, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. Plus the game will be on national TV, the coveted Monday Night Football spot, it’ll almost be like an NFL game.
— Think Zeke will get just 8 carries like he did last season? I didn’t think so. Either does 11 Warriors’ (and tBBC alum) Tim Shoemaker.
Elliott, who is a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy in 2015, said following Wednesday’s practice he was a little surprised he only got eight carries against the Hokies, but with Ohio State’s lack of preparation against the type of defense Virginia Tech played that night, abandoning the running game was pretty much the only solution.
“At that time last year, we didn’t have a starter so we were still rotating a lot,” he said. “The defense they played, we weren’t able to run the ball and we had to take shots down the field.”
The Buckeyes faced that same style of defense from other teams throughout the course of the 2014 season, but none had the personnel to execute it flawlessly like Virginia Tech did.
Ohio State is expecting the Hokies to show a similar defense Monday night, but head coach Urban Meyer says his team doesn’t expect to see it the entire game because it has improved greatly against it.
The Buckeyes made schematical changes to their running game and will continue to attempt to have success down the field against a very good Virginia Tech secondary.
“They’ll give us something new,” Meyer said. “They’re not just going to play Bear, Cover 0 like they did last year because we’ve worked too hard on that.”
— Bob Hunter at the Dispatch believes that starting J.T. Barrett is the safer choice for head coach Urban Meyer.
The comparisons between the two are fascinating, even after about a bazillion stories, tweets and video clips the past seven months. The 6-foot-2 Barrett is a model of efficiency, a slick runner and accurate passer who runs the zone read like a smooth-purring race car. The 6-5 Jones presents less poetry and more power in getting those same yards on the ground and has a big arm that is less accurate but can stretch defenses, which opposing coaches believe had a lot to do with the Buckeyes’ postseason success.
Barrett beat out Jones for second team behind Miller a year ago because he was the safer pick, more focused and less prone to making mistakes. Meyer repeatedly has noted how much more mature Jones is now, which could be a way of either justifying a decision to start him or of convincing him that he is mature enough not to return to the “dark place” he went after Barrett beat him out the last time.
— So, Mark May is still doing Mark May things. Even though he got knocked down a couple rungs on the totem pole…
https://twitter.com/LostLettermen/status/640531247182254080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
— Chad Peltier at Land Grant Holy land writes that the advanced stats say Monday’s game could get very ugly.
Virginia Tech returns largely the same defense as the one that stymied the Buckeyes last year, but armed with Bear-beaters, a host of talented skill players, and still the best offensive line in the country, the Buckeyes are ready. We don’t know right away what counter Foster will employ against Warinner’s Bear-beaters, but it’s safe to assume he’ll have something up his sleeve. And with Corey Smith, Dontre Wilson, and Jalin Marshall suspended, a number of young and inexperienced receivers will need to join Michael Thomas to balance the Buckeye run game and stretch the field vertically and horizontally. Without some receiving threat, there’s very little reason for Virginia Tech to shake the cover zero look.
Defensively, the Hokies have length and athleticism for days. Only two players on the two deep are under 6 foot tall. There isn’t a lot of experience in certain areas behind VT’s stars, but there are guys that are ready to step up if called upon.
Virginia Tech does not have a lot of depth though on offense and could be in big trouble if Michael Brewer, Bucky Hodges, Isiah Ford, or J.C. Coleman miss significant time.
No injuries as well is a key factor — the only missing player being Shai McKenzie, who was suspended for today’s game.
Virginia Tech Injury Report
Name
Position
Injury
Status
Notes
Shai McKenzieRBSuspensionWill not play vs. Ohio State.
Virginia Tech Gameday Links
The Key Play’s French60Wasp has one heck of a game preview put together. Without a doubt, it’s the most comprehensive from an X and O perspective. Including an in depth look at Bear 0.
The Buckeyes can exploit the Bear front even if they struggle on the interior. After reviewing the film over the last year, I found the Bear to be vulnerable in two areas. First, the Bear jams defenders into the interior of the defense. This allows the defense to have a numerical advantage on the interior; however it leaves the defense vulnerable on the edge (especially when the corners are playing man coverage).
The alignment of the edge defender takes away many of the jet sweeps and outside zones used by the Buckeyes,but the Bear is very susceptible to speed option. On a speed option against the Bear front, the edge defender has two choices—they can take the quarterback or they can take the pitch. The rover is aligned inside the tackle box, and the free safety has to play deep in center field. That distance leaves the edge defender isolated. If the edge defender takes the pitch, the quarterback can turn up quickly in the natural bubble created between the three-technique defensive tackle and the edge player for a solid gain. If the edge defender takes the quarterback, it leaves the safety with a ton of distance to cover to take the pitch man.
Gobbler Country’s Matt Costello breaks down the season impact of OSU/VT from a Hokie Perspective.
No one wants to see Beamer’s end come anytime soon, but reality tells us that when you get to avoid Louisville, Clemson, AND Florida State in conference play in the same year there really isn’t any excuse to justify not competing for an ACC title this season despite the GT Yellow Jackets having a dangerous offense that no one in the country wants to face-off against. At the end of the day, if VT loses to Ohio State we as fans will have to adjust our blinders a notch. Ditch the national title run dream you might have had after drinking one too many cups of VT koolaid, but sit back and enjoy because the season has many twists and turns it can take which could possibly result in the Hokies competing for another ACC title as long as they bounce back appropriately and stay focused each and every week.
— Andy Bitter, who joined Clair and I on Script Ohio this week, wrote about the physicality of this matchup at The Roanoke Times and the role it played on QB Michael Brewer’s season.
Although not technically injured against Ohio State, Brewer wasn’t quite himself the next week, throwing two picks and generating no sustained drives early against East Carolina. He didn’t outright say whether there were residual effects from playing the Buckeyes, but he intimated it.
It’s why protecting Brewer — a combination of physically holding the line and recognizing blitzes — is paramount. Although he was sacked only twice last year by the Buckeyes, he took plenty of hits.
“Honestly you just cringe looking at it,” right tackle Wade Hansen said of watching the film. “Because you can’t let him get hit like that. That’s almost disrespecting our quarterback. … So we’ll do everything we can to not make that happen.”
— Bitter also looked at the diverse role of the multi-talented Bucky Hodges, who will start at TE but play at several spots tonight.
It was last year against Ohio State that Hodges, in his second game as a tight end, made an indelible mark as the Hokies’ most dangerous playmaker. He hauled in a 10-yard pass from Michael Brewer in the fourth quarter for a go-ahead touchdown that nearly silenced the capacity Ohio Stadium crowd and held up as the game-winner in the 35-21 upset of the Buckeyes.
That only scratched the surface. It marked the first of three game-winning touchdowns Hodges caught last year, a prequel to scores that won the Duke and Virginia games.
It’s no wonder the Hokies are looking for ways to get him the ball in more ways than just a tight end this season. They haven’t had a playmaker quite like this in years.
“I really like his attitude,” offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler said. “He’s working hard on releases. He’s working hard on perimeter blocking, cut blocking.
“That tight end/hybrid position, between Sam [Rogers] and those tight ends, in my opinion, besides the quarterback it’s the most difficult spot in the offense. There’s multiple job responsibilities and that’s what causes problems for the defense is that those guys are lining up everywhere.”
— SI’s Mike Harris talked about VT head coach Frank Beamer’s next chapter on Campus Rush.
He’s had a Hall of Fame career, whether it ends after this season or five seasons from now. Beamer’s final chapter still hasn’t been written, but the 2015 campaign will go a long way toward determining how soon it is finished.
To say a coach with Beamer’s credentials is on the hot seat seems harsh, given that he has turned the Hokies’ once-moribund football program into a genuine name and moneymaker in college football. Former athletic director Dave Braine, who arrived in Blacksburg in 1988, after Beamer’s first season, says he used to go to elementary schools in his early years on the job and give tickets to students. The hope, Braine says, was that the kids could convince their parents to take them to the games and that the parents would then have to buy tickets for themselves.
Now, Lane Stadium is regularly filled to capacity.
But a recent stretch of down seasons has put a damper on things. Virginia Tech won 10 games or more every year from 2004 to ’11 and played in five major bowls. But the last three seasons have seen the Hokies go 7–6, 8–5 and 7–6. In ’12 and ’14, Tech had to win low-level bowl games just to finish with a winning record. In the ACC, the Hokies have lost 12 games in the last three years. They only lost 11 in the previous eight.
In case you forgot or are not familiar with how loud Lane Stadium can get, here is a little reminder below. As impressive and intimidating as that clip is, you have to love Ohio State’s chances in Blacksburg at starting their title defense on the right foot.
It’s time to buckle up folks, the Ohio State football season is here!
The post Gameday Morning: Ohio State @ Virginia Tech appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...