Let me start the season off with this message for any of you returning to this blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirVtiJuvDs
And a hearty welcome for any newbies to the site.
So, basically, each week I will tell you that Ohio State
will win each game by 20+ points on our inevitable march to the National
Championship, right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdoOaDmFuO0’
Va. Tech’s Lane Stadium is an intimidating place to
play. Coach Frank Beamer is 134-39-1 there and the Hokies are 18-1 in
their last 19 home openers. Oh yeah, and they did this to us last
year. Tech has 16 returning starters, listed just outside the Top
25, and we are playing without suspended starters Joey Bosa, Corey Smith,
Dontre Wilson, and Jalin Marshall, as well as injured 2nd string WR
Noah Brown. Suffice to say: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBknAcTaMiI
Should you be concerned? Yes, you should be.
Should you remove all sharp objects from your home? No. Let’s start
with Lane Stadium shall we? Yes, Beamer’s win total there is impressive,
but the Hokies are 7-6 at home the last 2 years. They have lost at least
one home game in 14 of the last 15 seasons. Conversely, the Buckeyes have
lost only 6 times in 9 years at the Shoe. Lane Stadium as an impenetrable
fortress is a myth.
As for Virginia Tech’s 16 returning starters, that was from
a 7-6 team. We have 14 starters returning from a 14-1 team.
Essentially, the same two teams that lined up last year are lining up
again. “But they beat us,” you say. So they did. However, it
is not like they dominated us in every aspect of the game. We
outgained them, the turnover battle was a draw, we missed two FGs in the first
half, and yet it was still 21-21 in the 4th. The
difference in the game was that our brand new O-line had not yet gelled and our
new Redshirt Freshman QB was still learning on the job. Those two
factors were completely different by November 1, and the Hokies will not see
the same thing this time.
I respect Frank Beamer and his DC Bud Foster. I really
do. But Nick Saban had a month to prepare for us and we beat
‘Bama. We’ve had a year to digest film of the Va. Tech loss and I
think we will be ready. I think J.T. Barrett should get the start
because I think the offense works best with him, and I think he will be best
prepared to handle whatever new wrinkles the Hokies have in store. Then
again, 12 Gauge (Cardale Jones) beat ‘Bama, so he could do it as well.
Tech’s defense will be good. Very good. But their offense is still
trying to sort it all out. To beat the Buckeyes (especially the Buckeyes
as they currently exist) you need to score 40. Am I wrong about that?
This will mark the 4th time in the last 7 years
that Virginia Tech opens with a top 5 team. They lost all 3 prior
meetings, two of them at home. Ohio State is currently favored by
12. Tech has been a big dog (double digits) only 4 times in the
past 15 years. They are 1-3 S/U in those games. And here’s a
little known fact: in 2013, Va. Tech went on the road and beat East
Carolina, Miami, and Georgia Tech, but in 2014, those same three teams won the
rematch in Lane Stadium. Add to that the fact that since 2010, Ohio
State is 8-0 seeking revenge from the previous season loss, and wins those
rematches by an average of 14 ppg. Proof.
The first game of the year is always difficult to
predict. I think the first 3 quarters will be close. But I think
where they dominated the 4th quarter last year, we will dominate
this year. This time, the last two touchdowns go to us and we pull away
to a solid, workmanlike win.
No comments:
Post a Comment