Then after Williams rushed for three yards on the next play, the Hokies decided to unveil the Ryan Williams version of the Wild Turkey formation for the first time this season, and two plays later, Brent Bowden was out to punt again.
When the Hokies went behind 15-10 after Nebraska's Alex Henery converted his fifth field goal of the day with four minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the game, Williams had improved on his first half totals by five carries for 13 yards in five drives.
Certainly, when Williams did get the ball in that time, he wasn't all that successful.
Absolutely, had Xavier Boyce not dropped a pass in the third quarter that would have resulted in a first down, Williams may have had more opportunities.
When you look at the numbers, though, the Hokies and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring's motives throughout Saturday's game don't make a lot of sense.
After Taylor connected with Danny Coale deep down the right sideline and the Hokies had a first down and goal at the Huskers' three-yard line, this was more than apparent.
Instead of going to their reliable ground game, the Hokies lined up in the shotgun formation on the three with all the time in the world - one minute, three seconds - to punch it in and take the lead.
Instead of relying on Williams, David Wilson or Josh Oglesby to do their job and gain three yards in four downs, the Hokies decided to line the quarterback up five yards behind the line of scrimmage, and get this - they decided to pass.
Taylor dropped back and, shortly thereafter, was sacked for a loss of eight, putting the Hokies far away from running position and a risky 11 yards out.
Thankfully, Taylor and Roberts made the fans at Lane Stadium forget all about that with their connection two plays later, but it still happened.
In the second half, the Hokies were out-possessed 17:57-12:03. Not counting their 92 yards on two plays in their final drive, the Hokies were outgained 191-49.
Next week, against an athletic and dangerous University of Miami team ranked No. 9 in the nation, this formula won't work, and come Saturday you can count on that more than you can count on a miracle drive.
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Good piece. Miami is ranked No. 9 but I really don't think they deserve it. They beat a still struggling Florida State club (who nearly lost to Jacksonville State and while they beat BYU their win against Oklahoma was with a freshman trying to lead them). And I don't buy into Paul Johnson's scheme at Georgia Tech. It's effective when you play teams that don't have disciplined or quick defenses, but look how Miami was able to force Nesbitt to pass and he performed poorly. I think a lot of these media heads are trying to create an angle that Miami is back to their early 90's and early 00's form. I absolutely disagree with that and I think we'll see when they face a good defense Jacory Harris isn't going to have his receivers with 10-yards of separation down the field.
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