Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke and Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer shake hands in front of the Sugar Bowl Trophy
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It’s been way too long since I’ve written one of these things.
As I sit here typing away in a hotel room in New Orleans, roughly 30 hours shy of what would probably be the biggest victory in Virginia Tech football history, Frank Beamer’s squad is going through its final walk-through practice before the 78th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The Hokies have plenty to be wary of, including the nation’s best dual-threat quarterback, a talented running back who’s been mostly overlooked to this point and one of the country’s most improved defenses.
Without further ado, here’s why I’m afraid of the Wolverines:
DENARD ROBINSON
Anyone who knows anything about college football could’ve seen this coming a mile away. Robinson has been one of the most explosive players in college football the past two seasons, piling up 4,626 passing yards and 2,865 rushing yards. Those 7,491 yards would put him third on Tech’s career total offense list, behind Bryan Randall and Tyrod Taylor — and he’s done that in just two seasons. He can run it, and throw it, and in case no one’s paying attention, the Hokies don’t have a great track record against run n’ gun quarterbacks (see Tajh Boyd, Andrew Luck, Josh Nesbitt, and, of course, the dreaded Drew Dudzik). If Tech can slow down Robinson, it’ll have a shot on Tuesday night. But, he’s not exactly the Wolverines only weapon on offense.
FITZGERALD TOUSSAINT
If there’s a reason you haven’t heard this name yet, it’s because all the focus of Michigan’s offense has been on Robinson. All things considered, Toussaint is pretty dangerous himself. The sophomore has rushed for 1,011 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. While Tech does have the nation’s 15th-ranked rushing defense, it hasn’t faced a combination like Robinson/Toussaint to this point in their season. Stopping one of them is definitely a possibility, but stopping both of them is another story entirely. Keep an eye on No. 28 on Tuesday.
7TH, 17TH, 17TH, 36TH
You’re looking at several national rankings from Michigan’s heavily improved defense under first-year coordinator Greg Mattison. In order, it’s scoring defense, total defense, passing defense, and rushing defense. Those are wildly different from last year’s numbers (107th, 110th, 112th, and 95th) and have come with roughly the same personnel. Michigan is big up front, and they have a lot of team speed on the defensive side of the ball. They will more than likely give Logan Thomas and Co. a good amount of trouble. This matchup will probably determine the outcome of the game.
1-4
I know most of you probably don’t need a history lesson, but for those of you who don’t know, you’re looking at the Hokies’ record in BCS bowl games. And to make that look even worse, their one win came against Cincinnati, which doesn’t exactly hold a lot of meaning. It isn’t quite as bad as the team’s record against top-5 teams under Beamer (1-27), but it’s also not something to be proud of. If Tech wants a chance at proving their doubters wrong and actually making some noise on a national level, it has got to beat Michigan. But, history says it won’t be an easy task.
The Wolverines are a very scary team, especially considering what they do well is exactly what’s hurt the Hokies in the past. But Tech didn’t only get picked to come to this bowl game because their fans travel well; they’re also not such a bad team themselves.
Here’s why I’m not afraid of Michigan:
LOGAN THOMAS
The 2nd-team All-ACC gunslinger has had an impressive first season as Beamer’s starting quarterback, throwing for 2,799 yards and 19 touchdowns while running for 416 yards and 10 more touchdowns. He needs just 188 more total yards to break Tyrod Taylor’s single-season school record, a feat he should be able to accomplish. Thomas had one of the worst games of his season against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, and you can bet he’s got his sights set on making up for that against the Wolverines.
A version of this article appeared in the Jan 3 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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The Hokies will lose against Michigan. I say that as a VT alumni, who loves the school and campus.
Frank Beamer does not have the fire in the belly nor the external pressure to win the bowl games against quality ranked opponents. He knows his job is safe in Blacksburg as long as we get a 10 win season and a bowl appearance. If this were an SEC school, a coach would likely be fired - regardless of 10 win season for the shellacking we took last year against Stanford.
The Hokies will hang in the game til the third quarter, then collapse like the French military. The post game news conference will have Frank giving the usual spiel about "well luck just ran out on us in the second half". The Bearner sycophants in the fan base will offer only a tepid solution of "Fire Stinespring". NEVER, would they revolt against Frank Beamer, for after all we have our 10 win season.
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Debbie Downer comment
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I'm a VT student and Fred was right, I made the same prediction. Was much closer than I thought though. We were robbed. But in the end, those bad calls would have made the difference and there would not have even been an OT.
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Ten win season (woot woot).
We almost won against Michigan. However, close ONLY counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. We lost because the offense was inconsistent and couldn't find the end zone until late.
Beamer will stay on and we'll repeat the same cycle again, beat up cupcakes on our schedule- have a stumble against one or two ranked opponents - get another bowl game invitation. After all, Hokie fans do travel well to these things.
Tech is not a national contender and doesn't have the heart to be a national contender.
We are not an Alabama, which plays every game every year as if their lives depend on it.
Without such tenacity, we are doomed to see the same result year after year.
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You nailed it! BeamerBall is dead!
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As a long time, die hard Michigan fan, kudos to Virginia Tech. They gave Michigan all they could handle and deserved to win. Losing as they did has to be disappointing for their players and fans, but what bad calls? Being out of bounds on a pass play? Obvious pass interference? Roughing the kicker? If you want to play that game Michigan got screwed a few times themselves. Football officials are nowhere near perfect. The key is to have more points than the other team when the clock says 0:00 or, in the case of overtime, scoring when you have the ball and not allowing the other team to score when they have the ball.
I hope we can meet in the future; it was a hell of a game despite the ugliness of it. A suggestion though. Orange as the primary color and the Chicago Maroon(?) - is that what it is called? - as the accent. The other way hurts people eyes.
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UM won a coin flip.
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The bad calls include, the 3 ineligble receivers downfield during the fake punt pass play, the catch that was called incomplete but was clearly a catch, and the false start by the kicker on the final kick of the game. Now all that aside the hokies still did not play right. we made stupid calls and we shouldve won this game. The fake punt, the 20 yard run backwards, going for it when it was 6-0
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