Column: Shellshocked Hokies fall short
Friday, October 26, 2007; 1:43 AM
What the heck just happened? That's the question that scores of Virginia Tech fans asked themselves in the final moments of Thursday night's game.
Roy Higashi / SPPSBoston College's Michael Dell'Aquila shakes hands with Cam Martin after the Eagles' 14-10 come-from-behind win.

For the first 56 minutes Tech's defense made a case for why Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan shouldn't get the Heisman Trophy. For the last four, Ryan, behind an impenetrable offensive line, showed why he should be in New York on Dec. 8th.

"We did everything we wanted to do, we got pressure on the QB; we maintained all game," said Tech defensive end Chris Ellis. "That's a Heisman for you. That's what Heismans do, they don't ever give up. We put licks on him, we beat the O-Line, but he came through at the end."

Morphing into Joe Montana for the waning minutes, Ryan led his Eagles on a 92-yard drive to bring it within three, and after the Eagles' special teams recovered an onside kick, he drove them 66 yards down the field, capping it by finding Andre Callender in the endzone on third and 20 for the final blow.

After Jud Dunlevy's pooch punt, the crowd at Lane Stadium was louder than it's been in a long time. After Boston College's onside kick bounced off Josh Morgan's chest, it was quieter than a wake.

In the absence of the noise was a looming feeling of impending doom.

It's a feeling that Tech has known all too well in sports the last few years. Sean Dockery's half court shot with 1.6 seconds to prevent Tech's upset of No.1 Duke at Cameron Indoor in 2005. Georgia's second half comeback in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last year. Heck, No. 1 UNC almost came back from a large deficit with a barrage of three pointers at the end of last year's basketball game against the Tar Heels, but the Cardiac Hokies held on.

Now, this could be the hardest one to swallow.

Everything was pretty much sealed. Tech had held the No. 2 team in the country scoreless, and it looked as if a fourth consecutive No. 2 team would fall in the college football landscape.

That is, until the Boston College blitzkrieg offense struck.

"That's what sports is all about," said Tech head coach Frank Beamer. "It's a tough loss, and one that you feel like there's so many opportunities to win it, and it didn't happen."

The loss brings about several things for Tech. Coming into the game, the Hokies had won 34 straight games in which they had scored first. Tech also had won the last seven Thursday night home games. Both streaks are now gone.

Along with that comes the sobering reality that they may have to win out to reach the ACC Championship in Jacksonville.

ACC Coastal counterpart Virginia could possibly be undefeated in the conference by the time they face off with Beamer's squad in Charlottesville. They avoid playing Boston College and FloridaState this year, and finish out with N.C. State, Wake Forest, and Miami before taking on the Hokies.

Tech will have to play at its capable level to run the table from here on out, or else the in-state rivalry game could matter for little more than pride.

"We have Georgia Tech, FloridaState, and Miami ahead of us, so we can't sulk," said Tech quarterback Sean Glennon.

It starts with Georgia Tech next week. Another Thursday night game, and a chance for redemption. Back in 2004, Tech was down before rallying back in the final minutes to overtake the Yellow Jackets, 34-20, on a Thursday night in Atlanta.

Maybe Tech fans will see Thursday night déjà vu of the good kind next week. Maybe returning there will provide some good karma for the Hokies. After last night, they'll need all they can get.

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Posted by: Alex at 10/31/07 Adam, does keeping players personalities in check and controlling players not have anything to do with coaching? I thought that was a big part of the job. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Adam at 10/30/07 Knowing the attitude of the football players and the personalities that come with, I would say the blame is on them. There is no doubt that there was premature celebrating going on before that game was over, and it took its toll. Does anyone remember the BC game last year? Dancing on the field in the last minutes while LOSING? Overconfidence and stupidity took over last week. That being said, if everyone on here knows so much, you guys should give Coach a call and let him know what he is doing wrong. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Glennon's Fault at 10/29/07 Glennon played so poorly VT only got one questionable TD. This is Glennon's fault. Not the Offensive line, not the WR's, all Glennon. He can't play under one ounce of pressure. If TT is hurt, put in Ike. Flag Abuse
Posted by: tbone at 10/29/07 Defense played awsome...bad bad call to drop into prevent to allow the qb all night to throw in the last 5 min...should have kept coming after him and made him beat you off the rush...also, we need offense, period. after dj parker's int we should have scored. Flag Abuse
Posted by: matt at 10/28/07 Beamer is a conservative coach, and has been for many years. I feel he accepts season after season of losing 2-3 games. This is why we will never be a Great team, just always a good team. He used to take huge risks that would pay off when he coached during the Vick Era... just watch some of the old games they show of ESPN Classic. Beamer, step up. Flag Abuse
Posted by: EL at 10/28/07 Mark, no one is saying the defense didn't play well. They played great all game. The problem wasn't their play, rather it was the defensive play-calling in the last few minutes. the players executed the plays well, unfortunately, the plays that were dialed-in called for only 3-4 guys pressuing the QB and gaps in the zone coverage. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Mark Gignac at 10/28/07 Guys.The defense was awesome. Lay off. Always comes back to the offense with this team. We simply have to score more than 10 points to win a ball game. Unfortunately, we just don't have a top 10 offense to match the tremendous defense. Flag Abuse
Posted by: BC04 at 10/27/07 I think Ryan would have played much better in the last few minutes like he did regardless of how VT's defense played. He moved around more quickly, took his time, found his targets better than he had all game long. He was unstoppable the last six minutes. BUT...if Va Tech had kept the pressure on the last few minutes, they would have at least slowed him down enough so that the clock ran out. Flag Abuse
Posted by: EL at 10/26/07 The question isn't whether Matt Ryan is or isn't a great quarterback. He obviously is, and this isn't the first year he's shown that. He's a top QB in the country, and will probably go on to be very good in the NFL. Anyone who doesn't see that hasn't paid much attention to college football over the past few years. The real question is: Why would you stop doing what you've done all game if it has been giving the BC offense trouble? Why on earth would you stop pressuring one of the best QBs in the country by sending only three or four pass rushers? Why would you call in coverage allowing huge holes when you know that the opponent is looking for big plays down field? Part of the reason the BC offense struggled for the first 56 minutes is that the coverage was tight and the pressure on the QB was high. Ryan was sacked several times, forced out of the pocket numerous times, and intercepted twice, not to mention the 4 or so near-interceptions and several other batted passes. Those things don't mean that Ryan is a bad QB, they mean that the VT defense was doing the right things. And then with a little over 4 minutes remaining, they stopped doing that. Anyone who doesn't see that didn't pay much attention to the game. If you give an average QB time and holes, he'll probably find them and move the ball down the field. If you give a great QB like Ryan time (11 seconds on the last TD play!) and holes, he'll tear your defense apart and win the game. Flag Abuse
Posted by: VT Alum at 10/26/07 Nah, Paul is right. Matt Ryan is legit. Sure, coaching errors occurred. Defensive assignments were occasionally blown. But Ryan found them. Ryan picked us apart, with no star players around him. Paul was complimenting our team, and Paul, good luck too. I hope you and LSU meet in the national championship game (on the off chance UVA wins the ACC Coastal), and that Ryan wins the Heisman. That makes our losses not look so bad :) Flag Abuse
Posted by: Paul at 10/26/07 "No quite" Yea I guess your right, He's on every Heisman watch list for the Heisman (including 1st in ESPN - "The World Wide Leader") and is predicted to be a top 5 pick in the draft - because he's NOT special. Yes the Hokies and the monsoon did a GREAT job of shutting him down, but as your linebacker said, "That's what Heisemans do". It may not have sounded it, but I was trying to compliment your team, I think they are great. Just stop acting like it's embarrassing losing to us. Good luck the rest of the year, I believe we will be meeting again. Flag Abuse
Posted by: No quite at 10/26/07 Sorry Paul, but "very special QB" not quite. He was totally shut down for 55 minutes then the D stopped pressuring him and a 1AA school could have picked apart that zone coverage, that was a coaching error, they players did great. Flag Abuse
Posted by: KG Old Wolf at 10/26/07 Rough loss; great comeback for BC. The playing conditions were terrible (so was the officiating for that matter!) Virginia Tech played well - worthy of a top 10 team. They still are in my book. Best wishes for a great remaining season - BC Alumnus Flag Abuse
Posted by: lol at 10/26/07 Chokies! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Paul at 10/26/07 As a BC fan, first let me congragulate you on kicking our buts all over the field for 55 minutes. But stop blaming the coaching staff for this loss. Your OC is doing the best he can with the "limited" offensive talent (especially the O-Line) he has. Don't even think of disparaging your DC, you're defense in phenomenal. Face the fact, you got beat by a "very special" QB who may very well win the Heisman and 24 fifth year seniors (17 with there degrees in hand). Good Luck the rest of the way. Go BC Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jay at 10/26/07 I have to agree with Allen. I still support the team too. I support the coaches too, but do wish we'd get a bit more imagination on offense. I also agree that Hoobie needs to go. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Allen at 10/26/07 Last night was shocking and upsetting. We were high-fiving all game and celebrating everytime BC made a bad play or was forced to punt. But its never over until its over. You have to execute down to the very end. I still support the team, the players, and the coaching staff. We still have a lot to play for. Go win #7 next week guys. Also, can we get rid of hoobie... trying to flame this comment board. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Casey at 10/26/07 I cannot believe the coaching staff would be that bad against the number 2 team in the country when you know they are a great passing team. Why pooch it for 20 yards, take the field goal or quite frankly just go for it on 4th, 20 yards from the 28 to the 8 isn't that big of a deal. Beamer needs to learn to take risks sometimes, he is way too conservative. It looks like with this "safe" mindset we will never be a great team just a good team. Foster needs to readjust his idea of passing defense. All season long we get 250+ passing yards against regardless of the team we play. Zone coverage just doesn't work, its the lazy man's D. And wow our offense needs new plays, the only passes we do now are short to the sideline or long bombs. Thats really effective. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kenny M at 10/26/07 BC had possession of the ball for a little over 4 of the last 6 minutes. Our two series previous to BC's possesions consisted of a run for five yards, a pass for a loss, Glennon throwing into triple coverage, a botched snap in shotgun formation, Glennon missing Royal on an open post pattern, and the decision to pooch kick instead of kicking the field goal. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jay at 10/26/07 I hate to beat a dead horse, but i have to agree about the last minute defense. to let it (TD) happen once is almost understandable. to get back out there on the ensuing possession and do it again...borderline inexcusable. it's only because Bud Foster makes such great adjustments that gives me solice. I do not believe that, given that same situation again, Foster will rely so heavily on a prevent D. Bryan Stinespring is another story. It's time for us to step up in the Offensive Coordinator department. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason at 10/26/07 Can't remember a football seaon where I saw so many on-side kicks actually work, in both college and pro. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Brian T at 10/26/07 I don't like the offensive coordinator either, but we did run the ball a fair amount in the final 6 minutes. Ore's numbers aren't as good as they look. Take away his 34 yard run, and he was averaging under 4/carry. He's not hitting the holes like he should. Our offensive line has gotten better, but Ore isn't playing like he should, either due to physical problems with his hamstring, or some mental problem. It's time for him to ride the bench. Previous comments about the prevent defense are spot on. A prevent D only prevents you from winning. I can't believe we only rushed 3 on that final play. How in the world do you give Ryan that long to pass. I'm a fan of Bud Foster, but he really blew the play calling on this one. I'd rather get burned playing D the way we played the first 3.5 quarters. Why change for one drive? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Bob at 10/26/07 I don't think VT is a fair weather fan team. Notre Dame, yes. USC, yes. Texas, yes. VT, not so much. The team does not have that trendy appeal. Flag Abuse
Posted by: HOKIESINCE'73 at 10/26/07 The CHOKIES are back!How many fair-weather fans are going to stick around now? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Bob at 10/26/07 I agree with the comments on the prevent defense, offensive play calling late in the game, and the game not being the players' fault. Stinespring needs to go. He may be a good positions coach, but he has shown time and time again that he does not have the ability to put together a good offensive game plan or the ability to appropriately adjust during the game. This might work as long as we have a great defense, but if Foster were to leave, we'd be in rough shape. Flag Abuse
Posted by: HokieinSC at 10/26/07 Agree completely with the previous posters. RUN OUT THE CLOCK on offense. The defense had pounded BC all night. Why why why switch to a prevent-you-from-winning defense and give Ryan time to pass?? Our record vs top 10 teams is not pretty. Have we come as far as we can with the current staff? Hope not, but have to wonder. Either way, refocus and get back on track at GT. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Kenny M. at 10/26/07 As a 1981 graduate, this has to be one of the most bitter defeats I have witnessed. However, I don't blame the players. The coaching staff lost this game, plain and simple. How do you justify passing the ball when Brandon Ore was averaging almost 5 yards a carry, especially after the interception with 6:00 minutes remaining. The offensive coordinator needs to be replaced because the current offensive philosophy isn't producing results and the play calling is horrible. I also have problems with the prevent defense in the final minutes and not kicking the field goal in favor of a "pooch" kick to pin BC deep in their on territory Flag Abuse
Posted by: Brian T at 10/26/07 I'm a member of the class of 2000. I've been watching the Hokies for sometime now. Every year they take my heart, chew it up and spit it out. I used to think we were the Chicago Cubs of college football, but I now realize that's not accurate. Chicago Cubs fans have endured decades of losing seasons. We're going on just over a decade of always being a bride's maid, never a bride. We are the Buffalo Bills of college football. No team should be able to come into our stadium, and win like that. If the team could feed off of our energy alone, it would be enough. What the football team did yesterday is inexcusable. I feel like a jilted lover. Flag Abuse
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