The Collegiate Times has ceased publication until Jan. 20, 2009.
Hurricanes dash Tech's ACC hopes, 16-14
Thursday, November 13, 2008; 11:39 PM
MIAMI -- A perfect storm brewed in the ACC this week with two teams set to clash Thursday with identical records, matching dual quarterback systems and even shots at a bid in the ACC championship.

But the Hokies could not keep afloat against the Hurricanes, losing their shot at a coastal division crown by losing 14-16 Thursday night in Dolphins Stadium.

"I'm proud of our football team," head coach Frank Beamer said. "I thought we hung in there. Defensively we hung there and offensively we hung in there and gave ourselves a chance to win."

Ultimately, Tech fell short due to shoddy special teams play.

Lou Groza award semi-finalist Matt Bosher scored nine points on the night for Miami with field goals from 21, 31, and 23 yards respectively in a 12-minute span in the late third and early forth quarters. Tech kicker Dustin Keys, also a Groza semi-finalist, hit two PAT's but missed his longest attempt on the season from 51 yards.

Redshirt senior Sean Glennon started the game, sophomore Tyrod Taylor finished it, but both of their latest efforts in the air proved futile against Miami's speedy defense.

"The big thing is that we did not capitalize," on offense, Glennon said. "This puts us in a in a position we don't want to be in. We want to be able to control our fate and we don't anymore."

After two weeks off nursing a high ankle sprain, sophomore Tyrod Taylor completed the night six for 12 for 75 yards through the air. Taylor rushed for 75 yards but lost 32 in sacks and broken running plays, netting only 43 yards.

While Miami boasts dual threats at quarterback with redshirt freshman Robert Marve and freshman Jacory Harris, Tech struggled most attempting to contain the Hurricane's running back tandem of sophomore Graig Cooper and junior Javarris James. The Hurricanes combined for 125 yards against the Hokies 86 yards.

"They just beat us overall," Taylor said. "They played harder than us, they played a great game."

After a 15-yard roughing the passer play on defensive end Orion Martin, James banged into the end zone late in the first quarter from three yards out for Miami's first score.

Almost a quarter later Taylor, apparently healed of his high ankle sprain, zigged and zagged 14 yards to the endzone for his third touchdown rushing touchdown on the season.

Yet for Taylor's limited magic, the Hurricanes subdued redshirt freshman star Darren Evans. Evans rushed for just 43 yards on 17 carries. Last Thursday night Evans set a Virginia Tech record rushing 253 yards on 32 carries.

After Tech's defense held Miami to three consecutive field goals in the late third and early fourth quarters, Taylor reached the endzone on a six yard rush for touch down with 3:28 left in the game. Miami took over on their own 22-yard line but went three and out. Miami punted deep to corner Macho Harris who called a fair catch on Tech's 32.

After gaining 8 yards on first down, the Hokies would eventually turn the ball over on downs when Tyrod Taylor was sacked on fourth and three.

The Hurricanes lead the all-time series with the Hokies 17-9.

Miami now leads the ACC's coastal division at 4-2, and 7-3 overall, with two more games to play against Georgia Tech and NC State.

The Hokies 5-4, and 3-3, play Duke next week at home on Saturday before Thanksgiving break. Duke, 1-4 in the ACC, 4-5 overall, is 1-8 versus Tech in the last nine meetings, and 0-4 since Tech joined the ACC in 2004. Kick off will be at 5:30 p.m. TV Coverage will be provided by ESPNU.

You might be interested in... Related Topics: acc, football, miami hurricanes
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/24/08 Is this going to become a trend? It came down to the UVA game last year too. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jack at 11/23/08 We beat Duke and GT lost. We now control our own destiny. It's as simple as beat UVA = Trip to ACC Championship. Flag Abuse
Posted by: joe at 11/20/08 4 way tie Version VT UM GT UNC VT 2-1 UM 1-2 GT 1-2 UNC 2-1 UM and GT eliminated VT wins head to head with UNC 3 Way tie version VT UM GT or UNC each is 1-1 so then it goes to division record UM GT and UNC all have 2 in division losses Winner VT Yep its that simple Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/19/08 In the event of any 3 or more way tie, and assuming GT beats UM, and VT wins out, we go to the title game. The tiebreaker that would inevitably send us is the divisional record - we will be 4-1, while all others would have at least 2 losses. Astonishingly, 9 teams in the ACC are still alive - all except Duke, NC State, and Clemson. I would say our chances are pretty likely since Miami is traveling to GT for a Thursday night game (knock knock). Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 11/19/08 Joe, if Miami loses to GT and beats NC State, and VT wins both games, we will have identical conference records. Assuming that UNC wins out as well, the situation would be VT beat UNC, UNC beat Miami, Miami beat VT, and all three have identical conference records. What happens then? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Joe at 11/19/08 Actually Miami has to lose to only GT. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 11/18/08 By the way, VT is technically not dead in the conference. If Miami loses to both GT and NC State, and we win out, we'd take the Coastal. Let's not forget that NC State just beat a ranked Wake Forest team. Flag Abuse
Posted by: dp at 11/17/08 Tech once again shows why they will only be a 2nd tier team. Excuse me, I mean the Tech coaches proved why they will only be 2nd tier coaches. Excuse me, I mean Taylor will only be a 2nd tier QB. I'm not sold on Taylor nor Glennon. When Taylor should run, he doesn't, "Oh I got to prove I'm a pocket passer." When he should pass, he runs, "Oh I don't think I'm that accurate to be able to make that pass. Use your strengths. He could have run for the first down but danced in the pocket on 4th and 2. I don't know about other fans, but Taylor and Glennon scare every time they have the ball in their hands. The last solid quarterback we had was Bryan Randall. He wasn't awesome but at least he gave you a sense of security. I'm tired of doing battle as a traveling Tech fan in a crowd of Hurricanes and coming away with nothing to show for it. Well, I guess there's next year. Yea, we'll beat Duke and Virginia and think we had a great season. I for one can't stand mediocrity. Tech, get it together. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 11/16/08 Well, you're entitled to your opinion, but my argument is not flawed. I based my conclusion on rankings and refuted the argument about the "excellent" out-of-conference record. Reaching a different conclusion based on evaluating different measures of success is not a flaw. If you're going to assess excellence using only bowl eligibility, then of course you will disagree. I wish I could agree with you, but the ACC is wallowing in mediocrity. Especially now with the fact that every ranked ACC team lost this week, it is clear to me that there is not a single powerhouse team in the ACC. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Hokie at 11/15/08 Jason, I still think your argument is flawed. The ACC has more bowl eligible teams than any other conference, and still has a chance to have every team eligible. I guess we won't really know how good the ACC actually is until bowl season. I don't see how it can get worse than last year. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/15/08 Once again Miami fans show their class and are overflowing with IQ points. Flag Abuse
Posted by: click at 11/15/08 @ yeswecane, haha delusional much? Take a look at the game stats, and before talking about national championship produce more than a touchdown and 3 field goals vs a team that plays ~ 30 freshmen. N98 offense doesn't win championships. Flag Abuse
Posted by: yeswecane at 11/14/08 Watch the Miami Mo Fokin Hurricanes play for the national title next year while VT watches Canes linebackers sack their program into a hoagie sandwhich. VT sucks and will suck for a long time. Miami is young and will be good for years to come. Flag Abuse
Posted by: BooBoo at 11/14/08 Post here in support of the firing of Bryan stinespring http://firebryanstinespring.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html Flag Abuse
Posted by: BooBoo at 11/14/08 Post here in support of the firing of Bryan stinespring http://firebryanstinespring.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html Flag Abuse
Posted by: Macho Harris at 11/14/08 You got run again...VT is back to playing like VT...bad. Overrated. By the way..the CANES are not back. They suck too. Watch...they will get it handed to them by someone before the season is over, bowl included. Boo Hoo Hokies. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 11/14/08 Just to add to my point, by rough count, only 13 of those 33 wins you mention, anonymous, are against BCS conference teams, and I assure you that most of them are at the bottom of the heap in those conferences. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Nathan at 11/14/08 Offense was lackluster, but man our defense was solid. In reality we probably should have lost by a lot more. Holding them to 3 field goals in the red zone was beautiful. Also if it wasn't for that absurd roughing the passer call in the 1st, the game would have been a lot different. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Joe Hokie at 11/14/08 Once again, bad coaching screwed up a winnable game. Every year, the offense has a lot of talented players who spend most of their time blocking for the chosen few or riding the bench. Then when a critical play shows up (like the drive that could have won the game), one of these guys is thrust into the fray without much of a clue about what to do. Even though the run up the middle (or against the strong side of the line, another favorite all through the night), Evans or Taylor might have had some success. Why the fourth-sting back was picked has everyone baffled -- problably even most of the coaching staff. Jim Weaver needs to pull a David Braine and demand that Beamer shape up his staff with some new personnel -- or go looking for greener fields at some other school. Maybe Frank can be made coach emeritis and Foster elevated to head guy. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 11/14/08 Anonymous, you have to remember that many out of conference wins are against non-BCS conference teams (Western Kentucky and Furman come to mind). The ACC has only 3 teams in the BCS top 25, with the highest ranked at #16, behind 3 SEC, 5 Big 12, and 3 Big 10 teams. Our conference will basically be stealing a BCS bid from a more deserving team this year. That's weak by BCS conference standards. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jon at 11/14/08 I am actually glad we suck this year so maybe Stinespring and Beamer will resign. I like Beamer like everyone else, but his lack of caring anymore has me worried. I feel as though he is making his money so it doesn't really matter to him whether we win or lose. He made a terrible decision starting Glennon this season (on a side note I cannot wait until Glennon graduates so we don't have the "dual" QB crap anymore), and then quickly reversed his decision. He is out of touch with his own program. Look at this quote from the game: “But I’m proud of our football team. I thought our defense kept battling and on offense, we never gave in. We drove down and got a score and got the ball back, with a chance to win it that last series." On offense, Tyrod kept battling while Stinespring LOST THE GAME (e.g. Dustin Pickle)! We would often give in on defense when players would consider the play over and stop hustling, missing important tackles. I seriously doubt Foster's head coaching experience, but maybe we should offer his the job here because we aren't going to want to play against him. I also believe a lot of the blame lies with Sunshine AKA Brent Bowden. He couldn't punt the ball well all night, which consistently gave the Hurricanes good field position. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Bud Foster at 11/14/08 I'm so sick of the offensive coordinating, I'm interviewing at Clemson today. See ya later losers!!! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Hokie at 11/14/08 I agree with some of the comments on here in regards to not blaming Sean Glennon on this one; you have to put this loss on the coaches and the poor play-calling and preparation. Running up the middle did not work, but yet, on 3rd and 2, with the game on the line, you run the ball up the middle with Pickle??? Why on earth would you make that call? The two QB idea is no longer working, neither QB was able to get into a rhythm last night -- Glennon would freeze when the pocket would collapse and Tyrod would give up too quickly on the play (or worse, run out of bounds when it's 4th down at the end of the game). Stinespring is not a good O-coordinator, he needs to go, now, but PLEASE keep Bud Foster, if he leaves, VT is doomed. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Joe at 11/14/08 Is it still a dual threat QB system if neither QB poses any sort of threat? Also, really good play calling late in the game, 4th and 2, and you hand the ball to Evans 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage when they haven't done much on the ground all game. Wow... I can't watch this team any more, at least not this year. Dec. 27th bowl here we come!!! Watch out Big 10 #7!!! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Cat5Cane at 11/14/08 Miami should have one by 30. VT got lucky that most of Miami's players are only 18. VT and Beamernuts are Dead! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 Anyone who blames Sean or any other player for that loss knows absolutely nothing about football. That loss was 100% attributed to poor coaching. First, you don't go for it on 4th in the 1st quarter and secondly, you can't switch QBs on every other play. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 Is it just me, or is "Sean Glennon" a really solid astronaut name? "This is a big step for all humankind: Sean Glennon is walking on the moon. We're looking at him right now, he's just kind of milling around up there." Flag Abuse
Posted by: Mike at 11/14/08 I cannot wait until next year when Glennon is finally gone. If Tyrod Taylor is healthy, then let him start and play the whole game. The 2 QB system just doesn't work. While Taylor made some obvious mistakes last night, Glennon held on to the ball for too long once again and took an atrocious sack that knocked us out of scoring position. Firing Stinespring is an obvious necessity, but I would also push for Beamer to feel some heat. His teams consistently cannot win big games Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 Jason, I'm not sure if I would necessarily call it a weak ACC. Take a look at our non-conference record, I think it's now 33-10. Flag Abuse
Posted by: anonymous at 11/14/08 Once again, the defense bailed us out, and kept the game close, as they have practically all season. With the loss of our key starters from last year, the D has played pretty well. The O, however, has little consistency game-to-game. Even though Taylor scored 2 on the ground last night, Glennon played well enough vs. Maryland and should have gotten many more reps this game, many. We didn't even achieve one 1st down in the very last drive, late game. C'mon ! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Hokie at 11/14/08 I find it ridiculous that Beamer says "...offensively we hung in there..." Exactly what offense is he referring to? To the -11 yard total in the 3rd quarter? It'd be nice if for once he took some accountability for some horrible play-calling and being outcoached by the other team. Our defense cannot bail us out every time. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anon at 11/14/08 It works in Blurnsball Flag Abuse
Posted by: John John at 11/14/08 That's the worst play I've ever heard, Anonymous. Where would we get that many footballs? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 They should have used my secret play in which during our offensive drive, we give every member of the team a football, and they run for the endzone. It would be at least 4 touchdowns all at once! I call it "multi-ball." Flag Abuse
Posted by: Jason T at 11/14/08 I have to say that, based on the team we had on paper at the beginning of the year, 6-4 is about what I expected, but that is no excuse for not taking opportunities to exceed expectations. The way to do that is not to try to force a touchdown on the first drive against a stout defense. Some may call the criticism of the 4th down attempt a case of Friday morning quarterbacking, but I know better. I could feel a collective "WTF" in the Blacksburg air when the field goal unit didn't run onto the field. Were it not for 2 eked out wins against GT and UNC, we have narrowly escaped being under .500 while playing in a very weak ACC. Flag Abuse
Posted by: BooBoo at 11/14/08 If you ask Beamer, "things just got out of whack" ... The first scoring drive should have been indication what type of play calling will be succesful\l, but no we had to stubornly try and run the ball up the middle 500 times...As Einstain said "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ", enough said. Flag Abuse
Posted by: anonymous at 11/14/08 VT gave up 3 points in the 1st quarter when they went nowhere on 4th down - poor decision by coaching in a closely matched contest. The 2-QB system, once again, was awful, with no real rhythm established by either QB with the backs or front line - poor coaching choices here. Running plays tended to be up the middle - poor coaching. And Boone was not part of tonight's offensive scheme - poor coaching, again. When will Stinespring be shown the door ? Flag Abuse
Posted by: Fred at 11/14/08 Don't just offer the paltry mid-way solution of "fire Stinespring" and not let the vaunted Beamer not feel the flames too. When is the last time he won a _major_ bowl game? 1995? If we were in the football crazed SEC, Beamer would have been gone a long time ago. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 Cane fans are seriously some of the most uneducated sounding fans in the ACC. You're only better than the Criminoles in that regard. Flag Abuse
Posted by: 305 Cane at 11/14/08 Miami's defense was unstoppable. I've never seen a team play so many true or redshirt freshman and play this good. The canes are going to be scary good next year and for the next few. Go Canes! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Cocane at 11/14/08 The Canes are Back!!! Flag Abuse
Posted by: Fred at 11/14/08 Though the diehard Hokie season ticket holders will bob their heads affirmatively to whatever Frank Beamer says, the thinking man wants to suggest it is time to draw the line for Beamer and threaten regime change if the poor performance and bowl game embarrassments persist. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 Stinespring has GOT TO GO Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 After years of a bad Offense, we need change. third and 2 and you call a run up the middle with your 4th string back. On a play that hadnt worked with your first string. Flag Abuse
Posted by: Anonymous at 11/14/08 When did it become smart in the game of football to go for it on 4th down in the 1ST QUARTER?? Especially when you are in field goal range and you know it is going to be a defensive game. Frank Beamer has lost touch with the game of football. The decisions that have been made with this football team this year frustrates me so much and I feel sorry for the players who have suffered the consequences. Flag Abuse
Add your opinion
Copyright © 2008 Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech Inc. All rights reserved.
about | advertising | archive | contact | print edition | headline emails | join us | subscribe
All stories, photos etc. produced by the Collegiate Times are property of the Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech. No information may be republished without the expressed written consent of the editor of the Collegiate Times.
» Virginia Tech
» VT webmail
 » VT People Search
» My VT / Hokie Spa
 » VT Blackboard
» gmail