Week 1: Virginia Tech Hokies vs Alabama Crimson Tide @ Atlanta, GA (8/31/2103)

[Forty_Sixand2]

Lets just go ahead and get this started.

Our beloved Hokies open as 22 point underdogs. Meh, I don't buy it. Saban is ridiculously good in games where he has a ton of time to prepare but one of the teams that has beaten him is the Hokies who pounded his LSU Tigers 26-8 in 2002.

Bama lost a ton of O Linemen. Our strength is our D Line. I LIKE IT!!!

It is David v Goliath but I like our chances for the big upset and this game will be a lot closer than some think.

#BEATBAMA

 

[Hokie200proof]

Fuck Ye... 22 point dogs???

Holy fuck. Is that a record for the post Sugar Bowl 1995 era?


Well... fuck it. What I like about this game is that we're trying to just keep it close, not embarrass ourselves. Probably the same goes for the entire season. Been a looooonnnnnggg while since I didn't expect us to be in the ACC title game. It will be nice not to live and die with each game for a change.

 

[hokiehi21]

If I were to put $100 on the VT moneyline, how much would I win after VT gets the dub?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Enough to park in DC for a week, so like a couple thousand.

 

[NickVT10]

For us to pull off the W, we will need a few things to happen over the summer. The Oline needs to work together better and find a way to get the Dline moving. LT needs to work on his reads and progressions. We need Exum back at 100% or a corner who can handle that job. If we get all of that and a little bit of luck with some special teams plays, we got a chance.

 

[rockhead44]

I think this game will be much closer than that and we have a shot to win.

 

[MattB4VT]

I think they were conservative honestly. We are going to get manhandled up front.
If they're favored by 22, the over under is probably at 26. Gotta make people decide if we would score more than a FG.

 

[ACC_HOKIES]

LET'S GO HOKIES!


LET'S GO HOKIES!

.....

 

[amszete]

Beat Bama damnit.

I hope Logan takes charge of this team and coordinates team activities during the summer to prep for camp.

 

[ckhokie]

Offense is of real concern to me this year. The o-line was terrible last year, and this year, it could potentially be even worse, and who knows what version of Logan we're going to get. Hopefully Edmunds (Harris maybe) can at least help with the RB situation.

 

[amszete]

Great point about Harris - I know he is waiting on feedback from the clearinghouse, when is that date again? Do we know by chance?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

No set date but I'm not optimistic.

 

[HoHumHokie]

No set date but I'm not optimistic.

Has VT ever had this kind of issue before with a recruit who went the Hargrave route or other prep school?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Nope and I can say with 100% certainty this was not a Virginia Tech mistake. They bent over backwards and went out of their way.

 

[Cobrabit]

My heart wants to say we have a legit chance at pulling the upset, but then the realistic side takes over.

Nick Saban defenses are typically a bunch of NFLers waiting until they're old enough to leave for the draft, plus he is one of the best defensive minded coaches in all of football. With our weak O-line (that has been the case for years and years), we will get dominated up front and have a non-existent running game. We may break one here or there for 10-20 yards, but will probably have an average around 2 ypc (excluding a big play or a Logan scramble). This will keep us in 3rd and longs all night and Saban will throw some things at Logan to get him to force the ball into coverage for a couple picks. We will find it extremely difficult to move the ball consistently and will have to rely on a short field set up by the D or ST to put up points (that sounds like a broken record).

Like you guys have already mentioned, they've lost some O-linemen and our D-line is our best unit. So I can see our defense keeping it close for a little while, but if our offense goes 3 and out all night, expect to see Bama throw up some quick points from the mid-3rd quarter on. This will remind me a lot of the game in '09 in which our D and ST kept us close until the 4th quarter where Bama pulled away to an eventual National Championship. I think this Bama team can be just as good as that one, while this VT isn't as strong as the one from '09 until proven otherwise.

If we beat the spread, it will be most likely because we returned a couple turnovers for touchdowns, or Saban calls the dogs off in the 2nd half, letting 2nd and 3rd teams play and we get a garbage score.

In my heart, I really wish I didn't type that up, but for the first time in a long time, I will be able to watch a VT game in a calm manner. I won't be on the edge of my seat because we are in a tight game with a team we are capable of beating more times out of 10 than not. I'll be looking for the positives from the game and not really focusing on the negatives because we just aren't on Bama's level (at least not yet).

I'm predicting a score in the range of Bama 38, VT 13. I hope I'm wrong!

 

[hokiegrad]

I don't expect VT to win, but I don't think it's a foregone conclusion, and I will be very surprised if Bama puts up 38...

 

[Cobrabit]

I don't expect VT to win, but I don't think it's a foregone conclusion, and I will be very surprised if Bama puts up 38...

I'm including some defensive/ST scores in their 38. I don't think they'd put that up with offense alone, just think they'll get a pick-6 or a fumble setting themselves up nicely in the redzone.

But if our defense is on the field all night long, it wouldn't surprise me that Bama could put up a few TDs in the second half.

 

[bigred472]

I agre with hokiegrad---"bama should win but I'm going to be disappointed if it's not a close game.

 

[Sleepy T]

I think Cobra's analysis is pretty close, I don't think it will be that much of a blowout though. How close it is will largely depend on how well the offense (in particular the O Line) plays. I think it will be tough to run the ball against them, and that if OL is really that bad, they will easily get penetration with 4-5 guys, drop 6 or 7, and dare LT to try and beat them.

I think the defense is good enough and deep enough to keep us in the game into the 2nd half. Saban knows the secondary will be young (especially if Exum is out) and he will try his best to exploit that, especially if Bama is breaking in a new OL and our DL is holding its own.

I think VT has a few advantages

1) Loeffler and Grimes will know more about Bama than the normal OOC opponent that Saban would face.
2) A new offense that I hope Saban won't have much film to go on. Hopefully lots of ???
3) VT is a pretty big underdog, this is not the norm. We have seen them thrive in the role (USC) and totally tank in the roll (LSU). Hopefully this will be motivating in the summer.
3) SEC caliber (with depth) DL

In the end, I think depth will hurt us late in the game and Bama will pull away for 10-14 pt. win. If offense is 3 and out all game, it could get ugly. A 22 point spread?? I would take VT..

 

[vatider]

Hey, I'm new to this board but I'm not here to troll or hate. I am a proud native Virginian who happened to go to graduate from Alabama and while I think Bama will win anything is possible and VT may win. my brother is a VT grad and I have been to Lane and was impressed by the fans. Good luck and if anybody wants to talk about the game in a sane and rational manner, I would like to explore the dynamics of the match up.