Armchair Coach:  the UAB Game
-- by Brad Ramsey
-- posted 9/15/99

Just 72 days away! The bowl game, you ask? No. The Miami game? No. Then it must be the UVA game? No, Virginia Tech will face the Wahoos much earlier this season. It happens to be 72 days remaining before the Thanksgiving holiday. But someone forgot to mention that to the UAB defensive line, who showed up Saturday with a virtual Horn of Plenty full of yards to give away. And give they did, in the form of six offsides penalties.

The number of penalties Saturday is an even bigger story than a week ago, and not because either team found a way to eliminate them. The Hokies crept away without many people noticing their eight penalties for 85 yards (seven more yards than UAB lost on their 10 penalties). Any more than eight penalties by the Hokies one week from Thursday, and the Tigers may be dancin’ when the clock winds down. It remains a priority for Frank Beamer and his staff to reduce the number of penalties.

At least Virginia Tech did avoid multiple penalties of the same kind, unlike the UAB defensive line, who left me wondering if their combined IQ would top 90.

The coach of the game award goes to Bud Foster, who’s swarming D allowed a school record 63 yards Saturday. Twenty-nine (nearly half) of those yards came on one play when UAB QB Daniel Dixon connected with Percy Coleman for the Blazers only touchdown of the day. Foster also deserves a lot of credit for developing Nick Sorensen into a premier free safety. It was clear that Sorensen was a step or two late more than once Saturday, but his mere presence busted several pass plays. Sorensen was also the star of the defensive play-of-the-game, picking up his first sack of the season when Foster pulled the safety blitz out the bag on 3^rd and 8 late in the third quarter.

The questionable call of the game came midway through the 1st quarter when the Hokies elected to go on 4^th and 1 from the UAB 12 yard-line. But, it worked you say, why was the call questionable? Four plays later it was 4^th down again and 1:38 had run off the clock. Shayne Graham and Co. were called on for the field goal, which was good and gave the Hokies a 10-0 lead. Now, flash forward to the end of the 2^nd quarter: Following a UAB field goal, Tech got the ball with :38 remaining in first half. Ever hear of the two-minute drill? There’s a reason it’s not called the 38-second drill. Had the Hokies kicked that FG on the first 4^th down there would have been more than two minutes remaining for their last possession.

You could make an argument that "it’s just UAB," but electing to go on fourth down that early in the game does not show the same respect for the "much improved" Blazers that we heard about all week.

The message board has been buzzing with questions about the Hokies’ punt rush scheme, or lack thereof, in the first two contests. A source close to Virginia Tech football informed me that the team intended to focus on punt coverage, not blocking, for both the JMU and UAB games. If that is the case, it is ingenious for two reasons. #1 – Return average is figured into several of the eight mathematical ranking systems now used by the BCS. #2 – Clemson will rely heavily on scouting reports from he Hokies’ first two games of the ’99 season. In other words, look for all out punt rush when the Tigers roll into Blacksburg next week.

Whether or not Dave Meyer’s first start of the season was a success is a debate that could last for hours. But, the play calling Saturday was not in his best interest for much of the game. The opening play for Virginia Tech was a ten-yard out to the strong side, complete for nine yards. It worked, but we didn’t see a similar call until the 5:55 mark in the 3^rd quarter. Meyer is not extremely accurate beyond twenty yards, and we knew that entering the game. Although one of the five 40-yard + attempts by Meyer in the first half was good for a touchdown to Emmett Johnson, the other four weren’t even close. A 20% success rate is not very impressive, but I think the guilt lies with the coaching staff, not with Meyer.

Of course, two play calls made the game offensively. The fake reverse to Andre Kendrick threw a loop at UAB, who placed too much faith in the tapes from last week and the effectiveness of the double reverse. Then, with 13:45 to play in the 4^th quarter, Kendrick, who was a high-school quarterback, found Andre Davis on a 35-yard halfback pass for a TD, which gave Tech the emotional lift it needed.

Not a lot of decisions have to be made by the Virginia Tech coaching staff prior to the Clemson game. It will be interesting to see if the coaching staff encourages Michael Vick to take advantage of offsides by the defense and use the "free play" rather than taking a knee. The reasons for Meyer taking a knee every time are unknown. It may have been instructions from the coaching staff or just a comfort issue for Meyer.

The Hokies will look to stay healthy for the next week and a half and mend sore and damaged body parts. The defensive scheme will be key again, especially if Clemson QB Brandon Streeter looks anything like he did against UVA Saturday. Streeter passed for a Clemson record 343 yards and two touchdowns on the Wahoos.

-- Brad Ramsey

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