I…hate…off … weeks. (Have I ever mentioned that before?) It’s finally college football season, and there are games on, and NONE OF THEM ARE THE HOKIES! ARRRRRRRGH! It’s enough to drive me CRAZY! Whoops, too late. Better get off this topic and on to the Heroes and Goats….

These are just some observations of a guy in the stands who used to play football. Once. When he was 12. Take that as you will.

Hero: Cedric Humes. Subbing for an injured Kevin Jones, Humes shouldered the load, toting the rock 15 times for 75 yards, including his first three career touchdowns. Despite a couple of fumbles, Humes turned in a solid performance for the Hokies when he was needed the most.

Goat: JMU’s Demetrius Shambley. To paraphrase from a Spike Lee Joint: "When I say Demetrius, you say punk! Demetrius!" "Punk!" "Demetrius!" "Punk!" In a fit of pique, Shambley shoved a well out-of-bounds Kevin Jones into the stadium wall early in the 2nd quarter, causing Kevin to sprain both of his wrists. He was ejected for his actions, but many Hokies will agree that that wasn’t enough punishment for such a cheap shot.

Hero: DeAngelo Hall. Hall had a busy day. One catch for 9 yards. An interception in what one message board poster said was the first ball thrown to his side all year. But he was most productive in the punt return department, fielding 3 for 105 yards, with two of them almost scoring. An impressive day for an impressive player.

Goat: JMU coach Mickey Matthews. Waaaah! Waaaah! Waaaah! We’re not getting enough money! Waaaah! Thursday before the game, Matthews complained to the media that Tech wasn’t paying enough for JMU to come to this game. "I just think when we play these games, we need to get more money." Shut your piehole, coach. Maybe we just don’t need to schedule JMU anymore, if that’s how you feel about it.

Hero: Aaron Rouse. Rouse got his first start in place of Brandon Manning. So what does he do? Oh, just lead the team in tackles, that’s what. 4 solo tackles and 7 assists, to be precise. And a nice little forced fumble to boot. Great job, Aaron!

Heroes: VT Tight Ends. 2 more passes caught makes five on the year. Can somebody point me back towards reality please?

Finally back into the swing of things, after the Week 1 Patsy Games are over.

Hero: Georgia Tech. The Jackets got off to a lousy start, losing to a pretty bad BYU team (or so sayeth a Mormon coworker – I guess he would know). So when Auburn comes into town, what happens? They stuff them. And nearly shut them out. And sitting next to my sister at the game, witnessing this debacle, was none other than Charles Barkley. "It was nice meeting you Mr. Barkley, but even nicer that we just punked y’all’s [butt]," she quoted herself from the airport after the game. No word yet on his response.

Goat: Florida’s Defensive Coordinator. You’re up by 23 on Miami, and harrying their quarterback like there’s no tomorrow. What do you do? Uhh, coach, next time, try answering something other than "prevent defense." Miami QB Brock Berlin was able to sit in the pocket and pick apart the Gator prevent D, which long time Hokies know, does nothing but prevent the Gators from winning the game.

Hero: Wake Forest. Two weeks in a row, the Deacs win games that they shouldn’t be winning. This week, they managed to topple a Wolfpack team that might just have been looking forward to Ohio State the next week. What is Coach Grobe putting in the water down there?

Goat: Temple. Anyone losing to a 1-AA team deserves a goat, and Temple gets it this week, losing to Villanova in OT. So, how long is it again before Temple is kicked out of the Big East? Oh, yeah, we’ll be gone. Who cares?

Goat: Virginia Offense. Only 17 yards passing in the first half and 9 yards rushing in the second half, on the way to being outgained 423-170, and losing to South Carolina. South Carolina? BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Still only a few great games this weekend, but that will soon change. Until then, enjoy these.

California @ Utah, Thursday @ 7:30pm, ESPN
Utah came within a 2 point conversion of sending the A&M game into overtime last week, and Cal is…well…a BCS team. Might be a good matchup.

Toledo @ Marshall, Friday @ 7:00pm, ESPN
This seems to be a pretty good game each year. I don’t know what the teams are like this year, but if they’re like the past few, it should be a shootout.

North Carolina State @ Ohio State, Saturday @ 12:00pm, ABC/ESPN Gameplan
NCSU was looking ahead last week, and Wake Forest called them on it. Ohio State didn’t look very good at all against San Diego State. I think that NC State can win, but that pesky Buckeye team always finds a way to pull out the victory. Might be the best game of the day.

Notre Dame @ Michigan, Saturday @ 3:30pm, ABC
Oh, man, it hurts to root for the Irish, but I really would like to see MiChicken fall off the charts, to give VT the "ranked the most weeks in a row in the AP Poll" title.

Georgia Tech @ Florida State, Saturday @ 8:00pm, ABC/ESPN Gameplan
This could be a blowout of epic proportions, but I think GT might be a bit better than some of the experts say. They’re starting a true freshman quarterback, but he’s already got two games under his belt. If it’s within 7 at the end of the first quarter, keep watching.

Well, that’s about it for this week’s Heroes and Goats. See ya at the tailgate!

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