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All right, folks, I’m going to be up front with you: this is probably the worst game analysis I’ll post all year. To be perfectly honest, this game didn’t make much of an impression on me. Let’s just say that I decided to have some fun at a Hokie game for once. I got to the tailgate early and often, and for once, I was just Joe Fan.

That’s all fine and dandy, but I’ve still got to write a game report. Fortunately, I got a lot of email from people who were there (and were a little more alert than I was), and I talked to a few folks at work who went to the game, as well. So, as always, I’ve got some things to say.

My Overall Impression

It’s rare that you score 47 points and feel as if the offense didn’t play well, but that’s what happened to the Hokies against SW Louisiana last Saturday. The Hokies showed a disquieting lack of ability to score in the red zone, leaving many Tech fans grumbling and grousing. The end result was good enough for the pollsters, though, who rewarded Tech more than they have after any Hokie victory this year. Tech moved up three spots in the coaches’ poll and reappeared in the AP poll, despite the fact that Syracuse deservedly leap-frogged us this week after their victory over WVU.

The Hokies “settled” for four field goals (out of five attempts by Shayne Graham), despite spending an astounding amount of time on the Ragin’ Cajuns side of the field. Twice the Hokies kicked field goals on drives that reached the Cajuns 2 and 3 yard lines before stalling.

My answer to all that? A big, fat, “So what?” I read that prior to the SW Louisiana game, the Hokies had been inside the red zone 23 times and had scored 20 of those times, including 16 touchdowns. If they want to have a mediocre day at the office, then so be it. After all, I did a poor job of playing the role of “Hokie Central” on Saturday, so if the boys want to have an off day, that’s fine by me. Do you do a great job at work every day? Huh? Don’t lie to me....

Let's Set the Record Straight

If it sounds like I’m copping a bit of an attitude on you, it’s because I heard from a co-worker of mine that the fans in his section of the stands were pretty merciless Saturday, booing the offense and raging on Druckenmiller for having an off day.

I think people who boo college athletes need to get the hell out of my stadium. Excuse me, but has anybody forgotten that this is the same Jim Druckenmiller that led the Hokies to the Sugar Bowl championship last year? And since when does 7-of-18 for 2 TD’s and NO INTERCEPTIONS qualify as a bad day?

Remember the N.C.State game years ago, when Will Furrer threw five interceptions, and we lost 7-0? THAT’S A BAD DAY. Remember Maurice DeShazo throwing two interceptions for touchdowns TO THE SAME GUY in the UVa game in 1992? THAT’S A BAD DAY.

Let’s go over this again: those of you who know me well know that I feel that Druck’s biggest value as a quarterback is that he doesn’t throw stupid interceptions. When you’ve got a defense that is ranked 14th in total defense in the NCAA, like Tech’s is, and when you’ve got a rushing attack that’s 10th in the country, like Tech’s is, all you ask of your quarterback is that he resist the urge to screw up. Not only does Druck not screw up much, but he’s got that elusive quality that only a few of us are lucky to have, and that quality is leadership. He’s a winner. When I hear people booing Druck, I just want to slap them silly.

Okay, sermon’s over (I think I just released all that pent-up frustration that was building up in me as I ONCE AGAIN WATCHED BRYAN JENNINGS PLAY A WHOLE GAME WITHOUT CATCHING A SINGLE PASS).

Offense - Defense - Special Teams

Now, let’s talk about happy stuff.

It was great seeing Cornell and Myron and the boys back on the field, tuning up for The Big Push that’s ahead. Every time SW Louisiana ran the ball into another wall of Hokies for no gain, I turned to the guy next to me and said, “This is a passing team. Why do they even bother?” The Cajuns eventually put together 22 rushes for 81 yards, but that total included a meaningless long gainer late in the game.

On the other side of the ledger, the Cajuns had their seventh straight game with over 250 yards passing. But except for one long TD early in the game, again I say ... “So what?”

Hmmm....this so-called “game analysis” is developing a pattern.

The one downer about the defensive performance is that the Hokies didn’t accumulate any sacks, for the first time since the Pitt game last year. But I also didn’t see any stunts and blitzes by the Hokies. I think they went with a straight front-four rush, and the results were less than dominant. The tackle totals were spread around amongst the different Hokie players, with no one player having more than six tackles (Semones and Gray had 6 apiece).

On the offensive side of the ball, I’ve already talked about Druck, who was less than sharp but didn’t cough up the ball, on an interception or a fumble. Jennings was ignored (again).

There were two players that I thought really shined on offense. One was Shyrone Stith, who came in late in the game and put on some dazzling runs to accumulate 87 yards on just 7 carries. The other was Michael Steuwe, who caught a pass in the flat, shook off a tackle, and turned on the jets, scoring from 65 yards out. I’ve been reading that Steuwe has drastically improved his speed, and it showed on that play.

But let’s not leave out the Ox. He had 22 rushes for 140 yards, and that is the quietest 140 yards I’ve ever seen. And I mean that in a nice way.

This is how life with Oxendine was meant to be. He’s popping off a spectacular play here and there, but other than that, he’s putting in workmanlike days, piling up well over a 100 yards without batting an eyelash. All this despite giving up significant carries to Marcus Parker, who deserves them (Parker had 13 carries Saturday for 51 yards).

On special teams, Shayne Graham set a Big East record for points in a game by a kicker with 17. Oddly enough, he broke the record set by the Miami kicker about an hour earlier, against Temple.

And for one game at least, the Hokies found a kick returner. Shawn Scales single-handedly vaulted the Hokies’ national rankings for punt returns and kick returns from the 90’s (out of 111 Division 1-A teams) up into the 50’s. At one point, Scales peeled of a 61-yard kickoff return, and that’s about the most excited that Hokie fans have been during a kickoff return in a loooong time.

Enough of That - Who's Next?

Let’s be honest. The Hokies snoozed through this game. The fans snoozed through this game (only 35,000 showed up). I snoozed through this game (figuratively, not literally). We’re bored. We’ve had enough. Let’s play somebody who can actually threaten us.

What’s that you say? ECU’s next? Okay, that’ll work.

The coaches and the callers on the Monday night Hokie Hotline call-in show laid out the challenge to Hokie fans: show up Saturday night and make some noise. Well, I don’t know how you feel, but I plan on leaving the stadium after the game Saturday night with a headache from screaming too much. If ECU thinks they’re going to show up and catch the Hokie fans or team napping, they’ve got another think coming.

I think that when the team comes out and sees the size of the crowd and hears the noise that crowd is going to generate, it’s going to light them up like a Christmas tree. Dress rehearsal’s over, and this team is every bit as anxious to get into the November schedule as we fans are.

And I say this regardless of what Wednesday brings. Regardless of what the grand jury does, and regardless of what Frank Beamer does in response, I think the team will be ready to play. Even if Wednesday does bring some suspensions, I think that it’s better mentally to have those things occur and to get them out of the way, even if they hurt.

Come Wednesday night, the Hokies will know who’s on the team and who’s not, and I think the survivors will rally around the flag and give it their best shot. The Hokies have a history of responding well to adversity, and we’ll see in the coming four weeks what this team is made of.

As for ECU, they’ve got a great quarterback in Marcus Crandell, but he strained a knee in their last game and is questionable for the Tech game. Let’s not overlook the other great parts of their team, though. They’ve got a running back, Scott Harley, who is 6th in country in rushing, with 141 yards a game. They’ve got a rushing defense that is 21st in the country, and they’re 27th in the country in total defense. So if Crandell doesn’t play, the Hokies shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that they can mail this one in.

But like I said, Tech won’t make that mistake.

Saturday, November 9th, 7:00 P.M. ESPN2. Be there.

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