Thursday September 18th, 2003, 7:30 pm Eastern

TV: ESPN (national)

Forecast (from WeatherUnderground.com):
Click the "Blacksburg Weather" link to the right.
As of Tuesday night, 11:30 pm, "Rain...heavy at times. Windy. Lows 65 to 70. Chance of rain 90 percent."

Check out the latest on Hurricane Isabel here

Click here for TechSideline.com's VT/Texas A&M roster card

Texas A&M Preview
by Jeff Ouellet

"Isabel and the Aggies" sounds like the name of a really bad new sitcom, but in fact those are the two primary topics of conversation amongst members of the Hokie Nation. It is unusual to see VT fans focused on anything but the next opponent with ESPN coming to town, but folks in Blacksburg understandably are worried about the weather, as no one wants to see a hurricane arrive in the 'Burg before November 1.

As for the game, the 8th-ranked, 2-0 Hokies should expect to face the first of many serious challenges this season as the 20th-ranked (in the ESPN/USA Today poll), 2-0 Texas A&M Aggies come to town. The Aggies have performed unevenly in the first two weeks, but they have come away with a 26-11 victory over Arkansas State and a 28-26 win over Utah.

In many respects, the game this year will be different than VT’s 13-3 triumph over A&M last season in College Station. From a personnel perspective, the Aggies lost a lot from that team as they had six players drafted into the NFL, including five in the first three rounds. In particular, the Wrecking Crew defense lost headliners Ty Warren and Sammy Davis in round one, followed by safety Terrance Kiel in round two.

The biggest change for the Aggies, though, has been the addition of Coach Dennis Franchione. Franchione is a bona fide big time coach and program builder, as he has won everywhere he has gone. With a career record of 157-73-2 in his 21 years, Franchione is 7th nationally in total wins, and he is 8th among active coaches with more than five years experience in winning percentage. Bear in mind he has done that with some major reclamation projects on his coaching resume.

Franchione also has a reputation for burning more bridges than Sherman on his way out of town, but there is no doubt the guy can coach and motivate his players. He also is benefited by the fact that almost all of his assistants at Alabama followed him to A&M, so the whole staff understand his system well.

Franchione’s teams traditionally use multiple offensive schemes. He has been known to employ a versatile "A" back, a wingback type that is an all purpose kind of player. His overall philosophy is more run oriented, but he mixes that with a Bob Stoops riverboat gambler side that surfaces once or twice a game.

Much like last season, the Aggies appeared to have a quarterback controversy heading into this fall. Returning JR starter Dustin Long had the experience, but talented SO Reggie McNeal appears to be the man for now. After they shared time in the opener, McNeal took all the snaps against Utah after starting out hot throwing the ball.

Assuming there is some rain, McNeal would be the logical choice to play the bulk, if not all, of the snaps against VT. McNeal, a former super blue chip recruit, is elusive enough to have heard Michael Vick comparisons in high school, but he also torched Oklahoma for four touchdown passes last season as a true freshman. McNeal’s numbers this year are modest, as he is 19 of 31 for 227 yards through two games, with one touchdown and one interception to his credit. His rushing statistics are pedestrian, as he has only 52 rushing yards in the first two games (and that’s discounting tackles for losses), but don’t let that deceive you, as he is very mobile.

While he has the ability to be a spectacular player, McNeal is still young, and he is not a polished quarterback. He has fits of inaccuracy and is not refined at reading defenses. He also has never started a game on the road, and it won’t be easy for him to open up facing a hostile Thursday night crowd in Blacksburg.

The Aggies’ biggest rushing threat is R-FR Courtney Lewis. Lewis has emerged ahead of last year’s starter, JR Derek Farmer, by rushing for 174 yards in the first two games. Lewis averages 6 yards per carry, an impressive number, and has three touchdowns as well. Lewis has both speed and moves, and he has demonstrated tremendous vision. Farmer is a tough runner inside, but he lacks breakaway speed. Lewis has gotten two carries for every one Farmer has this year.

The strength of this Aggie offense is their wide receiving corps. The most dangerous player on the A&M roster is JR Terrence Murphy. Murphy has 11 "touches" in the first two games, and he has rolled up 395 yards, an average of almost 36 yards per touch. Murphy has six receptions for 95 yards, one rush for 80 yards and a touchdown, and 4 kickoff returns for – get ready for this – 220 yards. So, he is a big play guy.

The other wide receiver, returning starter Jamaar Taylor, is a pro prospect who leads the team with 11 catches for 112 yards. Taylor led the team with 44 catches last year and also has the ability to make the big play, as evidenced by his 17.3 yards per catch average last season. The only other player on the Aggies with more than one catch this year is JR Terrence Thomas, who has caught three passes for 21 yards. Starting at tight end is R-Fr Taylor Schuster. Schuster is a blocking type.

The weakness of the Aggies is their offensive line. JR OT Jami Hightower, a potential first round draft choice, may not play at all this season and his loss has been felt. The strongside tackle is returning SR starter Alan Reuber, a guy the NFL is eyeballing, and next to him is SO OG Aldo De La Garza. The best player on the line is probably JR center Geoff Hangartner, while SR OG John Kirk and R-FR OT Alex Kotzur man the "quick" side of the line. Kotzur is undersized at 6’4", 287 and might need some help on the Hokie defensive ends.

The running game has averaged 4.7 yards per carry, and A&M has not surrendered any sacks, but the line is still the weakest part of the Aggie attack. Expect Bud Foster to try to confuse McNeal and the offensive line by showing a lot of different fronts and perhaps zone blitzing.

Much like the injury to Hightower significantly hurt the Aggie offense, the loss of SR linebacker Jared Morris to a torn patella tendon will be felt. Morris was the most experienced member of the Aggies front seven, and he was a legitimate second-date pro prospect because of his prototype size at 6’3", 256. His injury during the Utah game will likely mean some shuffling at linebacker.

The Aggies defense, while having multiple looks, also will have a different feel as they have switched from their traditional 3-4 to the 4-3 favored by new defensive coordinator and former UNC head man Carl Torbush. Torbush, as you might recall, is exhibit A in any discussion regarding the Peter Principle. Be that as it may, he is a capable defensive coordinator.

The Aggies defensive line doesn’t make a whole lot of plays, but the leader up front is SR DE Linnis Smith. Smith starts alongside three sophomores, DE David Ross and DTs Brian Patrick and Johnny Jolly. The Aggies have good size up front as the line ranges from 270 up to 293. Perhaps the player with the most ability is JR Marcus Jasmin, who has piqued the curiosity of some pro scouts.

The injury to Morris will cause some shifting in the linebackers. The best guess is that SR Scott Stickane will start in the middle for Morris as Stickane performed well against Utah. If that is the case, SR Everett Smith will be the strongside linebacker and FR Justin Warren will handle the weakside. Smith and Warren both weigh under 230 but can run. Warren likely will see some action given his inexperience. True freshman Ta Ta Thompson could see time in the middle, but burning his redshirt might not make sense in this game because it would also necessitate narrowing the Aggie defensive playbook.

The Aggies have some experience back in the secondary with three players that were good enough to start last year returning, so the loss of Davis and Kiel won’t be overwhelming. Free safety Jaxson Appel is the leading tackler, as he has 28 through two games. Appel also has an interception, a fumble recovered, and a fumble caused already this season. He is a playmaker.

Both corners are solid with returning starter JR Byron Jones and SR Sean Weston holding down the fort. Jones could be the next terrific A&M corner and is second on the team in tackles with 21. SO Ronald Jones has a lot of experience, and he is slated to start at strong safety. All of the Aggies secondary starters are listed at 5’10" which suggests they may have problems with the Hokies jumbo receivers.

The Aggies defense yields approximately the same number of yards per game on the ground (159.5, on a respectable 3.4 per carry average) as in the air (152), so there isn’t one method of attacking them. Utah rushed for over 200 yards against them, but that was on 57 carries in a game in which the Utes had an absurd number of offense plays - 97.

A&M got the better of VT here last year, and history could repeat itself. Punter Cody Scales was a preseason All-American candidate, although he has been hurt in the first two games. His status for the VT game is uncertain at the time I write this (editor's note: Scales is not listed as the starting punter by A&M's game notes). His backup, Jacob Young, has performed admirably with a 40.6 average and an extremely impressive 38.0 net average. Four of his nine punts have been downed inside the 20 yard line.

SO Kicker Todd Pegram hasn’t missed a kick thus far, going 4-4 on field goals and 6-6 on extra points. Three of the field goals were from 30-39 yards, and the other one was a 42 yarder.

Murphy is the best kickoff returner in college football statistically, as he has averaged 55 yards on his four kickoff returns. Taylor is the other return guy, and he is dangerous as well. VT’s best defense is undoubtedly kicking the ball in the end zone, if possible.

Jason Carter, a former quarterback and the current "A" back for A&M, is the primary punt returner. He has not had much success thus far, averaging 3.9 yard per return through seven returns.

The Aggies’ coverage teams only yield 18 yards per return on kickoffs, and 5.8 yards on punts. The Hokies better show up big on special teams this week or they could lose a lot of ground in Coach Beamer’s "hidden yardage" statistic.

Traveling to Blacksburg for a Thursday night game with possibly twelve players making their first ever road start is a daunting task for the Aggies. However, you can rest assured that Coach Franchione will have his team well prepared.

I believe that the uglier the conditions the better it is for A&M. The Aggies have decent size on both lines, and a messy game could hamper the Hokies’ passing attack and superior team speed. Also, much like Randall, McNeal is mobile enough to make some plays in bad weather. The Aggies have had some center exchange problems this year, so that is something to watch. Turnovers will be key.

The importance of special teams will also be magnified if the conditions are sloppy, and on paper A&M has the edge there. I fully expect Beamer to go after a few punts this game looking to get the crowd involved.

One other key statistic is that through two games, A&M’s opponents are controlling the ball 35 minutes per game. If VT has a 35 minute time of possession, and the conditions are decent, the Aggies will give up a lot of yardage to VT.

In ideal conditions I think VT wins this game by 17 and scores over 30 points against the Aggies. I don’t think the conditions will be ideal on Thursday, and that makes me more than a little nervous. Watch the special teams and turnovers carefully, as they could tell the tale.

Will Stewart's Take: I'm torn. On the one hand, a VT team that beat A&M in Texas last year and brings back a ton of players will go up against an A&M team that lost a load of talent, particularly on defense, and the game is in Blacksburg. This points to a VT romp.

On the other hand, McNeal is a talent. He's young and raw, and he could get in a groove and blow up on a Hokie defense that has yet to impress me. After all, he sliced and diced a strong Oklahoma defense last year, throwing for four TDs and 191 yards, plus rushing for another 89 yards.

On the one hand, the Hokies are a tough nut to crack at home, at night, for out of conference opponents (an important caveat, after last season's night home losses to Pitt and WVU), and coaches who have never coached against VT, like Dennis Franchione, can struggle.

On the other hand, Franchione is a good coach who might come in with a sterling game plan against VT.

On the one hand, A&M has looked less than impressive in lackluster wins against Arkansas State and Utah, which bodes well for a big Hokie win.

On the other hand, the Aggies have a lot of Texas talent on their team.

I have a creed: When in doubt, play the part of the homer.

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