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So far this season, the ACC has looked pretty bad. Virginia lost to Pitt and almost got beat by Wyoming. Florida State barely knocked off Troy. Maryland got destroyed by West Virginia. Wake vs. Duke was ugly, as was Miami vs. Florida State. Clemson has already lost a game, and with their injuries piling up, it looks like they aren't going to meet expectations. The conference has been particularly poor on the offensive side of the ball, while the defenses have been very good. Exactly how good are the ACC defenses? Let's take a look:
Nine of the 12 ACC teams rank among the top half of college football in total defense. Eight of the teams rank in the top 50. That's part of the reason that the offenses are so bad. To give an illustration of how deep the ACC's defenses are, take a look at rushing defense. The Hokies are ninth in the conference in rushing defense, despite totally shutting down the UNC running game. The Hokies didn't play as well as they could have against Northeastern, otherwise they would have a better rank, but it's still solid. And yet they are ninth in the ACC. But expect this number to get better for Tech, as Duke is next on the schedule. At any rate, when you average these five important defensive categories, the Hokies have the best defense in a very deep defensive league. Not bad, especially when you consider the number of players Tech lost to the NFL. There are other stats that are just as important as offense and defense. Let's take a look at them.
The Hokies rank in the top half of the ACC when you average these rankings together. Kickoff returns are holding Tech back in a big way, but to be fair, they don't get a chance to return very many because the opposing team rarely scores. Also, Jared Develli offsets any advantage the opposition would have in kickoff returns because he puts the majority of his kicks through the end zone. The amazing thing is that Florida State, with all of their athletes, is ranked dead last in miscellaneous stats. If that keeps up, you will not be seeing them win the ACC. The ACC doesn't have a lot of highly ranked offensive teams. Take a look at how they rank nationally in five major categories.
As expected, Clemson is on top. They returned their entire offensive line, a great group of running backs and an All-ACC receiver. And even though their quarterback is a first year starter, he is a fifth year senior, meaning he has had a lot of time in the offense. The Tigers should have the best offense in the league, and they should stay on top over the course of the season. And of course, we have to take some of those offensive numbers with a grain of salt. For example, Tech is 19th in the nation in scoring offense. But we all know that's aided by special teams and defensive scoring, or setting up offensive touchdowns on a short field. So the Hokies really aren't the #2 offense in the league. But even if you take out the scoring offense category, the Hokies still rank fourth in the ACC if you combine the other major categories. Point being, the offenses in the ACC are horrible this year. Clemson's is good, but their defense is banged up. They also already have an ACC loss, and they must play Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech in a span of five days in October. It looks like the ACC race could come down to, stop me if you've heard this before, Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. And which team's offense develops the most as the season progresses could be the deciding factor.
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Get
Your Tailgating Supplies at Krogers!
In
a press conference in front of family and friends, Myrtle Beach (S.C.)
junior linebacker Bruce Taylor did something he has been leaning
towards doing for quite some time – make a commitment to Virginia Tech.
Now that he has his recruitment out of the way, the 6-3, 230-pound star is
eager to focus on the remainder of his high school career.
Virginia
Tech survived their first road test of the season last week with a
relatively easy 35-10 victory over North Carolina. This week the Hokies
will face the Tar Heels' bitter basketball rivals, the Duke Blue Devils,
but on Virginia Tech's home turf -- the football field at Lane Stadium.
Despite two solid wins, many questions still surround the Tech offense,
and Duke's defense could provide a surprising test for the young Hokie
offense.
A
little over two months after making his commitment to Virginia Tech,
Halifax County (South Boston, VA) wide receiver recruit Patrick Terry
seems just as thrilled about his decision as he was the day he made it.
There are many things, but one thing in particular he is looking forward
to about his future as a Hokie is that he will be catching passes from
Hampton star quarterback Tyrod Taylor. The two certainly connected well at
Virginia Tech's senior camp in July and hope to do the same once they
are in the program.
#14
Virginia Tech will face their second consecutive ACC opponent from the
state of North Carolina when the Duke Blue Devils come to town on Saturday
afternoon. The last opponent from the Tar Heel state didn't put up much of
a fight, and this game is expected to be no different, although Duke does
have the tools to keep the game close for awhile.
6-4,
230-pound Varina (VA) star Jamar Jackson made his first official visit
this past weekend, when he visited Boston College. The defensive
end/outside linebacker standout came away very impressed, but remains
intent on making all five official visits before he makes a commitment
anywhere. Jackson's schedule is filled up over the next three weekends,
so, by the end of it, he should be a lot closer to a decision.
Look
up "BeamerBall" in a dictionary and the definition says
"See Virginia Tech @ UNC, September 9, 2006". Led by textbook
performances from the defense and special teams, the Hokies beat the Tar
Heels for the third consecutive year to get a leg up in the ACC's
Coastal Division.
This
week's Hokie Hotline featured offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring,
athletic director Jim Weaver, and head football coach Frank Beamer.
Stinespring evaluated the offensive line play and the passing game, Weaver
covered various miscellaneous items (including the fate of the big Hokie
Bird sculpture in Cassell Coliseum's entry), and Beamer discussed special
teams, player status, and William Wall.
The
marquee matchup in the league is another Bowden Bowl, as Clemson visits
Florida State Saturday night in an ESPN prime time night game. The only
other in-conference game has substantially less glitter and promises to be
much less competitive: Duke at VT. Bstreet brings us his thoughts on those
two games and all the other conference matchups.
Virginia
Tech will play host to the Cincinnati Bearcats on September 23, and the
game time has been moved to noon. ESPNU has decided to televise the game,
and this decision has forced the time change.
The
discussion on the message boards about the offense reminds me of a similar
discussion from the 2002 season. Back then, the Hokies had a great running
game, led by Kevin Jones and Lee Suggs, and a brand new starting
quarterback in true sophomore Bryan Randall. The Hokies leaned on their
strengths that season and brought Randall along slowly, just like they're
doing with Glennon this year.
Virginia
Tech begins their ACC season with a potentially dangerous road trip to
Chapel Hill. North Carolina has stayed with the Hokies for three of the
four halves played in the last two years, and UNC will be fired up after
dropping their opener to Rutgers 21-16. However, the Tar Heels have not
been able to match Tech's strength in the trenches in the last two years
and, after watching the UNC-Rutgers game, North Carolina still has some
concerns on both sides of the line. But Virginia Tech has some of the same
concerns after the hit-or-miss performance against Northeastern.
Redshirt-freshman
defensive end William Wall, who was very impressive during the spring game
and against Northeastern, will not be making the trip to UNC for
disciplinary reasons. Injured teammates Eddie Royal and Brandon Frye will
be traveling, and both might play in the game.