Despite 3-3 record, Virginia Tech not in crisis mode
Quarterback Logan Thomas was doing a radio interview after the North Carolina loss when the host asked how he’d feel if the Hokies did the unthinkable and didn’t qualify for a bowl game.
“I was like, ‘You don’t gotta worry about that. We’ll be in bowl game,’” Thomas said. “So that’s just the mindset we all have.”
“We’ve only taken one ACC loss to a good North Carolina team so everything besides the national championship is still in reach for us,” cornerback Antone Exum said. “Those were our goals coming into the season and they’re still our goals now. We’re not going to fold or lay down or anything like that.”
Virginia Tech’s start is the team’s worst since 1992, a season in which it finished 2-8-1. With road games against Clemson and Miami and a Thursday nighter at home against Florida State, it’s probable that the Hokies’ eight-year run of 10 or more wins will come to an end.
Tech’s 19-year bowl streak, the third-longest in the nation, is no guarantee to continue at this point either. In fact, this week’s opponent Duke, at 5-1, is closer to bowl eligibility at this point than Virginia Tech.
Despite the team’s struggles, the Hokies aren’t panicking.
“I don’t see us in crisis at all,” Thomas said. “Everybody’s been upbeat, been ready to go. I guess we’d be in crisis if we couldn’t move the ball and if we couldn’t stop anybody. That’s not the case. We’ve been able to move the ball and we’ve been able to stop people. We just haven’t done it all in the same game yet. Once we begin to do that we’ll be just fine.”
Head coach Frank Beamer, in an oft-repeated refrain, thinks Virginia Tech has to get the smaller details down, things like players taking care of their proper gap and their own responsibility.
Exum spoke about trying to avoid playing “hero ball” on defense, with players trying to do other peoples’ jobs.
“We’ve got a lot of football to play,” Beamer said. “I’ve always believed it’s how you finish. It’s not how you start. How you start matters, but how you finish really matters. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”
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Here are more notes and quotes from today’s press conference …
- Both Sean Renfree and Anthony Boone have been getting reps at quarterback for Duke this week. Renfree missed the Virginia game last week with an elbow injury. Beamer expects to see both Saturday. “They have to practice both, but you’ve got to practice both too [to prepare],” he said. “There’s no secret there.”
- Beamer praised fifth-year Duke coach David Cutcliffe for the job he’s done there. “He’s a solid coach, solid person,” he said. “We were lucky to get out of there last year. They play good football, sound football. Like I said earlier, an extremely well coached football team.”
- With David Wang (ankle/knee) and Caleb Farris (ankle) battling injuries this week, sophomore Laurence Gibson has moved from tackle to guard this week to provide some depth.
- Plenty of stuff today on wide receiver Demitri Knowles, who I’ll be writing a feature on for Wednesday’s paper. Interesting backstory there. He grew up in the Bahamas, stood out at a football camp and wanted to pursue that in life, so he moved to Lynchburg to have a better chance. He’s still pretty raw, but Thomas is gaining trust in him, especially after a six-catch, 83-yard performance against North Carolina. “The only trust thing with me is trusting him to run the right route, and he did that every single time on Saturday so I can’t complain with that,” Thomas said. “Yeah, he has my full trust now.”
- Exum said the tackling periods of practice have been different this week. “Instead of tagging off and stuff and our scout periods and varsity and things like that, we’re making sure and holding each other accountable to wrapping the ball carrier up,” he said. “Not tackling him to the ground, but just wrapping him up and making sure his forward progress is stopped. Hopefully that will translate to the game.” More on the defense after tonight’s round of interviews.
October 9, 2012 - 2:50 PM
Sounds positive from players and coach. Interesting what Exum said about players trying to play ” hero ball”. Hopefully, the defense can stay on their own particular assignment. This all sounds positive to me.
We worry because they lost badly to UNC and 4 of their remaining opponents are better than the Tarheels. That’s 7 losses and I don’t think a 7 loss team will play in a bowl. I just don’t see the savvy or grit in this team to turn it around. Hope I’m wrong but we’re approaching the finger pointing phase in the locker room which is not good.
I think the defense’s weakness is defending the spread offense. Clemson did it last year, twice, UNC, and Cincinnati. Pittsburgh simply used power football to run the football down the throat of the defense. In hindsight, the crack in the defense was actually exposed over the summer camp, I didn’t think much of it as I alluded it to preparing for the triple-option, but the crack got wider when they played Austin Peay, and from that point on, the rush defense got worse.
I really, really hope Tech slams the brake on the 2 game skid by beating Duke. I’m not 100% optimistic they will.
Its not the players that need to turn it around. Enough said!
Brian, it ultimately is the player. The best coach in the world can have the best game plan but if the play is not executed it was a “dumb call”
Excuses! Beamer retire you old fart!
The Tech defense can stop Duke, this will be Duke’s first real test and in a hostile, expectant Blacksburg atmosphere, that will be a win for the Hokies. Don’t know which Duke QB will play but as the QB goes, so goes the team. Too many questions marks for Duke. The Blue Devils crushed UVA, so did Georgia Tech. The Hokies beat GT. Case closed. If UNC beats Miami, then all is well in the Hokie Nation so look on the bright side. Can’t do anything about these sorry overpaid coaches at VT but the players can do something about the game.
They should be in crisis mode. I guess that will come once they move out of the denial mode.
The players need to turn this around.
The defense that they run was built by Phil Elmasion 20+ years ago to beat Miami. They wanted to put speed on the field and now the big boys are winning in the trenches when they play. Played NOOOO ranked teams yet. This is due to the scheduling to get those 10 wins. It is killing them in the long run. To be the best, you play the best. It’s not hard to figure out.
Not that this changes much, but Cincinnati is ranked now (21st AP, 20th coaches). Wasn’t when VT played it, but it is now.
Sorry to say whats on my mind and this is not easy….
Simple observation, VT has had many defensive teams with less talent but more heart, aggression, passion, intensity, pride…. Need I say more…
I have witnessed 3 losses by inferior programs, let’s get ready for next year, and wake up!
Eagle, has VT played any ranked teams yet? Just wanted to make sure, since you haven’t mentioned it in the last 37 seconds.
While you’re at it, go ahead and pretend that there aren’t ranked teams coming up on the rest of the schedule.
Logan Thomas says ” I guess we’d be in crisis if we couldn’t move the ball and if we couldn’t stop anybody…”
262 yards later, Giovanni Bernard would probably beg to differ that last “stop anybody” bit.
Maybe some of knowledgable folks who complain the most should coach the rest of the season.
Well if they aren’t in crisis mode now they never will be
LET’S SEE NOW – VT has a QB who can’t pass the ball with accuracy, no tailback who can ‘break’ 100 yards, a ‘leaky’ OL, no D pass rush, a D
secondary that can’t stop a passing attack, somewhat ‘shaky’ special teams and a coaching staff that can’t ‘spell’ game time adjustments.
Makes sense to me that there is no need for the players or coaches to consider the present state of the program to be in a CRISIS MODE. Things will work out fine against Duke, Clemson, Miami, Florida State, etc.
It’s just a matter of ‘trusting’ the ole magician Frank Beamer. Ha!
Tech will still make a bowl. All we have to do is go 6-6, and they’ll qualify for a bowl. The ACC has, I think, eight bowl arrangements set up, so we’ll qualify for something, even if it is the Sun Bowl in El Paso. Of course, up until the Cincinnati game ended, I thought we’d still win ten games this season. Now I’m hoping for six.
Boston College is a horrible team, so pencil in that win. We’d have to pull a big upset to beat Clemson, Miami, or F$U, so pencil those as losses. That leaves Duke & UVa. The UVa game, as is any rivalry game, is never easy until it happens. No call on that one this year. Maybe Hokie Pride will finally take hold in the last game of the season, with a shot for a bowl bid on the line. Of course, we could jump up & upset somebody, but I don’t think this team has it in them this year. The coaches or the players.
That leaves the Duke game. This is the game for the bowl, for the six wins, for avoiding a losing record.
The coaching staff and players have told us about four times this year that ‘This next game, we’re gonna be READY!…’ but have been wrong every time. So we won’t know until Saturday afternoon if the coaches and team are interested enough in winning to actually accomplish it.
LOL we better get into crisis mode. We lose to Duke and I am not sure if we win again this season. I say we hire Cutcliffe. I hope we don’t lose again this season but this is the worse coaching job I have seen since 1992.
Just what has been added to the water and Kool-Aid in Blacksburg? We have yet to play as a team and have a 3 /3 record. The meat of the schedule is coming and this is not a crisis? Guess they have given up on the year. If we are not in crisis mode now, it will not happen this year. It sure looks like we will have to accept the whippings that are coming.
We’ll beat Boston College, quite sure of that. Everything else is a guesstimate.
As to our next head coach? Why, Frank has already decreed that, so all you fans better gulp down the Kool Aid. Shane will replace Frank, and you’ll have Beamerisms for the rest of your natural lives. ‘We were just a couple of blocks away’ – said by Shane. ‘He doesn’t always run the way the play was designed, so we can’t expect the same results’ – said by Shane. ‘They’re a really tough team to prepare for’ – said by Shane. ‘This game, we’re going to be focused and play Hokie football’ – said by Shane.
Not the exact words, but almost. Also almost replicas of the excuse making heard from Frank for the last several years. Like I said, get used to it, that’s going to be Virginia Tech football for the rest of your natural lives, if Frank Beamer has his way.
Enjoy the ride.
The crisis mode is just beginning ( or should ). I have been saying over and over, if you think this years bad ,and it will be, wait until next. This has been coming and everybody hid behind the weak ACC despite not winning any important games in 5 years.
Think about this for a program talking about filling the trophy case in the football offices and perceiving itself as a ” national power “. Does a power lose to Pitt 4 TIMES IN A ROW! PITT!! 4 coaches in 3 years! Also, how about 0-5 in NFL stadiums! I think typically if you play a game in an NFL venue, it is at least a fairly high profile game even if it is against ECU, Cincy, Pitt etc. what a joke!
Get rid of Weaver, hire an AD who can get your money’s worth out of Frank and staff or at least hire a coach that can Beat Pitt 50% of the time.
I wish them well. Of course they’ll be watching the bowls from home on TV. But you have to dream…