With a bye week starting today, Frank Beamer thinks the biggest area of improvement for the Hokies remains their inconsistent running game. One fix Virginia Tech will try to make it paring down its four-player running back rotation.

“I think four backs is too many,” Beamer said during a Monday teleconference.

The Hokies have split carries fairly evenly among Michael Holmes, J.C. Coleman, Tony Gregory and Martin Scales this season.

Coleman is the leading rusher of the backs, with 338 yards and two touchdowns on 56 carries. Holmes has 257 yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries. Gregory (29 carries, 158 yards, TD) and Scales (23 carries, 109 yards, 2 TD) have been called on the least so far.

Running backs coach Shane Beamer has long said he likes the diversity of running backs Tech has. Holmes is more of the all-around back, Coleman is elusive, Gregory a speedster and Scales the power option.

But Frank thinks splitting reps that much in practice is affecting the running game’s consistency, although he didn’t offer specifics of what the Hokies’ plan would be.

“I think that’s our No. 1 priority right now,” Frank said. “I think if we can get that squared away, I think that will affect other things. We have our moments at times, but I think to consistently be able to do that is a key objective for us.”

The Hokies are 72nd nationally and fifth in the ACC in rushing, averaging 157 yards per game. They had 199 rushing yards against Clemson, although 99 of those were by quarterback Logan Thomas. None of the backs finished with  more than 29 yards.

Frank didn’t blame the running game’s inconsistency on one area, though.

“Again, sometimes you look at it and they could run better. Sometimes you look at it and we could block better. Sometimes you look at it and we get a block downfield by a wide receiver, that would make the play better. So it’s not just one thing, and I don’t want to make it sound that way. It’s a little of this and a little of that. The bottom line is we need to be more consistent as a group.”

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Here are a few more notes and quotes from Beamer’s Monday teleconference …

• The offense and defense had film review this morning but will have this afternoon and the next two days off before reconvening to begin Miami preparation on Thursday. “I think mentally and physically we need to rest up a little bit,” Frank said. “It’s been a tough stretch and just a very physical stretch. So we’re going to refresh our minds and bodies a little bit and get ready to attack these last four games.”
• Beamer was asked if the Hokies submitted two questionable calls in the third quarter to the league office. The plays in questions were the Thomas sack when he was ruled in the grasp and Sammy Watkins‘ apparent fumble that was ruled otherwise even after replay. Beamer declined to go into it. “I’m going to keep our dealings with the ACC between us and the ACC and leave it at that,” he said. (Clemson’s DT on the play seems to think it shouldn’t have been a sack, although he’ll take it.)
• Beamer thinks the bye comes at a good time for a few injured players. (Sidebar: has any coach ever thought the bye didn’t come at a good time?) Left guard David Wang has battled through knee and ankle problems. “He’s kind of been banged up several ways,” Beamer said. “I give him a lot of credit for playing.” Beamer said the team will have to “wait and see” about backup center/guard Caleb Farris, who missed the Clemson game with an ankle injury.
• As for linebacker Tariq Edwards, Beamer continues to see progress. “I think every week get him back rolling and he got in there a few plays there Saturday,” Beamer said. ” But he’s got to be mentally into it also. And be ready to play like we’ve seen him play in the past. And I think we’re getting closer to seeing that.”
• Virginia Tech hasn’t had this bad of a record since 1992, when it went 2-8-1. The Hokies have had six seasons with four or more losses since then, but none of those times did they have four losses before November. What does Beamer call upon to right the ship, having not been through this kind of season in a while? “I think you look at your players and coaches and say, ‘Hey, are we giving our effort?’” he said. “And I think we are. I just think some things, like in that ballgame the other night, I don’t think it was a lack of effort, I just think it was some plays that didn’t work out our way. Some, as I said earlier, was their doings. And some, was otherwise. But the deal is as long as guys are giving effort, you’ve got to accept what’s come down and keep on working and keep on getting better. And finish up strong and it’d be a great feeling here to finish up strong. So that’s what I’m going to look at.”
• Beamer has talked before about having more pleasant conversations with fans during the offseason after winning the bowl game. Asked how much he hears from fans during the season, particularly one as trying as this one, he called the fans loyal and vocal, but noted that he tries to tune out all the outside noise. “I can honestly say that I don’t read papers and I don’t listen,” he said. “I try to look at what we’ve got here and what’s realistic and what’s real. and how can we solve problems. Right now, the people that can solve our problems are the coaches and players. And we’re 4-4. We haven’t had a record like that, but we’ve had some good moments, we’ve had some good play and to me that tells you that you can do that all the time. So I look at it in that direction.”

Virginia Tech’s loss to Clemson on Saturday wasn’t all that surprising, but the fact that the defense turned in a noteworthy performance and the chance of upset, as bizarre as it sounds in a 38-17 game, was actually a possibility for a while is what has Hokie Nation bumming today.  If you missed my stuff from the game yesterday, you can read it here.

Now for five more thoughts about the game:

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1. This one you can blame on the offense, but don’t expect any midseason changes to the staff/scheme.

Cue the, “Oh, you think so, doctor?” comments. Fans have been quick to blame the offense — and solely the offense — for Virginia Tech’s shortcomings this year out of habit, I think. But honestly, this is the first game I think you can squarely pin on the offensive side of the ball. The entire team didn’t show up at Pittsburgh. The Cincinnati game was full of struggles, but the offense actually came through in the end and, if not for a defensive breakdown in the final seconds, the Hokies would have won. And the North Carolina loss was primarily a defensive failure.

Saturday, the offense was … well, offensive. The Hokies had their chances against Clemson and couldn’t capitalize. The final stats will look somewhat OK. Virginia Tech finished with 406 yards, although a glance at the breakdown will show an inconsistent group that only put together four real sustained drives. And while Frank Beamer touted the 406 yards as a sign that Tech’s offense was doing some good things, he needs to understand that 400 yards in this day and age of college football is average at best. (In fact, Louisville, the 60th-ranked offense nationally at the midway point of the FBS, is averaging 405.6 yards per game.)

This will no doubt intensify the complaints about the offensive coaching staff. They existed when the group put up 525 yards and 41 points against Duke, so of course they’ll exist after this. Beamer sidestepped questions about re-examining the offense during the bye week. ”We’ve just got to keep working,” he said. “Things out there today looked good. If you’ve got 400 yards, you’re doing something pretty good.” Those statements are sure to anger a good chunk of the fan base, but it’s what you get from Frank. Frothing at the mouth about wanting an in-season change to the staff is futile. If Beamer makes changes — and considering the direction of the team right now, I’d say it’s a distinct possibility — they’ll come in the offseason. And he won’t publicly hint at anything before then. (Beamer has talked about coming together as a team any time a question is asked about potential changes.) It’s always been his style and I can’t imagine it will change this late in his career.

2. The coaching staff’s assessment that the team “4 or 5 or 6″ plays away from altering the game’s outcome is technically correct, albeit an incomplete thought.

First of all, this could be said about any game. When you’re talking about as many as six plays hitting or not hitting, yeah, that’s going to alter the outcome of some games. But that goes for both teams. I’m sure Clemson has a few plays it would like back Saturday as well. That doesn’t mean the statement is false for the Hokies, though. There were a bunch of close plays that, had they gone a different direction, would have made things different. The fourth-down call early. The Dyrell Roberts pass early in the second half. The two highly questionable calls early in the third quarter, first on the Logan Thomas “sack” and then on the Sammy Watkins “fumble.” Those are big momentum-turning plays that directly led to points being on the board, so yes, those are major factors.

But those plays are so magnified this year because the Hokies aren’t good enough to have a large margin of error. Columnist Aaron McFarling wrote about this some for his column today. I’m sure in past years Virginia Tech has missed on oh-so-close plays. But it didn’t need those close plays to hit all the time to have a chance. A consistent ground game or more reliable pass-catching threats mean you can move the ball consistently and don’t need to those one-shot plays to hit to stay in games. The Dyrell play was a big miss, but it was a first-down play and the Hokies moved the chains anyway, failing to sustain the drive after that. Tech has relied on that big play to spark its offense this year. What’s lacking is the grind-it-out drives that can be just as effective but are harder, because they require consistency from the entire unit for a long period of time. That’s where the Hokies have lacked this year, and that’s a far bigger problem than missing on a few big plays.

3. It looks like Todd McShay was accurate in his assessment of Logan Thomas’ inaccuracy.

When I posted ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay‘s insight on Thomas’ draft stock the other day, it was met with two divergent thoughts: 1) he doesn’t have any clue what he’s talking about and 2) that’s pretty spot on. I think it’s starting to become clear that it’s the latter. And that’s not a knock on Thomas, whose offseason hype, through no fault of his own, got a little too high (perhaps everyone, myself included, should have waited to see how he handled being The Guy in an offense before jumping to conclusions).

Saturday reinforced those thoughts that the ball isn’t as natural as it could be coming out of his hand. Both of his interceptions were on passes that floated on him, a season-long problem. The first almost looked like he was trying to throw it away out of bounds and overshot it. The second, after he stepped up in the pocket, looked like it just had too much oomph on it. (Logan said it slipped out of his hand.) That’s 10 interceptions now this year for Thomas, which matches his total from last year. Considering what he’s being asked to do this year, throwing the ball a ton to try to get the Hokies back in games late, that’s not an entirely surprising stat. And if Tech continues to ask him to play that way, more will inevitably happen.

There are times when Thomas is accurate and times when he’s not. Those are the tantalizing flashes McShay described. But he remains unpolished. And again, that’s probably to be expected for someone who is still relatively new at the position. I continue to get occasional tweets or emails about playing Mark Leal, which, in my opinion, is utterly foolish.  Thomas remains the best option at quarterback for the Hokies and will continue to improve over time. He’s just not the top-five-pick caliber player that many had thought in the offseason. At least not yet.

4. This defense feels like it’s capable of shutting someone down.

You have to give the defense a lot of credit for how it played against the Tigers. Chad Morris‘ offenses aren’t typically held to less than 300 yards. It’s happened three times, I believe, in his 34 games as a college coordinator. Bud Foster‘s crew has now done it twice, both in losing efforts. The 38 points the Tigers put up are misleading. Seven came off an interception. Their other four touchdowns came after getting short fields. Clemson’s starting field position on those four drives: the VT 26, its own 48, the VT 47 and the VT 41. You’re not going to hold a bad offense off the scoreboard with short fields like that, let alone a great one (although the Hokies could have done a better job in holding them to field goals instead of touchdowns).

But the elements of what you’d expect from a Foster-coached defense are there. The line got pressure, registering five sacks. The missed tackles were limited. The secondary got another pick, this one on a nifty play by Michael Cole. The only big play over the top I can remember was the touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins over Kyle Fuller. Everything else the Hokies kept in front of them, which was the game plan. And while Andre Elllington ran for 96 yards, Tech held Clemson to 3.0 yards per rush, right about what it had hoped. If you put those elements together on a week-to-week basis, you’re going to have some success and probably not come close to allowing 38 points again. I think this was the toughest offense Tech will face this year and that it has a chance to do some good things against Miami and Florida State in the next few weeks.

5. The Coastal Division is up for grabs, but does that matter to Tech fans?

Miami lost to Florida State, as everyone expected, giving the ‘Canes two conference losses. But Duke beat North Carolina, making the Coastal Division standings look like this:

• Duke 3-1
• Miami 3-2
• North Carolina 2-2 (ineligible)
• Virginia Tech 2-2
• Georgia Tech 2-3

The Blue Devils’ surprising success notwithstanding, that is an ugly group. I still maintain that the division winner will be whoever wins the Miami-Virginia Tech game in a week and a half. I know Duke technically controls its situation, but I can’t see it beating either FSU or Clemson in the next two games, which will bring it back to the pack. If the Hokies get to 5-3 in the division — a distinct possibility with Boston College and Virginia on the schedule late and Miami up next — it should be enough to take the Coastal, even if it comes to a tiebreaker.

The real question is if that matters? Will capturing a watered-down Coastal Division title all that notable? Will playing in an ACC championship game with a 7-5 record be an accomplishment or a joke, like it was when 6-6 UCLA played in the Pac-12 title game last year because USC was ineligible? Sure, there would be an underdog aspect to it that actually might endear this team to the fan base if it could pull it out, but after the string of success the Hokies have had, to get that far with a team as flawed as this year, I can’t imagine it doing much to appease a fan base that sees the program heading in the wrong direction.

Another disappointing outcome for the Hokies, who couldn’t do enough offensively to stick with Clemson in a 38-17 loss.  Read my game story here.

I have to get on the road here pretty soon, so I’ll try to wrap this up quickly on the blog.

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** The game story has most of the details about the offensive struggles, which offensive coordinator Mike O’Cain, in a familiar refrain, said came down to a few plays. (And yes, I realize this will tick off a large portion of the fan base.)

“It’s a simple game,” O’Cain. “It’s making plays. And we didn’t make plays.”

Clemson’s defense is not great, yet the Tigers have had the Hokies’ number in all three games the last two years.

Tech managed 406 yards and 17 points against a Clemson defense that entered the game ranked 97th nationally in total yards and had allowed an average of 523 yards and 37 points a game against ACC foes.

Despite the struggles, the Hokies aren’t tearing everything down on offense during the bye week.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of re-examining,” O’Cain said. “That’s not a question. … It’s not so much what we’re doing. It’s a matter of doing what we’re doing better. And again, I know I keep saying it over and over: make plays when your number is called.”

** Telling stat: In the second half of the last three games with Clemson, Virginia Tech has been out-scored 62-7.

** You can’t overlook the early mistakes in this loss. Trailing 7-3, Clemson punted to start the second quarter. It was short, though, and glanced off the leg of unsuspecting Hokies receiver Christian Reeves, a big special teams gaffe.

The Tigers recovered at the Tech 26 and would capitalize with a touchdown run by Tajh Boyd to take a 10-7 lead.

Two possessions later, quarterback Logan Thomas sailed a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Clemson safety Jonathan Meeks and returned 74 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 17-10 lead.

“The ball just came out of my hand real bad,” Thomas said. “It slipped out of my thumb and my pointer finger and it just floated away. …  I knew right away.”

** Missed opportunities were the tale of the second half. Thomas overthrew Dyrell Roberts on what would have been a sure touchdown on the first drive of the second half. Hit that and it’s 17-17. Instead, the Hokies still trailed.

“The defense wasn’t set and I was expecting them to kind of keep it a little bit skinnier, go down the sideline and he was thinking bend it a little bit,” Thomas said of the read play. “I guess we missed by a yard or something like that, and that would’ve put us tied with them. Like I said earlier, the third quarter just didn’t go our way.”

** A huge stretch came in the third quarter with back-to-back questionable calls. I’ll go to the portion I wrote for my game story:

The Hokies looked to be in business when Thomas stood his ground in the pocket with a defender wrapped around his ankles and completed a third-down pass to running back J.C. Coleman that would have moved the chains. Instead, the officials whistled the play dead, inexplicably so from the Hokies’ perspective.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen that called,” a perplexed Frank Beamer said to reporters after. “Y’all seen that called lately?”

“It changed the tides right there,” Thomas said. “But we can’t do anything about it now.”

After a punt, Tech thought it forced a huge turnover, jumping on a ball knocked loose from receiver Sammy Watkins by safety Detrick Bonner. It was initially ruled down but was reviewed after some prodding by Beamer. Officials upheld the call, although replay made it look like it could have gone either way.

“Those plays get the momentum going and the whole game changes a little bit,” Beamer said.

Clemson scored 14 points right after that to break the game open.

** That late wide receiver option pass by Marcus Davis was a play the Hokies had tried earlier. The first time they failed to complete the first lateral in the play and it went out of bounds. Coaches saw that the receiver was open, though, so they went back to it.

Clemson read the second one the whole way, however, and it was picked off by safety Xavier Brewer.

“We thought it was worth another try,” O’Cain said. “And obviously it didn’t pan out. I think sometimes plays like that, they can be really big or they can be really bad. And you’ve got to take those chances at time.”

** You can’t overlook the running game’s struggles, although the stats didn’t look like it. Thomas was almost all of the success there, with a career-high 99 rushing yards and a late 19-yard touchdown.

But the running backs, a week after looking like they might be breaking out, combined for 93 yards. None of them had more than Tony Gregory‘s 29. And Gregory fumbled at the end of one run, fortunate to have it bounce right to wide receiver Corey Fuller.

Gregory and Martin Scales averaged 6.2 yards per carry, but Coleman and Michael Holmes averaged 2.2 yards per carry. Holmes was stuffed early on a fourth-down run when Tech was leading 7-0.

** On defense, Virginia Tech couldn’t have asked for much more, despite the scoreboard saying 38 points at the end.

Clemson, which entered Saturday average 525 yards a game, finished with only 295 yards against the Hokies. It’s the second-fewest yards gained by a Chad Morris offense in his 34 games as a college coordinator. (Bud Foster‘s crew has now held Morris’s offense to two of his three worst performances.)

Virginia Tech pressured Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, sacking him five times and intercepting him once, although it wasn’t enough to offset bad field position and a struggling offense.

Three of the Tigers’ touchdown drives started on the Hokies’ side of the 50. Another started at the 48. (The fifth touchdown was a result of an interception return.)

“It’s very frustrating, but it happens sometimes,” defensive end James Gayle said.

The Hokies forced six three-and-outs, held Clemson to 135 rushing yards and only 160 passing but still came up short.

“With an offense like that, if you can keep them in check, you definitely give yourself a chance to win,” linebacker Bruce Taylor said. “We just didn’t get it done.”

** Safety Michael Cole, a Cave Spring product, made his second interception in as many games.

This one was highlight-reel worthy. Boyd overthrew a pass across the middle in the first quarter. Cole slipped as he changed direction and fell on his back but still managed to snag it out of the air.

It’s the third turnover the redshirt freshman has come up with in the last two games. He also recovered a fumble against Duke.

** A few quick hitters:

• Linebacker Tariq Edwards (knee) played for the first time this year, getting in during the third quarter.
• Kicker Cody Journell made a 40-yard field goal just before halftime. He’s made 20 of 21 going back to last year.
• Defensive tackle Luther Maddy had two of the Hokies’ five sacks. He has four in the last two games.
• Left guard David Wang (knee/ankle) started and played the whole game.
• Fuller had four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Davis had six catches for 58 yards.

** Lastly, the Hokies aren’t folding up shop yet. With a 2-2 ACC record and a head-to-head game with Miami coming up, the lackluster Coastal Division — amazingly — remains wide open. (UNC, which is probably the best team, is ineligible.)

“It’s pretty simple: we’ve just got to win,” cornerback Antone Exum said. “We’re still in the hunt. As crazy as that sounds, at 4-4 we’re still in the hunt. We have to go down to Miami and handle business.”

CLEMSON, S.C. — The Hokies got the fast start they were looking for Saturday. It was the rest of the first half that was the problem.

Virginia Tech trails Clemson 17-10 at halftime at Memorial Stadium, undone by a series of turnovers and special teams gaffes in the second quarter.

Two Logan Thomas interceptions and a muffed punt by an unsuspecting Hokies blocker have helped the No. 14 Tigers (5-1, 2-1 ACC) take a lead after 30 minutes, despite being out-gained 248-137.

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Virginia Tech (4-3, 2-1 ACC) started fast, getting two sacks on Clemson’s opening drive, then converting a fourth-and-two in Tigers territory before Thomas hit Corey Fuller on a crossing pattern for a 29-yard touchdown and early 7-0 lead.

After a Michael Cole interception, the Hokies went on a 15-play drive deep into Clemson territory, but running back Michael Holmes got stuffed on fourth-and-one at the 18.

Clemson answered with a field goal, then took the lead thanks to a Hokies special teams mistake early in the second quarter. The Tigers shanked a short punt, but it bounced off unsuspecting Tech receiver Christian Reeves, Clemson pounced on the loose ball at the Hokies’ 26.

A few plays later, quarterback Tajh Boyd leaped over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Tigers a 10-7 lead.

On the Hokies’ next drive, Thomas sailed another throw high for an interception by safety Jonathan Meeks, his second of the game. This one he returned 74 yards, out-racing the Tech offense to the end zone for a touchdown and 17-7 Tigers lead.

Cody Journell pulled Virginia Tech within 17-10 with a 40-yard field goal just before the end of the half.

Thomas has 144 passing yards and a touchdown and the two interceptions. He’s also the Hokies’ leading rusher with 33 yards. Fuller has three catches for 72 yards.

Rise and shine for another noon game. If you’re going to the game, I hope you left early today, because the traffic situation heading into Clemson is honestly among the worst I’ve ever dealt with.

Here are a few links to get your day started.

** Follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I’ll be tweeting throughout the game.

** My game advance about how Virginia Tech hopes to get some redemption for this year’s slow start (and last year’s losses to the Tigers) by beating No. 14/13 Clemson in Death Valley.

** Here’s yesterday’s matchups post with my prediction: Clemson 41, Virginia Tech 31. Feel free to offer your opinion as well.

** I asked ESPN’s Todd McShay a fairly innocuous question about Logan Thomas‘ draft stock the other day. He was fairly critical of both Thomas and Virginia Tech’s offensive scheme.

** Tech’s offensive line depth should get a boost today with David Wang being probable. For what it’s worth, the online depth chart (updated yesterday), has Wang starting over Matt Arkema at left guard.

** Columnist Aaron McFarling thinks Tech will need some sort of “Beamer Ball”-like score to win today.

** It looks like a lovely fall day ahead of us in Clemson.

** The betting line started at Clemson by 11 but dropped to 8.5 at most places. I’ve seen some places have it at 8 and some others at 7.5 even.

** The Hokies will go with an all-white look today. Same helmets as last week.