It’s back to the grind after a travel day yesterday. Here’s my follow-up story in today’s newspaper about what now for the Hokies’ offensive coaching staff.

I usually do this post the day after the game, but it was a late one Friday night, so I pushed it back to Sunday. Here are five thoughts following the Russell Athletic Bowl …

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1. The shakeup to the offensive staff doesn’t appear to be a matter of if, but when.

Kevin Sherman sounds all but gone to Purdue. Curt Newsome appears to have a future at James Madison. Mike O’Cain was briefly a candidate for the Appalachian State gig. And Bryan Stinespring may or may not have interviewed for a position at Auburn (he said he didn’t). But what’s important other than the specific locations of those potential jobs is the mere fact that these offensive coaches are looking. You can deduce from that that a significant overhaul is probably coming on the offensive side of the ball.

The bowl game, in which the Hokies gained only 196 yards, did nothing but underscore the offensive problems with the current group. It’s not just that Tech had trouble blocking for Logan Thomas or that it couldn’t run the ball at all against Rutgers’ front seven. But the Hokies again didn’t seem to have a cohesive plan of attack against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights showed an early ability to get to Thomas, yet Tech didn’t alter anything to keep him upright. Rutgers proved it wasn’t going to give up any yards on lateral runs, yet the Hokies continued to call plays that ran East and West, even late in the game.

Frank Beamer has continually praised the continuity of the coaching staff for being a big reason for the current 20-year bowl streak, but with the 10-win streak finished and Tech suffering its worst record in 20 years, I think it’s clear to even a coach as loyal as Beamer that something needs to be changed.

2. Logan Thomas going pro seems like a bad idea. But that doesn’t mean he won’t consider it.

Let me first say that I think Thomas will come back. That’s a hunch. I haven’t been told one way or another. I don’t think any pro scout could reasonably have watched his performance in the Russell Athletic Bowl and given him a draft grade that would be anywhere in the first two rounds. All the problems that persisted with Thomas this year — off-target throws, interceptions, trouble with pressure — were on display in the bowl. Still, he did break his own school record for total yardage (3,500) and became the first quarterback to lead the Hokies in rushing since Bobby Owens in 1965. If that doesn’t show you the lack of help he had on the offensive side of the ball this year, nothing will.

On the face of things, it would seem crazy for Thomas to turn pro. His stock isn’t high at all and even he admitted that he wouldn’t be able to step in and play right away. But looking at things from his perspective, his position coach (O’Cain) and  the coach who recruited him (Stinespring) both face questions about their job status. Would a departure by either or both help push Thomas toward the NFL? Or would he be reinvigorated by the possibility of someone new coaching him? It’s why Beamer has to make a decision one way or another about the coaching staff soon. Thomas has a Jan. 15 deadline to declare for the NFL draft. The Hokies need to let him know their intentions for the 2013 offense well before that.

3. The running game needs a total reboot.

The stat has been mentioned several times in the aftermath of the bowl game, but here it is again: the Hokies averaged roughly 3.4 inches per carry Friday night. That’s 3 yards on 32 carries if you are not a fan of math. Only twice has Virginia Tech rushed for fewer yards under Beamer (-14 vs. Miami in 1994; -1 vs. Syracuse in 1987). There’s plenty of blame to go around. The line didn’t do a good job of blocking all year. The backs each had their limitations. Shane Beamer would be the first to admit that he could have done a more effective job of splitting the workload throughout the year. And if you gave Frank Beamer a dose of truth serum, he’d probably say he wishes he hadn’t redshirted promising freshman Trey Edmunds this year.

Help appears to be on the way. It seems like Edmunds, who has looked impressive physically in the short time we reporters have seen him in practice, could step in and play a big role next season. Drew Harris, who spent this year at Fork Union, is awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse before hoping to join the team this winter (how that will turn out is anybody’s guess). Those are two pretty physically impressive players right there. Put them in with J.C. Coleman and that’s a young, diverse group of backs. Obviously, they need some holes to run through, so the offensive line’s makeup will be important, but getting the run game back on track will be the No. 1 priority of Beamer and Co. this offseason.

4. The linebackers might have been the biggest reason for the Hokies’ second-half defensive surge.

This might be oversimplifying things. The defensive line started playing its tail off and the secondary began to settle into their new positions, both of which played a big part in Virginia Tech’s defensive success in the final seven games. But I don’t know if any group played better down the stretch than the linebacking trio of Bruce Taylor, Jack Tyler and Alonzo Tweedy. Against Rutgers, that group combined for 26 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, a quarterback hurry, two pass breakups and a sack. That seemed to be the norm from the Florida State game to the end of the year, once Tweedy was inserted into the starting lineup. 

It’s impressive considering Taylor played out of position all year, Tyler was in his first year as a full-time starter and Tweedy didn’t do much more than play special teams until those final four games. Antone Exum might have earned MVP honors  in the Russell Athletic Bowl with his interception in the fourth quarter that set up the game-tying touchdown, but Tweedy had a solid case too. Three of his eight tackles came on punt coverage, a key part of this offensively-challenged game. He was one of five players with at least 1.5 TFLs and one of three with a sack. All in all, it was about the best way for Taylor and Tweedy, who finished as the team’s top two tacklers in the bowl, to finish out their college careers.

 5. It gets lost because these kind of performances have become commonplace, but Bud Foster’s crew rose to the occasion once again.

Maybe fans are numb to these kind of performances because they happen so frequently. Maybe they just have a blind rage about the offense that they can’t think of anything else but to voice their displeasure for the play-calling. But there usually comes a time in every game where Hokies fans will stop, look at the larger picture and have to remind themselves that, hey, Bud Foster’s D really came to play today. That was certainly the case Friday, even though Rutgers wasn’t exactly the New England Patriots out there. Quarterback Gary Nova looked overwhelmed most of the night and the Scarlet Knights didn’t look comfortable doing much of anything. But Foster’s defense was a big reason for a lot of that discomfort. It was tough against the run (67 yards), relentless in harassing Nova (3 sacks and 4 hurries, although that second figure sounds low) and forced two turnovers. It was the second straight year Foster’s defense held a bowl opponent to fewer than 200 yards (Michigan had 184 in the Sugar Bowl).

If James Gayle and Exum choose to come back for their senior year (and Tyler is already lobbying for both, plus Thomas, to do so), the Hokies have the potential for a very strong defense next season. Yes, there’s a danger in projecting these kinds of things — this year’s group was declared by such fools as myself to be potentially one of the all-time greats at Tech — but losing only Taylor and Tweedy as starters and having Tariq Edwards and Ronny Vandyke waiting in the wings means that, at the very least, it will be a veteran group, which always helps. If Gayle and Exum return, the only player in the first 11 who wouldn’t have at least a year of starting experience under his belt is Vandyke at the whip. The Hokies allowed only 284.4 yards per game over the last seven games, which would have ranked sixth nationally if done over the entire season. Tech can only hope that late-season success carries over to 2013.

Another brutal deadline game tonight. Here’s my game story, which should be updated on the website with the version for tomorrow’s paper sometime soon. And here’s Aaron McFarling‘s column from the game.

Now here’s a little bit more on the Hokies’ 13-10 Russell Athletic Bowl win.

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** “It’s kind of like nothing comes easy for us,” head coach Frank Beamer said.

That pretty well summed up the game. It was not pretty. Virginia Tech had 84 yards of offense and no points through three quarters. The stadium was half-empty, so the atmosphere wasn’t great. It was raining, adding to the problems.

Yet Virginia Tech pulled it out, scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to narrowly avoid its first losing season since 1992.

“I think that gets said a lot: rather than getting down a couple times this year, we could have shut it down, and these guys never did,” Beamer said.

** That said, it was a rough offensive performance, one that’s sure to increase the calls for Beamer to do something about restructuring his offensive staff before the start of next season.

Nobody wanted to talk about it afterward. Asked if he’s considering any changes, Beamer again avoided the question, although changes at this point seem imminent.

“We are going to enjoy this win,” he said. “These guys worked hard for this win tonight.  It wasn’t easy.”

Much-maligned offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring had a similar comment when asked about his future with the staff.

“At this moment in time, what I’m concentrating on and what’s important to me is I’m going to go back and celebrate and rejoice with the people who mean the most to me in this world,” Stinespring said. “And that’s this coaching staff, these players. … I’m going to go back and hug some necks and celebrate.”

** During the first half, Pete Roussel of coachingsearch.com tweeted that Virginia Tech wide receivers coach Kevin Sherman will join the Purdue staff after the bowl game, something Sherman would neither confirm nor deny afterward.

** Why all the angst about the offense in a game the Hokies won? It wasn’t pretty. Virginia Tech finished with a season-low 196 yards. It had only 3 rushing yards on 32 carries, getting 20 yards on 21 carries from the tailback quartet of Martin Scales, J.C. Coleman, Michael Holmes and Tony Gregory.

Tech’s 3 yards rushing are the fewest in a win under Beamer. It’s the third-fewest ever under Beamer in 26 seasons (-14 vs. Miami in 1994; -1 vs. Syracuse in 1987).

Quarterback Logan Thomas was off target for most of the night, under pressure from a relentless Rutgers defensive front that sacked him four times and battered him repeatedly. He finished 15-for-39 for 193 yards, a touchdown and two more interceptions, giving him 16 this year.

“They played tough the entire day,” Thomas said. “In the passing game, they were playing with us any time, they would show us one thing, drop out and show us another and stay there when we were expecting them to drop out, so we finally got into a groove of what we were expecting them to do, and we started picking up things time after time.  It was just feeling them out just like a boxer.”

Thomas did manage to spark the offense in the fourth quarter, however, hitting Dyrell Roberts for 32 yards and Corey Fuller for 25 on back-to-back plays to set up a field goal that got the Hokies on the board at 10-3. After Tech got the ball back, Thomas dropped a perfectly thrown pass into Fuller’s arms for a 21-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone to tie the game at 10.

Despite what most agree was not a great season, Thomas finished the year with 3,500 total yards, breaking the school record of 3,482 he set last year in one fewer game.

Thomas, who had 524 rushing yards, became the first Tech quarterback to lead the Hokies in rushing for the season since Bobby Owens led Tech in 1965 with 526 yards.

** Thomas again declined to make a definitive statement afterward about what he’s going to do about the NFL. The junior is holding off on his decision until he hears back from the NFL Draft Advisory board.

He was asked point blank if this was his last game as a Hokie.

“I can’t tell you now,” Thomas said. “I have a big decision in front of me. Either way it goes, I’m proud to be a Hokie.”

** Virginia Tech was only in the game because of its defense, which turned in one of its best performances of the year. Rutgers also finished with 196 yards, and 43 came on one long catch by Brandon Coleman that didn’t lead to any points.

The Scarlet Knights’ only touchdown was given up by the Hokies’ offense. And their only field goal came after a late hit penalty at the end of a punt return gave Rutgers good field position.

“I couldn’t commend the defense more,” Thomas said. “The entire season that’s how it’s been.”

“We never lose hope with the guys on the other side of the ball,” said cornerback Antone Exum, who earned game MVP honors. “We knew they would at some point make the plays that needed to be made for us to take the lead.”

Bud Foster‘s crew finished with 12 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Defensive lineman Tyrel Wilson recovered a fumble. Exum intercepted a pass that set up Thomas’ touchdown pass. Safety Detrick Bonner nearly had two picks, although he dropped them both.

Linebacker Bruce Taylor, who along with James Gayle and some others didn’t start because they were late to a team dinner, had a strong final college game, finishing with a team-high 11 tackles and adding 1.5 TFLs, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Alonzo Tweedy, also playing in his last college game, had eight tackles, a tackle and half and a sack.

Taylor, Exum and a few other defensive players jawed with Rutgers players right before halftime. The teams had to be separated before it escalated.

“I wasn’t really upset about that whole scuffle that happened, because you know we’re out there fighting,” Taylor said. “And when guys are cheapshotting you, you’re not going to stand for it. And it was more just to liven it up. The offense was struggling. We’re going to fight. And that’s what I told them at halftime.”

What precipitated it? Taylor said he got stepped on “in an inappropriate area” one time. “It’s just how it goes sometimes,” he said.

** Tech got off to a disastrous start. The Hokies fell behind 7-0 after only two offensive plays. They averted disaster on the first, when an errant Thomas pass almost got picked. They couldn’t on the second, when an early shotgun snap by center Caleb Farris whizzed by an unready Thomas. Farris thought he had caught a Rutgers defender in the neutral zone.

“Our coaches told him always snap it, so you know they picked up the flag afterwards,” Thomas said. “I was just trying to pick it up and get it.  In hindsight I wish I would have kicked it out of the end zone.  I thought I was going to be able to pick it up and get it to the 1-, 2-yard line and maybe be down by contact.”

He couldn’t. The ball trickled into the end zone, where Thomas tried to corral it and reach out of the end zone to avoid a safety. The ball was knocked loose before the whistle blew. Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene recovered the loose ball. After a brief meeting by the officials, they ruled it a touchdown.

Replays showed that Thomas might have had his knee on the ground with the ball stretched only to the goal line, which still would have been a safety but not the touchdown for Rutgers it became.

** A few other quick notes …

• Receiver Marcus Davis finished with 62 yards, giving him 953 for the season. That’s just nine shy of Andre Davis‘ single-season school record of 962 set in 1999.
• Davis and Corey Fuller said they have accepted invitations to play in the East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Jan. 19.
• The teams combined for 21 punts, a Russell Athletic Bowl record. The previous record was 19 set by Alabama and Colorado in 1991.
• A.J. Hughes punted 11 times, with a 42.2-yard average. He had a long of 57.
• The Hokies were penalized 14 times for 95 yards.
• Rutgers (9-4) saw its nation’s-best bowl winning streak end at five.
• Kicker Cody Journell went 2-for-3 on field goal attempts, making them from 25 and 22 but coming up short on a 51-yard attempt that in the fourth quarter. It was nine yards longer than his career long.
• Beamer improved to 9-11 in bowl games. He ended a two-game bowl losing streak and avoided losing three in a row for the first time in his career.
• After losing the Sugar Bowl to Michigan in overtime last season, the Hokies played three overtime games this year and won all of them (Georgia Tech, Boston College and Rutgers).

ORLANDO, Fla. — Virginia Tech’s worst season in 20 years seems like it’s about to have an appropriate ending.

The Hokies trail Rutgers 10-0 at halftime of the Russell Athletic Bowl at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, a game in which their much-maligned offense has done next to nothing.

It was the first time this year Virginia Tech failed to score in the first half. The Hokies finished with only 73 yards on 38 plays, an ugly showing in a season full of them for the offensive group.

Worse yet, the Hokies’ offense gave up the game’s only touchdown. Virginia Tech started horribly, falling behind 7-0 after only 17 seconds. On the second play of the game, center Caleb Farris sent a shotgun snap past an unready Logan Thomas.

The ball trickled into the end zone, where Thomas couldn’t get a handle on it. It squirted free for Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene to recover for quick touchdown, although replay showed Thomas might have been down for a safety first.

The Scarlet Knights didn’t do much on offense either, managing 130 yards, but a double reverse to Miles Shuler went for 25 yards later in the first quarter and set up a 36-yard field by Nick Borgese to give them a 10-0 lead.

Virginia Tech didn’t come close to scoring. Thomas faced constant pressure from Rutgers’ front seven, sacked twice and hit numerous times after releasing the ball.

He completed only 10 of 20 pases for 83 yards, getting picked off by Brandon Jones on a deep ball near the end of the first half.

The Hokies had even less success on the ground, finishing with 17 rushes for negative 10 yards. The tailback quartet of J.C. Coleman, Michael Holmes, Martin Scales and Tony Gregory combined for 11 carries and 10 yards.

Virginia Tech is retiring the Fighting Gobbler logo effective Jan. 1, so the Hokies will be giving it a sendoff tonight.

Tech’s equipment room Twitter account put out this picture of what the Hokies wear tonight against Rutgers in the Russell Athletic Bowl. It’s a maroon matte helmet with an orange Fighting Gobbler logo on the side of it, the first time the team has gone with the look.

The stripes down the middle are fancier (and abbreviated) too. On the back is a smaller version of the “Prevail” decal the team wore in practice this week to honor victims in the Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech shootings.

The helmets will be auctioned off after the game, with part of the proceeds going to the Sandy Hook fund.

In point-spread news, it looks like a lot of late money came in on Rutgers. The line went from Virginia Tech by 2 to a pick ‘em since this morning.

Follow me on Twitter for updates during the game.

After nearly a month of waiting, it’s finally gameday. Now you only have to get through the day before Virginia Tech and Rutgers face off in the Russell Athletic Bowl here in lovely Orlando.

Here are a few links to get your gameday started, plus the usual matchups comparison.

** As usual, follow me on Twitter for updates during the game. Also, follow me on Facebook for links to all my Virginia Tech stuff. We just went over 1,000 followers. The drive for 2,000 begins now.

** Frank Beamer talks about the toll this season took on him in today’s game advance.

**Aaron McFarling chimes in with a pre-game column.

** Tech didn’t put out an injury report for the game, although reserve linebacker/rover Jeron Gouveia-Winslow has been slowed by an ankle injury this week in practice. The last we saw of him in practice Tuesday, he was still moving very gingerly while doing conditioning on the sidelines.

** The weather looks like it will be lovely today. Should be in the low-60′s tonight. Not much wind or any chance of rain.

** The line settled around 1.5 to 2 points in Virginia Tech’s favor. It opened at 1, so that’s gone up ever so slightly. The over/under looks like it’s 41, which is among the lowest of the bowl games.

** McFarling’s bowl guide says take Rutgers. Here’s what he wrote a couple weeks ago: “The Hokies have covered the spread only three times this year (vs. Bowling Green, Florida State and Duke), and I don’t know why we should expect them to turn on the jets suddenly. Rutgers stinks offensively but has the nation’s fourth-ranked scoring defense. Also, the Scarlet Knights haven’t lost a bowl game since 2005.”

Now for the matchups …

Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers

• Where: Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
• When: Friday, 5:30 p.m.
• TV: ESPN
• Records: Virginia Tech 6-6, 4-4 ACC; Rutgers 9-3, 5-2 Big East
• Series: Virginia Tech leads 11-3
• Last meeting: Hokies won 48-22 in Piscataway, N.J., in 2003
• Line: Virginia Tech by 2

When Virginia Tech passes

It hasn’t been the type of passing year that Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas had hoped, but stepping back a bit, it’s not too different from last season. Yes, Thomas’ completion percentage is down (59% to 52%) and his interceptions are up (10 to 14), but he’s on a similar pace in yards (3,013 last year to 2,783 in two fewer games this year) and touchdowns (19 to 17). There’s still the potential to do good things in the passing game. Receiver Marcus Davis, playing in his last career game, needs 109 yards to be Virginia Tech’s first 1,000-yard receiver. Corey Fuller (769 yards, 5 TD) has had a season that exceeds everyone’s expectations. The line has allowed 21 sacks, a figure that ranks 51st nationally.

Rutgers doesn’t get after the quarterback a ton — its 21 sacks rank 71st nationally — but the Scarlet Knights don’t give up a whole lot through the air. They are 25th nationally in pass efficiency defense (115.35) and are allowing just 216.3 yards per game through the air. Cornerback Logan Ryan, an All-Big East selection, is second on the team with 87 tackles and leads Rutgers with four interceptions. Brandon Jones on the other side has three. The team’s 16 interceptions are in a tie for 18th nationally. That’s not to say teams haven’t thrown the ball on the Scarlet Knights at times, though. Louisville, in the regular season finale, threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-17 loss with a BCS berth on the line.

Edge: Rutgers

When Virginia Tech runs

A season-long issue doesn’t figure to magically sort itself out in the bowl game. The Hokies’ rushing attack, which ranks 63rd nationally, still doesn’t have a primary ballcarrier and still relies too much on Thomas. The quarterback leads the team with 528 yards and nine touchdowns. Running back J.C. Coleman is tops among the running backs, with 486 yards. That’d be the lowest season total for Virginia Tech’s top tailback since Terry Smoot ran for 356 yards in 1967. The question is how much Tech will lean on Thomas. He ran a career-high 29 times against Virginia, essentially serving as the team’s running back. He had three 20-plus carry games in the second half of the season, finishing with 99 yards against Clemson, 124 against Miami and 89 against Virginia.

It’ll be tough sledding against Rutgers’ front seven. Linebacker Khaseem Greene is a force, an All-American and the Big East Defensive Player of the Year who finished with 125 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks. Fellow linebackers Jamal Merrell (80 tackles) and Steve Beauhamais (76 tackles) get to the ball, freed up by the defensive line. The Scarlet Knights have 85 tackles for a loss, tied for 19th nationally. Rutgers is allowing only 105 yards per game on the ground, 11th nationally. Only four teams have reached the 100-yard mark on the Scarlet Knights, and one was Army, which runs an option offense. They’ve allowed only six rushing touchdowns all season. Only Notre Dame, BYU and Michigan State have allowed fewer.

Edge: Rutgers

When Rutgers passes

Statistically, the Scarlet Knights aren’t the most fearsome team through the air, averaging a pedestrian 215.2 yards per game that ranks 83rd nationally. Sophomore quarterback Gary Nova threw for 2,566 yards and 22 touchdowns but, like Thomas, was interception prone, with 15 picks. He had a huge game at Arkansas, throwing for 397 yards and five scores. He topped 200 yards only three more times, though. Receivers Mark Harrison (560 yards, 6 TD), Brandon Coleman (663 yards, 10 TD) and Tim Wright (438 yards, 2 TD) are big targets on the outside. They stand 6-3, 6-6 and 6-2, respectively, each weight at least 220 pounds, presenting a physical challenge for Tech’s corners. Rutgers protects its quarterback as well as anyone in the country. The Scarlet Knights allowed only eight sacks this year, tied for fourth nationally.

Virginia Tech improved at pass defense as the season progressed and players settled into new roles. With Antone Exum playing at an All-ACC level and Kyle Fuller having had a month to recover from shoulder and leg issues that bothered him most of the season, the Hokies should be in a good position to match up with Rutgers. Tech finished the season ranked 23rd nationally in pass efficiency defense. That was helped by the pass rush’s emergence. The Hokies had 24 sacks in the final six games, getting lots of production out linebackers Bruce Taylor, Jack Tyler and Alonzo Tweedy in that department. We’ll see if defensive coordinator Bud Foster continues to bring pressure with his linebackers on blitzes to crack Rutgers’ close-to-impenetrable pass blocking.

Edge: Virginia Tech

When Rutgers runs

Jawan Jamison is back healthy after an ankle injury that limited him to only 28 carries for 101 yards in Rutgers’ final three games. When healthy, he’s effective. He finished with 1,054 yards, becoming just the third Rutgers player since 1976 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (Terrell Willis and Ray Rice were the other two). As a team, though, the Scarlet Knights still didn’t have the prettiest numbers. They averaged 125.9 rushing yards per game, which ranked 100th nationally. They averaged 3.8 yards per carry (Tech, for all its struggles, is averaging 4.0 yards per carry) and only got into the end zone six times on the ground. Only two teams in the country had fewer rushing touchdowns.

Like the pass defense, the Hokies got progressively better in the second half of the season with their rushing defense. In the final three games of the season, they held Florida State to negative 15 yards rushing and Virginia to 30. (Boston College, in between, managed a 167 yards on 45 carries). So Tech has the capability of shutting an opponent down on the ground. Tyler led the way with 112 tackles, including 11 for a loss, numbers that earned him first-team All-ACC honors by the coaches. Taylor had 65 tackles, but a key might be how the safeties integrate themselves in the run-stopping game. Kyshoen Jarrett is second on the team with 77 tackles. When the Hokies have done well at stopping the run, the secondary has been solid with its tackling. When they’ve struggled is when Tech’s players have missed those one-on-one opportunities.

Edge: Virginia Tech

Special teams

Virginia Tech has two solid options in the return game, with Demitri Knowles (28.3 avg.) on kicks and Jarrett (13.9 avg.) on punts. Both have scored touchdowns this year. Punter A.J. Hughes (40.3 avg.) hasn’t been spectacular, but for a Hokies punter to be over 40 yards with his average is a major turnaround from last year. Cody Journell has been a solid kicker, making 18 of 22 tries this year. He had clutch kicks against Boston College and Virginia that got the Hokies to a bowl game. What Tech can’t afford is any of the gaffes — giving up big returns, muffing punts, having punts blocked — that seem to have popped up at inopportune times this season.

That’s where Rutgers thrives on special teams. The Scarlet Knights have blocked eight kicks this season, tied with UCLA for tops in the nation. The 31 they’ve blocked since 2009 are also the most nationally, seven more than their closest competitor, Fresno State. They play more of a “Beamer Ball” style that the Hokies do. But Rutgers’ special teams numbers aren’t great. The Scarlet Knights are 116th in net punting (33.3 avg.) and 104th in punt returns (4.3 avg.), slightly making up for it with a solid kick return game (23.4 avg., 35th nationally). Coach Kyle Flood went with kicker Nick Borgese (4-5 FG) over opening day starter Kyle Frederico (6-11), who is coming back from a hip injury. Borgese is only a redshirt freshman.

Edge: Virginia Tech

Coaching

There’s not much comparison in experience. Beamer has coached 26 years at Virginia Tech. Flood is in his first as a head coach at Rutgers, where he took over for program savior Greg Schiano after serving as the team’s offensive line coach for the six years. But for all their regular season success, Beamer’s teams haven’t exactly performed well in the postseason. Beamer is 8-11 in bowl games, having lost his last two in vastly different ways (a blowout by Stanford in the 2011 Orange Bowl and self-inflicting defeat in an overtime loss to Michigan in last season’s Sugar Bowl). It doesn’t help that the Hokies’ offensive staff will be coaching with cloud over their heads, uncertain about what their future with the program might be.

Edge: Push

Prediction

Rutgers’ recent postseason success is greater than Virginia Tech’s. The Scarlet Knights have won five straight bowls, the longest active streak in the country. But those have hardly been the highest-profile games. Rutgers’ bowl winning streak includes victories in the following bowls: Texas (vs. Kansas State in 2006), International (vs. Ball State in 2007), PapaJohns.com (vs. N.C. State in 2008), St. Petersburg (vs. Central Florida in 2009) and Pinstripe (vs. Iowa State in 2011). That’s hardly a Murderer’s Row. Tech has obviously had its problems in bowl games, although there’s a world of difference between losing in a BCS game and in a second- or third-tier bowl.

By predicting a low-scoring game, I am all but guaranteeing this will be an unexpected high-scoring affair. Nevertheless, I’m going with just what you’d expect — two offenses that won’t be able to do much against the other team’s defense, with a field goal being the difference. I barely give Virginia Tech the edge simply because I think despite its offensive inconsistency, it has a play-making edge with players like Thomas, Davis and Coleman, something that could get it into the end zone without having to go on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that will probably be a difficult task for either of these offenses.

Prediction: Virginia Tech 16, Rutgers 13