Leaving Lane Stadium and traveling elsewhere has been miserable for Frank Beamer and the Hokies. Virginia Tech is looking for its first road win of the season, which seems like a daunting task considering this is undoubtedly the biggest game of the season. But if history has taught us anything- the Hokies are 25-2 in ACC-play in November (thanks, Andy Bitter)- we may not see the same team that lost at Pittsburgh, Cincy (at FedEx), UNC, and Clemson.

It’s simple: the winner of this game has the inside track to the ACC Coastal Division title. Here are some things/statistics to look out for during the contest:

1. Hokies rushing yards

Miami is currently dead-last in the ACC in the following categories: scoring defense (32.4), total defense (499.1 yards), and rushing defense (249.2 yards). The Miami pass defense (sixth) isn’t a pushover, so the Hokies will have to beat the ‘Canes on the ground. Virginia Tech averages 157 yards rushing per game; if the Hokies are to win the game, you’ll need to see at least 200 yards on the ground.

2. Defensive personnel

After facing strictly spread offenses the previous four games, Bud Foster’s defense will face four teams that run some version of the pro style. That means that tonight will likely be the first game Ronny Vandyke sees significant time at the whip spot. Expect to see the nickel package as well with Michael Cole, especially if the Hokies build a lead.

3. Miami’s passing attack vs. Tech’s secondary

The Hurricanes boast the conference’s fourth-best aerial attack with 288 yards per game, and the Hokies have the second-best pass defense at 203 yards. Not much else needs to be said- whoever wins this battle will likely win the game.

PREDICTION

The Hokies rushing attack gets going, allowing Logan Thomas to finally utilize play-action passing as a weapon. Although it’s a close game throughout, Bud Foster’s revamped defense makes just enough plays to win, and cover the 1.5-point spread.

Hokies 31 Miami 23

Not much is expected from this year’s Virginia Tech basketball team. Nor should it.

ACC coaches expect the Hokies to finish 10^th in the conference… or worse. They have a new head coach that hasn’t had any head coaching experience after AD Jim Weaver fired two-time ACC Coach of the Year Seth Greenberg. Tech lost three starters, including ACC all-freshman and leading rebounder Dorrian Finney-Smith to the University of Florida.

But new coach James Johnson isn’t seeing the glass half-empty. He knows it’s going to be an uphill struggle. And he also knows this is a great opportunity to prove everyone wrong.

“It is what it is. People can say whatever, but we have to play the games regardless…whether we were picked 1st or picked 12th, you still gotta play,” Johnson said while addressing the media Friday before Tech’s first fall practice. “The first thing we’re gonna do is get better every time we take the floor, and everything else is going to take care of itself.”

While expectations aren’t high, there are some things working in the Hokies favor. Most teams with new head coaches struggle at first as players and coaches get to know each other, but that won’t be the case in Blacksburg. Johnson served as an assistant under Greenberg for the past five years, which gives him a unique advantage.

“It makes the transition a lot smoother for me and for the guys,” Johnson said. “They know me and what to expect from me. I know their strengths, their weaknesses, the things they need to work on…and I know the type of person they are.”

The transition has been smooth for a team that finished 16-17 last season, and it helps to have the ability to build around returning leading scorer Erick Green. The senior averaged 15.6 PPG (seventh-best in the ACC) after recording 11.6 PPG in 2010-11. Johnson believes his point guard can take his game to a new level.

“He’s gonna be a focal part of our offense, our entire team,” Johnson said. “We do look forward to him upping his point-per-game average, and in fact his total game. He’s our senior leader, and we all know what he needs to do for us. I think he’s up to it.”

Johnson mentioned that he wants the offense to “play as fast as we can” in an up-tempo offense that will sometimes feature three guards.

While much of the talk surrounded around the Hokies offensive look, Johnson (a Powhatan native) should make an immediate impact on the defensive side of the court. He was the primary defensive coach when George Mason shocked the world with its Final Four run in 2006.

“Defense is my staple. It was as a player (at Ferrum College), it was at my stop at George Mason…and we were very successful there. Defense is always going to be a big key for us.”

The first game of the James Johnson-era will be on Nov. 10 against East Tennessee State at Cassell Coliseum.

(photo credit: Matt Gentry/Roanoke Times)

For postgame quotes and a recap of the Hokies 38-17 loss, head on over to the Collegiate Times. With the Hokies falling to 4-4, hopes of a Coastal Division crown have fallen, but it’s not devastating.

Here’s some thoughts/notes on Saturday’s contest at Memorial Stadium.

1. The defense played good enough to win.

38 points says otherwise, but Bud Foster’s unit played outstanding. Of the two Clemson touchdowns in the first half, one was an interception return. The other was a 26-yard drive set up by the punt that hit Christian Reeves in the back of the leg. Despite allowing just 137 yards of total offense, the Hokies were down 17-10 at halftime.

In the second half, the defense forced five three-and-outs of the eight Clemson drives. Of course, those three other drives were touchdowns, but Tech wasn’t exactly winning the field position battle. The three Tigers’ touchdown drives: 52, 47, and 31 yards.

That’s not even taking into account the fact that Detrick Bonner stripped Sammy Watkins on the second touchdown drive, which may have been one of the worst reviews in the technology’s history. (We’ll come back to this.)

All in all, the defense allowed 295 total yards of offense. To put that in perspective, Clemson’s previous low for offensive output was 426 yards against FSU, and averaged 525 yards coming in.

2. Same story, different chapter. The run game ultimately hindered the Virginia Tech offense.

It’s not like the Hokies had to air out a comeback; Clemson never took a 14-point lead until 4:30 remaining in the third quarter. Virginia Tech even handily won the time of possession battle at 33:57 to 26:03. Logan Thomas rushed for a season-high 99 yards, but the four running backs (Gregory, Scales, Coleman, Holmes) combined for just 93 yards on 26 carries (3.4 yards per carry).

If it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times. It’s extremely difficult for Tech to win when it’s Logan Thomas vs. The Opponent’s Defense.

3. Refs don’t decide games, but they provided the contest’s turning point.

Down by seven points in the third quarter, Thomas appeared to get off a pass to a wide-open Coleman with a defender attempting to bring him down. However, the referee had blown the play dead as a sack, and the Hokies punted.

Two plays later, Bonner appeared to strip Watkins on a first-down catch that the Hokies recovered. During the review, clear evidence of the ball being dislodged before Watkins’ fanny hit the ground was shown. For the Hokie faithful, it seemed as if the offense would get another shot to tie the game. As we all know, the call wasn’t overturned, and the Tigers took a 24-10 lead 5 plays later.

4. Two coaching decisions didn’t cost the game, but it certainly didn’t help.

Up 7-0 and facing a fourth-and-a long one at the Clemson 18, Beamer elected to give the ball to Michael Holmes, who was immediately stopped in the backfield. (Martin Scales, anyone?) Getting a two-score lead in Clemson certainly seemed like the logical choice.

To add insult to injury, the playcall for the Marcus Davis-double pass was severely ill-timed. Beamer said that the play had been open earlier in the game, so they tried it again. Did it ever occur to anyone on the staff that somebody from Clemson saw what Tech was trying to do, and made a halftime adjustment for it? Or just the plain fact that the Clemson defense is expecting a trick-play of that sort up 14?

Oy.

The Hokies have a bye week coming up, and Florida State comes into town the following Thursday. It should be noted that the Hokies are 4-0 at Lane Stadium this season.

Week 2 recap:

Although week two of the young college football season may have seemed uneventful, there were some games that deserve recognition.

Everything went according to plan for the top 7 teams in the country as Alabama, USC, LSU, Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida State, and Georgia all cruised to victory.

The same can’t be said for #8 Arkansas who was upset by Louisiana-Monroe in overtime.  Louisiana-Monroe rallied back from a 21-7 deficit at halftime.  They also accumulated 550 total yards compared to Arkansas who only totaled 377 yards.

Michigan State kept the train rolling with a 41-7 win over Central Michigan. Le’Veon Bell didn’t go over 200 yards.  In fact he didn’t even go over 100 yards, but he did add 2 touchdowns to the beat down.

Tajh Boyd kept Clemson rolling as well as they took down Ball State down with ease in a 52-27 victory.  Boyd threw for 229 yards and 3 touchdowns keeping his case as a possible Heisman candidate in tact.

Wisconsin had a very disappointing road loss to Oregon State in what many thought should have been a fairly easy win.  Ohio State was less than impressive in their 31-16 victory of UCF even though Braxton Miller did have 3 rushing touchdowns along with a passing touchdown.

Virginia Tech looked like Virginia Tech in a 42-7 rout over Austin Peay and Texas destroyed New Mexico.  Arizona upset Oklahoma State a week after they put up 84 points.

Michigan upset fans again by squeaking by Air Force.  However, Denard Robinson threw for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns.  Kansas State put a beat down on Miami, 52-13 and Florida took down Texas A&M 20-17 in Texas A&M’s SEC debut.

Although, it wasn’t as exciting as week one, it was still an exciting weekend of football, and as week three comes along there should be quite a few good games that could shake up the national championship discussions.

BLACKSBURG, VA – With just under six minutes to go in the second quarter Saturday, Virginia Tech had only a 7-0 lead, dark storm clouds were brewing over Lane Stadium, and Frank Beamer was probably experiencing a bit of déjà vu.

But unlike in 2010 – when the Hokies lost their second game of the year to James Madison only 5 days after their season opener – Virginia Tech made sure history did not repeat itself by beating Austin Peay 42-7 just 5 days after this year’s season opener.

“Last time we did that,” said a relieved Beamer after the game in reference to the two games in 5 days, “we were 0-2. At least we’re 2-0. It’s not easy. Georgia Tech just takes a lot out of you.”

The Hokies certainly didn’t make anything look easy early in the game, as midway through the second period,, they led only 7-0 and that score was created by Tony Gregory’s second career punt block. But then Tech’s offense came to life, scoring three touchdowns in a span of 12:44 to open the lead up to 28-0.

After noting that he played “like garbage” against Georgia Tech, quarterback Logan Thomas paced the Hokies attack by going 15-of-23 for 212 yards and 2 TD’s in the air and also added a 1-yard TD run.

“It was better,” Thomas said. “Still a long way to go but better. I had my feet under me on every throw, and you didn’t see many errant passes over the head or anything like that.”

Logan’s passing set up his 1-yard run to make it 14-0, then Thomas hit Corey Fuller on a 30-yard TD pass to make it 21-0 at halftime. Michael Holmes’ second rushing touchdown upped the margin to 28 midway through the third period, and while the Hokie defense lost its shutout when AP’s Terrence Oliver scored on a 10-yard run, Thomas tossed a 13-yard scoring pass to Randall Dunn, and Gregory would find the end zone on an 19-yard run to make the final 42-7.

Jack Tyler led the defense with eight total tackles and was named the Hokies’ defensive MVP. Virginia Tech forced five straight three-and-outs to start the game, but Tyler noted there is still work to be done before the next game against Pittsburgh.

“We would of liked to play a little better,” Tyler said. “It wasn’t our best effort, but we made plays when we needed to. We got the win, and that’s all that matters.”

Finally, the college football season is underway.   It was an exciting weekend as always with some great games and plays including, quite possibly, the catch of the year.

That catch of the year came from Ohio State’s Devin Smith who made a leaping and twisting one handed grab in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.  The Buckeyes started off slow and looked like they were so anxious that they played uptight.  However, as soon as the second quarter came along the Buckeyes rolled.  Braxton Miller accounted for 368 of the Buckeyes 538 yards with 207 in the air and 161 on the ground along with three total touchdowns.

Fellow Big Ten school, Michigan State, barely got by Boise State and rode the back of Le’Veon Bell who rushed for 210 yards and two touchdowns and added six catches for 55 yards.

Sticking with the Big Ten, Michigan did not fare too well against the Crimson Tide of Alabama.  Michigan’s poor play was a big disappointment to many as they were expected to be very good this season. Denard Robinson was not only shut down by the Alabama defense, but he also played poorly by making some bad decisions.

However, Alabama rolled.  Their offensive line was dominant and opened up some major holes for their running backs to get through and out into space.  AJ McCarron controlled the game from the beginning and was mistake free.  The Alabama defense looked like they will have the best defense in the country, yet again.

Former number one in the polls, USC, took down Hawaii with ease but still lost their ranking to Alabama.  Heisman favorite Matt Barkley threw for 372 yards and 4 touchdowns including 2 to Robert Woods.  Marqise Lee added 10 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown as well.

Oklahoma did not play like fourth ranked team in the country as they looked bad against UTEP.  South Carolina squeaked by Vanderbilt.  Oregon was up huge at halftime and then stopped scoring and ended with a 57-34 victory over Arkansas State.

West Virginia took down Marshall 69-34 with Geno Smith accounting for 5 touchdowns.  LSU looked solid without the Honey Badger and Clemson took down Auburn behind Andre Ellington and his 228 rushing yards.  This weekend recap can’t go without mentioning the 84-0 victory Oklahoma State had over Savannah State. Finally, Virginia Tech defeated Georgia Tech by a field goal in overtime escaping another opening game loss.

This was a very exciting weekend of college football and the rest of the season should be no different.  Alabama should continue to roll, and USC should keep up the offense for the rest of the season, potentially creating a great matchup for the national title.