Sugar Bowl Reaction: Where Do Hokies Go From Here?
I started this post as a rapid recap of the Allstate Sugar Bowl, before it just turned into me spewing out thoughts as they flowed through my brain.
Michigan’s 23-20 overtime win was the type of game that could send all parties involved in a coma. It wasn’t the prettiest game to watch, but the dramatics were enough to coerce TNT to ask for re-broadcasting rights.
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How Michigan won:
By capitalizing on Virginia Tech’s mistakes. Every Michigan score in regulation came off either a turnover or a drive kept alive by a Tech penalty. The Wolverines struggled to move the ball all night long, being held to 184 yards of total offense. It was their lowest total output since a 2007 loss to Ohio State. Junior Hemingway, who took home the game’s MVP honors, made a fabulous touchdown grab late in the second quarter that was arguably the only memorable offensive play of the game for Michigan.
How Virginia Tech lost:
Poorly timed penalties, questionable play-calling, and just tough luck doomed the Hokies. Michigan faked a field goal at the end of the first half and though it seemed destined for failure, the holder’s wild throw was batted up into the air and caught by a lineman. That gave Michigan a first down, and it resulted in an actual field goal to put the Wolverines ahead 10-6 at halftime.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Hokies inexplicably faked a punt in Michigan territory and it failed miserably. Danny Coale was brought down on Tech’s side of the field on the botched attempt. All Michigan needed was one first down and it was in field goal range. If the Hokies really wanted to go for it on 4th and 1, common logic would have called for a quarterback sneak from Logan Thomas. Which leads me to…
Don’t point fingers at:
Thomas or Danny Coale. There was a definitive learning curve this season for the redshirt sophomore quarterback, but tonight he was sensational. He was 19-of-28 passing for 214 yards with one interception. He engineered a brilliant drive in the final four minutes to set up Justin Myer’s game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. For the second time this season (Miami on Oct. 15), Thomas was clutch when his team needed it most. Coale hauled in eight passes for 117 yards, and it looked like he made a ninth grab that would have given the Hokies a touchdown advantage in overtime.
Coale’s one-handed, diving grab on the sideline was the best non-catch you’ll ever see, and it’s sure to be argued about for some time among the Tech faithful as to whether or not it should have been ruled complete. Personally, I thought there was not conclusive evidence to overturn the ruling on the field, but what the hell do I know? Coale was brilliant. Losing him to graduation can not be emphasized enough.
A big pat on the back should go to Bud Foster and the Tech defense. This unit battled through injuries all season long yet held it together week in, week out. Tuesday night, they suffocated Michigan’s offense — specifically, Denard Robinson. He ran for 13 yards on 13 carries, an all time low for “Shoelace”.
Point fingers at:
I hate, hate, hate when people do this, but the coaching staff. This was a miserably managed game at times. Frank Beamer said following the game that he gave Coale the option of either kicking the ball or running for the first down. Why on earth you let a guy who’s punted in three games ever (or any punter for that reason, but even more so here) have that much liberty is inexplicable.
Also, after slicing Michigan’s secondary apart all night, the Hokies called two running plays straight up the middle to start overtime, setting up the aforementioned pass to Coale. Thomas was the best player on the field in this game, but he clearly has not earned the complete trust of his coaches yet. It’s that ultra-conservative philosophy that has drawn so much criticism over the years, and it’s only going to intensify in the wake of this loss.
What it means for Tech going forward:
There is an absolute ZERO percent chance that the Tech boosters, no matter how enraged they may be (which I’ve already heard is extreme in some cases), will force Beamer out the door. Is it tough to go through loss after loss on the biggest stage? Absolutely, but Beamer built this program from scratch and he’ll leave on his own terms as long as Tech continues to contend in the ACC.
That said, I can envision a world in which Beamer faces so much pressure to shake up his offensive staff that it just might happen. There isn’t a coach in America who’s more loyal to his assistants than Beamer, but that glass ceiling hovering over this program isn’t budging. Whenever the Hokies lose…er…play in big games like this one, the blame is ultimately centered around the offense. Sometimes it’s play-calling, other times it’s execution, and also sometimes it’s a lack focus.
I know Bryan Stinespring and Mike O’Cain very well. They are both incredibly great people. That’s what makes this harder than anything, but if the Hokies are to move into the elite class of college football teams, changes have to come somewhere. I think O’Cain should stay on — the work he’s done with Thomas and Tyrod Taylor before that was remarkable. Stinespring has worn out his welcome in Blacksburg, though, as has offensive line coach Curt Newsome. Stinespring receives the lion’s share of the blame most nights, but Newsome has done a horrid job in his time at Tech at developing his unit.
Wholesale changes would be the wrong way to go. There is something good going in Blacksburg, but a minor shake-up would be in the best interests of everyone. The Hokies have officially become the Chokies until further notice.
Frank Beamer is staying put exactly where he is right now. That doesn’t mean the window between the end of his career and the inevitable Shane Beamer Era didn’t become more narrow Tuesday night. Frank Beamer loves Virginia Tech more than anything, and if he senses that it’s time to make a change at the top, he’ll do so gracefully.
I’ll talk in much greater detail about next season in the coming days, but with the pieces that are in place for the 2012 season, the Hokies will be a prohibitive favorite to reach the ACC Championship Game yet again. Miami is in disarray, Virginia showed it isn’t ready to compete with the Hokies yet, and that game is in Blacksburg next season. Georgia Tech is on the decline. It will be the Hokies and Clemson or Florida State in Charlotte next season. Mark it down now. Even without Jayron Hosley, who announced he’s turning pro after the game, the Hokies’ defense will be lights out. Losing Hosley honestly won’t matter very much at the end of the day. He’s an overrated player who won’t be drafted nearly as highly as he expects.
David Wilson is, according to people who know people, also out the door. Tony Gregory was never the answer at running back next season, and he tore his ACL Tuesday night for the second time in two years. The battle at running back will be between redshirt freshman Michael Holmes and true freshmen J.C. Coleman and Drew Harris. Despite the lack of experience in the backfield, the Hokies will manage just fine.
The Hokies host Florida State and travel to Clemson next year. If they lose both games and still reach the ACC Championship Game, it would be a must-win for Beamer. I can’t imagine the venom that Tech supporters would be gushing under such circumstances. Another year of heart-crushing losses against the best teams on the schedule, and it could get…well…I just don’t want to even imagine it. As wonderful as he’s been for the school, the program and the community, it will be time for Beamer to look at himself in the mirror and evaluate if he still belongs in charge.
We haven’t reached the tipping point yet in Blacksburg, but the pressure is mounting fast. Free passes are no more.
How many times, HOW MANY TIMES, can we end a season pointing fingers at coaching, ESPECIALLY the offensive coaching? Being a Hokies fan is worse than being a Red Sox fan before they turned it around. We’re deservedly the laughing stock of college football. We’re every program’s dream match up in a bowl game. I despise Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May because they are always so negative about VT, but they are always right about us – we’re guaranteed to choke on the biggest stage because we’re the most consistently overrated team in college football. Somehow, despite the coaching staff, we manage to score points and win a lot of games – generally against really bad teams. At least last night threw in a new wrinkle – we generally just get blown out instead of going to overtime.
I love our players, and I agree minor coaching changes could make a vast difference. We have the talent, we have playmakers, and Bud Foster is one of the best defensive coaches of this era. This article nailed it – every year our offensive play-calling and offensive line play are our weakest points.
Gabe, I hate to have to agree with you, but I do, and it sucks. The frustration has been mounting in me for years, and I almost — wait, I definitely do — get sick to my stomach whenever I think about college football anymore. It hasn’t been fun. (And let’s be honest: isn’t that the reason we watch?)
Yep, it sucks. On our first First-And-Goal last night I said to my 8-year-old son (he plays football, but I wanted to keep it kinda simple, this was shortly after the cameras had focused on Stinespring and I told my son he wasn’t a great play caller) “This is why that offensive coach sucks – EVERYONE knows we’re about to run the ball”. And then we did, and had Second-And-Goal from where-ever that ended up being.
Josh, you hit the mail on the head. I’ve been following the Hokies for 50 years and I love Frank and what he has done for the VT program. But he is undeniably loyal to a fault. I have never before called for a coach to be fired but Stinespring has to go and so does Newsome. The offensive world has passed them by and Frank has to change his philosophy regarding his offensive perspective. This is no longer a 1980′s football world.
There is NO WAY that “The Dean” of college football is leaving his post. That would be the Biggest mistake in VT history.
Until the home grown talent can get it together on the trips in January VT will continue to come up short.(The coaches biggest challenge isn’t on the field, but off…2 kickers C’mon Man!!)
The BCS/ bowl system is just an opportunity to increase revenue for schools and continue to “legally” continue workouts. Both of which are why Virginia Tech is where it is today. The facilities are impressive enough to “woo” recruits and the added field time has allowed VT to “reload” rather than rebuild.
We might all be upset and disappointed over ANOTHER BCS loss, but we can all be assured that none are more vexed than Coach Beamer and his staff.
Remember its ENTERTAINMENT for us and BUSINESS for them. A bad call might cost us our voice, but it cost “The Dean” $???,000.00 (Remember his compensation package)
BTW, they were the “Chokies” before the blogger was even born. I was a fan then and still a fan of the #8 winningest program of the past decade, behind Boise State (Ha) Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State (cheaters), TCU, USC (cheaters), LSU, with no violations only “head cases’.
Lets face it. The only satisfaction for we the fan, is when the now empty trophy case at The Merryman Center..(a $10,000,000.00+ facility that Beamer’s program built) is no longer empty.
GO HOKIES !!!!!!
That’s a great perspective. Sometimes in the wake of these bitter defeats we, as fans, lose sight of how much Beamer has done for the program. Like Josh says – minor changes are in order, not a full-blown reorganization.
For VT to ever become an “elite” semi-pro football program, the spinless athletic department must schedule some games with some real Division I talent. VT is in possibly the weakest conference in the BCS/ESPN/NCAA cabal and never schedules any games with a team from a strong conference, e.g. SEC. VT did schedule the game last year with Boise State and LOST. Having one only one of six BCS bowl games is a disgrace to both the ACC and to a program that is only designed to keep the so-called overpaid mavens that head the program in the $$$$$.
A move to the SEC is the only move VT should be considering, especially with the addition of SU & PITT.
Beamer is so called loyal because he is allowed to be by the administration. Beamer should have been forced to take Stiney from the OC position years ago. Braine stepped in and had to become the FB coach for a bit and make Beamer change coaches or either he was gone. This should have been done again about 10 years ago, but Beamer has gotten too big with VT now. I call it not doing your job.
Not only should Stiney be forced out, but Beamer should be relieved of his ST duties and should not be allowed to say what they do during a game. HE cost the team the Michigan game and did the same thing in the Boise game, costing the team that one. I think Beamer needs to go, because how much embarrassement can one program indure ? The sad thing is, that because VT allowed Beamer to become too big, there has not been the pressure on him to perform on the big stage. The things that Beamer has been allowed to get away with he would not have at any Big time football school. The losses are the result of not taking the season and the games serious, like Bama or Michigan or another big time football school would. As long as VT does not taking winning serious, they could continue to lose the big games. When something isn’t working you make changes. At VT you make excuses.
Not working?????….UVA, MD, NCState, Duke….Now thats ”NOT WORKING”..give me a break, sounds like another “Post Vick” fan