10.11.2009

Virginia Tech-Boston College: What we learned


It was another strong performance by Frank Beamer’s team Saturday afternoon, beating the Boston College Eagles 48-14.


After the shaky game last week against Duke, the Hokies responded with a dominating showing  in all facets of the game.

There was no Matt Ryan comeback today, as the Hokies crushed the Eagles’ hopes early, going up 34-0 in the first half. 

With the win, and LSU’s loss to Florida, the Hokies are sure to move to fourth in the polls, and are inching closer towards a shot at a national title.

Here’s what we can take from Saturday’s game:

Tyrod Taylor is finally comfortable in the offense

After two years and four games, Tyrod Taylor has shown the last two weeks that he can toss the rock. In the early going against the Eagles, Taylor struggled to get rid of the ball, taking two sacks and bailing on plays for the run a handful of other times.

After that, Taylor began to stretch the field, hitting open receivers downfield for big plays. The biggest difference in Taylor from this year to his first two years at Tech is when he is pressured; he is beginning to scramble, but still keeping his head downfield to throw.

As a freshman and sophomore, Taylor would take off and run any chance he got. Now, he is keeping plays alive by moving around in the backfield before finding wide-open players.

He is finally turning into the quarterback Tech needs him to be if they want to go to the next level.

Boston College is what we thought they were

Ah, I can hear Dennis Green now. Before the season, Boston College was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Division. With a new coach, no quarterback with any experience, and a defense in revamp mode, there was little hope in Chesnut Hill.

The Eagles looked to be the surprise team of the year after beating Florida State and Wake Forest at home heading into the game with Tech. instead, the Hokies’ defense exposed inexperienced quarterback David Shinskie. He completed only a single pass, while throwing two interceptions.

The Atlantic Division is up in the air, but it doesn’t look likely the Eagles will end up at the top. There are too many questions about both sides of the ball, and even their special teams struggled on Saturday. Frank Spaziani is a good coach, and will have the Eagles back to normal in the next couple years, but 2009 won’t have the happy ending they have been used to.

Jayron Hosley will be a star

All it took was a nullified punt return to show what Hosely can do. The true freshmen danced along the sideline, putting a juke on nearly every Eagle tackler for a 40-yard return. It was called back for a block-in-the-back penalty, but Hosely showed what he is capable of.

He was beat late in the game for a long touchdown, but the catch made by Colin Larmond, Jr. was spectacular, and hardly Hosely’s fault.

In the long line of great Hokie defensive backs this decade, Hosley is sure to be the next.

The Hokies are the best one-loss team in America

Everyone knows the pecking order of college football this year goes Florida-Alabama-Texas, then everybody else. In the group of once-beaten teams, you will find Virginia Tech, Ohio State, USC, Miami, and LSU.

Among those teams, the Hokies and Tigers have the best losses (to Alabama and Florida), while the Hokies, and USC has the best wins (over Miami, and Ohio State).

Miami lost to Tech, which is respectable, but knocks them out of contention should both the Hokies and ‘Canes run the table.

USC’s loss to Washington should eliminate them from being the best one-loss team. The Pac-10 is not any more difficult than the ACC, so it’s hard to imagine the Trojans jumping the Hokies should both teams win out.

As long as the Hokies keep winning, they will send the message to the country that they deserve to be in the national title should some of the top three teams falter.

Ryan Williams needs touchdowns

He is already one of the leading rushers in the country, but if Ryan Williams wants to be mentioned in Heisman Trophy talks, he needs to light up the scoreboard at a blistering rate.

There will be several running backs that finish with 1,500 yards or more, but not all of them will score 25 touchdowns, if any. His ability to break long runs and find the end zone is what separates him from the rest of the country, but it will take more than six good games to make the entire country know his name.

He will have the chance the next few weeks against Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and East Carolina to make a statement on national television. He needs a 200-yard performance in one of those three games to be put in the top six or seven candidates for the most prestigious award in college football. Don’t bet against it. 

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