VT-WVU Preview

As I noted Wednesday afternoon, Saturday’s game between #3 Virginia Tech (4-0, 3-0 ACC) and West Virginia (4-0, 1-0 Big East) is the last scheduled in this long-contested rivalry (12 noon EDT, ESPN/XM 191). That article took care of the fans; let’s focus on the football here. (BTN folks, head over to the Fanblogs version of the rivalry article for some high-quality entertainment from whiny Eerfan.)

Make no mistake, this game will be a challenge for the Hokies. The 2003 matchup is a singularly nasty omen: when Tech crushed moderately heralded Syracuse 51-7 ten days before traveling to WVU for the first serious road test of their year, the Hokies came out on the back end of a 28-7 beating. That game exposed serious holes in the VT defense and began a 1-5 slide to end the year. Since then, a lot has changed, though: the Hokie offense has matured and diversified, WVU has lost longtime field general Rasheed Marshall to graduation, and of course, the Hokies made the jump to (and promptly won) the ACC. This year, Tech had a nailbiter on the road against N.C. State to break in Marcus Vick, which ‘03 and the Big East scheduling philosophy didn’t offer.

Tech’s general offensive vulnerabilities this year look to be an inconsistent running game and an unstable offensive line, which is of particular concern as WVU again throws its unusual 3-3-5 defensive alignment at the Hokies. The problem has been that with the usually run-heavy Tech offense, the line must watch for at least two (nominal) defensive backs with hybrid linebacker responsibilities coming at the same time as six unusually-aligned DLs and (true) LBs. In addition to the more balanced attack requiring more attention to coverage responsibilities from the DBs, a new wrinkle in the VT offense this year has been the addition of an H-back, replacing either the fullback or some of the double tight-end sets from last year. This should help, but how much will depend on WVU’s propensity for defensive realignment to send pressure to the weak side, and then Marcus Vick’s ability (if any) to audible against an extremely loud Mountaineer Field crowd.

Will WVU assign an LB or hybrid DB to spy Vick? One Hokie message board poster made an apt observation this week, that so far Marcus is much more McNabb than Michael; he doesn’t have blinding speed or a rocket arm, but at the end of a play you’re still wondering how he eluded three tacklers and threaded the needle to a double-covered WR 25 yards downfield over the middle. I’d say that points to no; Marcus doesn’t take off and run nearly as much his brother, and that spy is probably better used in coverage or blitzing.

The other side of the ball is where WVU should really worry. Only managing 20 points against East Carolina doesn’t bode well against a Tech defense that is seasoned and tough despite starting five sophomores. WVU runs a QB platoon with sophomore Adam Bednarik (season: 35-45-367, 2 TD/2 INT) and freshman Pat White (17-29-238, 1/2), but relies heavily on the run; the tailback load is also split between sophomore Pernell Williams (46-153, 2 TD) and freshman Jason Gwaltney (34-117, 3 TD), but the QBs do a lot of running as well. Size-wise, the offensive line is solid, with no one under 6’3” or 290, and the unit has only allowed six sacks. But when the Hokies get to stack the box, they’re very difficult to stop, and WVU has no featured receivers worth mentioning. Whether the Mountaineers can pull out several new tricks as they did in ‘03 will go a long way to determining the result of this game.

Either way, one team and fanbase will walk away vindicated, the other crushed. That’s the joy of a rivalry.