I’ll make this short, and I won’t talk much about FSU. That’s not to short the Noles on credit; they shored up their confidence from November in the first half, then opened up a can on Tech in the 3rd quarter. Congrats to them; they earned the championship. I also won’t talk much about VT’s late rally, because I left in disgust after FSU’s last score in the 3rd quarter to take it to 27-3 and didn’t see it. It’s the first time I’ve done that since Pittsburgh ‘01, and I had a non-football reason to want to get back to Blacksburg then. All I had here was a hotel room, an Internet connection, and a blog.
*Tech has no idea how to play as the favorite. That’s the difference between champions and pretenders, and we’re pretenders until proven otherwise. Chokie Hi, baby!
*Other than Virginia, Tech gameplanned every game the second half of the season the same on offense. Tech counted on speed to make whatever headway they could in the first half, then waited for that speed plus physicality to wear down the opposing defense. That’s inverse Spurrierism: it’s a long way from the Fun-N-Gun, but both strategies require you to have superior personnel. It doesn’t work against programs like Miami and FSU that have talent and practically invented team speed in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
*The refs: If you allow them to decide the game, you don’t deserve to win anyway. Some of the calls and no-calls in the late second and early third quarters were simply shameful, but Tech’s general inability to execute for three quarters had nothing to do with the refs and a lot to do with (1) gameplan and (2) a maligned FSU defense that roared back to life.
Thoughts?
4 December 2005
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It’s well after midnight here in Jacksonville, so I’ll make time for a few thoughts on the first ACC Championship Game happening later today at Alltel Stadium between Virginia Tech and Florida State.
Florida State has the top-scoring offense in the ACC for the season, but has not been able to support it with defense; they’ve been mediocre against the run and bad against the pass. If Marcus Vick can find a fix for his inconsistency problems, he can make this game very tough to win for FSU; conversely, a run-it-down-their-throats approach as employed against UNC in the second half won’t get it done, despite Cedric Humes’s recent hot streak. A couple of early mid-range completions for Vick would do wonders.
Whether the Noles can rev that offense will depend on the coherence of their offensive line, ravaged by injuries and suspensions, as well as their general mental state after a three-game slide and a nasty defeat to arch-rival Florida last week. FSU fans hope this report is indicative. Objectively, this team has nothing to lose at this point; no one other than their own coaching staff seems to be giving them any credit. This is a mistake. It’s tempting to read too much into the Florida game, but I think the looming presence of the VT matchup changed the dynamic of that game somewhat: yes, it’s their state rival, yes, it’s pride, but there was one game left the next week with far more direct implications to their bowl future. It’s easier to go all-out when you’re closing out your season; knowing they would have the chance to salvage a major disappointment this Saturday (which this season has been to FSU, regardless of the UF result), I suspect FSU may have subconsciously held something back for Tech.
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3 December 2005
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