Photos: ESPN College GameDay for VT-UM

BTN readers who haven’t had the opportunity to see ESPN College GameDay live in person may be interested in some of my photos from today’s show in Blacksburg before tonight’s Virginia Tech-Miami showdown.

For the record, Kirk Herbstreit picked the Hokies and Lee Corso donned the Miami ibis head for the first time in Blacksburg.

VT-Miami Preview

The eyes of the college football world are focused on Blacksburg, Virginia this weekend as the #3 Virginia Tech Hokies (8-0, 5-0 ACC) host the #5 Miami Hurricanes (6-1, 3-1 ACC) at 7:45 PM Saturday night (ESPN/XM 192). ESPN has brought the full might of its media machine to town, broadcasting ESPN2’s Cold Pizza morning show from Blacksburg on Friday morning, College Gameday on Saturday morning, the radio GameDay all day long on Saturday, and even running a game-long feed from the quarterback’s-view Skycam (paired with the regular commentators’ audio) on ESPNU.

Hype aside, this is the most-anticipated game of the year short of the Rose Bowl, as pre-season commentators pointed to it as a potential national championship semifinal. Many Hokie fans point to Tech’s first-ever win over Miami, in 1995, as the true launch of this program to its current national status. That game began a 5-year Hokie winning streak, aided by Miami’s probation handed down later in that 1995 season. Conversely, Miami capped its resurgence in 2000 with a resounding win over the Hokies with Michael Vick hobbled by a Pittsburgh ankle twist, and then knocked out two more consecutive wins: 26-24 in 2001 with the Hokies giving them their best challenge of the year despite a 4-for-20 from QB Grant Noel, then a 56-45 shootout in 2002. The Hokies turned it around 31-7 in 2003 with one of the most electric wins in Virginia Tech history, then knocked the Hurricanes off last year 16-10 in a de facto ACC championship game. Since 1995, the Hokies have never feared Miami, and Tech’s refusal to give Miami what the Canes view as their due deference has created one of the truly nasty rivalries of the past decade.

Let’s break this one down. Read More »

...And Those Maryland Fans

For a recent alumnus, I’m a fairly well-traveled Hokie football fan. I’ve been to UVa three times. I’ve been to Miami twice, including 2004 with an ACC championship and Sugar Bowl berth on the line. In the Big East days, I went to Pittsburgh twice. In 2002, I even went to Western Michigan, where I had to fend off a drunk student taking a run at me from Frat Row as I walked to the game. I’ve been to four different bowl games, partying with hordes of Auburn, Bama and FSU fans. But never before have I experienced such a poisonous football atmosphere, and been subjected to such vicious personal treatment, as happened Thursday night at Maryland.

Outside the stadium wasn’t bad; we were waved into the parking deck adjoining the Comcast Center, and walked through the Hokie-dominated Comcast lot before turning toward the stadium. My friend and I got a couple of snide comments and some drunken booing from Maryland fans, but that’s normal and acceptable. When you’ve just brought a #3 football team and at least 8,000 road fans onto campus, you should expect mild harassment within the bounds of civilized behavior.

Inside the stadium, though, those bounds were crossed with impunity. We reached our seats in the third deck at about 5:45 PM; a smattering of other fans, mostly Hokies, had already entered as well, but the only area of the stadium heavily populated was the student section. The cheers that rose from that section started with the obscene and migrated toward the sexually disgusting. At one point, a spirit squad came onto the field to lead cheers, joined by someone wearing a red #99 football jersey. During this stretch, the spirit squad led a group of four male students with the F word spelled out on their backs onto the field; they were cheered, then returned to their seats. During this rally, the Hokie team had entered the field to practice; as the VT offense huddled in one corner of the end zone, the students pelted the players with debris as #99 waved and yelled encouragement.

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VT-Maryland Postgame Notes

I’ll just throw out some quick notes on Virginia Tech’s 28-9 win over Maryland Thursday night in College Park.

For the first three quarters, it felt as if both Tech and Maryland were trying to lose the game; the Terps just tried a little harder. That characterization isn’t fair to the Tech defense, though, which shut Maryland down for most of the game, allowing them to move the ball only in fits and starts. The Hokies’ D forced Maryland kicker Dan Ennis into three long field goal attempts; his first one barely quacked its way over from 38, while the other two (38 and 47, both drives off Marcus Vick INTs) were low and short. Their best chance at a touchdown was on the opening drive, before Hollenbach was intercepted at the 12.

Marcus Vick had his best game on the ground since he arrived at Tech, running for 133 yards and a touchdown; his passing stats were fine (14-23 for 211 yards) outside of three ghastly interceptions in the third quarter. If he needed to get that sort of thing out of his system, best to do it now; Hokie fans just hope his accuracy checks back in in time for Boston College’s visit next week. It will be a lot harder to create running holes through BC’s huge defensive line, with or without Matthias Kiwanuka.

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VT-Maryland Preview

Playtime is over for the 6-0, #3 Virginia Tech Hokies this week as they head for College Park to take on the 4-2 Maryland Terrapins on Thursday night at 7:45 (ESPN/XM 191). Last year, Maryland went into Blacksburg expecting to put up a fight, despite a mediocre season to date; instead they were mauled 55-6, and that embarrassment has stuck with them as they prepare for this one. Both teams took last week off; two weeks ago, the Hokies’ last game was a lackluster 41-14 pounding of Marshall, while the Terrapins won a 45-33 slugfest with Virginia in College Park.

Maryland brings a balanced offensive attack piloted by junior QB Sam Hollenbach, who has ascended from third/fourth string last year to become one of the top QBs in the ACC this year. His favorite target is senior TE Vernon Davis. Defensively, their line is nothing special, but the linebacking corps is upper-half in the ACC, led by senior D’Qwell Jackson, and the backfield is of similar quality.

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