2010 Virginia Tech Football: What to Watch vs. Boise State
by furrer4heisman on Sep 3, 2010 8:00 AM EDT
in Virginia Tech Football
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The Team
- In the last two season openers, the Hokies came out flat and relied on their defense to stay in the game. I don't think they can afford to do that this year because of the explosive nature of Boise State's offense. The Tech offense needs to be effective from the start.
- It's the first game of the season, so there's going to be a lot of little mistakes on both sides. You'll see illegal formations, illegal substitutions and false starts. It'll be interesting to see how having 10 returning starters on both sides of the ball will help Boise State avoid these problems. The team that doesn't let penalties like this derail drives will have the upper hand.
- Field position will be key early on. The Hokies have a new punter, but their return game was solid last year on both punts and kickoffs. They also have Justin Myer back as the kickoff specialist and he is pretty consistent at getting the ball into the end zone.
- I don't think the heat and humidity will effect Boise State. Hopefully, the crowd noise will. I expect there to be a lot of Hokie fans in Landover and I expect them to be loud.
Virginia Tech Offense vs. Boise State Defense
- What I want to see is how the touches get distributed. If the Hokies are lucky they'll get 60 plays against Boise State. I think between 20-25 of those will be passes, leaving 35 touches to distribute between Ryan Williams, Darren Evans and David Wilson.
- I think Williams will get most of the carries early and end up with about 20. You'll see 10 from Darren Evans, most of them coming later in the game with five for David Wilson. I'm interested to see if Wilson gets his spread out through the game or in a cluster as a part of a special package in one or two possessions.
- The Broncos have a strong front seven, so the Hokies will need to use the advantage they have speed-wise and create mismatches where they can. I'd like to see some sets with 3+ receivers to take advantage of the fact that we are pretty deep at both receiver positions and have Wilson at our disposal.
- I'm interested to see how the Broncos secondary plays with Kyle Wilson out of the starting lineup. Kyle Wilson was obviously legit, but has moved onto the NFL. We'll see how the secondary performs without its best player from 2009.
- Finally, I want to see how many designed runs there are for Tyrod Taylor. We have some depth at quarterback now, so we could see the coaches take more chances with Taylor and his ability to run.
- By now we know the Broncos' M.O. on offense. We're going to see motion, we're going to see the same play out of different looks and we're going to see them throw a lot, even on first down. First down will be key for the Hokies, maybe even more so than on third down, when the Broncos are deadly efficient.
- If Tech is able to put Boise State in long-yardage situations, that's when Steven Friday, the rest of the defensive line and Jeron Gouveia-Winslow become important. The biggest key for the Hokies will be cutting down Kellen Moore's decision time and making him get rid of the ball.
- While the Hokies will try to create mismatches with their speed, Boise State will try to do the same. One of the key match-ups will be JGW against the Broncos' slot receivers. They have plenty of guys with speed at wide receiver and running back and at some point they will try to take advantage of those guys against him. How he responds will have a big impact on how well the Hokies can defend Boise's passing game.
- The best two defenses the Broncos faced last year both held them under 20 points. Those were also the only two games they were held under three yards per carry. While the Broncos do have a high-powered passing attack and will throw a lot in the first half, it's important the Hokies snuff out Boise's rushing attack to force them into obvious passing situations and stop them on third and short. Do that, and it's game on.
- I think that because of when this game is being played Boise State will be crisper and more efficient than the Hokies, who replace key guys on defense and have two new offensive linemen. If this one was played on Oct. 2, then I think Tech wins. But in the first game... I'm taking Boise.
- Turnovers
- Virginia Tech Rushing Yards
- Boise State 3rd Down Pct.
- Average Starting Field Position
- 5 - Tyrod Taylor, Sr., QB
- 34 - Ryan Williams, So., RB
- 82 - Steven Friday, Sr., DE
- 43 - Jeron Gouveia-Winslow, So., LB
- 11 - Kellen Moore, Jr., QB
- 1 - Titus Young, Sr., WR
- 13 - Brandyn Thompson, Sr., CB
- 98 - Ryan Winterswyk, Sr., DE
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Thoughts
1. It’s only supposed to be 70-75 degrees at game time cause of the hurricane rolling through before. Heat definitely not a factor.
2. If we’re as loud as we were vs. USC, then we SHOULD win the stupid penalty column.
3. LT is also going to be a huge position to watch. The coaches seemed satisfied, but definitely a key position to not really nail down before the season.
4. Totally agree about JGW being key. I’m worried about the experience of our linebackers in coverage vs. these guys. The defensive coaches seemed pretty high on Sykes, so it will be interesting to see how often they go to Nickel.
5. The QB read option should be used heavy by us. Force them to play conservative D and not crash down on RMFW every time.
I think this is basically just a tricked-out Cincinnati machine we’re playing and Bud handled that. I’m taking us.
VT-30 BSU-21
I would love
to see a lot of zone-read option with Tyrod in the backfield flanked by Williams and Wilson.
A bullhorn, a bottle of whiskey and a dream. Gobbler Country | Twitter | Facebook
by furrer4heisman on Sep 3, 2010 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Good luck!
I’m really looking forward to this game. In the lead up, I’ve been impressed by the majority of Hokie fans. You have an unusually friendly and respectful fan base. I really hope you guys have a one-loss season this year. Best of luck.
VT- 24 BSU- 31
Likewise
I’m really excited to tailgate near some Boise State fans on Monday. Last year, I found Bama fans to be way too pompous and they taunted us before the game. I’m excited for some good ol’ midwestern sunny disposition. As I’m not deluding myself and will be treating it as a home game, I hope the BSU fans are treated well and have a great time. If you can find my tailgate, I’ll offer you a shot of Evan(s) Williams. However, unlike Bama, UNC, and Gahhhh Tech, I have a good feeling about this one for the Hokies.
VT- 27 BSU – 24
Umm . . . midwestern?
Thanks for the post, HokiESQ, but I think you’d better check your geography. Boise, Idaho is NOT in the midwest. Maybe you’re confusing Idaho with Iowa. (You wouldn’t be the first.) Boise is definitely a western city, about 400 miles due east of the Pacific Ocean, in what is interchangeably called the Intermountain West (the Rocky Mountains) or the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho). Idaho is the most mountainous state in the lower 48 (check it out!). That said, I think our fans will treat you to some sunny Idaho disposition at the tailgate. I’m nervous about this game, but, then, I’ve been nervous about every big game since I became a Bronco 45 years ago. Best of luck to the Hokies. BSU by 17.
by River of No Return on Sep 3, 2010 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Speed Advantage and BSU's 3rd Down Efficiency
I’m interested in how you reach the conclusion about a speed advantage for VT. Is it an assumption or reliance on published times?
I think BSU was bottom half in 3rd down efficiency, but I might be mistaken.
Speed is personal opinion.
I think our offensive guys are faster than your defensive guys, mainly the linebackers. As far as 3rd down pct, it’s something I’ve seen your fans chirp about leading up to this game in the comments section.
You guys were 50 pct against Oregon, which is pretty damn good and one of the reasons you destroyed them in TOP and number of plays run. I’d say you guys were “inconsistent” on 3rd down conversions, but were pretty good when it mattered. Bad numbers against Idaho, Hawaii and Fresno hurt the overall average a lot.
A bullhorn, a bottle of whiskey and a dream. Gobbler Country | Twitter | Facebook
by furrer4heisman on Sep 3, 2010 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Your national rank
on 3rd downs was 73rd. Only five teams were at 50 percent or better last year. Four of those teams were really good and one of them was Texas A&M.
A bullhorn, a bottle of whiskey and a dream. Gobbler Country | Twitter | Facebook
by furrer4heisman on Sep 3, 2010 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Prediction
The old reverse jinx. I like it!
GAMETIME!
Well it is the friday before the game time for a scoring prediction. Based on everything I have read and studied from the eye test and statistics stand point I have come to 2 conclusions. 1. Although Boise has a very good defense the one thing they struggle with are teams that like to run downhill and that have marginally good backs the two teams that did this last year avg 33.5 ppg. 2. Boise offense as great as the numbers are consistently struggle with Defense that are marginally good this same Boise team played 3 teams ranked 65th or better in total defense in 2009 they averaged only 21 ppg. Also VT Defense yearly ranks well above 65. Here is my scoring prediction VT 35 BSU 23. I think it will be a highly entertaining game both teams due to the 1st game will have penalties and mistakes but both are well coached. I think the VT running game with enough bodies to continue to pound boise while not becoming fatigued is the main difference also boise knows with the efficiency ,arm of TT, and overall depth at the WR postion they cannot just sit in the box they will have to leave at lease 4 to 5 defenders in pass coverage. On the VT D side this will be the fast team BSU has played no disrespect to TCU also the corners that will line up against bsu will be the best they have seen.
CAN'T WAIT
Finally its almost here! I have to say I have been reading the VT fan posts on both obnug and here, are one word to describe VT fans is humble. For being one of the elite teams year in and out you guys are truly humble. Not like Oklahoma and Oregon fans. Good luck to us both, but in this game GO BRONCOS!
Red zone mistakes...
Last year Boise had some bad mistakes early. The Oregon game should have been more of a blow out on the scoreboard. Lots of miscues on the center/QB exchange. I hope we don’t see a repeat this year. Also, if Boise stays on the left side of the field, they could be in trouble if they don’t make the third down conversion. Brotz has been having a problem with that side for over a year now (he is still one of my favorite players).
I wish for the Hokies to have an undefeated season, after the seventh. Heck Oregon got to go the Rose Bowl, even after losing to Boise.
I love the colors Orange and Blue. Go Broncos!!! Go Titans!!! BAD WORD Gators!!!
From a YPC standpoint
I expect Ryan Williams to have a Ryan Mathews type of day. He won’t get enough carries to rack up that large of a total, but he’ll enjoy good success on Monday.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
Boise Fans
As a Hokie fan that lives in the DC metro area, I’ve seen Bronco Nation trickling in over the last few days. The handful of Bronco fans that I’ve spoken to have been very cool.
Frankly, the Tech and Boise programs have a lot in common with each other.
They’re both ‘the little program that could’ – teams that pulled themselves out of nowhere with good coaching and solid athletes. The blueblood programs dismissed both until signature bowl game wins (VT vs Texas in 95 Sugar Bowl; Boise vs Oklahoma in 07 Fiesta) proved they could play with the big boys.
I will happily root for Boise in every game this season AFTER Monday.
Lots of respect from this bronco fan.
Over this summer learning about your team and program I have become a fan. After today I will be surely rooting for you guys. I know most (anyone that knows Anything) bronco fans have a lot of respect for you guys. Good luck.
BSU 31 – VT 27.
Old enough to know better, too young to care.
NFL ON MINUTE TO WIN IT
Check out the NFL on Minute to Win IT tonight on NBC at 8pm! This show is the only thing that gets me by before the season starts! Pierre Thomas and Visanthe Shiancoe are on it to win money for their charities !
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