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Eight turnovers in the span of two weeks have doomed this Hokies' offense. Unlike last weekend, the offense was able to generate drives and score in the red zone, but asking this offense to overcome four second half turnovers is impossible. The Hokies have proved it.
Logan Thomas followed up his worst game as a Hokie with a bad second half to kill the chances for the Hokies to bounc back against Boston College.
I will say this: this is not the same Boston College team as last year, where they were a team that lost their direction, had a lame-duck coach, and a quarterback who was forced to deal with so many offensive coordinators he could fill a phone book. This Boston College team has found an identity under head coach Steve Addazio, who was Urban Meyer's assistant coach at the University of Florida.
This Boston College team made the Hokies pay for those mistakes, scoring seventeen points off of them. Those mistakes can derail a team in a hurry. Then Boston College's last touchdown run saw the defense completely whiffing and watching the back of Williams going to the house.
Were there some bright spots? Absolutely. Cody Journell shook off his mid-season funk and nailed a 56-yard field goal attempt that left me absolutely stupefied. Then he followed that up with a brilliant 47-yard field goal attempt that was dead center. He almost had a point-after miss, but the ball somehow snuck behind the left upright. Joshua Stanford had the game of his young career, earning Trevor's Offensive MVP of the Game, and it would have been nice to see him house it after a 69-yard gain on a pass from Logan Thomas. Regardless, Stanford is blossoming before our very eyes.
The biggest issue here is we have a quarterback who was originally recruited to be a tight end, and that's a topic I do not wish to revisit because Beamer is not going to call for a change in quarterback this late in the season. But let's just say that Logan Thomas knows this game was in his hands and he blew it. If you have not seen it, he was so upset with this game he was slamming his helmet as Boston College lined up in victory formation.
As Willie Bryn said last week, what more could you ask from the defense? Well, the defense didn't play that great, surrendering 34 points, the highest total this season. The normally stout run defense was abused by a Andre Williams, and Chase Rettig who is not normally a runner, but made the defense look silly on two scrambles.
Finally, the pass interference review that had fans up in arms? According to this NFL rules guru:
VT/BC: Pass interference reviewed in replay. It was the touching of the pass that was reviewed. Since it was touched, there is no foul
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) November 2, 2013
I think what has fans more upset is the replay did not clearly show it was indisputable, but I digress.
Roanoke Times columnist Aaron McFarling wrote last year that the down year had arrived. I have to say that we are still in the downward cycle. It has happened to every program around the country, including Texas, with whom Virginia Tech once was tied for consecutive 10-win seasons. We have seen with traditional powerhouses like Miami and Florida State do the same and now resurrect themselves. Clemson is also now resurrecting thanks to Dabo Swiney's hiring of Chad Morris, who has put some life into their offense.
Remember, we as a fan base have clamored for years to have wholesale changes on the offensive staff, and we finally got it. I think we all were surprised that the offense looked...decent, dare I say it, and then to see the climb into top-25 polls probably inflated our fantasy that the Hokies could go to Charlotte.
Right now, that may be very much out of reach. The only good thing is, and I really hate to say this because it is so cliché, the Hokies are bowl eligible and could end up going bowling, even if they finish 6-6 on the season.