hokieone

it is a shot across the bow of everyone not in the SEC and/or B1G that winning is not the criteria in which they will be judged. This wasn't just about the ACC. Oklahoma, the only team to beat Texas ended up 10-2. They were about the only two loss team NOT to make the NY6. Mississippi State did at 10-2, as did Missouri. In fact, maybe all the 10-2 teams sans OU. Wrong league, I reckon. A year too early.

And with VT this year, that can certainly be debated. But if we beat UL this weekend, yep, VT would be a second place team.

Left Bullock grasping for air in the hole. Bullock never laid a finger on him after talking trash about him all week long leading up to that game. I to this day still think Vick collapsed from laughter at Bullock whiffing on him rather than getting tackled by the safety on that play.

We were a solid 10th place last week before the Pitt game. I don't think losing big to a team we are a 3+ TD road dog to will affect it much. Uva, on the other hand...

You have more faith in him than I do. VT isn't going anywhere this season. Wells isn't getting much better, his time is limited, and Drones can learn a lot between now and the end of the season. The extra time on the field could pay huge dividends come 2024. I actually spoke to an ex backup quarterback from VT yesterday about this very thing, and he had a real interesting perspective. He said Wells knew the offense, had a decent arm, and was a good athlete. Then he went on to say that he was too, in his time at VT, but he wasn't good enough to help them win on Saturdays. His job was to help them win Sundays through Friday. That is what Grant Wells needs to do for VT right now. ** Edited by hokieone at 9/14/2023, 8:35:25 AM

After all, the very definition is to do the same thing and expect different results. Time to move on.

We know what Wells can do, we've seen him for over a full season now. I do not doubt Wells' dedication or his desire to be a success in a Hokie uniform, but the bottom line is if Drones and him are even close, well, Drones is the future. RS soph, big kid, live arm versus Wells, RS senior. VT needs to look ahead. This season is .500 if we are really lucky in a couple games, best case scenario. I'd like to see what Drones can do, and it's time for us to see that.

And for a program that has not had a lot of good news lately, this commitment was very newsworthy.

Taunting is when play is stopped, like the end of the game when it is over. Trash talking during the game goes on constantly for some players. It's taunting is when play is stopped, like the end of the game or after a whistle. That's my opinion of it, anyway. Players take on their coach's persona in a lot of ways, and Mulkey can certainly be classified as a bully. Bullies taunt. I had that impression of the LSU team prior to the VT game. My guess is Clark could not possibly care any less. That girl's future is so bright, she's, well, you know the rest.

THE PARTY CRASHERS Have you ever been to a function where everyone there makes you feel out of place, like you may have entered the wrong ballroom or something? It must feel like that for the Virginia Tech Hokies lady’s basketball team in Dallas this weekend. In fact, they have been pretty much relegated to “that other #1 seed” since before their matchup with Tennessee in the Sweet 16. First, it was the “new” Tennessee that was just simply going to be too tough for these girls from Southwest Virginia. The addition of three new players who did not play against VT the first time would surely turn the tide in what was a 2 point game back in December, right. Now that the glow of the ACC championship had faded, surely these young ladies would politely bow out and let perennial powerhouse Tennessee take it from here, right? Not hardly. After VT was done dispatching Tennessee, continuing their now 14 game winning streak, while over in the other side of the bracket, Ohio State had just pulled off what everyone said was unthinkable for them, as well. They had just harassed UConn into 25 turnovers and a quick trip home from the sweet 16. Their defensive press was relentless, and they were also off to the Elite 8. Those two teams, Virginia Tech and Ohio State, had just wrecked the pundits bid to will a “classic rivalry” game to finish off the Seattle 3 region between traditional powers UConn and Tennessee, and now they were getting Ohio State and Virginia Tech? So now all of a sudden, Ohio State has the press from hell, and there is no way those ladies from little ol’ Virginia Tech can find their way through it if the stars from Uconn can’t? Right? Wrong. VT’s Georgia Amoore dribbled through it, around it and below it seemingly sometimes, dishing off dimes each time she broke the timeline until Ohio State had to drop their fabled press and play VT straight up, and the game was over pretty much at that moment. VT was a better team, and they went on to show it with a double digit victory in the Elite 8. So now we have almost a week until the final 4 with defending champion South Carolina, Iowa and their legitimate superstar in Caitlin Clarke, LSU and Angle Reese, and still, what do we get? “That other #1 seed, VT.” We read articles about USCe and Caitlin Clarke, and all are well deserved. USCe is on a 40+ game winning streak spanning two seasons and the verge of an undefeated season. They deserve all the headlines they get. Caitlin Clarke is single handedly putting women’s college basketball on the map with her performances. Angel Reese with her 22 point scoring and 16 rebound averages are headline worthy without a doubt. All the while, VT quietly works on their craft, not talking but the required minimum to the press, then returning to their practices and focusing on the tasks at hand. The attention grabbing headlines have been lacking for the Hokies, and some wonder why. All this team has done is win the tough ACC who had at the end of the season seven teams in the top 25 of the NET ratings, then blew through the first two rounds of the dance, beat UT by nine in the sweet 16 in a game that was not that close, and then Ohio State by 10 in the Elite 8. They have trailed in one half of one game of this tournament, and that was for under 10 minutes, then they regained the lead and never relinquished it again. They have been dominant defensively and offensively, and also largely ignored by the press, considering their accomplishments. Maybe it is because they are not flashy. They don’t talk trash. They are players from about everywhere, but single minded in a very big way. The know themselves, and do not really seem to care much if anyone else notices them right at the moment, and that in itself is part of their allure. They are the very picture of confidence, working as a unit to achieve their goals. And they have a leader they would all follow straight into Hades if he asked them to, and for the rest of the participants in the final 4, those traits from the lady Hokies will be the undoing of all that star power in Dallas this weekend. Like the little engine that could, this team will continue to chug along at its pace, doing their thing all the way to the top of the ladder Sunday night. This team is destined for greatness, and it is about to be thrust upon them. Something tells me this group will handle it just fine. GO HOKIES!!!

Man, those guys are everywhere affecting everything, huh? Who exactly are the powers that be?...Advertisers?, well, the higher profile the team the bigger the advertising budget, so that makes sense. Advertisers don't play basketball, they sell stuff. Those other teams have history, and that gives them built in gravitas. I said it prior to the UT game on this board. Everyone's history starts somewhere, and this is where VT's begins. The NCAA...they haven't made a decision in a decade, so forgive me for doubting that one. Who exactly are all of these despicable people you dub the "powers that be" that have that dark ability to manipulate our lives?

They, on the other hand, lost, so...

but more so than anything I've read yet about this team, that guy gets it. It shows on these young lady's faces that there is business yet to be taken care of. They already won the ACC. It appears that to get what they are after, they will have to win the SEC, as well, having already eliminated UT, with LSU on deck and likely USCe in the final. On to Dallas! ** Edited by hokieone at 3/28/2023, 8:44:49 AM

We heard it before UT, you even heard rumblings about South Dakota State's history of being a giant killer when VT played them. VT has been doubted in the ACC, and that continues now. ESPN, CBS, SI, they all talk abut what UConn is going to do now, USCe's dominance (rightfully so), the amazing Caitlin Clark (again, rightfully so), but nada about the Hokies except almost an afterthought that the Hokies, too, are there in Seattle. Kenny says they read it all, and these young ladies are infinitely more intelligent than I was at 20, and my guess is this is doing nothing but fueling the fire. Hokies by double digits tonight. I believe. ** Edited by hokieone at 3/27/2023, 4:40:06 PM ** Edited by hokieone at 3/27/2023, 4:40:36 PM

is averaging 19 more points per game? No, of course not. Someone's average dropped, in fact, several someones. But her return doesn't change the outcome of that first game or the belief of the ladies that if they did it once, they can do it again. I can come up with a 100 reasons VT might lose this time...if I wanted. I can come up with almost as many for why VT should be favored in this one, and that has not been true in the past. And I'm not in Vegas.

With your last point. All the stuff about the UT women is on point, and 2-3 years ago, I would have likely agreed with your entire post, but not this year. This VT team has something under their belt others have not...a win over UT this year, and at their place in front of their fans. These VT ladies will not enter this contest wondering if they can win. They will know it, and that is a powerful weapon. UT will undoubtably try and bully them. They did back in December, but the ladies stood up to it then. There will be those that say this is a different UT team than then, and that is undeniably true, but this is a different VT team, too. They now know that while Kitley is the heartbeat, they have other options, and UT can't stop them all. Depth, or the lack of it will be this team's undoing in this tourney eventually, I believe, but I believe they get it done against UT. No one is telling them they can do it, the oddsmakers, the talking heads, no one. VT is a nice story, but it's time for it to end now is the main vibe I see in the press, and if I am on this women's team and have an ounce of competitiveness, that ticks me off. UT has the history, but that is what it is...history, and everyone's history starts somewhere. Now is that time for the lady Hokies. ** Edited by hokieone at 3/22/2023, 10:20:12 AM

.Bought my first copy of it at 15 almost 50 years ago.

"If you've nothing good to say about something, then it's best to say nothing at all..." A lot of people think old sayings are just corny, but there is a reason they become OLD sayings.

many years ago down in Roanoke at a high school game. A Pulaski County player suffered a seemingly normal blow to the chest area, collapsed, and eventually died of a cardiac event. I can't remember all the details, but I am sure I read later that the blow to the chest was involved in what happened, and it was a freak accident that is literally a one in a million shot to happen. ** Edited by hokieone at 1/3/2023, 8:26:03 AM

BG was correct when he said that the nose has definitely tipped upward in regards to recruiting. Not, not all needs will be filled, and there will still be holes, but I like what I am seeing, and the last couple of HS kids, plus the QB from Baylor were both highly rated three stars. In fact, the Baylor kid was a four star originally. The very fact that fans are speaking positively about the program after such a dismal season to me is a plus. You can visibly see what Pry is doing, so you appreciate the accomplishments he has made to date. No cloak and dagger like Fuente's was. I do not for a second believe this is his ceiling. Kids are still learning about him and what he envisions VT to be. Pry is building recruiting back up. Yeah, Fu was getting recruits and his classes were ranked in the 30's generally, but he wasn't necessarily getting kids who wanted to be at VT, and I think Pry is stressing that nuance', and history tells us that pays off.

They seem to be coming around, especially at the dome.

There are always going to be kids who follow the money. Now that its legal, that changes really nothing. The same kids who were more than willing to take the bag money will take it now legally, but I see NIL morphing, plus I believe there will be some rules attached to it here soon. Too much wild west stuff going on to ignore. But the real $$$ has always been and still is in the exit from college to the pro ranks, the dream all of these kids have, and as long as VT can provide an avenue for that, they'll be OK. Watch a lot of these kids making these college choices for the money. The vast majority will do two things...One is not get what they expected, not play so any performance enhancement is not met, end up hitting the portal and basically losing a year of two of eligibility buying into the hype of their original recruitment, or two, just enjoy their early found success, and never progress enough to make it to the next level. Even Nick Saban said publicly that aTm was buying their team last year. How's that working out for Jimbo? Between unmet promises to recruits and egos as large as space itself, their team underperformed and then is now splintering in front of our eyes. Frank Beamer took VT places that fans prior to his arrival only dreamt about. I know, I enjoyed every minute of it. It is not outside the realm of possibility for another coach to exceed that, IMO, whether it be Pry or someone else down the road. Records are made to be broken.

would have lived to see it. I didn't think I would until I saw that banner in the rafters. There were at least two Hokies in heaven smiling with me down here on Earth that evening. And yes, I can say with all honesty that I thought about Bill Brill that night, too. If he hadn't already passed, he would have on purpose before dawn the next day just to avoid writing the article about VT winning.

Pry completely until after the 2024 season was complete. Recruiting wise, that '24 class needs to be an upgrade over this '23 class, and a significant upgrade (top20, maybe?) would be wonderful. I am impressed with the finishing "kick" we are seeing here just prior to the early signing date. That, to me, anyway, is a very good sign that there is a lot of the selling of Virginia Tech going on by this staff, and their tactics are beginning to bear fruit. I think the RB from Richmond might end up being a very important recruit flip for Pry before all is said and done. Maybe on the field, who knows, but for some reason, that kid flipping to VT strikes me as something that might reverberate among other recruits in the state. Maybe not this year, but in the years ahead of us. Sometimes, all it takes is one, and the rest will follow. Keeping the faith!

He used this year to analyze, and then trimmed the chaff is my guess. On3 has an interesting tracker where they assign values both in outgoing and incoming portal entries. The outgoing rankings for VT is very telling as to the talent level over in Blacksburg last year, especially when you look at some comparable programs. What has left VT, for the most part, shouldn't have been here to begin with. For every Kaleb Smith, who himself was a walk on at VT, there are a dozen or more who are pretty much what their ratings say they are. The average of the player that entered the portal for VT was 55 and change. In contrast, the recruiting rankings for incoming potential signees right now is in the 86 range. VT had basically nowhere to go but up. ** Edited by hokieone at 12/14/2022, 2:04:23 PM ** Edited by hokieone at 12/14/2022, 2:04:46 PM ** Edited by hokieone at 12/14/2022, 2:05:28 PM

it was a game and supposed to be fun. The best entertainer that didn't wear a uniform in college football. Godspeed, and prayers to his family and the college community down there..

They were the exception to the rule back then. That is the reason that record stood for 50+ years. Bill Brown got a full ride to Maryland off of that team as a WR, but got hurt and retired from football before playing a play for them. Another starting receiver for that team went to UT and played safety for them. My oldest brother was in the service overseas at that time, and my Dad recorded all the radio game broadcasts from that first state title run and sent them to him. He told me there were Bobcat fans from California to New York by the time the season was over. Those cassette tape recordings of high school football drew other servicemen to their place (they were stationed in Germany) on a weekly basis once they started arriving, and it became a social event for them. He brought some of those tapes home with him, and when he passed away, I got a few of them, including that Gate City game in late '71. Those teams were years ahead of their time. When you think about all the guys that got scholarships to major colleges from those two teams, it almost boggles your mind. If that many players got full rides off of the same team from the same, small, public school today, you would see headlines on ESPN about it. I know of at least 4 if not more that ended up at Tech.

Baylor for Radford caught a couple TD passes, and Pennix I know scored a 4th quarter TD on a 20 yard or so run that helped seal a really good game. That was a great game between two really good 2A teams that have quite a bit of talent for lower division teams. Pierson Preleau's (sp?) youngest had a score in that game, too, if I'm not mistaken. Radford also has a quarterback that is getting several scholie offers. He broke 50+ year old passing records at Radford by the end of the 8th game this year, and the guy's record he broke started at Ole Miss after leaving Radford High School back in the early 70's. He might have been the best high school qb I've ever seen in person, and this kid this year demolished his records.

Or an equivalent program can get these guys. Oh wait, didn't both WVU and Pitt pick up 4* and 5* QB's in the transfer portal just last year? They were both out of USC and played against each other the first game this season. Never say never...you guys are licked with that attitude before you start. Oh, and one of them struggled mightily at times this year (Pitt) and one of them got benched for a two star backup. Stars don't always equal productive play. The "Woe is me?" whining on here is getting tiresome.

Druck. Vick. Those are some pretty talented players. Both 1st round picks, right or not. Think about those lines with Jimmy Martin and those guys. Lee Suggs, KJ. See anyone on the roster now to compare to those guys? Rickey Bustle had a heck of a lot more to work with. It's all relative.

He is doing too many things right behind the scenes. Getting alums back to the program, concentrating on his own state in recruiting, those kinds of things. All things we felt were major problems with his predecessor. I've been disappointed the last two weeks with his inability to coach them to a win leading in the 4th quarter, but I remember another guy who had that problem almost exactly 30 years ago, so I can live with that...for now. I felt this current team was more devoid of talent since the pre-Beamer era, or at the very least the beginning of the Beamer era. It was going to be a long year for anyone who simply counts wins and losses. Yes, miracles happen, but there is a reason they call them "miracles", too. They don't happen that often. I'll reserve judgment on him until the 2024 season. Three years of recruits, and his baby, lock, stock, and barrel by that point.. If he can get the Hokies back to the top 25% of the ACC by the end of that season, I will consider that a major success. ** Edited by hokieone at 11/10/2022, 2:14:35 PM ** Edited by hokieone at 11/10/2022, 2:17:41 PM ** Edited by hokieone at 11/10/2022, 2:20:02 PM

** Edited by hokieone at 11/10/2022, 11:30:33 AM

we could have Johnny Unitas at qb and Eric Dickerson at rb and still stink. It all starts up front.

Has the entertainment passed the football acumen, or has the football just fallen to a level below the entertainment factor? Classic chicken/egg argument. I tend to lean to the latter. The entertainment factor isn't going away because to the networks, that is exactly what college football is...entertainment. It is up to VT's coaches, whoever they may be, to lift the team to the level required to match that. Enter the Sandman and a bunch of fans jumping up and down may have intimidated the weak, but it was always the team behind that entrance that instilled the fear in opponents. Talent is VT's problem, and only time and recruiting is going to fix it. ** Edited by hokieone at 9/23/2022, 1:19:57 PM

Might be the reason for the point spread and over/under we see on this game.

But I'm just stating historical facts about this rivalry. WVU traditionally does not do well at VT, and that goes back well pre-Beamer all the way to the start of the series in the early 1900's.

WVU has never scored more than 23 points inside Lane Stadium. They have scored 23 once, 22 twice, and 21 points as their highest scoring games in Blacksburg. So for those of you predicting WVU to go off, history does not support your theory.

Don't think Beamer could have stopped it if he tried that night.

I felt this was more of a deal where not everyone went the right way on every play. There were a lot of plays where blockers, skill people, whoever were obviously not running the same play as the rest of the team. The majority of mistakes made were born out of a lack of discipline, whether it be penalties or the bad picks. Throwing an out route blind into press coverage. Throwing to a spot where no receivers are. Who screwed that play up. Were the receivers running a different play than the QB? Sure looked that way to me. All of these mistakes are fixable, and I agree, Pry is the guy. But we're going to have to be patient. He's still playing FU's deck. I honestly am going to try hard not to judge this year's team by wins and losses, but rather progress I hope to see. One will lead to another, but it may not be this year that happens. ** Edited by hokieone at 9/8/2022, 9:46:24 AM

Actually, anyone over Louisville, but PSU checks all your boxes better than most.

I'm not even sure any of our opponents have played against VT football for the last couple of years. They played against VT, but the style of football was not necessarily recognizable to any longtime VT fan. I do believe team morale was at rock bottom prior to Fuente's removal. I think the two losses after blowing late double digit leads to ND and SU are pretty damning proof of that. I'll never forget the "Fire Fuente!" chants that broke out as the SU receiver crossed the goal line at the end of that game. I had an out of town guest, not a Hokie fan with me at that game. I remember turning to him and all I could get out is "That's just where we are right now." The program, competitively, was pretty much dead at that moment in time. If nothing else, Pry has tried to institute pride back into this program, but eventually, that will take winning, and his largest challenge is to re-instill some attitude to this team, some belief in themselves, and some history of the legacy those great teams left behind at VT. Fuente had lost all of that. I think the change to Pry alone is good for a couple of wins this year, and he better be, because they are going to be hard to come by.

So it was really a running play that failed miserably in the books.

...a bottle of Zima, a slab of Brie, and a copy of Don Quixote.