By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – In a matter of hours, the Virginia Tech football team will play in front of its fans for the first time this season, as the Hokies take on Old Dominion at noon on Saturday at Lane Stadium in their home opener.
The Hokies will be looking to get in the win column after dropping their season opener last Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Five turnovers doomed Tech in a 35-28 ACC loss to Boston College, and because of that, this team spent all week itching to get back on the field.
The players also have the added motivation of exacting a little revenge. Tech lost 49-35 to the Monarchs in Norfolk, Virginia almost a year ago – a loss that marked the start of a tumultuous season for the Hokies.
Of course, neither team looks like the one that took the field last season. Tech possesses a little more talent and experience, while the Monarchs saw more than 20 seniors depart off their 2018 squad, and their current roster features 46 new players, including 17 junior college transfers.
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In fact, the Monarchs lost their quarterback, their top three receivers, four of their top six offensive linemen, their top four safeties and five of their top seven defensive linemen from last year's team. Head coach Bobby Wilder also made some staff changes after ODU finished with a 3-9 record last fall. The Monarchs at least started positively this season, rallying to beat Norfolk State in the opener this past Saturday.
So what will happen Saturday at Lane Stadium? Well, here are some things to watch:
• Tech's running game – The Hokies' running game was not particularly good against BC. The Hokies rushed for just 98 yards and averaged only 2.3 yards per carry. The longest rush was 10 yards – and that came from Jalen Holston, who went down with an injury and remains out indefinitely.
None of the tailbacks seemed to get into a rhythm, and how the staff rotates the tandem of Deshawn McClease and Keshawn King will be interesting. Does Caleb Steward get a closer look?
Regardless, the Hokies need to run the ball better and take some pressure off quarterback Ryan Willis. Keep in mind this: Willis actually led the team with 13 rushing attempts against BC.
"We've got to run the football better," Tech head coach Justin Fuente admitted Monday at a news conference. "That falls on everybody. That falls on the quarterback, that falls on the coaches, that falls on the offensive line and the running backs – we've all got to do a better job. We get the ball to the unblocked hat, [and] we've got to make him miss and get more yards. We've got to get the ball to the unblocked hat on a more consistent basis as well. Plenty to work on there."
• Ryan Willis – Speaking of the Hokies' quarterback, it was all or nothing for Willis at BC. He threw for 344 yards, coming just four yards shy of tying his career high, and his four touchdown passes tied a career high. Yet three interceptions and a fumble overshadowed the performance.
Fuente said this week that Willis' mistakes were correctable, and Willis seemed more than ready to get back onto the field and atone for Saturday's mistakes. In hindsight, he probably tried to do too much against BC, and for sure, the staff wants to see more players involved. That not only goes to the previous point, but also blocking better at the point of attack, beating press coverage, running the right routes, etc.
All that said, expect to see a highly motivated and much sharper Willis against ODU. Tech doesn't need for him to carry its offense, but it does need for him to take care of the ball.
• Containing big plays – A year ago, the Monarchs really hurt the Hokies with big plays, and BC hit the Hokies with a couple of long ones in the first half Saturday. But Tech's defense, aside from one drive in which the Eagles inherited a short field, really played well in the second half, holding the Eagles to 76 yards and a touchdown.
ODU did not show a lot of big play ability Saturday against Norfolk State. The Monarchs' longest run was 15 yards, and the longest pass play was 31 yards. Actually, the 31-yard pass play marked their only play of longer than 20 yards.
Again, new year and new team – on both sides. But Tech's defense hopefully can carry that second half performance over to the ODU game and play that way for a full game. If that happens, then the defense puts the Hokies in a great position to win.
• Tech pass rush – Both Fuente and defensive coordinator Bud Foster thought that Tech's defensive line played well for the most part against BC. The staff played nine defensive linemen, and the group led the way in holding the Eagles to 3.3 yards per carry. BC's talented tailback, AJ Dillon, averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.
But the Hokies didn't put a ton of pressure on BC quarterback Anthony Brown. They only sacked him once – by linebacker Rayshard Ashby – and Brown completed 15 of his 26 attempts.
Can the Hokies get pressure on ODU quarterback Stone Smartt, a junior college transfer? They may be without top pass rusher TyJuan Garbutt, who was injured early in the BC game, but hopefully Emmanuel Belmar, Jaylen Griffin, Eli Adams and a group of tackles can force Smartt into some poor decisions.
As Tech found out, the quickest way to lose a game is to turn the ball over. The reverse is also true – the quickest way to win is to force turnovers. The Hokies only forced one against BC. Hokie Nation hopes that changes Saturday afternoon.
In closing: The Tech-ODU game kicks off at noon and can be seen on ESPNU.