By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Much of the build-up of Saturday's football game between Virginia Tech and No. 22 Wake Forest has centered on retiring Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, as Virginia Tech Athletics chose this game to honor the longtime assistant coach who plans on retiring at the end of the season after 33 years in Blacksburg.
Rest assured, though, that Foster, the rest of the Hokies' staff and the players have their full attention on the Demon Deacons.
And they should.
Wake comes into Lane Stadium with a 7-1 record, including a 3-1 mark in ACC play, and one of the best offenses in the country. The Demon Deacons are 7-1 for the first time since 2006 and just the fourth time in school history.
More impressively, they rank in the top 10 nationally in total offense and passing offense and in the top 20 in scoring offense. They are on pace to break school records in all three categories.
"You have a team with a lot of experience, playing with a lot of confidence and talent," Foster said earlier this week. "We're going to have to play a great football game. We got to stop the run. Their passing game concerns me because they do it so well, and they have such big targets. They're very explosive in all they do."
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"Our focus is on the big challenge that we have in front of us," Tech head coach Justin Fuente said also earlier this week. "You're talking about a team that's only lost one ball game, that's really good in all three phases of the game … We know we have a huge challenge and we're ready to get to work."
Tech is coming off a heartbreaking 21-20 defeat at Notre Dame last Saturday. The Hokies led for much of the second half, but the Irish scored with 29 seconds remaining to pull out the victory.
Tech finished with a season-low 235 yards of offense against the Irish and will need a much better performance against Wake Forest, but they hope to get quarterback Hendon Hooker back. Hooker, who was injured in the North Carolina game, is 3-0 as a starter, with wins over Miami, Rhode Island and the Tar Heels. In those three games, the Hokies finished with 337, 485 and 490 yards of offense, respectively. Tech also ran the ball much better because of Hooker's presence, finishing with 153, 224 and 254 yards rushing, respectively, in each of those games.
So what do the Hokies need to do to beat Wake Forest? Here are some things to watch:
The first quarter – Wake Forest has wasted little time in jumping on its opponents this season, having outscored the opposition 89-49 in the first quarter. The Demon Deacons keep their foot on the gas, too, as they have outscored their opponents 85-65 in the second quarter.
In looking at the numbers, Wake has led or been tied after one quarter of play in every game this season except for one – the Louisville game. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Demon Deacons suffered their only loss, as Louisville jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never trailed.
The Hokies need to get off to that fast start and have displayed that capability. They have outscored opponents 68-27 in the first quarter this season, and they've only been outscored in the first quarter in one game (UNC) – the Hokies were tied with BC and Notre Dame after the first 15 minutes.
Again, Louisville's quick start forced Wake to play catch-up the remainder of the game. A similar script would help the Hokies on Saturday.
The turnover battle – This seems to come up in this space every weekend, and this weekend is no different – but it makes sense to talk about turnovers. After all, the team that commits the most turnovers often loses.
Wake has been quite stingy with the football, ranking tied for 10th nationally in turnover margin (.88). The Demon Deacons have turned it over just seven times all season.
But Wake turned the ball over three times against Louisville – and subsequently lost. Thus, the Hokies greatly increase their chances at victory if they can force some turnovers Saturday.
Also, keep in mind that Tech is 19-3 under Fuente when committing fewer turnovers than its opponents.
Tech's secondary – The Hokies will be without starting cornerback Jermaine Waller for the first half of the Wake Forest game because of a targeting call that he received in the second half of the Hokies' loss to Notre Dame. That means that redshirt freshman Armani Chatman probably will make his first collegiate start, though cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell may elect to go with senior Jovonn Quillen.
Regardless, Waller's absence is not ideal, considering his emergence as a top-notch corner throughout this season, and also because the Hokies take on a Wake team that leads the ACC in passing offense at 323.6 yards per game. Wake quarterback Jamie Newman has thrown for more than 2,000 yards, with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions, and behind him, the Demon Deacons are averaging 38 points per game.
How prolific has Wake's passing attack been? Newman has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 11 of his career starts, and the Demon Deacons have thrown for at least 300 yards in five of eight games this season.
Expect Caleb Farley, the Hokies' best cornerback, to spend a lot of time seeing Sage Surratt, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound receiver who owns a school-record four games of at least 150 yards receiving this season. But the Demon Deacons have plenty of other weapons, and the Hokies' secondary will need to play its best game of the season to give Tech a chance.
Time of possession – The best way to slow down a high-scoring offense is to keep it off the field, so the Hokies need to win the time of possession battle. Actually, they probably need to win it by a lot.
Interestingly, Tech has not fared well at winning the time of possession category this season. The Hokies have won it in just three games and are 2-1 in those games.
But they do run the ball frequently, which gives them the opportunity to drain the clock. Tech has run the ball more than it has thrown it in every game this season except for the season opener against BC. The Hokies have run the ball at least 36 times in every game and at least 40 times in six of eight games.
Some coaches disregard time of possession, saying that scoring determines who wins a game, and that argument certainly possesses validity. But this game just feels like one where the Hokies need to control the ball and keep Wake's potent attack on the sideline.
In closing: The Hokies' game against Wake Forest kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and can be seen on the ACC Network. For more information on how to get the ACC Network, please click here.