By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech football team closes its October slate Saturday with a road game at Louisville, and the Hokies want to take a Louisville Slugger to any thoughts of losing a second consecutive game.
Tech enters Saturday's ACC matchup against the Cardinals with a 3-2 record, but the Hokies are coming off a poor performance last Saturday in a loss to Wake Forest. Three interceptions, 10 penalties, and red-zone problems hampered the Hokies, who scored just one touchdown in the 23-16 road defeat.
Now, they face a Louisville team with a deceptive 2-4 record. The Cardinals have lost two games by five points or less – both on the road – and they torched Florida State 48-16 last Saturday. Louisville's defense, which gave up at least 45 points in two of the Cardinals' first four games, has given up just 28 in the past two.
Can the Hokies return to form after amassing a season-low 433 yards against the Demon Deacons?
"We have to execute," Tech receiver Tré Turner said. "That's the biggest thing this week. We have to execute. We didn't execute well the last game, and we only got one touchdown. So as long as we execute and everybody does their job. There are 11 guys on the field, and if all 11 guys do their job on the field every play, then we'll know what to do and we should be able to get ourselves moving in the right direction."
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Saturday, Oct. 31 – 4 p.m.
Cardinal Stadium; Louisville, Kentucky
at Louisville (2-4, 1-4)
Head Coach: Scott Satterfield (second season)
Record at school: 10-9; Career: 61-33 (eighth season)
Series: Tech leads 5-2 Last: Jan. 2, 2006 (W, 35-24)
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Broadcast: ACC Network
Play-by-Play: Wes Durham
Analyst: Roddy Jones
Sideline: Eric Wood
Radio: Virginia Tech Sports Properties
Play-by-Play: Jon Laaser
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Sideline: Wes McElroy
Virginia Tech Game Notes: CLICK HERE
Virginia Tech Press Conference Recap: CLICK HERE
Tech coach Justin Fuente liked his team's mindset when the Hokies opened preparations for this game on Sunday. But great preparations do not always equal victories.
This is an important and dangerous game for the Hokies, who face a difficult November schedule. What needs to happen for the Hokies to close October with a win?
Well, here are some things to watch:
Hendon Hooker – Hooker will be looking to bounce back after coming off arguably his worst performance as a Hokie. The Tech quarterback not only threw three interceptions, but he completed just 17 of 33 – a 51.5% completion percentage that marked the second-lowest of his career in his 10 starts.
In fairness, Hooker probably tried too hard on a day in which he got little help. Wake Forest challenged Tech's receivers, and the Hokies created little in the way of separation. That forced Hooker to throw into tight windows all day – something that became more challenging in the second half when Tech needed to make plays to rally.
"We went over the film on Sunday," Turner said. "Coach [Jafar] Williams [Tech's receivers coach], he got on us. We knew what we were going to get on Sunday because obviously the passing game wasn't where it was supposed to be, so we looked over it and made our corrections. We're on to Louisville now, and we're ready to make plays whenever we get the opportunity."
Though quiet and mature, Hooker is a fierce competitor, and he'll be ready Saturday. Hopefully, his supporting cast is, too, because they need to be – Louisville's 12 pass break-ups against Florida State were a school record.
The first quarter – Fuente and Tech's players received questions this week about slow starts to games. The questions seemed odd, considering the Hokies' 3-2 record, and a closer look revealed Tech being outscored 38-27 in the first quarter this season.
That's certainly not an egregious difference, but an even deeper dive revealed that Tech has been outscored 31-0 in the first quarter of its two losses. The Hokies aren't exactly built to come from behind.
"Would we want to start better and start up? Yes," Fuente said. "I don't like the whole game last week. I don't know if it's the start or the end or the middle. I didn't like any of it … I mean, it would be great to start off better. To me, it's about the plan, the execution of the play. Sometimes people play you different, sometimes they do different things, and you've got to find a way to adjust."
Saturday, Tech faces a team that has outscored just one opponent in the first quarter all season. Louisville jumped out to a 21-7 lead on Florida State this past Saturday, led 31-14 at halftime, and never looked back.
One gets the feeling that, in this game, the team that scores first, or builds a small lead, will be the team that comes out on top.
Tech's rushing attack – The Hokies have rushed for more than 200 yards in every game so far this season, and they rank fourth in the nation at 291.6 yards per game. Those lofty numbers probably weren't going to be sustainable, and a week ago in the loss to Wake Forest, Tech finished with a season-low 210 yards on the ground.
Now, 210 yards by any standard is still very good. But the Hokies failed to rip off any huge runs – their longest was 24 yards, and they only finished with three rushes of more than 15 yards. Coaches refer to these plays as "chunk" plays, and Tech needed more of those against the Demon Deacons.
Saturday represents an opportunity to get back on track. Louisville gives up an average of 187.3 yards rushing per game, and in the Cardinals four losses, they have allowed all four opponents to rush for at least 155 yards. In its past two games, Louisville has given up 232 and 265 yards on the ground, respectively.
The Hokies need to ground and pound to keep their defense off the field (more on this in a moment) and to, in turn, keep Louisville's offense off the field. If the Hokies rush for 250 and amass 35 minutes of time of possession, then they probably win.
Louisville's speed on offense – The Cardinals feature a rather explosive group of skill players led by tailback Javian Hawkins and receiver Tutu Atwell. Hawkins leads the ACC and is third in the country with 693 total rushing yards, while Atwell is sixth in the ACC in total receiving yards (450) and tied for the ACC lead with five receiving touchdowns. He led the conference in receiving yards a year ago.
Hawkins has rushed for more than 2,000 yards in his career, while Atwell has surpassed 2,000 receiving yards, along with fellow wideout Dez Fitzpatrick. Those three possess the ability to score on any play, and sophomore receiver Braden Smith needs to be mentioned, too. Smith owns two receptions of more than 40 yards this season.
"Anybody in their skill position [groups] can really catch the ball and turn a 10-yard gain into an 80-yard gain, so just preparing for that and trying to limit those as much as we can," Tech cornerback Brion Murray said.
Louisville puts up a lot yardage because of its speed. The Cardinals have outgained four of their six opponents, and in those four games, amassed at least 470 yards in every one.
"I've watched them on TV the last couple of years and that's the first thing I think of, whether winning or losing the game, or home or away, I always wonder, 'Man, it just seems like one guy after another that can really run,'" Fuente said. "They run the stretch so well and can circle the field with the fly sweep stuff really, really quickly. It's awfully impressive to watch, and we'll certainly have our hands full with that.
"But their scheme, to me, they do a great job of having complimentary offense. They have stretch, inside zone, and perimeter runs, and all the naked and quarterback run game off that, and they're in unbalanced – it's just one thing after another. But you can tell that they're doing a great job of keeping it as simple as they can for the linemen and moving all the pieces around on the outside. It's pretty special."
Saturday can't become the Kentucky Derby of football for the Hokies. That means limiting big plays and getting off the field on third down.
Third-down conversions – Speaking of third downs, those looking for Louisville's Achilles heel on offense need to check out the Cardinals' third-down conversion rate. In three of its four losses, the Cardinals converted on third down less than 35% of the time. In a 23-20 loss to Pittsburgh, they converted on just one of 11 attempts, and in a 12-7 loss to Notre Dame, they converted on just three of nine attempts.
Tech's defense has been solid on third downs this season, holding opponents to a 38.9% conversion rate – which ranks in the top 50 nationally. If the Hokies hold it together on third down against the Cardinals, they stand a great chance of winning.
In closing: The Hokies and Cardinals kick off at 4 p.m. The game can be seen on the ACC Network.