A picture is worth a thousand words...
And here is one that tells the story of where Hokie fans are generally feeling about this fading football season. This was taken in the 3rd quarter of the embarrassing offensive showing against Clemson in Blacksburg.
Now sitting 5-5, with arguably the best roster in a decade, disenchanted is the feeling of the season. For years and years under Beamer, it would be sacrilegious to leave Lane Stadium before the fight was over. Now, fans are justifiably exhausted. Pry had his normal coach speak in the weekly presser. Idioms like “We need to work on that”, “Didn’t go as planned”, or “We’ve got to clean some stuff up” and fans are frustrated by little action week over week.
Coming off of another game filled with mistakes, many chances to take control, and ‘WTF’ coaching calls I want to squash another memory and look ahead to the next matchup – this one against the Blue Devils. The Hokies will travel to Durham this Saturday to take on a Duke team sitting at 7-3.
We know what our Hokies can bring to the table, but that varies widely each game. I’ve preached it in past write-ups, but the inconsistency is absurd. Let’s look deeper into our upcoming opponent and try and prepare for the worst against a team who is 4-1 at home.
Duke has an impressive defense and most recently stifled N.C. State nicely – on the road, nonetheless. Only Syracuse and number 7 Tennessee have held the Wolfpack to fewer points than Duke this year.
As VT fans have witnessed high highs and low lows, whined over some rough starts and even rougher third quarters. Most notably, whatever we trot out after halftime has been grave all season. Our point differentials break down like this on the year:
1st: +29
2nd: +37
3rd: -41
4th: +51
The Duke Blue Devils tend to start steady and finish strong which could impose problems for the Hokies on Saturday. Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy is having a quietly decent season and nearly in lockstep with Drone as far as QBR is concerned (54.9 and 54.4, respectively). However, don’t let the QBR column fool you. The aforementioned Duke QB has prettier numbers overall. In fact, they are more in line with Drones’ 2023 performance.
Maalik Murphy
Kyron Drones
Weakness-wise, Duke is not a big threat on the ground. Forcing Murphy to make some quick, reckless passes should be prioritized by the defense. Despite their 29-19 victory over N.C. State, they didn’t rack up a single 3rd down conversion all afternoon.
Hot take? I think we play Pop Watson as Kyron may not be completely healthy. Even when the QB is, he has regressed from his 2023 string of greatness. Regardless of if we see Tuten in the backfield, Malachi Thomas, or anyone else we need to establish the damn run! Whether it’s Drones, Schlee, or Watson at the quarterback position, this only aids their efforts.
Prediction: 28-17 Duke
They’re home. They’ve got momentum. Our product on the field seems unchanged whether in a packed Lane or on the road. Virginia Tech is unraveling in real time with wacky coaching and heated fans. Sorry, Hokie Nation! I hope I am enormously wrong.
