Birds of a Feather: Virginia Tech

By Derek DeBurger

Looking to keep their momentum going strong, Louisville will have a tough road game against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Here to give his take on the Cards’ first trip to Lane Stadium as members of the ACC is Sam Mostow, the co-Sports Editor of Collegiate Times.

The Hokies have been in limbo since week 4 of this season after Brent Pry was fired. Obviously the players are playing harder since the interim was put in place, but how did your season expectations change after the move?

I’m not sure if it’s fair to say the players are necessarily playing harder now than when they were playing under Pry, but maybe a change in leadership was good for the team. The Hokies did not have national championship expectations entering the season, but whatever expectations they did have pretty much vanished after the loss to Old Dominion prompted administrators to fire Pry. But expectations aside, the team is trying to win—no matter the coach.

Staying on the coaching search, this is a crazy carousel already. Where do you think Va Tech stands among some of the high profile jobs open and is there a specific coach you’re looking at to move to Blacksburg?

It’s too early to make assumptions about the coaching search. We have no way of knowing what the coaching committee is thinking—especially since they all signed non-disclosure agreements—and we don’t know where potential candidates are looking.

In the last two weeks alone, LSU and Penn State fired their coaches, and those openings are likely to be more appealing to top-tier candidates than Virginia Tech, which was probably one of the most appealing job openings up until then. We probably will not really have an idea of who Tech is targeting or will land for at least another month.

The offense has been a hindrance on this team more often than not, but Va Tech found a spark against Cal. Is the formula going forward try to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible, and how likely is that against a tough Louisville front seven?

The Hokies have not found the most offensive success this season, but their rushing game last week against Cal was a step in the right direction. At one point, Tech ran the ball 19 consecutive times against the Golden Bears, and it worked. Louisville has had more success this season than Cal, but I would expect Tech to continue running the ball until it stops working.

Another thing that has plagued the Hokies is a lack of turnovers forced. They haven’t turned it over too many times, but the margin is still negative. Against a Louisville team that has spiraled at times with giveaways, how crucial is it to get the Cards off the field early and steal possessions?

The Hokies want to win, they will need to succeed in the little things—dominating time of possession, limiting penalties and stacking together the other little things. Forcing turnovers and limiting their own are crucial if Tech hopes to escape with a ranked win.