Rapid Reaction

Hello All,

About to sit down and watch the UNC- Vagina Tech....errrrrr, Virginia Tech...game and decided to rattle off the quick response to today's beat down of Georgia Tech.

What I liked the most about it was the consistency.

It was multi-fold.

First of all, the gameplan was great. Pound the rock against the worst run defense in the conference with a deep stable of running backs. Take pressure off your freshman quarterback and let him work out of playaction. Attack the option and force Georgia Tech's green quarterback to make plays to win the game.

The most remarkable thing about this pretty standard game plan was that Miami stuck to it consistently, for a full game. 4 different running backs scored touchdowns, and the success in the play action and quick hitter passing games (both set up by the running game) lead to big plays.

Secondly, the players finally put together a consistent MENTAL game. There were few penalties. The refs taking another score off of the board did not send them in to a shell. There were mental mistakes, but no glaring mental errors that lead to points or big plays. Penalties were kept to a minimum. This was all offset by two forced turnovers when backed up in the opponent's red zone and a knack for coming up big when it really mattered on offense. All in all, this was a big effort for 4 quarters.

That is what I asked for heading into this week. 4 quarters of consistent effort in a winning cause. We caught a glimpse for the first time since UNC of what this team can become on any given Saturday. Next week, we will see if we can put this type of effort together two weeks in a row for the first time this season. The potential for it to be a playoff game would obviously add to the environment;it would make it the biggest game of Randy's tenure, as a matter of fact. But even if the Hokies beat UNC today (which i think they will) it will be an important game. It will give this team a final chance to prove that they aren't soft, they aren't weak and they CAN get the job done.

Here's to hoping they get the chance to prove it in a game that would mean a trip to the title game, because otherwise I will be mad I skipped my upset special pick coming true over on the other channel in order to watch a game in which I hate both teams...