Probably not this week, I'm guessin'. A few reasons why the Virginia Tech game is going to be an unpleasant affair:
1.) Tech's improved passing game. The Hokies still don't ask Tyrod Taylor to do a lot through the air and he remains a bit erratic, but he's averaging almost three more yards per attempt than he did a year ago and he's completely turned around his TD:INT ratio. (2:7 in '08, 12:3 in '09. He's got a trio of big-play guys in the receiving corps, which doesn't hurt. Danny Coale (19.8 yds/rec.), Jarrett Boykin (18.6), and Dyrell Roberts (16.4) are in the top ten in the ACC in yards per catch.
2.) Ryan Williams. Oh god, Ryan Williams. Williams leads the ACC with 1235 yards and ranks 5th in yards per carry (5.8). I'll set the over/under on his YPC against the Wolfpack at 6.5. What do you think?
3.) It's still Bud Foster's defense.
OppYds/PassAtt | OppYds/Carry | |
2008 | 7.1 | 3.2 |
2009 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
They've been more vulnerable on the ground this season but they've compensated with some huge improvement in their pass defense. Opponents are completing just 45.2% of their passes; 7 of 10 have been held to a completion percentage below 50%, 8 of 10 have been held under 200 passing yards.
Overall, the Hokies rank third in the ACC in both total defense and yards allowed per play.
Plus their leading tackler is a linebacker named Cody Grimm. With a name like that, I'm assuming he's unstoppable.
[Edit: video removed since it was auto-playing for some reason. Sorry about that.]