Virginia Tech=17, Virginia=14

Today’s word is ….

lev·el
(lvl)
n.

A Taylor made grip………….

1. To bring persons or things to an equal level; equalize.
2. To maneuver an aircraft into a flight attitude that is parallel to the surface of the earth after gaining or losing altitude.
3. To place on the same level; equalize.
4. 14-14, with 0:04 remaining:

While there was some testy and ill-natured good action between these rival clubs, they were not exactly a TV friendly match in terms of a game that sure seemed dead sit on producing an organic result. As this one might just as well have been contested in the 1980’s and ended in a sister-kissing draw. Riddle me this … did either team truly deserve to win this one? Or was this two bad teams playing as hard as they could, on a windsock wave-off kinda day as the final approach otherwise know as the last game of the year went?

Least we forget, this was an even-Steven game at the intermission folks. As the margin was a perfectly equitable 7 to 7 up on the Lane Stadium scoreboard; that may or may not still display Timeouts.

At the break Virginia Tech was not in the lead and uva was not in the lead either. Virginia Tech had enjoyed a 7 point cushion for 7 first-half minutes of play. However, there was nothing all that tangible -much less all that objective- as to suggest that this one was anything other than a K.Kong vs. K.Kong arm-wrestling contest; albeit it on a much thinner or more diminutive scale.

Likewise, least we forget, we were effectively 1 single solitary play away from bowling oblivion the week before up at 2-10 Boston College, and then we were taken all the way to the last (4) second limit by 4-8 uva. Do you see a pattern there sports fans?

Virginia Tech did finish the year an astonishing 9-3 vs. the Box Score and yet that very same Virginia Tech fantasy football team scuffled, scrummed and downright struggled to become Bowl eligible for the 20^th consecutive year vs. two football teams with 6 total wins amongst them. 6 wins –that too should remind you of someone else; someone much closer to home.

Now, and to be fair, both teams were playing each other, and simultaneously Mother Nature who proved to be rather elemental or even downright disagreeable indeed. Such a breezy and occasionally gusty New River Valley day lowered the temperature of the collective Lane Stadium faithful; knocked passes and kicks down alike; and effectively capped the scoring in this one, as this one had a M.L.B. or baseball look and feel at halftime.

Said windy day did nothing however to cauterize the Commonwealth Cup bad-blood which began to heat-up in the second-quarter and then boiled over when Tech flipped the script and physically slapped uva right in their 10-gallon mouth in the third quarter of play; and yet this game hung (precariously) in the balance for the duration. That’s on the level…

1^st quarter, 6:42 remaining:
This is just the first of a series of remarkable and highly physical plays that I witnessed when breaking tape in this one. Let’s see folks, a wiry, spindly looking 6` 182 lb. guy who is downright narrow upstairs, and is balling as best he can on not one, not two, three fully blown-out A.c.l’s. knocks you this far backwards? Man-o-man! Or should I say girlfriend, you’d better eat your Wheaties as #1 of uva is made to ride bitch by little ole Tony Gregory of Virginia Tech. However, and than again, #1 is only 5`10“ 170 lbs. and just as Paul Harvey so shrewdly said years ago on radio … “and now you know the rest of the story. Good-day.”

2 for 1 kinda deal…

1st quarter, 5:02 remaining:
Am I the only one hoo saw this pre-snap? Do you see what I see? I see D.Dub (#43 Winslow) lined up like a Qb, or exactly like E.J. Hughes in a vertical 2-point stance. Why is that? Think something mighta been on here Coach London? As Frank sure showed some cahones on this “Riddell” or fake-punt call over to the right-hand or even numbered 8-hole. Perhaps even some questionable cahones after a 5-yard penalty that left London in a fog to put it mildly. And if #36 (C.Williams) had bothered blocked anybody, Winslow would have only had the uva punt-returner to beat! As the difference between a hero and a goat is a “baaaaaaa-ad” one indeed — and somewhere Danny Coale is watching Red Dawn and smiling. (think about that one if you did not get it at first blush)

Game duration:
Exum sure played a fine football game folks to be combating an unpublished elbow injury. He was physical, he made numerous key plays and I like the fact that his confidence or swag’  has been experiencing a bull-market in the last half of the season. In fact Coach Gray’s starting 4 have all (finally) settled into their new positions and at least semi-smartly settled in at that. It did take a while; though Coach Gray did coach his boys up. (bum Elbow link)

Game and late season duration:
Don’t wanna hit this too hard; because D.Wang is just not a healthy kid. Few on our team need this bowl-game downtime more than he does. So instead of picking on the lameo individual; I will only ask: “why is #76 out there?” when he is clearly hobbled and physically messed up like this? 1st Q, 0:56 remaining and poor D.Wang is on quad-twisted ankle roller-skates once again. That’s the key to me folks — cyber pun intended.

2^nd quarter, 13:25 remaining:
Oui oui, I know, Jake Snyder (#9o of uva) is such a bad ass that it took 3 Hokies and the Back Judge just to hold him back on this purported LT3 fumble. Jake is fortunate that they did not let him go; as my money is on LT3+2oo, even vs. a 6`4“ 275 lb. De from uva. Stop fronting before you get pwned son! (Much Ado About Nothing)

You do the maths…

2^nd quarter, 10:15 remaining:
Legal or otherwise, I sure loves me some dog collar combo take down(s) by J.Tyler and J.Gayle. Those two do not like uva … and it shows! Don’t believe me just ask #33 of uva.

2^nd quarter, 6:41 remaining:
HIGH risk, high reward; that’s what any 8-1-2 defense is folks. Even the Buddy Ryan 46 did not attack this aggressively and that is just fine-n-dandy vs. “inert” france at home in wind-chill Lane and up at likewise “static” Boston College. Each of whom mutually lacked quick strike capabilities and big-time individual play-making offensive talents. We play a real football team with a real offense in the Bowl game (which: we are not) and I’d be most curious to see how this all-in approach of Bud Stout resonates vs. an offense with a pulse. (observe as well that this was NOT a goalline or short yardage situational alignment; as this was indeed risk MAX via wind max)

2^nd quarter, 6:37 remaining:
Mmmmmmm-k. Whisky Tango Hotel is this version of punt protection again? Why is the uva up-man on the shortside turned perpendicular to the line-of-scrimmage (LOS) again? Coach Dexter is lucky Pride-n-Joy did not milk his angular hubris good and hard as the short-side Virginia Tech edge rusher routinely ran right on bye this dumbass F- in Euclidian Geometry alignment again and again and again. Maybe if I turn my hat -well, if I wore  a hat- sideways and channeled my inner wanna be gangstar hood, I might could riddle this one out. Let me borrow a hat and get back to you on that… (“…you turn me, every which way, but loose.”)

Kool-Aid, the mother-ship, Bigfoot, Yeti, Mothman and now this!

2^nd quarter, 5:50 remaining:
A #7 Marcus Davis blocking sighting … what will they think of next? No really! I swear! I got a picture of it right there—->

2^nd quarter, 3:30 remaining:
Yup it’s true, uva was really only this blown sideline tackle with decent enough leverage by #8 Bonner and one LT3 fumble away from being shut-out! That’s how good Bud Stout played on this special winter issue triple-bock kinda day

2^nd quarter, 0:27 remaining:
Tip of the Commonwealth Cup hat to Mr. Reynolds for this hit on C.Fuller; and real props @ #C.Fuller for holding onto the rock. Would that we could get C.Full’ back for one more full year – as I’ve not seen an O&M Wideout improve this much inside of 12 calender months in my entire life.

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Longfield Management (Lo.FM):©
Virginia Tech:
positive= |||| |||| || (1 fake Punt, 1 TD)
negative= |||| |||| ||||  (1 uva TD)
neutral= ||||

virginia:
positive=  |||| |
negative= |||| |||| |||| |||| | (1 uva INT)
neutral= ||

Recall that Virginia Tech has not been left home for the gridiron holidays since 1992. We’re talking about a football team with 20 years of balling at the post-season level, having won the Independence Bowl to begin this fabled run way back in 1993. That was the same year Bill Clinton took office, the year (God Bless) Waco Texas burned and the World Trade Center got blown up. The year Buttafuoco and Bobbit got cut short — that’s a long time ago folks, but for a 66 year old ball coach–it’s a really long time.

As in its has been a really long time since the faux superiority complex boo-hoos got all uppity and actually won. Eight years if you are keeping score at home or once in the last 14! Can you believe that? Talk about one-sided or one win in 14. WOW! Cyber hats off to Frank for providing the most cavalier fan-base in America with some measure of humility for a change.

However, all of that teetered and tottered on the brink of Hokie on Hokie post-game MB crime; as this game remained a one or even a ½ play for the duration! Just one more block, one less tackle or even one bad-bounce or bad call could have brought the whole entire O&M shebang crashing down for keeps! We were that close –index mashed to thumb- from start to finish men. The real question is … why?

***

On the Level? Well first up when breaking film, a couple of things occurred to me. No, make that more like several…

1. Each team was reaching all game long. Very high anxiety level’s along both the O&Blue and O&M sidelines alike. High anxiety levels lover performance; per the Dobson Curve (above) and it sure showed big-n-blue up on the Lane Stadium scoreboard. As each side had several questionable calls during this one; and as George Orwell once wrote in Animal Farm: “… all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”
2. The Wind itself may have hurt both passing-attacks, and turned the calendars back a full month via going Trick or treat on special-teams. However, what the Wind truly did was make each offense one word … predictable; at least for Virginia Tech. Frank ran the ball 6 times outta 10 on the nose and London came calling on the ground a mere 36% of the time! That’s throwing the ball 64% of the time into a 20-30 m.p.h. wind that was swirling or nearly cyclonic down in and around the south endzone where there is quite the gap between the East stands and the So.Endzone and again between the West stands and the So.Endzone on the other side. People are boo-hooing London’s fake F.G.A., and his temporal mechanics to end the game. Big 10-4 on that from me as well; as Mike London was the best Virginia Tech football coach on the field on Saturday. However, whiskey tango foxtrot are you thinking throwing the ball *that* much on 47% passing in a game wherein each team lead by one single solitary play, and then each team came back to tie the game all over again? That’s just straight nutz folks; even squirrels who flunked Tree 1o1 think so.
3. Note the 2^nd quarter stretch of a record shattering 12 consecutive negative Lo.FM plays from these two teams combined! That’s not ugly football, that’s Fugly football folks.
4. The Lo.FM itself sure paints a picture of Vah.Tech winning a gritty, gutty game. In reality, Vah.Tech did win a grim, gritty, gutty game; with the emphasis on the word “grim”. As the scoreboard issue was never more than one full play away from being tied or flat out won for the duration. This indeed was a an unsophisticated allegory of a seminal game of life on the proverbial razors edge. As the outcome hung in the balance for literally the entirely of all 3,600 seconds; not just the final-4 as wannabe rhetoricians have overly emphasized everywhere else. That said, so did the 19 year bowl streak; as it too hung in the balance for nearly 125 minutes of sudden-death play which includes the overtime period up at B.C. to close the year. That’s what I call a close shave indeed.
   

   ’nuff said….

Right now this is an extremely worn out Virginia Tech football team that needs these 13 days off from organized football practice just like a dead man needs a coffin. At first I had thought this 13 days off to be a few too many; or maybe even a bit too soft as we have seen former Virginia Tech post-seasons do when they treated the give Bowl bid as a mere vacation or an O&M rewards program of sorts. However, methinks that if there was ever a Virginia Tech football team who needed to hit the F5 or “refresh” button on the pigskin keyboard; it surely is this twenty-twelve crew. I’m told they are treating this like v2.0 of the 2012 season; or a second-chance to make things right.

You could hear the sigh of relief on the Monday night Tech Talk Live radio show; you can hear it throughout the Virginia Tech forward facing and back-channels alike. All I can do is agry……………….  s, i, g, h, indeed.

“LETS GO!“

“hokies!“

bourbonstreet**