Info Center

TSL Roster Card

Blacksburg Weather

Lane Stadium Seating Chart

Parking (PDF file)

2009 VT Roster

Miami Links Official Site Rivals Site Scout Site Scout Msg Bd Miami Herald Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach Post USA Today

HokieSports.com Links

Game Notes (PDF)

Radio Stations

Live Stats (home games)

• Date: Saturday, September 26th, 2009
• Time: 3:30
• TV: ESPN on ABC (coverage map)

For weather information and a roster card link, see the Info Center to the right.

TechSideline.com is pleased to welcome Kent Square Condominiums s as our game preview sponsors for the 2009-10 football and basketball seasons. Visit Kent Square Condominiums, 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units located in the heart of Blacksburg! Click here for more information.

Open House this Saturday at Kent Square Condominiums, Noon to 2:00 pm

Last week's win over Nebraska was big, but it wasn't nearly as important as the upcoming game against Miami. This is for bragging rights, and whichever team wins will hold an early advantage in the Coastal Division race. Not to mention that this is the continuation of a rivalry that has been dead even since Frank Beamer took over at Tech in 1987.

It's impossible for a series to get any more even than this:

In 18 games against Miami, Frank Beamer has a 9-9 record. In those 18 games, Virginia Tech has scored a total of 391 points, while Miami has scored 391 points. ESPN likes to hype Miami-Florida State, Ohio State-Michigan, Florida-Tennessee, Oklahoma-Texas, etc. But the fact is that Virginia Tech vs. Miami has been the most competitive rivalry in the country recently, bar none.

Both teams have won squeakers, both teams have won blowouts, but all of the games are hard-hitting, physical, and not for the faint of heart. Expect nothing less this Saturday.

Quarterback Jacory Harris (6-4, 190, So.) will lead the Miami offense into Lane Stadium on Saturday. Harris is very advanced for a second year quarterback, and his numbers this year have been very impressive. For the season, Harris has completed 69.5% of his passes for 656 yards, with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He looks poised, confident, and he has a lot of time to throw the football.

Harris is a tall quarterback who can easily see over the line of scrimmage. He reads the field very well, and he is probably the most accurate passer in the ACC. He can make things happen with his feet, but he is a pocket passer in every way. He loves to sit in the pocket and pick defenses apart.

Those are very impressive numbers for a true sophomore quarterback who never took a redshirt. When you also consider that most of his receivers were freshmen in 2008, it's even more impressive. He's only gotten better since last year, and he's the quarterback of the future in the ACC. If he plays well for the third game in a row this Saturday, it will be fair to say that he's the quarterback of the present in the ACC.

Harris has a lot of different weapons to work with. He has completed passes to 12 different players this year, and he spreads it evenly amongst the wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.

The big-play threat in the lineup is Travis Benjamin. Benjamin is the fastest player on Miami's team. He is a major threat in the open field when he gets the ball. He is averaging 22.4 yards per catch this year. The Hokies must keep Benjamin in front of them, and they must tackle well after the catch. He can score from anywhere on the field.

The 'Canes have a lot of size at wide receiver to complement Benjamin's speed. Leonard Hankerson, LaRon Byrd and Aldarius Johnson are all at least 6-3, and all are strong players. Johnson led the team in receiving last year. He was Jacory Harris' favorite target at Northwestern High School in Miami. Hankerson is perhaps the most improved of all the Miami receivers.

Open House This Saturday, Noon to 2:00!

Miami tight end Dedrick Epps is very good, and he should challenge for All-Conference honors this year. Epps is a Richmond, VA native, and you know he'll be fired up to play in his home state. Tight end Jimmy Graham is Miami's former starting power forward. At 6-8, he could be a major threat in the red zone. He scored his first touchdown last Thursday night against Georgia Tech.

Miami tailbacks Graig Cooper and Javarris James are both featured in the passing game, with five catches each this season. They are both every-down running backs. They are quicker and shifter than Roy Helu, Jr., who basically ran right over the Hokies last week.

Cooper has 24 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown this year, an average of 5.2 yards per carry. James has 25 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns. James is a little stronger in short yardage situations, but Cooper is a little quicker and more capable of hitting the big play.

Harris's passing, plus the dual threat of Cooper and James, gives Miami a very balanced offense. However, none of it would be possible without an offensive line that is much improved over last season.

Miami's most experienced offensive linemen are on the left side. Jason Fox has been starting at left tackle since he was a true freshman. He allowed zero sacks as a true freshman, and it was easy to see he had quite a future at Miami. He is the best offensive lineman in the ACC, and probably the most underrated offensive tackle in the country.

Orlando Franklin has been starting since he was a freshman as well, and he combines with Jason Fox to give Miami a very strong duo on the left side of the offensive line. A.J. Trump is an experienced center, with 12 career starts. From center to left tackle is the

strong point of Miami's line.

Matt Pipho is a senior who is making just his third career start. However, he has played in 28 games in his career, and he's capable of playing guard or tackle. Harland Gunn is the least experienced player on the line. He was on the practice squad in 2008 and saw action in just one game.

As good as Jacory Harris has been, and as dangerous as Miami's receivers, running backs and tight ends are, it's the offensive line that makes things go. The Hurricanes will use a lot of max protection, which gives Harris all day to throw. He's such an accurate passer that he has no trouble picking apart a defense when given a lot of time to throw.

Last week, the Nebraska offense put up 343 yards of total offense against the Hokie defense. They did so with an average group of wide receivers, and a quarterback who had an off game. The Miami offensive line isn't quite as physical as Nebraska in the running game, but they are more effective in pass protection. That's a tough pill to swallow, considering the Hokies got zero sacks against the Cornhuskers.

The main difference between Miami and Nebraska is that the 'Canes are much better and much more explosive at wide receiver. Nebraska was physical in the trenches, as is Miami, but the 'Canes will bring the added dimension of having speed on the outside. Not to mention a deadly accurate quarterback who probably won't have the off game that Zac Lee had this past Saturday.

The good news for the Hokies is that they have the best pass defense that Miami has faced this year. Check out Tech's stats against the pass thus far.

The completion percentage of opposing quarterbacks has gone down each week since Tech's opening game against Alabama, and no quarterback has completed more than 50% of his throws on the Hokies. That's despite top cornerback Stephan Virgil missing two games with an injury, and Rashad Carmichael being forced to switch to boundary corner. Virgil should be back this week, and it will boost the Tech secondary.

Everyone is making a big deal about the Tech pass rush this week, and it shouldn't be overlooked. But Tech's ability to stop Miami will come down to the Hokie defensive backs matching up with the talented Hurricane receivers.

The Virginia Tech offensive line will have to come to play this week. They found out the hard way last year what happens when you don't show up to play against this Miami defensive line. The 'Canes stunted and twisted their way to eight tackles for loss and six sacks against the Hokies.

The Marcus Robinson stat line is the perfect example of how one-sided this game was in the trenches. Robinson (6-1, 237, So.) was a true freshman defensive end at the time. He entered the Virginia Tech game with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and zero sacks. There wasn't much happening on the field for Robinson as a true freshman, until he played Virginia Tech.

Against the Hokies, Robinson looked like Corey Moore coming off the edge, finishing with seven tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks. After the Tech game, Robinson had just three tackles for loss and one sack the rest of the season. It was the ultimate embarrassment for the Tech offensive line, and perhaps the pinnacle of poor offensive line play over the past several seasons.

It's unlikely that Robinson will have a huge game like that again this year, but the rest of Miami's defensive line is very effective as well. Eric Moncur (6-2, 250, 6th-year Sr.) is the other defensive end, and he has had an injury-plagued career. Moncur is athletic and can make plays in space. Though Tech blew out Miami in 2007, Moncur did have two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in that game.

(On a side note, it was Moncur who had the cheap, intentional headshot on Sean Glennon back in 2007. See the video here.)

Miami also has solid depth at the defensive end position, with Steven Wesley (6-3, 250, Jr.) getting 11 starts in 13 games as a sophomore last season. He will play a lot against the Hokies. Olivier Vernon (6-3, 250, Fr.) is a talented freshman who has seen a lot of action this far. He has four tackles for loss, which is tops on the team.

Open House This Saturday at Kent Square Condominiums, Noon to 2:00!

The 'Canes have talented defensive tackles, though nothing like the Hokies saw last week in Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh. Marcus Forston (6-3, 310, So.) was a freshman All-American last season who had 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. His first career sack came against Virginia Tech last season. Next to him is Allen Bailey (6-4, 288, Jr.), an athletic defensive tackle who used to play defensive end. He had five sacks last season, including one against the Hokies, along with seemingly the rest of the Miami defense.

Josh Holmes (6-0, 280, Jr.) and Joe Joseph (6-3, 304, Sr.) will also play at defensive tackle. They are experienced players, but they don't have the talent of Forston or Bailey. However, every single one of Joseph's sacks in his career, all 1.5 of them, have come against Virginia Tech. These Miami defensive linemen always seem to have career games against the Hokies.

Miami has a good trio of linebackers playing behind their talented defensive line. Darryl Sharpton (6-0, 235, Sr.) is the most experienced linebacker on the team. He mans the middle linebacker spot, and he has started 20 games throughout his career at Miami. He's a good player with 16 career tackles for loss.

Two more playmakers man the other linebacker spots for the 'Canes. Colin McCarthy (6-3, 242, Jr.) is a very good strongside linebacker. McCarthy is a good athlete, he has good size for the position, and he can run. He has two tackles for loss on the year so far. The weakside linebacker is Sean Spence (6-0, 212, So.). Spence was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008. He started nine games and led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss.

Miami's secondary is the weakness of their defense. Left cornerback Brandon Harris (5-11, 195, So.) is a very talented true sophomore. He is Miami's best overall defensive back. Harris is a physical player on the edge who leads the team in tackles. He has also broken up five passes, which is tops on the team. He is a future NFL cornerback.

The starting right cornerback is Sam Shields (6-0, 190, Sr.), who was a wider receiver during his first three years at Miami. He was once Miami's most promising receiver, and he has a lot of speed. He's still inexperienced as a corner.

Miami free safety Randy Phillips (6-1, 210, Sr.) fired the first salvo of trash talk this week, when he made the following comment to the media:

"(Beamerball) don't mean nothing to me. I don't even know what it is," Phillips said. "They are good in special teams, I can say that. If that is what they call Beamerball then they are good in special teams, but last year we beat them in special teams and every year we have played them we beat them in special teams, so I guess it is coach Shannon Ball."

Phillips is Miami's most experienced defensive back. He has made 15 starts in his career, though he is coming off a season during which he had to take a medical redshirt. He's joined in the secondary by free safety JoJo Nicolas (6-1, 200, Jr.). Nicolas isn't a big playmaker in the secondary, with just two passes defended and no interceptions last year.

Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder threw for 294 yards against the Miami defense. The Hurricanes are susceptible to the pass, as they were last year. In 2008, Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor combined to go 12-of-20 for 170 yards. That doesn't count what would have been a long touchdown pass, if not for a drop by Dyrell Roberts. The Hokies had success against Miami through the air last year, despite their freshmen receivers. However, Taylor and Glennon were sacked six times, and Darren Evans was held to just 43 yards in the 16-14 loss.

Virginia Tech is capable of doing better in the passing game than they showed against Nebraska. If Tyrod Taylor gets protection, he'll have his opportunities through the air against this Miami defense.

Virginia Tech faced a great kicker/punter last week in Alex Henery. They will face another this week in Matt Bosher (6-0, 205, Jr.), Miami's returning starter at kicker and punter. Bosher was 18-of-20 on his field goal attempts in 2008, with a long of 52. So far this year he has been inconsistent. He is only 2-of-4, and one of his misses has been inside 30 yards.

Bosher is averaging 41.2 yards per punt on the year, and Miami's opponents haven't even been able to return a punt as of yet. Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech's true freshman punt returner from just north of Miami, will be looking forward to proving himself against his hometown team.

Miami's kickoff team has shown signs of having weaknesses, but despite one return of 51 yards, they still rank 66th nationally. Teams average 21.8 yards per return against them. However, Dyrell Roberts could have his chances. Roberts ranks second nationally in kickoff return yardage, averaging 48.3 yards per return.

Miami's return men are very dangerous. Travis Benjamin is a major threat in the open field. He is only averaging seven yards per return on his punt returns this year, but he's a threat to score on any play. Virginia Tech's gunners, Zach Luckett and Alonzo Tweedy, need to get down the field quickly and force Benjamin into fair catches. He is the type of player who can turn an otherwise even game into a Miami win.

Graig Cooper is Miami's primary kick returner, and he is very dangerous. He is averaging 34 yards per return, with a long of 63.

Overall, the special teams battle looks pretty even. If either team can manage to get a big play on special teams, it can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

The Hokies are anywhere from 2 to 3 point underdogs in this game. The Hokies have been home underdogs just three times this decade. The first time was in their 26-24 loss to #1 Miami in 2001, and the other two times were 31-7 and 24-7 whippings handed down to Top 10 Miami and Clemson teams in 2003 and 2006. The Hokies always show up and play well when they are underdogs at home. I didn't take that into account when Clemson strolled into Lane in 2006, looking like the real deal while Virginia Tech was slipping. I picked Clemson 24-16, and Will picked them 30-10. We were both pretty wrong that night.

I like the fact that Virginia Tech is playing at home. I like the fact that they should be emotionally charged following the dramatic win against Nebraska. I like the fact that they played poorly for most of the game against Nebraska, and they still came out on top. They can play better than what they showed on Saturday, and I think they will play better against Miami.

I like the fact that Miami is getting all the hype heading into this game. All we hear on ESPN (when they aren't talking about the SEC, Notre Dame or USC) is that "The U is Back!", and that Jacory Harris is a Heisman candidate after just two games. The Hokies are being disrespected in this one. Most folks are going to pick Miami in this game, and that's a slap in the face to the Hokies, who are a good football team playing at home. Tech always plays better in the underdog role. For all I care, ESPN can pick against Tech all year.

There are certain things I don't like about this game as well. I don't like the fact that John Graves has an injured ankle, and that Jason Worilds was in a blue jersey on Tuesday with back spasms. Stephan Virgil will be back, but is he 100%? His backup, Eddie Whitley, is also nursing a pec injury. I also don't like the fact that the Hokies haven't been able to stop the run. Miami has two very good backs, and if they can get some balance in their attack, it's going to be tough for Virginia Tech to stop them.

This is it, as far as I'm concerned. This is the make or break game of the season, and it's the rivalry game of the season. If Miami wins this game, it's going to be hard for the Hokies to beat them out in the Coastal Division. The 'Canes would have to lose two ACC games before the end of the season, and the Hokies would have to win out. If Miami starts off 3-0 with wins over FSU, GT and VT, take a look at their schedule and tell me which two teams are going to beat them down the stretch? No more than one, and that would be an upset. The Hokies have to win this game, or their chances of winning the Coastal Division are very slim.

As far as the rivalry goes, this is the rivalry game of the season for the Hokies. Virginia doesn't show any signs of life, so if Tech fans want a major, competitive rivalry game this year, this is it. This game will be emotional, and it will be physical. The Hokies understand what they are facing. Miami looks very good, and it will take a great effort by Tech to beat them. Tech will have to play harder than they've played all year, and they have to play with desperation. Even though it's only September, the ACC Championship is on the line.

And as fans, bring it. This is the game to go all out for. This will be the loudest environment that Jacory Harris has ever played in. Tech fans have a chance to make a definite impact on this game.

I think the Tech defense will do a pretty good job on Jacory Harris. Bud Foster will throw two or three times as many different coverages as he saw against Florida State and Georgia Tech, and maybe more. Foster will also have two games of film to study of Miami under new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. FSU and Georgia Tech didn't have that luxury.

I believe we'll see the Hokies play with intensity, toughness and desperation on Saturday. They'll match Miami blow for blow, and we'll all see a great game in Lane Stadium. However, I think the Miami defensive front will be too much for the Tech offensive line to handle. Since the 'Canes have more talent at the skilled positions than Nebraska did, the Hokies won't be able to steal this one in the fourth quarter.

Chris's Prediction: Miami 20, Tech 17

Will Stewart's Take: I have spent a lot of time thinking about this one, and I don't think it looks good for the Hokies, folks. Here are the things working against VT:

• Miami's quarterback is 22% more accurate than VT's. That's a lot of extra yards and completions.
• VT's defense has not gelled yet, and the Hokies are even thinking of giving more playing time to a linebacker with almost no experience (Lyndell Gibson, in place of Jake Johnson).
• VT has multiple injuries on defense. The defense will need to be bulletproof against the 'Canes, but John Graves, Jason Worilds, and Stephan Virgil are all nicked up or slowed down.
• Miami offensive coordinator Mark Whipple has an impressive coaching resume and will challenge Tech's defense.
• Virginia Tech's running game is solid, but the passing game is sputtering. The Hokies don't have a balanced offense, and Miami does.
• Last year's 'Cane defense gave VT fits, and the cast of characters is almost unchanged.
• Miami has played two games in the first three weeks of the season and is well-rested, fresh, and has momentum. Tech has played three games, including two knockdown-dragouts (Alabama and Nebraska), and the Hokies are dinged up.

Here are the things working in VT's favor:

• Lane Stadium (though that didn't bother the Canes in 2005).
• Jacory Harris has piled up his stats without being pressured (but can VT pressure him?).
• Bud Foster is one of the best in the business and will give Jacory Harris all he can handle.
• Miami has not faced a pass defense as good as Virginia Tech's.
• VT's special teams units are smoking hot up and down the board: kick returns, punt returns, punting, and placekicking.
• This current group of Virginia Tech players is a never-say-die outfit that won't quit fighting until the very end.

I'm not sure that's enough. I've been critical in the past about Miami's young head coach (Randy Shannon) and their revolving-door-coordinator situation. This is Miami's fourth defensive coordinator in four years, and their third offensive coordinator in four years, if memory serves. It's hard to have consistency when you're changing coaches at that rate, and your head coach is still so wet behind the ears.

But in the early going in 2009, the Canes appear to have hit upon a nice formula with Mark Whipple directing Jacory Harris, who is throwing the ball with remarkable accuracy. Never mind the completion percentage; he's hitting guys in stride with very well-thrown balls. VT can't say the same. The running game could be a wash in this one, but when it comes time to pass, Miami has the far superior offense right now. It's not even close.

On the other side of the ball, Miami's got an athletic group, the type of defense that gives the Hokies fits, and did so just last year, in 2006, and 2005, and ... you get the idea.

For Virginia Tech to win this game, the Hokies are going to need to win the special teams battle, the Tech defense is going to have to take a big step forward and pressure Jacory Harris, and the Tech offense is going to have to execute much, much better than they did against Nebraska.

Those three things could happen, but based on the data at hand -- as limited as that data may be this early in the season -- I give the advantage to the Canes in this one.

I hope I'm wrong, and things do change when teams take the field and go head to head, but Miami's holding most of the cards here.