Friday, October 27, 2006
Sports columnist Aaron McFarling: Tech shows guts in marching back to glory
Tech shows guts in marching back to glory
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
BLACKSBURG -- Guts. Above all else, Virginia Tech showed guts.
From the first quarter, when coach Frank Beamer made an uncharacteristic gamble, until the fourth quarter, when Branden Ore took his 37th handoff of the game and shot his weary body back into the line, the Hokies summoned every last ounce to win this game.
Final score: Tech 24, Clemson 7.
Guts.
And now glory's back in play.
Look at the ACC standings. There are the Hokies, right back in this thing. And suddenly, after one stunning, dominant, no-doubt-about-it performance, anything seems possible. If Miami beats Georgia Tech on Saturday, and the Hokies win at Miami the following week, at least three ACC teams will be tied with two losses in the Coastal Division. (A fourth, Virginia, also is in the mix.)
If that happens -- and there's a decent chance it will -- we're not talking about head-to-head tie-breakers anymore. We're talking about rankings. And after this one, the Hokies are back in that discussion, too.
Regardless, Thursday's win was no fluke. Sure, Tech got plenty of breaks, from an overturned fumble ruling to a line-drive punt that rolled to the Clemson 2.
But at the heart of this victory wasn't some wild, arbitrary twist of fate. Instead, it was a consistent, brutal deconstruction of the most productive scoring team in the nation.
And guts. Don't forget about guts.
Beamer set the course on Tech's second drive, after Clemson had forged 87 yards to take a 7-0 lead. A third-down completion over the middle to Justin Harper came up inches short of the first down. The chains came out. Surely, Tech's punt team would follow.
But no! There was quarterback Sean Glennon, trotting out with the rest of the offense. Beamer was going for it? This early? At Tech's own 36-yard line?
Yes. And Glennon got it. Right there, the Hokies showed they were willing to break from convention if that's what it took.
After that, convention proved to be enough. While Tech's defense made Clemson quarterback Will Proctor look completely lost, while Tech's front seven rendered standout running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller less than average, Ore put together his second 200-yard game in two weeks. How?
Guts.
And now glory's back in play.
A word here about Tech's offensive linemen. It's only fair. These are the guys who've largely been blamed for the offensive struggles, who've had to answer all the questions week after week not only about their own performances, but also about penalties and off-the-field trouble -- stuff that hasn't involved them directly.
Well, they were fantastic. On one second-half play, left tackle Brandon Frye completely blasted the man across from him. It was a textbook run block, totally standing the guy up and knocking him backwards. But rather than hang out there and admire the carnage, Frye kept heading downfield, where he found a linebacker -- and blasted him, too.
A good 20 minutes after it was over, after the players had left the field and the fireworks had stopped exploding over Lane Stadium, the fans still lingered.
"Let's go Ho-kies!" they chanted, over and over.
Finally, somebody came up with a different one.
"Beat Mi-a-mi!" the barked in hoarse voices. "Beat Mi-a-mi!"
Hey, why not? Their team showed them something Thursday night, something that restored a lot of faith around these parts:
Guts.
Next week, the march for glory begins.
