Friday, October 28, 2005
Hokies muzzled the Eagles
Randy King
Randy King's Tech Insider is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Thursdays in season.
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BLACKSBURG -- Do they still make those old BC headache tablets?
If so, somebody bring me a couple hits. And while you're at it, how about a couple cases for Tom O'Brien and his Boston College Eagles. Those guys have to be hurting today, too, after being the victims of a 30-10 mugging here.
All week long much of the talk -- at least on this side of the media circle -- was about BC's gargantuan offensive line ... the fact BC had won 13 of 16 on the road, including wins over five straight ranked foes ... the fact that BC wouldn't be intimidated here after rolling into Lane and administering pain in a butt-kicking 34-27 upset of a No. 12-ranked Tech club two years ago.
Up north, the 13th-ranked Eagles chirped confidently in the 72 hours leading up to last night's throw-down with third-ranked Tech.
Listen to safety Jamie Silva talk about the Hokies: "They're just another team. We know that we can go down there and win. Some teams might go down there and say, 'Uh-h,' because they're playing in Blacksburg, and they might get all nervous about it.
"Two years ago, we went down there and won ... we know we have the capability and the talent to go beat them in front of their crowd. There's no doubt in our minds that we can go down there and do that."
And how about Eagles quarterback Quinton Porter's take on the Hokies' defense: "We've played them for so many years ... we know what they're going to do. There's not much with their defense that's going to surprise us. We kind of know what they have."
While the Eagles chirp, chirp, chirped, the Hokies were sitting back with all ears, quietly absorbing all the talk out of Chestnut Hill.
"They just don't know in a way," said cornerback Jimmy Willliams, Tech's top-ranking smack-down artist. "It's a confidence booster [for us] in a way, man, because at the same time we kind of take it to heart because we feel like, man, people don't show us respect.
"We're third in the country and every time we go play somebody we got to hear about how they beat us two years ago. They're bringing up the past and what they done did ... what they've got to realize is this is a new team, man. It's a new era and we're trying to build a dynasty here.
"You said the key word, man, everybody was talking ... and as long as they keep talking, by the end of the night we'll get our respect and they won't be saying anything."
Muzzle mission accomplished.
Tech's offensive line, a mere footnote all week, proceeded to go out and prove it was the best bunch of hogs working this pen. The Hokies' underrated front of Jimmy Martin, Will Montgomery, Danny McGrath, Jason Murphy and Duane Brown pounded on BC's defensive front, paving the way for its offense to hang 492 yards on a unit that had yielded an average of 273 yards in its first seven games.
The Hokies' front carved open hole after hole for their trio of tailbacks and quarterback Marcus Vick. Tech ran the ball 53 times -- two more plays than BC ran all night -- for 212 yards on a defense that entered the night ranked fourth in the nation against the rush, permitting only 77.7 yards per game. Basically, the Hokies' O-line played liked it gulfs down food in its normal-week, bury-a-buffet routine on Thursday nights in Blacksburg.
"Those guys played nasty. They were great," Tech tailback Cedric Humes said.
Defensively, the Hokies owned the trenches, too. Tech routinely got four-man pressure, allowing the back seven to sit back and roam to the ball. The Eagles made only two big plays all night, both coming on their scoring drive that gave them a short-lived 7-6 lead in the second quarter. The touchdown pass came at the expense of Mr. Williams.
"I'm kind of upset at myself, ... I gave up seven today, man," said Williams, who lost the ball and then got turned around at the last second on Porter's 29-yard TD strike to Will Blackmon. "But every time I do that, it just makes me get better and better."
That was it for BC's offense. Led by fabulous end Darryl Tapp and big Jonathan Lewis in the middle, Tech suffocated the visitors the rest of the way, holding them to a paltry 183 total yards, only 58 in the second half.
BC had 27 rushing yards. That's no typo, folks. Before running into Bud Foster's stoned wall, BC had posted 400 or more total yards four times, with a season-low output of 365 at Brigham Young in the opener.
Tapp had two sacks, had another sack wiped out by penalty, and a hurry that led to Porter throwing the ball right to Tech linebacker Vince Hall, who gladly turned it into his second TD of the season for the final points with 3:16 left.
"They have a huge offensive line, but we were able to utilize our speed and play technique and fundamentals and it worked out for us," a smiling Tapp said. "We enjoyed the challenge of facing those big guys. We used our speed and took advantage."
Williams said he thinks this team hasn't reached its full stride yet.
"We're getting better and better each week, to be honest with you," he said. "[People] might now see it, but we are getting better.
"We felt like this was a statement game for us, back-to-back Thursdays. That kind of put a challenge on us saying they were more much more much stronger than us, that they were going to run it down our throats."
The only ones getting stuff rammed down their windpipes were the Eagles. Williams, who resembles the St. Joseph's Hawk mascot when he flaps his arms in an effort to arouse the fans between plays, can't wait for No. 6 Miami's trip to Lane a week from Saturday.
"I think we kind of got some respect tonight," Williams said. "Everybody saw how the defense can play and everybody knows the offense can strike at will. We're just trying to get better and better, man.
"People watching on TV, I think you understand how the game was. I think the country saw that tonight. Right now, I don't think there's any more we've got to say because we're going to play Miami next week.
So it's shut up and play.
Of course, it's inevitable there will be more talk next week, this time coming from the deep south. The 'Canes always have been willing to provide some lip service.
Hey, the Hokies will be listening. They'll be smiling, too.
Anybody have a Goody's powder?
