A Horse of a Different Color 09/14/09

“We need an eraser.“- algroh

The A-Line Board of Football Experts

What a difference a week makes! Things went a little better for both Virginia Tech and most of the rest of the ACC. A week after being utterly embarrassed in the OOC corral, this time only one team was thrown.

There seemed to be little wrong with the Tech offense that the Marshall defense couldn’t cure. Tech simply steamrolled the over-matched Herd to the tune of 605 yards and the most points rung up by the Hokies since a couple of Smithsonian visits ago. Both of Tech’s freshmen tailbacks cracked the 160-yard barrier and Tyrod even managed to complete a couple of passes. About the only problems on display were the Corps alums demonstrating that perhaps it had been a few decades years since they attempted a little close order drill.

The Hokies showed vast improvement from the Atlanta opener, especially in the scheduling phase. Marshall was out-manned at every position. Three times now this decade the Herd have brought a team to Lane and they seem to be bringing a worse one every trip. All of that weauxfing done by the Thundering Loons back in 2002 is a quaint memory; this time around they couldn’t even sell their ticket allotment. How has moving from the MAC to CUSA and adding huge travel costs to a pitifully-small budget worked out, guys?

Tech has now gone from displaying pratically no offense against the best team on its schedule to running roughshod over the worst, although the title of ‘worst’ just might turn out to be a horse race between the Herd and algroh’s stable. The story of Stiney’s 2009 effort likely lies somewhere in between. Some more definitive answers will be found in the next couple of weeks, as scheduling life gets a bit tougher. But, Stiney can at least spend this week buttoning the top one on his shirt.

The rest of the ACC at least made an effort, with the exception of the Great NFL Horse Whisperer, to remind folks that this is indeed a BCS conference. It was touch and go in a couple of games. Butch’s Boyz escaped UConn by the skin of their safeties, a call that left Husky Loons braying about being jobbed by ACC refs. Well, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time Little Johnny’s crew had screwed over the Li’l E. Reading the yipping by the Huskies was quite amusing and provided yet another example of the maxim that only losers, both on the scoreboard and otherwise, whine about officials.

The league also notched a rare OOC win over the CAA. Ralph’s Terps turned the trick with an OT field goal, beating my namesake JMU Dukes. The way things had been going against that I-AA powerhouse league, you take what you can get. That is certainly what Florida State did after sleepwalking their way through a Miami-induced hangover. Maybe a little more thought should be expended on the notion of padding budgets with the 12th-game writing of checks to the little fellers. They seem to take the games quite seriously.The Wake team finally showed signs of 09 life while Duke found Army defenses not quite as formidable as Richmond’s.

Then there was the Hooville Dude Ranch.

One would have thought that things could not get any more hilarious than the Hoos getting horse-whipped by William and Mary and one would be wrong. It took a lot of head and mane scratching and some creative out of the box and saddle thinking by Hoo AD Craig ‘Tubby, was that an entrance or what?’ Littlepage, but a way was indeed found at the latest Hooville rodeo to provide a display of ineptitude even greater than that being shown by the Hoo nags. Did Caractacus ever throw Mr. Jefferson? Lawn Biscuit tossed Wally Wahoo faster than what’s left of the Hoo fan base is throwing their remaining tickets. When algroh is finally run out of town at season’s end, it seems safe to assume what he will not be riding into the Rugby Road sunset.

A season that, like all, seems to be flying by now moves into its third week. Things get under way Thursday night when Georgia Tech and the Canes go from eking out wins over Atlantic Division teams to having a go at each other. The league’s showcase game will again involve Virginia Tech as Nebraska comes calling. A lot more will be found out about Tech’s offense while the Huskers should find the Hokies to be tougher opposition than the cream puffs they have been pounding so far. Carolina hosts ECU in the Strawgrasper’s latest BCS bowl, the Pack continues the I-AA portion of their schedule while Duke travels [and likely loses] to Kansas for some reason. Clemson will attempt to put off the Dabo Death Watch for a while when they host Fredo. The Hoos take their Buffalo algroh Wild West Show on the road for the first time to Southern Miss. Hopefully the pilot of the charter will be able to make it to Hattiesburg without inadvertently hitting the ‘Eject’ button.