It probably doesn't help that this was probably the least exciting and entertaining Saturday of a pretty lackluster season. (I'm talking on the whole, here. VT's season has been pretty entertaining so far.)
Everything went according the script, except the one thing Hokies wanted to go according to script. The only major upset of the weekend also majorly screwed over the Hokies, as Clemson pulled one out against Miami. The three way tie is dead. Now GT must lose to either Duke or Wake Forest or VT will be left out of the ACCCG for the first time since 2006. That's downright infuriating to me, sinced this offense is SO much better than the prior two models. Say what you will about Stinespring, and I'll be right there agreeing with most of it, but the offense is vastly improved. It's downright fun to watch, and yet barring a miracle it's Chick-fil-a Bowl at best. Which, coincidentally, is played in Atlanta. Dammit.
With the lack of VT football I sort of allowed my mind to wander, and I did come up with a few interesting thoughts...
1.) It's been my position, and the position of this blog as a whole, that VT cannot win a national championship with B-Stines as our OC. I still stand by that, so much so that I recently publicly declared I was done even considering it during the season, chosing to focus instead on how many seasons it will take VT - who have been undisputed kings of the ACC since joining - to actually go undefeated in conference play.
However, it should be noted that with the offenses of Alabama and Florida suddenly struggling, and the fact that Texas has looked decidedly beatable at multiple points thoughought the year, whoever finally limps accross the finish line to hoist the crystal football will have been carried to the podium on the backs of their defense.
2.) I came accross this article, which I thought was a good and interesting read. One part was of particular note:
“He knew that I was grinding myself to a pulp,” Stinespring recalled. “He just has a way about it. (He said) ‘You’re a good football coach. You’ve been a good football coach. You’ll always be a good football coach. Keep focused on what we can do to get better. Don’t let outside interference take away from that.’ I learned a great deal from that conversation.”
For one thing, it certainly seems that Beamer's made up his mind about Stinespring, which is no surprise. But more interesting still, the more I meditated on that quote, the more I agreed with it.
For the record, I think Bryan Stinespring is a good football coach. But I think he's a mediocre offensive coordinator at best. A coach helps his players develop and play better football. The offensive lines under Stinespring were very good, and since his move to tight ends that position has seen improvement at VT. But an offensive coordinator's job is to develop an overall scheme that will emphasize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of all his players, and in this Stinespring has come up short. I do think Stinespring has shown improvement this year, but I still strongly maintain he's subpar at the OC spot.
3.) If Ryan Williams was a sophomore, junior, or senior, he'd be on everyone's short list for the Heisman. Although it wasn't the biggest game of his short career in terms of stats, the fact that he notched another 100 yard game while playing ill show's the guy's got heart as well as talent.
4.) At 5-2, VT sits exactly where it did at this point last season. And though it's an exercise in futility, I can't help but wonder what if you could take last year's defense and this year's offense.
