Virginia Tech Hokies: Reach For Excellence (2012)

[vtcrb]

I dont have the game yet, so I am guessing that you can Realign any conference you would like? What other customizations are available? Sorry I know this is about your Legacy, which by the way looks awesome.

[mm boost]

The 2011 season will be kicking off tonight at Lane Stadium against Appalachian State. Results should be posted tomorrow!

[mm boost]

Wilson's 3 Touchdowns Lead
Hokies To Victory Over
Mountaineers

- The Hokies Open The Season With A Lopsided Win Over Appalachian State -
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Blacksburg, VA (AP) -- The 2011 started out with a bang for the Virginia Tech Hokies, as they utilized a stingy defensive game-plan and let David Wilson loose on the Mountaineers en route to a 66-20 victory on Saturday afternoon.

The defense for the Hokies answered all questions coming into this season, as they silenced the doubters by stifling the passing game in the second half, and voiding the rushing attack from App. State. DeAndre Pressley had some success early in the first half, but was nearly shut-out in the second half after Bud Foster made the necessary adjustments.

While this game looked like it was going to be a competitive offensive chess-match, all hopes for that prediction was thrown out the window within the first few minutes in the ball game. On the opening kick-off, Washington fielded the ball but was quickly swarmed by the Hokies, and was violently stripped of the ball. It only took a few plays for the Hokies to capitalize on the miscue, as David Wilson rumbled into the endzone to give the Hokies a 7-0 lead.



On the ensuing possession, the defense for the Hokies came up with a huge play, as Cadet was rocked in the backfield, stripped of the ball, and Sophomore Kyle Fuller pounced on the fumble and returned it back for the first defensive touchdown of his young career:


-Fuller recovers the fumble, and returns it back for a Hokies touchdown to extend the lead 14-0-

The excitement wasn't done here, though, as the Hokies stripped Washington again on the ensuing kick-off, but this time the ball was picked up and returned for a touchdown to extend the Hokies' lead to 21-0 only 2 minutes into the game.

Finally, the Mountaineers was able to safely field the kick-off, and was able to establish some offensive momentum as DeAndre Pressley led the Mounaineers down the field. A 3-down goal-line stand by the Hokies forced a field goal, and the Hokies lead was slashed to 21-3.

On the ensuing kick-off, "Lightning-in-a-bottle" Dyrell Roberts received the kick-off, and weaved through the coverage team en route to a 77 yard kick return. However, he was tripped up only 10 yards shy of the goal line. Fortunately for the Hokies, David Wilson came through again, and slammed in his second touchdown of the game to extend the lead to 28-3.

The Mountaineers would pick up another field goal before the 1st quarter expired, and the Hokies enjoyed a 28-6 lead heading into the second. The blow-out continued in the second quarter with another touchdown, this time by defensive end J.R. Collins who picked off the screen by reading the blocks perfectly, and returned it to the house for another Hokie touchdown:


-Collins intercepts the screen pass, and returns it for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter-

With the Hokies enjoying a 35-6 lead, Pressley was finally able to finish off a drive on their next possession as he punched in the ball from 3 yards out on 3rd down, and cut the Hokies' lead to 35-13.

However, lightning struck twice, but this time would do more damage as Roberts returned the ensuing kick-off 88 yards for a momentum-crushing touchdown for the Hokies.


-Roberts returns the kick-off for an 88-yard touchdown-

With a 42-13 lead, the Hokies were walking away with this game, and the 2nd quarter hadn't even come to a close. With plenty of time to at least make it a game, the Mountaineers was unable to capitalize. Instead, the Hokies continued to build their momentum, and with :08 left in the half, Sophomore Logan Thomas capped off a 67-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Senior Danny Coale to extend the lead to 49-13 going into the half.


-Thomas connects with Coale on the 14-yard touchdown pass before half-time-

Thomas had a solid outing for his first start at Virginia Tech, going 13-19 for 170 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception through 3 quarters before Mark Leal stepped in the 4th quarter for mop-up duty. His lone miscue came at the start of the second half, as Thomas attempted to connect with his favorite target Marcus Davis, but the pass was picked off by an eager Mountaineer defender, and returned for a touchdown to reduce the lead to 49-20.



However, that would be the final miscue by any Hokie player the rest of the game, as they finished off the second half with a shut-out on Pressley, and by blanketing the running game from Cadet. David Wilson would punch in his third touchdown of the game in the 3rd quarter -- his most impressive trot of the day.


-Wilson carves through the defense behind superb blocking, and jets 49-yards for the touchdown in the 3rd quarter-

Beamer saw enough from his starters through the first 3 quarters, and would later bring in his 2nd and 3rd stringers to finish off the game, and that they did as the Hokies go on to win their 2011 season-opener 66-20.

Statistically, the Hokie offense had a solid outing lead by the performance of David Wilson. Wilson carried the ball 17 times for 95 yards with 3 touchdowns, and back-up Josh Oglesby pounded his way to 20 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown coming late in the game. In the passing game, Marcus Davis racked up 106 yards on 5 receptions with a touchdown.

While the offense played a complete performance, the defense was most impressive as they only gave up 56 yards total rushing on the day. Pressley found success passing early, and racked up 253 yards with 1 interception. However, those yards came in desperation time in the first half, and the Hokies only allowed a measly 36 yards in the second half. Leading the way for the defense, Bruce Taylor piled up 12 tackles and 3 tackles for loss, while Antoine Hopkins had an impressive 6 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.

The Hokies started off the 2011 campaign with a solid victory over the Mountaineers, and gained much valuable experience for their young players. Logan Thomas proved he has the intangibles to be next in line in a great history of quarterbacks at Virginia Tech, and David Wilson proved his case that he should be considered a Heisman dark-horse candidate.

The Hokies will be back in action next week as they travel to Greenville, NC to take on the ECU Pirates in a match-up that has become a great rivalry over the past several season. The Pirates will be looking to upset the #17 team in the Nation, and seek revenge from a second-half melt-down a year ago. Kick-off will be at 3:30 PM E/T and will be televised on the ACC Network and ESPN 3.

GO HOKIES!!!

______________________________

[waytofailself]

Woah that's a very dominant win to start the season. Poor mountaineers.

[gorillapittpray]

about damn time lol, glad ur on now Im not the only one anymore, will be keeping up from here on out!!!

[mm boost]

thank you guys for following. It was definitely a dominant performance, and a solid overall offensive effort. Our defense played flat out difficult. The next game against ECU will be a little more difficult, but we are also breaking in a bunch of new players, so these are the type of games we need to get acclimated.

[mm boost]

Conference Championships:
2012 & Beyond
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Blacksburg, VA (AP) - By now, everyone is aware that college football as we know it will change at the start of the 2012 season, and a new era will usher in a whole new level of competition. The way that the level of competition will increase is that for the first time in history, every conference, Non-AQ and AQ alike, will be playing for a conference championship at season's end. No longer will the team with the best record in the conference automatically win the conference championship. No more will teams find themselves in a tie for the championship. Until now, no other information was provided. Earlier today, the NCAA released a statement addressing this for the future, and announced a detailed break-down of how the conference championships will be handled in the future, and even went as far as detailing the bowl games each conference will be tied to.

ACC Conference

• Venue: Bank of America Stadium
• Qualifying Bowl: Orange Bowl

SEC Conference

• Venue: Georgia Dome
• Qualifying Bowl: Sugar Bowl

Conference USA

• Venue: Alamo Dome
• Qualifying Bowl: Cotton Bowl

MAC Conference

• Venue: Ford Field
• Qualifying Bowl: Capital One Bowl

Big East Conference

• Venue: Lincoln Financial Field
• Qualifying Bowl: Fiesta Bowl

Big 12 Conference

• Venue: Cowboys Stadium
• Qualifying Bowl: Fiesta Bowl

Big 10 Conference

• Venue: Colts Stadium
• Qualifying Bowl: Rose Bowl

MWC Conference

• Venue: Sam Boyd Stadium
• Qualifying Bowl: Insight Bowl

WAC Conference

• Venue: Cardinals Stadium
• Qualifying Bowl: Sun Bowl

Sun Belt Conference

• Venue: Superdome
• Qualifying Bowl: Champ Sports Bowl

Pac-12 Conference

• Venue: Rose Bowl
• Qualifying Bowl: Rose Bowl

___________________________

Over the years, many of the lower tier schools constantly voiced their frustrations with the structure of the NCAA, and the fact that they are not given a fair chance at making a quality bowl and being left out of the bowls that would earn their respective conferences and schools enough money to help build the program. While there are a limited amount of BCS bowl games to go around, there are a handful of bowls outside of the BCS bowl games that net a major pay-out, and receive a lot of exposure. With the introduction of conference championships in every conference, the winners of each conference will be sent to the bowl games listed above. For AQ schools, they will be sent to the BCS bowls. For the Non-AQ schools, they will be sent to some of the top non-BCS bowl games, and will give them the opportunity to earn a major pay-out, and allow them to invest into building their programs. With this move, it will increase the level of competition, and will also give something for every school to fight for and look forward to.

This year, it seems like the NCAA has really stepped up to the plate, and made some major changes to the structure of NCAA football as we know it. From what can be interpreted so far, it seems like all of these moves will allow NCAA football to move forward, and to improve upon on its rich history as delivering some of the most competitive games in the history of sports. 2012 is shaping up to be a barn-burner, and you can bet your bottom dollar that a lot of buzz will be created before the 2012 season kick-off, as we will witness the the dawn of a new era of college football. Get excited, fans, football is about to get that much better! Shocking? Yes, we know. How much better can college football get?

GO HOKIES!!!

______________________

[mm boost]

Wilson Leads Hokies Offense Into
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium On Saturday
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Blacksburg, VA (AP) -- On Saturday, the #17 Virginia Tech Hokies (1-0) will travel to Greenville, North Carolina to take on the East Carolina Pirates (0-1) at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium. These two teams have developed a bit of a rivalry in recent years, and this weekend the match-up is poised to be another great match-up in a series that has gone either way over the last decade.

Entering the contest on Saturday, both schools enter the game with opposite results from a week ago. Last Saturday, the Hokies opened the season at Lane Stadium with an impressive victory over Appalachian State. In his first start as quarterback, Sophomore Logan Thomas had an excellent game, as he was consistent passing the ball going 13-19 for 170 yards with 2 touchdowns, with only 1 interception. Equally impressive was David Wilson, the Junior tail back that carried the ball 17 times for 95 yards with 3 touchdowns. Both of these young men will attempt to repeat their performance from last week against ECU, an opportunistic team that is reeling from a 2nd-half melt-down against the South Carolina Gamecocks. If they can duplicate their outings from last week, look for the Hokies to control the tempo of the game with their offense, and look for them to pound the ball out on the ground and attempt to keep the ball out of the hands of Dominique Davis, Quarterback for the ECU Pirates.



Marcus Davis, who has ingeniously been named "The Freak" for his unworldly athleticism standing in at 6'4" and tipping the scales at 228 lbs., will attempt to also repeat his performance from last week. The Junior had a break-out performance, racking up over 100 yards on 5 receptions. He was clearly Logan Thomas' favorite target, as he consistently found weaknesses in the Mountaineer defense, and brought down the ball for some big plays. He will match up against a talented ECU secondary led by Blacknall, Davis, and Magazu. If they can find a way to shut down Davis, they will then have to contend with Danny Coale and Jarret Boykin. The Pirates will have their hands full trying to shut down the passing attack of the Hokies. They will more than likely be leaning on putting pressure on Logan Thomas, and making him throw erratic passes. It will definitely be an interesting match-up.



While Dyrell Roberts is another weapon in the passing attack for Logan Thomas, the buzz currently surrounding #11 is for his special teams play. A week ago, "Lightning-in-a-bottle" busted through the kick coverage team of the Mountaineers, racking up 242 yards on 6 returns, including 2 of 87 and 88 yards with 1 touchdown. Can he continue his success against a speedy Pirate football team that prides itself on special teams? Keep an eye on this guy.

Defensively, the Hokies will be looking to build off their 2nd-half performance of last week's contest, and shut down a spread offense led by former Boston College Quarterback Dominique Davis. He led the Pirates to victory over the Hokies 2 seasons ago, and will be looking to find a way to do it again in-front of 50,000 fans at Dowdy-Ficklen. The Hokies will lean on Bruce Taylor and Jayron Hosely to lead this young defense in only their 2nd game in the new 4-2-5 scheme that Bud Foster installed in the off-season. If they can shut down the run again, and force the Pirates to become one-dimensional, it could play right into the favor of the Hokies. However, Davis is a play-maker, and has proved that he is one of the best at running the spread offense, and will be looking to make plays either through the air or on the ground, depending on what the Hokies give him.

Anyway you shake it, this game will hands-down be the toughest non-conference game of the season for the Hokies. If they show up on the road at Dowdy-Ficklen, and play like they did a week ago, look for the Hokies to handle the ECU Pirates with ease. However, if the Pirates come out playing like they did 2 years ago against the Hokies, it could be a long day on Saturday.

Tune in at 3:30 PM E/T on the ACC Network or ESPN3 to find out if the Hokies can move to 2-0, or if the Pirates will play the role of the spoiler again.

GO HOKIES!!!

_____________________