Reasoned and Measured Analysis Without the BS
Sadly, there’s a question that gets raised inside athletic programs quite frequently.
Is it worth it to cheat the system?
Depending on who and where you are, the answer may very well be yes. Much, of course, depends on whether you get caught. Continue reading “Cheating: It Just Means More”
As more and more players transfer from their original school each season, Justin Fuente has repeatedly used the transfer portal to bolster his quarterback room.
Fuente added JUCO stud Jerod Evans for the 2016 season, acquired AJ Bush for the following year and prior to 2018, Fuente signed Oregon transfer Braxton Burmiester.
After two more departures, Fuente dipped into the portal again on Tuesday and brought in Texas A&M transfer Connor Blumrick. While Blumrick’s may not be a bad thing, it barely addresses the elephant in the room — the Hokies’ quarterback situation is unsettling. Continue reading “An Incredibly Weak Solution to a Significant Problem”
One of my favorite parts of the NCAA Football video games was custom scheduling.
Before every season, you as the head coach got to build your schedule for the coming year. It was fun replacing no-name programs like Middle Tennessee State or Old Dominion with the likes of Alabama or Ohio State. It enhanced the game’s replay factor and allowed you to adjust your schedule depending on who the best teams were.
Real football doesn’t work that way. Athletic directors schedule games far in advance, sometimes a decade before the game is to be played. It’s an odd practice. But sometimes, you get the chance to schedule a game in the short-term, which is what Whit Babcock did last Friday when he added South Carolina to the 2025 slate. Continue reading “Dreaming of Fun Matchups for Virginia Tech”
Let’s get one thing straight here from the start — Virginia Tech is not a basketball school.
That said, it sure is fun for Hokies fans to watch the basketball team carry the torch for the athletic program. Continue reading “Why Not the Hokies?”
“The rich get richer” is a wildly overused phrase. People are who are at the bottom of any distribution often use it to justify their current situation. Sometimes it is true. Other times it is not.
What we saw on Monday night was a case in which the rich are actually getting richer. Continue reading “The Gap is Widening”
The grind is called “the grind” for a reason.
Typically, you’re doing something you don’t really want to do at the moment. But you do it because you know what the potential reward at the end of the road. You know the process bears fruit, but the process is arduous and filled with obstacles. Continue reading “Taylor Heinicke’s Heroic Performance is the Latest Tale of Inspiration from Washington Football”
Virginia Tech basketball is this close to being a really good team.
The Hokies dropped a road tilt with Louisville on Wednesday night in frustrating fashion, giving away an early lead and falling just short in their comeback attempt.
Poor shooting was once again the problem. Virginia Tech hit just shy of 43 percent of their shots overall and went an abysmal 9-30 from three-point land. Players not named Jalen Cone were an even more dreadful 3-18.
Even still, Virginia Tech scored 71 points and lost by two. Continue reading “The Glaring Positive from Virginia Tech’s Frustrating Loss to Louisville”
Judging from what Marshall football did yesterday, you’d think the Thundering Herd were a year-in, year-out perennial football power, where anything less than a bowl win and a national ranking was unacceptable.
Unfortunately, they’re not.
There have been two periods of prosperity in Marshall’s past. Bob Pruett engineered five seasons with 10 or more wins over a six-year span around the turn of the century, helping Thundering Herd fans move on from the aftermath of the 1970 plan crash that decimated Marshall for two decades.
The other period likely ended on Monday, when Marshall decided to not renew Doc Holliday‘s contract. Continue reading “The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same”
Like many of you, I watched the circus that was Washington vs. Philadelphia on Sunday night that ultimately secured an NFC East division title and playoff berth for the Football Team.
The game was unwatchable in many ways — the two teams combined to turn it over five times, including a comical six-play stretch that included three turnovers. The Eagles, for all intents and purposes, waived the white flag with the result still in the balance. Continue reading “An Odd Revision of Football History”
Even in the worst situations, you can often find silver linings if you look close enough. In regards to Virginia Tech’s 2020 season, Amare Barno was that silver lining.
Barno’s 2020 season was unexpected, to say the least. The former JUCO linebacker was making the switch to defensive end just as the COVID-related shutdowns put college football programs on lockdown. The most critical offseason of Barno’s collegiate career went down the tubes.
But that didn’t matter. Despite the limited practice time, Barno turned in one of the best individual performances of Virginia Tech’s 2020 season. And with Barno returning for the 2021 season, there’s no telling how much can improve. Continue reading “Amare Barno Entering Offseason With Limitless Potential”