Virginia Tech Wake Forest football preview:

#48 R.P.I. Virginia Tech @ #128 R.P.I. Wake Forest:

In case you did not already know …there are only 125 classified D-1 men’s football teams officially in play this season!

That’s how bad Wake Forest truly is men.
They are worse than teams that do not officially exist!
(or at least will not be officially classified until next year)

Ergo…

Today’s word of the day is…Succor:

suc·cor  (skr)

n. middle English

  1. Assistance in time of distress; relief.
  2. One that affords assistance or relief. suc·cor·ing, suc·cors
  3. To give assistance to in time of want, difficulty, or distress.
  4. Virginia Tech football in 5 outta our 5 L’s.

I do realize that this may seem positively tying sticks to some poor dogs head and calling him a (rain)deer Scrooge like …what with Thanksgiving on the horizon and all.

However, I have an idea, let us dispense with all this former 2014 pigskin charity from this day froth. As I’m in a taking mood right about now! As we just took out #21 ranked Duke, @Duke, now let us take out Wake, @Wake, and then let us come home and rally round the Commonwealth O&M flag and take out you know hoo!

Hoowever, there I go again, getting ahead of myself and putting the cart in front of the horse. Or as Lombardi used to always put it this time of year:
“…today we begin the big push.”

Wake Defense: (starters back=5)

  • Listed as a 4-2-5, looks more like a Bandit or Rover scheme on breaking tape. Kinda a hybrid third Safety or Lb. Take thy pick.
  • Will morph into a lineal 4-3-4 all in-line wide-side over-play set.
  • NOT a laterally speedy defense.
  • dLine does not have great size. Though they are a bit quick here and there. 2 starters are <242 lbs.! Will stagger the short-side De, while remaining in a 3-point outside eye stance. Slanty dLine as well.
  • Lb’s tend to scrape same side. Almost scholastic looking on film.
  • Medium to off man with a compressed Shell-1 behind that. Congested is my word for this coverage. Can be beaten long, when a seam is found due to the same. Pretty solid on-edge man coverage here. Surprised me.
  • Defense definitely improved the further you got away from the LOS (line-of-scrimmage). Not a bad secondary and an adequate (at times) un-soft Lb’ing corps.
  • Reminds me of younger Frank in terms of personnel allotments, what little talent the Deac’s do have is indeed preaching it up over on D.
  • D will over pursue and get outta position a bit per aforementioned scrapes and slants, beckons some backside reverse rolls and/or counter action(s).
  • Not a bad tackling defense, nor is it fundamentally ill.
  • Little bit salty…………..or maybe just frustrated this defense be. Will push, shove, facemask, etc. Not quite what I’d call dirty, so much as what I did call temperamental on replay.

Wake D 14

Forest Offense: (returning starters=3)

  • opponents have take 21 points worth of Deacon throws to the house in INT return!
  • Airplane wing looking oLine, could be some 7-men calls here if Wiles is on the ball. Almost a short oLine by modern standards. All less one in the 2-deep return next year; that’s the good (or bad) news.
  • Some motion pre-snap, motion was worth keying at times too.
  • lotta Gun, single-Back or Ace-21 personal off of 2 and/or 3 wide, with offset Te or H-back Wing combo.
  • I’d write about the Wake running game …if I had only seen it on tape!
  • Tries to be something of a quick hitting West Coast Spread. Tries.
  • Worst Qb we will face in a while. Simple as that.
  • Negative 1:1.4 Passing Ratio’s with 56% in tow are like ^that^.
  • Lotta sideline work, quick-outs, flares, anything short to medium.
  • 124th in Sacks Allowed!
  • Jumpy looking Qb, does not set his happy-feets well. ^No wonder.^
  • Leading rusher=193 yards, leading catcher=433 yards!
  • One pass completed in excess of 36 yards.
  • This offense is whatever is less than inert. If they score? It’s a shame.
  • Need I type more?
  • WORST A.c.c. O we’ve faced since we got into the A.c.c.

Wake O 14

 

Dec’s Special Teams: (P returns)
I don’t know about you, though I’d say 1 miss all year long -on 30 swings of the leg- count. As that is what Mike Weaver (no boxing relation) has done with only 1 FGA miss all season long! Not half bad for a soccer star with one year of scholastic football under his belt. Not one-third bad for a kid who sat out of college for three years while pursuing “college like opportunities”. whatever that means. And no I did not Urban Dictionary that one; although methinks his former rock-star hair cut prolly was a pathfinder on that. Though this one is the second straight Kicker we’ve faced who is about as automatic as it comes. Just ask Duke; har-har on that.

Alexander Kinal is the best Punter in this Country; I mean he’s the best college Punter in his Country and yes he has a Rugby pedigree from down-under hailing from Adelaide Australian and all. Alex’ has started ever since his rookie year at Wake, and he has one career tackle with his Junior season almost expired. Alex is known for hang-time and directional punting more so than raw distance. As his leg is a rank or two south of bionic; and with his slower looking delivery; he has had one punt snuffed out this campaign. Alex and his booming hangtime however are 4th best in Net Punting, thanks to a respectable looking 38th best in punt coverage. And Alex is 25 years old, so he can (legally) buy the suds or a Foster’s oil-can or three for the Yanks on this football team.

Wake is 38th in Punt Returns thanks to Jared Crump and yet only 123rd in KO returns this year. The Dec’s are 47th in KO or suicide squad defense.

Special Teams letter-grade: (sans any obvious explosion or game changing game breakers; this is a pretty decent special teams lot the Deac’s have drawn, not a whole lot ‘rong with any of this down in Deacon land. A-)

X-factor(s):

  • VT health, or lack thereof, Frank’s most M*A*S*H season yet!
  • Sleepy Deacon Stadium = uninspired participation environment.
  • Weather: 51f mostly-sunny, awesome November tract
  • Bowl eligibility on the line for Vah.Tech.
  • Does the bus start?
  • Is the game time known?

Getting upset at Wake would be code for ...what?

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Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:
Anyone who picks Wake to upset Virginia Tech here is a 24 hour lollipop or an all day succor!

As in we/Virginia Tech would really have to aid, abet, help and outright assist Wake Forest before this Deac’s squad could win.

***

Me?
Methinks this is a race to one (1).
However, you can not score an opening single-point in American football. So I’ll call this a race to two (2). As a Safety should be all we need to beat Wake.

PROVIDING… Virginia Tech is up for this game and ready to play. As Wake is a potential shutout victim in Deacon offensive terms as the Wake Forest offense itself is offensive indeed. As in they offended my ESPN3 scroll bar in breaking tape by repetitiously going 3-n-out and therefore making this a hidden or difficult offense to get a read on, because they are so seldom seen out on the filed of play.


  1. As Wake Forest is averaging -get this- 199 yards of total O since early October!
  2. Wake has been out-gained in every contest since game#1.
  3. Wake has been out-gained by 200+ in 6 of their last 10.
  4. Wake has been out-gained by 300+ 3 of their last 5!
  5. Do you see a pattern here???

As I like my crow rare, yet warm.  Virginia Tech wins; and this just in, rain is rumored to be wet.

As it does not take the Amazing Kreskin or a magic O&M 8-ball to pick this one. If Virginia Tech does not win… I will come back in, print the OPT entry below out, and eat my very own words!

 

(READER’s note, albeit in very small font)

 

Virginia Tech=27, Wake Forest=zip

LETS GO!

HOKIES!

bourbonstreet**

2 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Methinks this is a race to one (1).
    However, you can not score an opening single-point in American football. So I’ll call this a race to two (2). As a Safety should be all we need to beat Wake.
    That was a brilliant prediction in hindsight. I feel like Beamer is a beloved grandparent or parent that is still driving. They can’t see to drive safely; and the right thing is to take the keys but it is very difficult because their family.

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