Cal is pretty banged up and went from a threat to an underdog at home. Tech needs to take advantage of the opportunity. The Hokies can pick up some serious momentum with a convincing win in this contest.
The Hokies Head West
This game could be interesting for several reasons. First, it’s a chance to recover momentum from a very disappointing outing against Pitt. Second, it’s against a team that Tech has only ever played twice before and the last time was a thrilling double overtime Hokie win. Third, well, it looks like
if Tech can play a clean game, and get the balance in the offense back, it could be a solid win.
The Hokies will take the field in Berkeley wearing white helmets and jerseys with maroon pants. That seems to be a really good luck combo for the team.
The Team Public Relations folks are encouraging the Bay Area fans to wear white in support of the Hokies this Saturday.
Coach Franklin’s Cal Week Presser
Good information coming from the coach. Unfortunately, team captain George Ballance has a leg injury that is putting him on the sideline for a time, and the linebacker corps is getting a bit thin.
Logan Thomas Comes Home
Thomas successfully converted to is natural and desired position of Tight End, in the pros, but he led the Hokies at QB and provided some thrilling moments during the late Beamer Era. He’s now a member of the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Predictions Time
This isn’t going to be a cakewalk but even the wise guys are thinking that Tech is a two-score favorite for this game. The truth is that Cal is an unknown because their star starting Quarterback is probably out, and their loss to G6 UNLV after a low defense game puts them in a position of being an even larger spread victim. The Hokies should be able to run on the Golden Bears, and Ethan Grunkemeyer has the possibility of having a really good day in the air to his receiving corps. The ball might be in his lap, but the plays are in Ty Howle’s. Let’s hope that Tech grabs the initiative and stands on the accelerator the entire game. This team needs to recover some offensive momentum.
It also needs to get some defensive quarter to quarter consistency by maintaining heavy pressure for the entire contest without going into prevent mode, especially if the offense gets multiple scores ahead. It’s time to put the hammer down at the first offensive possession for Cal and leave it down the whole game. The Hokies are going to need to sustain a full pressure defense for four quarters for the remainder of the season. This game is the time to start that habit.
Bryan Manning
After a disappointing loss last week, the Hokies will get things back on track against Cal. We are about to learn a lot about this team. And from everything we’ve gathered so far, they have responded well to adversity. Much of the adversity they faced against Pitt was self-inflicted. I believe VT takes care of the football; Ethan Grunkemeyer has another big game, and Jeff Overton goes back over 100 yards rushing. Hokies win.
Hokies 34, Cal 17
John Schneider
Well, we missed the predictions last week. But the hitch wasn’t in the basics, Tech was the better team on the field, minus the 3 of the 4 turnovers (and the 7 points lost due to the terribly bad call from the officials). The entire game might have turned on that one issue.
This one resets the pieces on the field and gives the Hokies a chance to get back to a balance between run and pass that netted them 4 straight wins. The team just needs to learn that it cannot rest on leads. They absolutely must learn to “STAND ON IT!!!!” That means no more prevent and semi-prevent defenses. It means no more doinking around at the line of scrimmage with go nowhere running plays and bubble screens trying to burn clock. This team needs to learn to score first, score often, and keep scoring.
Any win coming out of Berkeley is a positive event, but a complete thrashing of the Golden Bears would go a long way to rebuilding Tech’s confidence in itself and prepare it for tougher games ahead. This prediction is more of a hope that Virginia Tech takes that route.
45-13 Hokies
