Hokies look for answers

BLACKSBURG, VA. -- Bryan Stinespring, the Virginia Tech offensive coordinator, pursed his lips and looked toward the ground. He paused while searching for the right words to address the Hokies' offensive difficulties.

"It's frustrating," he said on Sunday evening.

While Virginia Tech started to take off offensively in the first half of the season, its offense has slowed in recent weeks. In two losses in as many games, the inability to capitalize on good starting field position, in particular, has haunted the 22nd-ranked Hokies, who play at East Carolina on Thursday.

Stinespring said the failure to cash in on those opportunities has made "as big a difference as anything for us."

Against Georgia Tech on Oct. 17, Virginia Tech started three drives in the Yellow Jackets' territory. None resulted in points. Last Thursday night against North Carolina, the Hokies scored on only one of three drives that started in Tar Heels territory -- and that possession opened at the North Carolina 5-yard line after an interception.

"If there was a rhyme or reason, we'd work to figure it out," Stinespring said of the offense's difficulties. "It's a combination of little things. Sometimes it's defensive plays, but more often than not it's something we've got to do a better job of. Sometimes it is maddening because it's things we've done this season."

Virginia Tech blossomed offensively earlier this season. Following a poor offensive performance against Nebraska, Stinespring made some adjustments. He brought the entire offense together to watch film, instead of meeting as individual player groups. He preached a message of personal accountability, going as far as apologizing to the players for not holding up his end.

In subsequent games, the offense showed balance and potency. Against Miami, running back Ryan Williams ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Against Duke, quarterback Tyrod Taylor had a career-high 327 passing yards. Against Boston College, the Hokies used some bold and creative play calling, such as the 41-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Boykin on the opening play of a possession.

"These last two games, man, I really don't know what's been going on," Williams said of the offense's performances against Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

Facing Georgia Tech's porous defense, the Hokies scored only one touchdown in three appearances inside the 20 and had a season-low 21 minutes 38 seconds time of possession as the Yellow Jackets controlled the clock with their spread-option offense.

On Thursday against the Tar Heels, the Hokies rushed for only 95 yards, averaging 2.9 yards per carry. Yet on 11 of 15 second-down situations (in which the average distance for the first down was almost nine yards) Virginia Tech ran the ball. Stinespring said the Hokies hoped to pop a big run as they did on the first play, when Williams broke for 25 yards.

"We tried to spread the field and take what they were giving us," Stinespring said.

The Hokies have been hamstrung by a defense that has been susceptible to big gains, especially on the ground. Defensive coordinator Bud Foster said his players were not as experienced, and perhaps not as talented, as the top-10 units of past years.

But in recent seasons, the topic of offense has been, well, offensive to some in Blacksburg. Fairly or not, Stinespring has been the target of criticism among Hokies fans on Internet fan message boards and blogs.

This week, unsigned fliers posted on campus called for students to protest Stinespring at Monday night's "Tech Talk Live," a weekly radio show at a local restaurant. Athletic Director Jim Weaver and Coach Frank Beamer appear on the show. The show went off without interruption.

"Well, I appreciate people's interest and people's passion for our program," Beamer said Monday morning in a teleconference. "Anything along those lines is not helping us beat East Carolina. That's all I'm concerned about, is beating East Carolina."

The most important objective of the Hokies' trip to Greenville, N.C., will be righting their wayward course with a win. And although the offense has not moved well recently, Virginia Tech could get that boost if the Hokies' productivity returns to its form at the midway point of the season.