Change Preferences | Sign Out
TODAY'S NEWSPAPER
Subscribe | PostPoints
SEARCH:
washingtonpost.com
Web
| Search Archives
Virginia Tech Football Preview
Tickets: Sold Out, Radio: WTEM-980, Web Site: www.hokiessports.com
College Football Preview
THE BIG GAME
• At Miami, Nov. 4

  Kyle Wright  
  Kyle Wright and the Hurricanes went into Blacksburg and embarrassed the Hokies last year. (John McDonnell -- The Washington Post)

  
• Virginia Tech was ranked No. 3 last season and had designs on a national championship when the Hurricanes invaded Lane Stadium. "They were playing 'Enter Sandman' and the place was going crazy when we walked in there," Miami quarterback Kyle Wright said. "By the third quarter, you could hear a mouse."

Wright and Miami knocked Tech out of the national championship equation, dealing the Hokies a 27-7 beating in their own back yard. The Hokes can return the favor this season, when they head to Coral Gables, Fla., for the game that likely will decide the ACC's Coastal Division. So long as the Hokies can handle a Thursday night game at Boston College on Oct. 12, they should be undefeated again this season when they face Miami. Staying unbeaten, though, may be secondary in motivation, behind revenge.

"We knew we were going to win that game," Wright said. "There was no doubt in my mind."
SCHEDULE


• Saturday, Northeastern, 1:30

The backups should see the field by the third quarter against the Huskies, a bad Division I-AA team.

• Sept. 9 at North Carolina, noon

The first real test for new quarterback Sean Glennon.

• Sept. 16 Duke, noon

Hokies need a win to even the series at 7, and barring a miracle, they'll get it.

• Sept. 23 Cincinnati, 1:30

Cincinnati, in a sense, took Tech's place in the Big East. The Bearcats find out what they've missed.

• Sept. 30 Georgia Tech, TBA

Cornerbacks Victor Harris and Brandon Flowers get their biggest challenge of the season covering beastly wideout and Heisman hopeful Calvin Johnson.

• Oct. 12 at Boston College, 7:30

In a Thursday night ESPN game, the Eagles will be looking for revenge after last season's 30-10 loss to their former Big East brethren.

• Oct. 21 Southern Miss, 1:30

The last meeting came in 1994, a 24-14 Virginia Tech victory.

• Oct. 26 Clemson, 7:30

Defensive end Gaines Adams will give Tech's revamped offensive line a tough test.

• <Nov. 4 at Miami, TBA

The big game.

• Nov. 11 Kent State, 1:30

The Hokies get a chance to heal against a MAC also-ran after what promises to be a battle.

• Nov. 18 at Wake Forest, TBA

The Deacons return a league-high 18 starters from last season's bowl team, but ACC player of the year Chris Barclay is gone.

• Nov. 25 Virginia, TBA

The rivalry hasn't been much of one lately, evidenced by last season's 52-14 evisceration of the Cavaliers.
BIGGEST SHOES TO FILL
• Sean Glennon Replaces Marcus Vick

  Sean Glennon  
  Sean Glennon

  
For the second straight season, a Hokies quarterback is faced with replacing the previous season's ACC first-teamer. Convention says Glennon can't match Vick's athleticism -- and that may be technically true -- but don't discount Glennon's physical attributes. He runs the 40 in 4.7 seconds, has the best vertical leap of any quarterback on the team and bench-presses 350 pounds. He also makes sound decisions, to the point where Tech will install more four- and five-wide receiver offensive sets.

After Vick was dismissed from the team, a three-quarterback competition began with Glennon, Ike Whitaker and Cory Holt.

"It definitely changes your mentality and how you're going to approach things," Glennon said of Vick's dismissal. "I'm also spending more time trying to be a leader. From the day I heard it, I was just focused on getting to this point."

A little leadership -- and not an individualist -- may be just what Tech needs from the quarterback position.

OTHERS TO WATCH
• DE Chris Ellis, Jr.: Tech's best pass-rushing threat had six sacks last season.

• LB Vince Hall, Jr.: Plugs running lanes with the best of them and made a team-leading 112 tackles last season in being named second team all-ACC.

• LB Xavier Adibi, Jr.: He covers like a safety and hits like a truck, making him and Hall one of the nation's best linebacking duos.

• RB Branden Ore, Soph.: An improved attitude may mean more production from Ore, who filled in because of injuries last season and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.

• WR Eddie Royal, Jr.: The speedster could benefit from catching passes from Glennon, his roommate and former high school teammate at Westfield High.

KEY LOSSES
• CB Jimmy Williams: Took his blanketing cover skills and sizable swagger to the Atlanta Falcons.

• QB Marcus Vick: Dismissed from the team, he's trying to catch on with the Miami Dolphins in various roles.

• G Will Montgomery: He made the ACC's first team, then took his stabilizing presence to the Carolina Panthers.

• DE Darryl Tapp: A second-round NFL draft pick, Tapp had 10 sacks last season, third in the ACC. Noland Burchette has the daunting role of filling in.

• DT Jonathan Lewis: He commanded double-teams last season; now Carlton Powell must do the same to allow a fearsome set of linebackers room to operate.

• Bottom Line: Only three active coaches have more bowl appearances than Frank Beamer's 13: Joe Paterno (32), Bobby Bowden (29), Mack Brown (14).
© The Washington Post Company