Virginia Tech football’s midterm report card

By Nathan Warters

Published: October 8, 2008

Virginia Tech, despite being young and inexperienced at crucial positions, is 5-1 and seemingly in control of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division.

The 18th-ranked Hokies, one of only two teams with an undefeated league record (2-0), have already dispatched two of their chief divisional rivals — Georgia Tech and North Carolina — and another, Miami, already has two conference losses.

But Tech isn’t in the clear. After taking this week off, it embarks on a critical four-game stretch that includes road games against Boston College, Florida State and Miami.

It resumes play at Boston College on Oct. 18 at 8 p.m.

Here are Tech’s mid-term grades at the halfway point of the season.

Offense: C

The Hokies have found a bona fide star in redshirt freshman running back Darren Evans (415 rushing yards, eight touch-downs), and sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor is taking more control of the offense.

Tech’s passing offense is still a work in progress. Taylor, who is 9-0 as Tech’s starter, threw his first touchdown pass of the season on Saturday.

The Hokies’ receivers are still trying to find a comfort level. Until they do, Tech won’t be able to completely open up its offense.

The offensive line is clearing holes for the running game, but pass protection is still a concern. It allowed five sacks Sat-urday and is tied for 106th in the country, out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, in sacks allowed (16).

Defense: B

Tech’s defense isn’t sub-standard. It just seems that way with how expectations have soared in Blacksburg under defen-sive coordinator Bud Foster.

The defense, which debuted seven new starters this season, came up big in wins against Georgia Tech (four takeaways), North Carolina (four takeaways) and Nebraska (two takeaways), but it has been susceptible to big plays (24 plays of 20 or more yards).

Cornerback Macho Harris (three interceptions in three straight games) is playing like an all-American. Defensive end Orion Martin (team-leading 4.5 sacks) is a force up front, but for this defense to be remembered with Tech’s past great defenses, it must eliminate the big plays.

Special teams: C

First, there’s the good. The Hokies have upheld the blocked kick tradition of past teams with four blocks this season (two extra points, a field goal and a punt).

Senior kicker Dustin Keys, who received a scholarship right before the start of the season, is as automatic as they come. He is 11-of-12 on field goal attempts. His only miss clanged off an upright from 44 yards away.

The Hokies are still looking for a punt or kick return touchdown. The punt return unit has shown improvement in the last few weeks, but the kick return team took a big hit when returner Kenny Lewis went down for the season on Saturday with an Achilles tendon injury.

As for the bad, the Hokies have been susceptible to the big play. Nebraska’s Nate Swift had an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown two weeks ago, and WKU converted a 46-yard fake punt pass and recovered its own onsides kick Saturday.

And East Carolina blocked a punt in the season-opener and returned it for the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

That’s the difference between and undefeated record, and a top 10 ranking, and 5-1.

Intangibles: A+

So the offense is a C, the defense is a B and the special teams is a C. How in the world is this team 5-1? Well, that’s where the intangibles come in.

Tech has played its best in critical times, especially in the fourth quarter. It is because of this quality the Hokies were able to hold on and beat Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Nebraska by a combined total of only 11 points.

The Hokies are also one of the least penalized teams in the country, and they rank among the nation’s leaders in turn-over margin.

Tech averages only 27.83 penalty yards per game, and its opponents have been penalized 53 times for 486 yards.

Penalties in critical drives helped it beat Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Nebraska.

The Hokies, who rank 10th nationally in turnover margin (+1.33), went five games before losing their first fumble in the second quarter Saturday.

Overall: B

Tech is the No. 1 contender right now in the Coastal Division, and it hasn’t played its best football yet. When it puts eve-rything together, it could be a force in a surprisingly strong ACC.

To make it to Tampa for the ACC championship game, the Hokies must stay healthy, something they’ve struggled with in the last couple of weeks, and they must eliminate the big plays on defense and special teams.