Hokies healthier, but still wary; Cavs seek eye-opening road win
It wasn’t superstition that made Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente wary of celebrating more players starting to return to practice and his team beginning to look whole for the first time this season. He’d just learned his lesson the hard way.
Experience has shown him the coronavirus doesn’t discriminate in terms of timing. With testing taking place three days a week for No. 19 Virginia Tech, players and coaches can get suddenly pulled from the available roster at any moment.
Still, coming off last weekend’s 40-14 win against Boston College with fewer players forced to sit (11)
than Tech had dealt with in any previous game this season, Fuente couldn’t help but be optimistic preparing for today’s game at Wake Forest (2-2, 1-2 ACC).
Make that cautiously optimistic.
“I’m hesitant to say anything,” Fuente said. “You see guys make comments and the next thing you know, it bites them in the tail, so I don’t know. I know we’re doing everything in our power to adhere by the guidelines and do our best to control what we can in this situation.”
Tech (3-1, 3-1) has been most depleted by coronavirus quarantining, injuries and other issues in its secondary and at wide receiver. Devin Taylor, a transfer cornerback from Illinois State who has been one of 11 different starters in Tech’s secondary, volunteered to help provide depth by practicing at safety, where he started against BC.
Wake Forest has been efficient
on offense, committing just one turnover all season, but it has the second-worst rushing defense in the ACC (giving up 198.3 rushing yards per game).
That bodes well for a Tech offense averaging 312 rushing yards per game (second in the nation) and boasting the country’s most productive running back in Khalil Herbert (148 rushing yards per game, 9.7 per carry). Quarterback Hendon Hooker had 164 rushing yards against BC in his first start of the season.
“We do find ourselves looking up, like, ‘OK, we’re at 200,’ or ‘We’re at 250,’ ” Tech left guard Lecitus Smith said regarding the offensive line, which he said monitors Tech’s scoreboard late in games to determine how close the Hokies are to 300 rushing yards. “We aim for 300 every game.”
As Tech keeps its fingers crossed that the worst is behind it, Virginia is awaiting final word on quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s status going into its game tonight at No. 11 Miami (4-1, 3-1).
Armstrong missed U.Va.’s 40-23 loss last weekend at Wake Forest while he was working through concussion protocol — the product of a penalized hit he absorbed two weeks ago in a loss to N.C. State.
Without Armstrong at Wake Forest, Virginia (1-3, 1-3) employed a quarterback rotation that featured Lindell Stone, Keytaon Thompson and Iraken Armstead. The rotation was marginally successful, helping produce 218 rushing yards (including 124 from the quarterback trio), but just 202 passing yards, no touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Virginia, tied for third-from-last in the ACC in turnover margin (minus-4), is looking to avoid its worst start in nearly four decades. The last time U.Va. had fewer than two wins in its first five games was 1982, when it opened 0-5 in coach George Welsh’s first season leading the Cavaliers.
In order to sidestep the dubious start, U.Va. will have to snap a 13-game skid dating back to 2011 against teams ranked among the top 15 in the Associated Press Top 25. U.Va. has also dropped 15 consecutive road games against teams in the top 15, dating back to a 1994 win at then-No. 14 Virginia Tech when U.Va. was ranked No. 16.
Finding ways to slow down Miami quarterback D’Eriq King, who has 1,079 passing yards and 273 rushing yards, will be critical for U.Va., which has lost three straight games.
“There’s resolve,” Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said regarding the mood of his team. “They know they’re capable of more. They’ve experienced more, but they also understand what they need to improve.”