Virginia Tech vs Alabama Line

Written by Jack Jones

virginia-tech-alabama-preview-090109 Two of the best defensive teams from last season meet in the Georgia Dome on Saturday as the Virginia Tech Hokies square off against he the Alabama Crimson Tide. Virginia Tech was written off early last season, losing their season opener to East Carolina (27-22), but the Hokies rallied, won the ACC Championship, and picked up a victory over Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl. Alabama comes off of a 12-2 season in 2008, that ended with a disappointing 31-17 loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl. The Crimson Tide had one of the best offense-defense combos in the nation last season, and while they return 9 starters on the defensive side of the ball, they return just 4 on offense. The college football odds for Saturday have installed Alabama -6.5 over Virginia Tech with the total set at 38 points.

Offensively, Virginia Tech could use some improvement, particularly in the passing game. They averaged just 22.1 points per game last season. Their main focus again this year will be their rushing game, and they have a potential break-out tailback in sophomore Darren Evans, who will be tested immediately by this Alabama defensive front. Tyrod Taylor will be the the Hokies starting quarterback on Saturday, but while he is a threat to run the ball, both from the option and when the defense drops into coverage, he was not very successful when it came to throwing the ball last season, completing 57% of his passes for 1,036 yards with 7 interceptions to just 2 touchdowns. The Hokies need him to make better decisions, something that is especially true when facing a team like Alabama in the first week. Mistakes tend to be contagious against good defenses, so Taylor and the rest of the Hokies will need to be especially careful with the football.

The Hokies were dominant defensively last season, allowing just 16.7 point per game and 279.4 yards of total offense per game. For 2009 they return 7 of their defensive starters, including Jason Worilds, who lit-up opposing teams for 8 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss last season. Virginia Tech’s linebackers lost their top 2 players on the depth chart from last season, but have enough talent there that it shouldn’t be a major concern. The secondary will be strong again for the Hokies, lead by senior cornerback Stephen Virgil (6 interceptions last year) and a pair of excellent safties with Kam Chancellor and Dorian Porch.

Alabama has a lot of holes to fill on the offensive side of the ball, 7 to be exact, with just 4 starters returning from last season. The most obvious gap comes from the quarterback position, where John Parker Wilson will need to be replaced. Wilson was never a statistic powerhouse, but he did manage the game well and did not put his team in bad situations. Junior Greg McElroy has stepped up to fill the void at QB, and by all accounts he is a similar quarterback to Wilson in that he leads with his head more than his pure skill. McElroy will have a great target when he does throw the ball in wide receiver Julio Jones, last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year. The running back position is a bit of a mystery with Mark Ingram and Roy Upchurch fighting injuries most of the spring, with the next best option possibly being freshman Trent Richardson. It will be interesting to see how the Alabama running game does without a clear feature back and without several key members of the offensive line from a season ago, particularly against this talented Virginia Tech defense.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Crimson Tide should again be one of top squads in the nation. Last season they allowed just 14.3 points per game and only 263 yards of total offense per game. With 9 returning starters, it’s hard to find a weakness on any part of the field. Virginia Tech will find it difficult to move the ball on the ground, seeing as this defense ranked first in the nation against the rush a year ago, allowing just 2.7 yards per carry and only 5 rushing touchdowns the entire season.

Comments

2 Responses to “Virginia Tech vs Alabama Line”

MurdochSez on September 1st, 2009 10:16 AM

Enjoyed the article Jack. We should find out today or tomorrow if julio jones and mark ingram are going to be eligible or not. If they are suspended i would expect the line to drop a bit , so anyone wanting to play Va. tech might want yo get it in early. … i’m considering teasing both sides as i expect a close and low scoring game.
Jack Jones on September 1st, 2009 12:16 PM

Good point, Murdoch. I do not think they will be out for this game, but anything can happen.

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