The biggest game of Randy Shannon's coaching tenure is upon us.
Virginia Tech has represented the proverbial "bogey team" for both Butch Davis and Larry Coker.
When the teams are equal in talent or record, Miami almost never wins against the Hokies. The 2005 game in Lane Stadium was a notable exception, but, for the most part, this series has been one-sided against Miami that the Hurricanes have been part of since becoming a national power in the early 1980s.
Simply put, this is the biggest game of Randy Shannon's short stint as Head Coach of the U.
For years Virginia Tech has looked human against other opponents and then exploded against Miami.
Take 2001 for instance when Virginia Tech had been humbled by Syracuse and Pitt, but took the best team in the country into the last minute at Lane Stadium.
How about 2003, when the Hokies finished the season with blowout losses to West Virginia, and Pitt as well as close losses to BC and UVA. In between, the Hokies beat lowly Temple by a single point and bombed the Canes, then ranked 2nd in the country.
The point is Miami always gets Virginia Tech's best.
So to naively think that simply because Tech has looked woeful offensively in their last three ACC games that Miami will shut down the Hokies tonight is silly. If Miami's young guns are going to achieve what so many former Cane teams have failed to do, they need to buckle down.
Here are some safe assumptions for tonight:
- Miami must control the clock on the ground. Graig Cooper isn't a power back but a reason exists why he plays in front of message board favorites Shawnbrey McNeal and Lee Chambers. Coop is stronger and has better vision than the two reserve backs whose only assets are a better 40 time than Cooper.
- Miami must punt protect and cover kicks well. VT seems to block a punt every year against the Canes. Miami has a little success against the Hokies blocking kicks: in 1998 and 2002 the Canes blocked Tech punts. Macho Harris could kill Miami if Sam Shields and Khalil Jones don't get down as fliers quickly.
- Miami must not over-pursue runners on defense. VT is probably the team in the country that mixes the most different looks on offense: they can go pro set, power I, spread or option. Miami has had so much trouble in the past deciphering what the Hokies are running when on the field.
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