(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Offensive Line

Miscues were early in the game. William Vlachos had difficulty keeping his snap off the ground, the line also had false start penalties, as well as holding penalties, but all that aside, the offensive line played fairily decent overall.

The holes were opened up in the second half and the pass protection got better, after McElroy was getting harrassed from every angle. Giving up two sacks against a veteran defensive line that practically returned all four starters and paving the way for 240 yards rushing, it was a pretty good game for them.

Grade: B+

Running Back

The strength of this offense didn't disappoint. Mark Ingram got stronger as the game went on and had a career night. Roy Upchurch didn't show any ill-effects from his neck injuries after plowing through two Hokie defenders to a 92 yard night. Other than Upchurch being careless with the football, the backs as a whole played well.

Grade: A

Quarterback

If Greg McElroy was being graded for the first half he would have at least a D- for going 2 of 12 and one interception. He looked shaky and for the first time in a long time, he had doubts about himself. Be that as it may, this is why we play two halves of football.

He went 13 of 18 in the second half with a touchdown pass and looked off Julio Jones (who was being bracketed all night) and found other receivers such as Colin Peek and Darius Hanks.

Grade: B-

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Julio Jones had four catches for 46 yards and was being bracketed all night. Darius Hanks had a spectacular first quarter catch that went for 35 yards, as well as a few key 3rd down conversions.

Marquis Maze benefited from a 48 yard bomb that was made possible by good pass protection and using Jones as a decoy, but the story of the night was Colin Peek. Peek was a weapon in fourth quarter and had the Hokie defense on their heels.

Grade: B

Defensive Line

There is not much a 'Bama fan can say about the way the line played last night. Marcel Dareus did more than just fill in for Brandon Deaderick. He had one and half sacks and pressured Tyrod Taylor all night.

Lorenzo Washington did an excellent job in containment as well as getting in the backfield to blow up an option run late in the second quarter. As a whole, the line generated two sacks and controlled the line of scrimmage all night.

Grade: A

Linebackers

New linebacker coaches James Willis and Sal Sunseri could sit back and marvel at a job well done. The trio of Dont'a Hightower, Eryk Anders, and Rolando McClain were all over the field. Anders led all linebackers with eight tackles and McClain had two sacks.

At times in the game, Hightower lined up at the Jack spot and had a tremendous push at the line. The only sore spot would be the double penalty on McClain that led to a Virginia Tech touchdown. Other than that, the performance from the linebackers was solid.

Grade: A

Secondary

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