Virginia Tech Football: 5 Keys vs. Miami

It is hard to put into words how bad the Hokies were last week. The Hokies lost to Clemson by 20 points at home. The offense didn’t get going and the special teams had a rough day. To top all of that off, the Hokies lost defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins to a torn ACL.

This week has also been rough for the Hokies, to say the least. They dropped 10 spots in the AP poll, falling to No. 21 in the country.

Virginia Tech can’t focus on last week’s failures for long, because Miami is heading to Lane on Saturday. If the Hokies play like they did against Clemson, they will fall to 4-2.

Miami hasn’t been very good this year, but right now it seems like anyone can win against the Hokies. If Virginia Tech is to win come Saturday, then some things need to change from last week.

The Hokies need to do five things in order to beat the Hurricanes.

5. David Wilson Needs to Have a Big Day

This could have easily been in the top two of this list, because David Wilson seems to be the Hokies' only play-maker on offense. But, it is number five because Wilson having a big performance is the most likely thing on this list to happen.

David Wilson has been great despite a battered offensive line.

Wilson ran for 123 yards on 20 carries—a 6.2 yard average—against Clemson. This included a 19-yard run that was one of the best highlights of the young season. The only drawback for Wilson in this game was a lost fumble in the first quarter.

Wilson has had some problems fumbling the ball this year, which has caused him to lose some carries. But, David Wilson is the only player on offense that shouldn’t have a leash on him.

The coaches need to stop pulling him to put Josh Oglesby in the game. Nothing against Oglesby, but Wilson needs the ball in his hands.

4. The Offensive Line Needs to Step Up

The offensive line didn’t start the season on this list, but they have become a mainstay after having a terrible game against Clemson. Early in the season the line could pass block, but struggled to block for the run. Now, the Hokies offensive line can’t even pass block.

Logan Thomas was on his back a lot during the game, as Clemson’s Andre Branch racked up three sacks on his own, and 11 tackles for the game.

As detailed in the previous slide, the Hokies also weren’t blocking well for the run. That play was all David Wilson. Clemson’s defense was in the backfield immediately, and Wilson had to run 15 yards back in order to find some daylight.

The offensive line simply can’t play like this again if Virginia Tech wants to beat Miami.

3. Special Teams Has to Be Better

Cody Journell is off the hook this week. He made his lone field goal attempt. It was a 24-yard field goal which gave the Hokies their only points for the game.

Journell may be off the hook, but punter Scott Demler definitely isn’t.

Demler had a terrible day against Clemson, which isn’t anything new, since the punter is having a terrible season. Head Coach Frank Beamer allowed Demler to punt rugby style against Clemson, and that didn’t even work. In fact, he may have been worse punting this way.

Scott Demler’s worst punt against Clemson was 11 yards. This bears repeating, he kicked the ball 11 yards. He dropped the ball while running into the kick, then, he picked it up and shanked it.

Demler may have lost his starting job this week, but Beamer hasn’t yet indicated who will punt against Miami.

Whoever the punter is, they need to do a lot better than Demler has done this season.

2. Logan Thomas Needs to Bounce Back

Logan Thomas couldn’t have played much worse against Clemson. He couldn’t throw the ball down field accurately, and he couldn’t get the Hokies into the end zone.

The Hokies’ QB completed 15 of 27 pass attempts for 125 yards and an interception. In fairness, the interception wasn’t Thomas' fault. He threw the ball to Jarrett Boykin on a short slant route, and Boykin hit it straight up in the air for Xavier Brewer to catch. Only problem is that Brewer was wearing white instead of maroon.

Logan Thomas has not been good this year and needs to mature quickly. So far he has only thrown four touchdowns to his five interceptions.

Virginia Tech did all they could to help Thomas. They gave him a cupcake of a conference schedule, but that hasn’t seemed to help out the first-year starter.

Thomas'  inaccuracy could kill the Hokies' chances of winning the Coastal Division this season, and the young QB has to play better against Miami if Virginia Tech is going to have any chance of winning.

1. Better Coaching

Right now it seems that Bud Foster is the only coach on Virginia Tech’s staff that doesn’t look like a deer in headlights. That is because Foster is the only coach that has his squad playing well.

Beamer’s special teams unit may be the worst he has ever had at Tech, but teams can overcome poor special teams.

Teams cannot overcome a terrible offense. It now looks like Tyrod Taylor covered up all of the problems in Brian Stinespring’s offense.

The offense lacks creativity; it is far too predictable. Taylor was the only unpredictable element in the offense. Only problem, Taylor is now in the NFL.

The play of Logan Thomas has put a magnifying glass on the ineptness of the offense under Stinespring. He is predictable, making it easy to defend.

In order for Virginia Tech to be great, Stinespring needs to open up the playbook and do something different. If he doesn’t, this could be a very long season with fans calling for his head the entire time.

The Hokies’ offense needs to do something different, and that all starts with the coach.