A Lil Construction

Thought I'd bring the look of my blog from 2001 to at least 2008, but somehow it looks like 1998.  Still working out some of the kinks.

A beer or a Hokie one would be nice but that's beyond my bowfighting skills.

4 things going on right now with the BCO

Beer

From BCO pix

That 5 week window where $10 drafts or $4 bottles (total wine) of Bells Hop Slam is now. Worth every damn penny, I got 18 bottles at my house. Though, I'd wish my wife would not knock over my glass spilling half of it. See link to the right.


Book

From BCO Pix2

I've been reading a lot lately ... well a lot for me. Cormac McCarthy's book "The Road" was pretty damn good. I have not seen the movie yet, but I hope it's good. The book is very grim and sometimes disturbing, but worth the read. If you do or have read it, follow these 2 links ... locations ... map.


Band

From BCO Pix2

Looking to use up an Itunes card, I googled albums of the year for 2009. Many had Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion" in the top 5. Different and interesting, give it a shot.


Broad

From BCO Pix2

Rhona Mitra Yeah, I got stuck watching Underworld: Rise of the Lycans on late night HBO or Showtime ... not good but all was not lost.

Kiffin in Pictures by LSUfreek

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. All I get is two ...

From BCO Pix2

thanks to my buddy Mike for the one above. This inspired me to post the ones by LSUfreek this season. kiffin is a goldmine!

LSUfreek for the ones below.
his twitter
his sportingnews blog

From BCO Pix2

From BCO Pix2

From BCO Pix2

From BCO Pix2

From

a lil youtube Kiffin treat

by the way, scandal coming?
read this.

Hokie Bloggers Postseason Round Table Q & A

From BCO Pix2

Gobblercountry, the interwebs finest Hokie blog has sent out his Postseason round table questions for us other (mostly lessor) Hokie bloggers to chew on.

His site is here and he can be followed on twitter here.

On to his questions and my answers.

From BCO Pix2

1. Do you think the 2009 season was a successful one for Virginia Tech?

First off I am disappointed, a bit, but not a lot. When you play big boy football the Sears Trophy is the prize everyone eyes. Unfortunately for all but a few, Florida, Alabama, USC, Texas and Oklahoma it takes a special season (VT '99) where all the chips fall right to play for that Walmart pedestal. Understanding that, I can look at the season outside that exclusive bubble.

VT went 10-3 with 2 of the losses to top 15 teams, 1 of them to the National Champion. The other ranked loss came on the road to the best performance of the year by the Yellow Jackets defense, that happens. The only bad loss (not awful) was on a Thursday night in Lane with a flat crowd (and team) to the North Carolina Tarheels. Those are the negatives. The positives, absolutely routing a bunch of teams, including some hated rivals and a thrilling, improbable win vs another top 15 team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. So 10 wins vs the hardest schedule that I can remember and finishing in the top 10 again ... yeah ... that's successful.

From BCO Pix2

2. Did Bryan Stinespring and the Hokie offense finally turn a corner in 2009 or are you still pessimistic about the future of the offense?

Yes, the O turned the corner, I am almost a believer. Stinespring is still going to have a few WTF calls each game and some games much more than few (see the 3 top 10 total defenses Tech faced this year) but you know, every team has those days. Someone tell me how Florida's offense looked vs Alabama or Texas's vs Nebraska or Florida States vs UNC (oops, well the first half anyway) ... they got shut down too. An experienced quarterback, better line play and the most talented running back Billy Hite has ever coached equals a formula for success for any offensive coordinator. Now if he can keep finding the right mix of going against tendency along with the base of the offense while using some misdirection this unit could be really special next year. Considering the lack of Tight End depth and experience along with a boat load of wide outs, this offense us going to see a lot of 3 wide receiver look (like against UT) and possibly be wide open. Not sure Frank likes that, but I got a feeling Bryan does! The key won't be so much 2010, but 2011 when Stiney has to break in a new qb and replace Ryan Williams.

From BCO Pix2

3. Can the inconsistency of the defense this season be blamed mostly on youth at linebacker and injuries to key players like John Graves or were other factors at play?

Yes, but I would like to add for a unit to finish 12th nationally in total defense and be inconsistent, then that's pretty damn good. Hail Bud!

Year in and year out, Bud's units have gotten better as the year progressed and the new starters learned what he wanted to do. No reason to expect his unit to be firing on all cylinders game one vs Alabama, though the owning of the defensive line was ominous.

Linebacker Barquell Rivers was solid all year but a step back from Brett Warren who was a step back from Vince Hall and that was the good linebacker situation. Jake Johnson failed to grasp the system and tackled poorly, giving way to undersized Lyndell Gibson who has much better instincts, but also limited. Gibson is not Xavier Adibi but he could be better than similarly built Mikal Baaqee. Unless Bruce Taylor or one of the redshirts step up, Bud will have to work around this unit for a couple of years.

Now to a favorite subject of mine, John Graves. One can not undervalue his performance to the team. Example A, look at the game tape vs Georgia Tech before he was injured ... dominating, blowing up their offensive line causing tackles for loss and being held on 50% of the plays. The defensive line was not the same that game or vs UNC due to his loss. UNC road graded one team all season with power running, the Hokies without Graves. Hell, he gutted out much of the second half of the season with a bum wheel. When finally healthy he destroyed the Tennessee offensive line in the Chick-Fil-A bowl. All that said, the Hokies need more than 2 every down defensive tackles, chalk that up to recruiting misses. I'd hazard a guess that VT would have beaten UNC with a healthy Graves and made the GT game come down to the very last minute. Yeah, I copped out that answer.

From BCO Pix2

4. Which player was the biggest surprise to you in 2009, good or bad?

Tough, tough question, easily the one that makes me stop and think the most. Consideration for the Good: Ed Wang, Ryan Williams & Rock Carmichael. The Bad: Greg Boone & Jake Johnson. Boone was injured for the first half of the year and Jake Johnson was so young, so I can't choose them. Wang had his moments of WTF, but in general he was really good, RW certainly surprised me with his ability but in the end it was Rock. Going into the season there were legitimate concerns on how good field corner would be as he and Cris Hill were fighting for the starting spot. I still remember reading Kyle Tucker's blog about how he was getting beat the week leading up to the Bama game. I was not feeling good about the situation. Late in the Bama game Stephan Virgil the starting boundary corner goes down and instantly my biggest concern was thrust into an even more important position, boundary corner. Well, I'd say he did quite well, keeping the spot for the rest of the season, even after Virgil came back. Rock finished with 5 interceptions and ended up being the best player in the nation's 11th rated pass defense. He made All ACC Honorable mention and has a great chance to make first or second team next season. Him and Jayron Hosley are going to be awesome next year.

From BCO Pix2

5. If the Hokies could go back and replay one of their three losses, which one would you replay?

Well, physically VT was beat by the superior team in Alabama so I'd rather have them play a team where they would be as good or better from a talent perspective. The UNC loss, strips away more the Lane Stadium at night (Thursday no less) aura. The Hokies were a better team all year but faced a bad match up offensively and struggled on defense surprisingly all night. However that's not the game I want. I want VT to have another shot at Paul Johnson's team. Not only because it was the division defining game but because beating the smugness of Paul Johnson is a simple pleasure in life, much like it was beating Jeff Jagodzinski. I want a few offensive plays back, I want John Graves back for the whole game, I want Bud to have a 2nd half game plan that was as brilliant but also different as his first half one was. This is splitting the difference, conceding the Tide was the superior team but also not going after the easiest win, Carolina. In the grand scheme of ACC things that game chose who was going to Tampa to play in the ACCCG.

From BCO Pix2

Bonus question: Write a haiku about Ryan Williams.
shake, rattle ryan
the mother fornicating
williams rolls for six

(yeah, i know not good.)

Bowl Collusion Series 4 Year Do-Over

From BCO Pix2

Ok, lets get some things out the way. I like the bowls, I somewhat like the playoffs. I personally don't think the no. 8 team should have the right to play for it all. I do think the top 3-5 teams can usually make a case. In my perfect college football world, a plus one is the way to go. I think it would be a HUGE $ generator and why they morons that be can't see that, is beyond me (and you.)

The bowl system is never going to go away ... and good. I mean what Hokie doesn't feel good waxing Lane Kiffin? Or the noles sending off the neers? That said, with parity at the top, let's pair it down to 4 and see what happens. Sure some years there is a 5th team that should be involved ... tough titties and yes, some years a 4th team lucks in ... good for them.

I think the BCS is damn collusion making sure after all the Bowl games are played there is a clear no. 1 and nothing like the 2003 season when both USC and LSU had a split between the coach's and AP polls. This makes for some pretty poor other BCS games, highlighted by the the 2 lil engines that could, TCU and Boise State this year. These guys need to show the world they can play ... again. OU and Bama believe, trust me. I am going to show the last 4 years of BCS games, the BCS rankings, match ups, my gripes and how I would have set them up (without knowledge of how the games would play out i.e. who's overrated.) The top 2 seeds play in their normal BCS bowl, $EC in the Sugar, Big1+10 in the Rose, Big12 in the Cotton (hey I needed a 5th bowl and this one needs/will be brought back,) etc. This crazy idea is also taking into account the Rose Bowl isn't being a total douche about ... everything. I want more compelling match ups but will keep the conference affliations, as best as possible.

Initially I thought the Big1+10 got too many BCS games due to their traveling party size and past football glory, but in retrospect only 1 (Illa-noise) needed to be dropped and 1 actually should have been added (Wisky.) All BCS conference champions were kept in, though a couple ACC and Big East teams probably weren't deserving, which means at least 2 shit games were still played. Had to also consider teams w/small fan bases being paired up with traveling fan bases.

Another thing, I know part of it is the weak ACC but why does the Orange Bowl draw the short damn straw almost every year for shitty BCS games?

Well here's how I would have laid it out thru the years ...

From BCO Pix2

2009 BCS Final Rankings

1. Alabama 13-0
2. Texas 13-0
3. Cincinnati 12-0
4. TCU 12-0
5. Florida 12-1
6. Boise State 13-0
7. Oregon 10-2
8. Ohio State 10-2
9. Georgia Tech 11-2
10. Iowa 10-2
11. Virginia Tech 9-3
12. LSU 9-3

BCS Match ups
Rose Bowl: #8 Ohio State (10-2, Big Ten Champion) vs #7 Oregon (10-2, Pac-10 Champion)
Sugar Bowl: #5 Florida (12-1, At-large) vs #3 Cincinnati (12-0, Big East Champion)
Fiesta Bowl: #6 Boise State (13-0, WAC Champion, At-large) vs #4 TCU (12-0, MWC Champion, BCS #4, Automatic non-AQ)
Orange Bowl: #10 Iowa (10-2, At-large) vs #9 Georgia Tech (11-2, ACC Champion)
National Championship Game (at the Rose Bowl): #2 Texas (13-0, Big 12 Champion) vs #1 Alabama (13-0, SEC Champion)

BCO Gripe
TCU playing Boise State

BCO Match ups
Semifinals
Sugar Bowl: Bammer vs Cincy - ummm given what we know now ... a laugher though Kelly would still be there.
Cotton Bowl: Tejas vs TCU - would be an amazing game though UT fans would make up 80% of crowd

Other BCS
Orange Bowl: GiT vs Iowa - a ho-hum game
Fiesta Bowl: Boise st vs Florida - let Boise St 1 up their OU win by beating God and the Gators
Rose Bowl: tOSU vs Oregon - very good clash of styles matchup

From BCO Pix2

2008 BCS Final Rankings

1. Oklahoma 12-1
2. Florida 12-1
3. Texas 11-1
4. Alabama 12-1
5. USC 11-1
6. Utah 12-0
7. Texas Tech 11-1
8. Penn State 11-1
9. Boise State 12-0
10. Ohio State 10-2
11. TCU 10-2
12. Cincinnati 11-2

BCS Match ups
Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California (11-1, Pac-10 champion) 38, #8 Penn State (11-1, Big Ten champion)
Orange Bowl: #19 Virginia Tech (9-4, ACC champion) vs #12 Cincinnati (11-2, Big East champion)
Sugar Bowl: #6 Utah (12-0, MWC champion, BCS #6, Automatic non-AQ) vs #4 Alabama (12-1, At-large)
Fiesta Bowl: #3 Texas (11-1, BCS #3, automatic) vs #10 Ohio State (10-2, At-large)
National Championship: #2 Florida (12-1, BCS #2, SEC champion) vs. #1 Oklahoma (12-1, BCS #1, Big 12 champion)

BCO Gripe
nothing too egregious

BCO Match ups
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl: OU vs Bammer - part 1 of the $EC-B12 dance.
Sugar Bowl: Tejas vs Florida - part 2, sorta like a home and away

Other BCS
Fiesta Bowl: Utah vs Cincy - sorta dog game, oh well. Utah better travel.
Orange Bowl: VT vs Boise State - this would garner a lot of interest, not just in Idaho & Blacksburg
Rose Bowl: USC vs State Penn - tradition ... B1+10 annual USC ass kicking

From BCO Pix2

2007 BCS Final Rankings

1. Ohio State 11-1
2. LSU 11-2
3. Virginia Tech 11-2
4. Oklahoma 11-2
5. Georgia 10-2
6. Missouri 11-2
7. USC 10-2
8. Kansas 11-1
9. West Virginia 10-2
10. Hawaii 12-0
11. Arizona State 10-2
12. Florida 9-3

BCS Matchups
Rose Bowl: #7 Southern California (10-2, Pac-10 champion) vs #13 Illinois (9–3, At-large)
Sugar Bowl: #5 Georgia (10–2, At-large) vs #10 Hawaii (12-0, WAC Champion, BCS #10, Automatic non-AQ)
Fiesta Bowl: #9 West Virginia (10-2, Big East champion) vs #4 Oklahoma (11–2, Big 12 champion)
Orange Bowl: #8 Kansas (11–1, At-large) vs #3 Virginia Tech (11–2, ACC champion)
National Championship: #2 LSU (11–2, BCS #2, SEC champion) vs, #1 Ohio State (11–1, BCS #1, Big Ten champion)

BCO Gripes
Worst year by far. Kans-ass over Mizzou, Illa-noise over ASU, Orange getting the Turd bowl 2 years in a row.

BCO Match ups
Semifinals
Rose Bowl: tOSU vs VT - VT fans would gobble up tix to go west. Teams would mirror each other.
Sugar Bowl: LSU vs OU - a very nice matchup, but a home game for LSU

Other BCS
Cotton Bowl: Mizzou vs USC - Spread vs Proset in B12 territory
Fiesta Bowl: Hawaii vs ASU - dog game but ASU would sell the tix and Hawaii would at least make a game out of it.
Orange Bowl: ugga vs w Fn vu - rematch from 2 yrs earlier, thinking ugga would have revenge, while w Fn vu was motivated. Could have been classic.

Notes
Swapping VT and ugga would be very interesting, making a hot shit Orange bowl.

From BCO Pix2

2006 BCS Final Rankings

1. Ohio State 12-0
2. Florida 12-1
3. Michigan 11-1
4. LSU 10-2
5. Louisville 11-1
6. Wisconsin 11-1
7. Oklahoma 11-2
8. USC 10-2
9. Boise State 12-0
10. Auburn 10-2
11. Notre Dame 10-2
12. Arkansas 10-3

BCS Match ups
Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California (10-2, Pac-10 champion) vs #3 Michigan (11-1, BCS #3, automatic)
Fiesta Bowl: #8 Boise State(12-0, WAC Champion, BCS #8, Automatic non-AQ) vs #10 Oklahoma (11-2, Big 12 champion)
Orange Bowl: #6 Louisville (11-1, Big East champion) vs #14 Wake Forest (11-2, ACC champion)
Sugar Bowl: #4 LSU (10-2, At-large) vs #11 Notre Dame (10-2, At-large)
National Championship (at the Fiesta Bowl): #2 Florida (11-1, BCS #2, SEC champion) vs #1 Ohio State (12-0, BCS #1, Big Ten champion)

BCO Gripe
ND in

BCO Match ups
Semifinals
Rose Bowl: tOSU vs LSU - Part 1 of Big1+10 vs $EC
Sugar Bowl: Florida vs MissAgain - part 2

Other BCS
Orange Bowl: Wake Forest vs Wisky - shitty, wisky would run roughshed VT style over WF
Cotton Bowl: OU vs Looeyville - high octane O vs high octane O, the difference, 1 team had a D
Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs USC - could you imagine USC fans with their noses in the air and how great it would be if BSU won on Statue of Liberty!

This was sorta fun to do, a pipe dream I know.