The Roth Report

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The 2014 football season will be remembered as one of the most unusually quirky football seasons in Virginia Tech history. It was frustrating at times and confounding at others, and yet extraordinarily thrilling as well.

Yes, the Hokies had their moments and deserve a ton of credit for qualifying for the a bowl game for the 22^nd straight year (the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland on Dec. 27), but …

At the end of the day, Tech was too young and too injured to be a consistent football team. The inexperience at key positions and the injuries were too much to overcome.

That adds up to a 6-6 record.

Usually, 6-6 doesn’t fly at Virginia Tech. Not for head coach Frank Beamer, his assistants, Tech’s players or for the legion of constituents who comprise Tech’s passionate fan base.

Beamer – to his credit – nailed this season back in August when he predicted it would be one full of “growing pains.” And that was before season-ending injuries to Brandon Facyson, Luther Maddy, Shai McKenzie, Trey Edmunds, Marshawn Williams, and three offensive linemen (seniors Mark Shuman and Brent Benedict and sophomore Jonathan McLaughlin). It’s hard to say what this team’s record would’ve been with a healthy McKenzie, Facyson and Maddy, but it’s probably a safe bet to say it would have been better than 6-6. That the Hokies got to six wins is an accomplishment considering the injury situation alone.

“I really like this football team,” Beamer said after the Hokies’ 24-20 victory over UVa in the regular-season finale – Tech’s 11^th consecutive win over its rival. “I know the record hasn’t been as good as some of them, but the quality of kid, the determination and the hard play … we didn’t always play well, but we played hard. I really appreciate the type of kid we have in our program and particularly this group of players.”

The Hokies showed their promise in the early-season win at then-No. 8 Ohio State and later at then-No. 19 Duke. They lost three games (Georgia Tech, BC and Wake) by three points or less. Games at Pitt and against East Carolina came down to the final possession.

Were those five games winnable? Of course. Thus, this easily could’ve been an eight- or nine-win season, or perhaps even 10 with a few breaks.

Of course, the Hokies escaped Duke when one of the ACC’s most reliable kickers missed a chip-shot field-goal attempt, and they pulled out the UVa win in the final seconds, so things have a way of evening out over the course of the entire season.

While the impact of the injuries was a factor, previous Tech teams have had the experience and depth to overcome injuries and still succeed. This one didn’t.

So why not?

The same short-handed offense that was shut out for four quarters at Wake Forest exploded for 433 yards six days later against Virginia. That yardage total was the most UVa had allowed all year – more than Florida State, UCLA, BYU or Georgia Tech gained against the Cavaliers. Tech didn’t win the line of scrimmage against UVa, but it made enough plays on offense to pull out a gutty win.

So the same offense that was helpless against Miami and hapless at Wake Forest got it done against Virginia. It got it done because tough guys like Michael Brewer, Wade Hansen and J.C. Coleman played through pain, and the offense made a play here or there.

The defense improved down the stretch and executed its plan much better except for “one busted coverage that really irritates me,” coordinator Bud Foster said after the Virginia game.

For a variety of reasons, though, overall the team didn’t develop the cohesiveness to make those winning plays consistently. For example, during the regular season:

• Tech missed eight field goals, more than any other team in the league.
• The Hokies committed 94 penalties, the most in the ACC.
• Tech committed 25 turnovers, 13^th in the league.
• Tech finished last in the ACC in turnover margin.
• Tech was last in the ACC in punting average (40 yards per punt)

Those are things that make the difference between winning and losing close games.

All year long, Tech seemed to be fighting an uphill battle in many ways. From injuries to bad breaks to the backup quarterback leaving the team in November, the Hokies’ 2014 season was a true obstacle course.

But at the end of the day, the reason that Tech won just six games goes back to recruiting misses from 2010-12. Review the list of those 75 names from those three classes. You’ll walk away saying, “What ever happened to that guy?” more than you’d like.

More than 80 percent of Tech’s scoring came from its freshman class this year. That’s exciting. That’s really exciting, actually. But while that bodes extremely well for the future, it shows you that there weren’t enough playmakers in the sophomore, junior or senior classes.

This group of players provided some incredible memories from that night in Columbus to the season finale against Virginia. It showed no quit, kept battling and found a way to become bowl eligible in the final seconds of the season.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a team go through as many injuries as this one,” Beamer said after the UVa game. “A third of our starters are gone – people that were supposed to start at the beginning of the year. I don’t know if I’ve ever gone through a season with as many freshmen playing. Everybody wants a great record, and I do, too, but I also recognize that we played hard and gave it our best shot, and we had some games that we could have won and maybe should have won, but didn’t.

“But this coaching staff and this group of players have done a great job with the circumstances as far as personnel being in and out. We’ve had to overcome some things. For us to hang in there like we did, I’m really proud of them. We’ve gone to a lot of bowls around here over the years, but this team, this year, really deserves one because nothing was easy for them.”

It wasn’t easy for them. It wasn’t easy for their coaches or Tech fans either.

Despite all the injuries and attrition and obstacles, the Hokies are going to their 22^nd straight bowl, which is a tremendous accomplishment. Only Nebraska, Michigan, Florida, Florida State and Alabama have ever pulled off a 22-year run like Tech’s current bowl streak. It might seem simple because of the proliferation of bowl games, but a lot of tradition-rich programs in places like South Bend, State College, Austin, Lincoln, Columbus, Knoxville and Baton Rouge haven’t put together a streak like Virginia Tech’s.

The next few months are going to be very important to the future of Tech’s football program, starting with the bowl game in December and then with signing day in February. Winning this bowl game and having a 22^nd straight winning season is vital for the program. But winning on signing day – and Tech coaches are enthused about the commitments they’ve received so far – is also critical.

We’re going to remember this Virginia Tech football season for both the highs and the lows. But in the grand scheme, Tech fans should hope that 2014’s obstacles will help make the 2015 team a bigger winner.

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