I began my gameday with an excellent pastry and cup of coffee at Vigilante Coffee Co. The Maryland student who took my order said all his friends go to Tech and he was going to a Tech tailgate later. I took this as a good omen. 

More good vibes were found at the Sons tailgate at Ledo Pizza. The waitress I spoke with said this game was more anticipated and would be busier than Maryland’s homecoming.  Like many others I sampled several of the Terp-themed Testudo Lager. I'd say it tastes a bit like a Miller Light that woke up in a bad mood.

Jeers

My only real quibble would be with some of the play in the secondary. We continue to suffer lapses in zone coverage giving up big gains and multiple touchdowns. Maryland's offense is pretty good though so I thought Tech acquitted themselves overall. Malik Washington is super talented. A handful of completions were just perfect throws that beat good coverage. I suspect those minor issues will get ironed out as the season progresses.

Cheers

I’m not convinced we’ve ever seen Jeff Overton run at full speed. I’m truly terrified at the prospect of what that might look like. He always appears to have one or two more gears to kick into if anyone could get close enough to tackle him. He's a truly dynamic force on an impressive Hokie offense.

The Tech crowd was on point as we all expected. The Sons brought a large group of people and lots of locals poured in as well. It was pretty loud throughout the game and once the Maryland students left, the lower bowl was dominated by Hokies.

The SECU Stadium game experience is a little chaotic. Lots of lights and noise which strikes me as confusing to turtles. I feel like the LEDs could be used more effectively. We did some magical things in college with a smoke machine and a few strobe lights. They also have this thing they kept showing called the 'Terp Tank' which is just a water dunk tank. They kept dunking students. I can't imagine wanting to get wet and stay sitting at a football game for three hours. Hopefully these young people were paid or fed or something.

Our team very clearly has a different mindset. It's become a bit cliche in sports and business to discuss a culture shift of some kind, but I truly believe James Franklin has achieved remarkable things in this area.

A very interesting moment that felt very Virginia Tech happened at the end of the post-game celebration. Brent Pry had a lot of family there, and he came out and was hugging them. People in our extended crew started chanting "Brent Pry," and others quickly joined in. It seemed to mean a lot to them. He shouted back at one point, kind of wandered off after that, but it felt like a nice healing moment for both sides after a big win.

Another special moment came as the players were leaving and taking in the scene of the rather large Hokie contingent on our end of the stadium in section two. The players seemed to really appreciate everyone being there and being loud. With so many new guys on the roster, I think it was important for them to see the support behind them.

Final Thoughts

That was an outstanding weekend and a big, confidence-building road win. It was a pleasure meeting a handful of you over pizza and in a random parking lot. Special shout out to Jimmy and his wife on their new baby! Apologies on his tattered ACL.

I have to confess that I have something of a guilty pleasure for the BC game. A road trip to Chestnut Hill for a late-September noon game is peak fall. This does have some vibes of a classic letdown game but I'm not worried about this group losing focus. No, instead we're leaning in to the first true weekend of Fall. Mull your cider, pull on an extra layer, and get your yard work tended to early because we've got a nooner on the horizon.