Hokies Rank 14th in Both Polls

Hokies 14th in Polls; Four ACC Teams Ranked

The latest A.P. Poll and USA Today Coaches’ Poll have been released, and
Virginia Tech is ranked #14 in the nation in both. Tech moved up two spots in
the A.P. Poll and stayed the same in the USA Today.

There are still four ACC teams in the top 25 in both polls, however one team
is different than last week. After Boston College’s win over Clemson on
Saturday, the Eagles have made it into the top 25, while Clemson has dropped out
of the rankings in both polls. BC is #23 in the A.P. Poll and #25 in the USA
Today.

Miami and Florida State are the other two ACC teams that are currently
ranked.

The ACC in the Polls
Team	A.P. Poll	USA Today
Florida State	9	10
Virginia Tech	14	14
Miami	17	15
Boston College	23	25

In the A.P. Poll, Clemson and Georgia Tech received votes to be in the top
25. Clemson, Georgia Tech and Maryland all received votes in the Coaches’
Poll. Links to both complete polls can be found on TSL’s home page, in the right
hand border, at the top of the football schedule.

Injury Update

The Hokies left Chapel Hill in pretty good shape on the injury front. Brandon
Frye and Eddie Royal traveled with the team to the game, but only Eddie Royal
played. Frye, who suffered a dislocated elbow against Northeastern, watched from
the sideline as Nick Marshman made his first career start at left tackle.
Marshman gave up a sack, the only sack the Hokies allowed during the game, and
he had an early false start but otherwise was competent.

Eddie Royal did play, but in a very limited role. He returned two kickoffs
for 47 yards, but he did not see any time on offense. He is suffering from a
sprained toe that he sustained during the Northeastern game.

Their status for the Duke game on September 16 has not been released.

William Wall to Meet With Beamer

Virginia Tech r-freshman defensive end William Wall, who did not travel with
the team to Chapel Hill because of an outburst during practice last Wednesday,
will meet with Coach Beamer on Monday to discuss the incident.

Wall is currently listed in the two deep at defensive end for Virginia Tech,
backing up Noland Burchette at defensive end. In Wall’s absence, true freshman Jason
Adjepong got a lot of playing time against UNC, making three tackles, recording
a quarterback hurry and recovering Josh Morgan’s blocked punt and returning it
to the one yard line.

Tech’s Offense Ranks Middle of the Pack, Defense Near the Top

After Saturday’s performance, the Virginia Tech offense finds itself in the
lower middle of the ACC in most statistical categories, while the defense ranks
near the top. This was expected coming into the season.

As you can see, the Hokies have some work to do on offense.

Virginia Tech’s ACC Offensive Rankings
Category	Stat	Rank
Total Offense	303 ypg.	7
Passing Offense	189 ypg.	6
Rushing Offense	114 ypg.	8
Scoring Offense	36.5 ppg.	2
Passing Efficiency	166.55	1

Considering that the Tech offense hasn’t been impressive so far this season,
it’s interesting that they aren’t lower in the rankings. But overall, the
ACC has some bad offenses, which could work to the Hokies’ advantage when you
look at the defensive rankings.

Virginia Tech’s ACC Defensive Rankings
Category	Stat	Rank
Total Defense	237.5 ypg.	3
Passing Defense	142.5 ypg.	2
Rushing Defense	95 ypg.	9
Scoring Defense	5 ppg.	1
Pass Efficiency Defense	76.91	1

It looks like the Hokies are going to have another top notch defense in 2006,
especially against the pass. But how good is the ACC against the run? Tech is
allowing less than 100 yards rushing per game, but that is good for just ninth
in a 12 team ACC.