2009 Midseason Review: The Defense

Bud Foster’s defense isn’t as highly ranked this year as they generally are.
There are reasons for that, and some of it isn’t in Virginia Tech’s control. The
Hokies have been facing much better offensive competition this year than usual.
However, there are still some issues with the Tech defense that Coach Foster
knows need to be addressed.

The numbers of this Virginia Tech defense aren’t as stout as past defenses of
the ACC era.

VT
Defensive Stats
Year Total
Def.
Rush
Def.
Pass
Def.
2004 268.00 115.23 152.77
2005 247.62 93.38 154.23
2006 219.46 91.23 128.23
2007 296.93 86.64 210.29
2008 279.43 104.43 108.12
2009 317.43 150.29 167.14

This is the first Tech defense since 2003 to allow over 300 yards per game. The
150 yards per game allowed on the ground is much higher than any other year
since the Hokies joined the ACC. On the other hand, the pass defense has been
excellent. Tech is 17th nationally in pass defense, and 11th in pass efficiency
defense.

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