Boise State Tops Virginia Tech

The No. 3 team in the country began a potentially historic quest here Monday with another dose of its patented dramatic flare. Taking over at his own 44-yard line with 1:47 remaining and trailing No. 10 Virginia Tech by four, Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore gathered his teammates in the huddle and reminded them this was not unfamiliar territory.

"It's exactly how we practice," he said of his team's weekly "two-minute" drill. "Except usually we only practice going 1:30. They gave us a little extra time."

Five plays and just 38 seconds later, Moore threw over the top to receiver Austin Pettis for a 13-yard touchdown that may eventually mark the difference between reaching the BCS Championship Game or staying home for the Humanitarian Bowl. Boise's defense proceeded to hold previously torrid Hokies QB Tyrod Taylor to a sack and three incompletions to seal a heart-stopping 33-30 victory.

"We knew how much was stake for us, so it was kind of like a bowl game -- but we've still got 11 or 12 to go," said Pettis. "It's just the first of many steps we have to go, but it was a big step."

SI

I have a few thoughts on this game. First of all I picked Virginia Tech to win but I also erroneously thought that Jason Worilds was back to wreak havoc on opposing offensive tackles and quarterbacks. It was a huge reason I believed not only would Virginia Tech win this game but also contend for the national title. That was a MAJOR oversight on my part because I knew that with the losses of Kam Chancellor and Cody Grim the defense would be missing a lot of experience and leadership but I that his presence would help make up for all that. I was too lazy to actually look it up before the game where I would have seen that Worilds was actually a second round pick of the Steelers after he came out early for this past April's draft. So after a quarter of asking people on twitter about him after the Hokies showed little to no pass rush I finally fired up google and got my answer.

That colors how I view this game immensely. You see while I give Boise State credit for beating the team they had in front of them, I suspect by the end of the year its going to be more of a testament to how sorry Virginia Tech's defense is than anything else. Oh Boise State may very well go on and have another undefeated season and maybe even contend for a national title but I think Virginia Tech is going to lose several more games and may end up hurting them in the BCS standings.

See for me I was hoping to see more development from Tyrod Taylor than I saw last year. But at the least I thought he would be as good as he was by the end of the year. The fact of the matter is he still has a very hard time reading defenses and after he got sacked and pressured early in the game he developed happy feet and started to scramble even when there was no need to. There were soooo many times when guys were running wide open down the field and he either didn't throw the ball accurately to them or took off running instead that it wasn't funny. BUT that's what you're going to get with Taylor. And his athleticism is also a part of the reason why Virginia Tech was in the game, well to be exact leading the game, right up until the very end. And so you will just have to take the good with the bad with him.

Now I did think that the Va Tech running game gameplan left a lot to be desired. They had so much success when they decided to run traps and Power Os but half the game they were trying to run read options and zone plays which Boise State took their lunch money on.

Also Boise State gets a blocked punt on a play where they Va Tech just didn't block the end man on the line of scrimmage. It wasn't some brilliant scheme that worked. The guy didn't make some outstanding individual play. If you didn't block me, my fat arse would block the punt too! But hey the guy did make the play when given the opportunity so you can give him credit for that.

Still the most glaring shortcoming for Virginia Tech was their defense. They kept blitzing away from Kellen Moore's throwing hand giving him clear lanes to throw the ball even when under pressure. Aside from one sack they put no discernible pressure on Moore. And even though I know a LOT of football, I couldn't possibly describe to you some of the coverages they used at times. I mean on that last touchdown it appeared as if the safety thought he had safety help.

Think about that for a minute.

Once again I do give Boise State credit though. They made enough plays to win and they did not allow Taylor to drive Va Tech down the field on the last drive to tie the game. I think they are definitely a good team and they played their asses off. But I know elite teams when I see them and aside from a couple of guys on their defensive line nothing is elite about Boise State. Their corners will continue to give up deep balls if they face quarterbacks who can actually complete them. If they should face a team that actually can pass rush Moore will be in trouble. And aside from Austin Pettis I don't see a guy on their entire offense that would worry most defensive coordinators.

It will be interesting to watch the fortunes of each school as the season goes on. But for now Boise State is on top of the world. My hat's off to them.