The Most Anticipated College Football Games of 2009: #11, Nebraska @ Virginia Tech

Location:
Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
Saturday, September 19th, 2009
Kickoff: 3:30 PM EST

Why to watch:
The 2nd of a home and home with these 2 college football dynamos, Nebraska will be out for revenge after getting taken down in Lincoln last year.  Bo Pelini is looking to rebuild the Cornhusker tradition and pride, and winning in Blacksburg would be a huge step in the right direction.  As for VT, will they be hung over after the opening match up versus the Crimson Tide (win or lose)?  Another reason to watch is an easy one: Enter Sandman at Lane Stadium.  You kidding me?  Easily one of the best intros in college football; I get chills just thinking about it.  Just wish that this one was a night kickoff.

Virginia Tech Hokies Entrance (via Sportscaster17)

History:
Not much to report here.  The '96 Orange Bowl was won by Nebraska in convincing fashion, 41-21.  VT returned the favor last year, winning 35-30 in Lincoln.  All everything QB Tyrod Taylor had the game winning TD with 2:28 left, putting the Hokies up by 12.  Nebraska battled back to get it within 5 on a Joe Ganz strike with 1:32 remaining, but couldn't get the winning TD after fumbling the ball away with 20 seconds left in the ball game.  An exciting game, to say the least.

The matchup:
The Hokies are coming off of an Orange Bowl victory, defeating Big East champ Cincinaaaaasty in a not-so-entertaining 13 point victory.  Bud Fosters defense once again leads the way for the Hokies.  Even though they lose outstanding corner Victor "Macho" Harris, the Hokies return corner Stephan Virgil, who finished the year with 6 ints and was a perfect compliment to Harris.  The Hokies are looking to Virgil to anchor the secondary in 09.  The secondary should be strong regardless, as seniors Kam Chancellor and Dorian Porch return as well.  At linebacker, Purnell Sturdivant and Brett Warren are both gone, but Cam Martin will solidify the LB crew.  A backup last year, Cody Grimm will step in nicely and provide the Hokies with another dynamic duo at the linebacker position.  On the defensive front, Orion Martin is gone, leaving a hole at DE that Jason Worilds will look to fill.  Worilds finished with 8 sacks last year and was a terror.  He'll have to do more of the same this year.

As the Tech faithful know, the D will keep them in every game - it's the offense that needs to improve drastically if the dreams of a national title are to be realized.  #5 Tyrod Taylor leads the way for the Hokies yet again, and he won't have to worry about Sean Glennon this year at all.  Taylor is officially the head man on offense, and that kind of stability (and hopefully leadership) should translate on the field for the VT O.  Darren Evans rushed for 1,200 yards as a freshman, and the Hokies also return 3/5th of their oline and their 2 starting wideouts.  The team ranked near the cellar in the ACC in almost every major statistical category.  If the offense can be productive (middle of the pack in the ACC statistically), the Hokies will be in for a great season.

Tyrod sporting the throwback uni. 

In Lincoln, Bo Pelini is giving Husker fans something to be excited about again.  While there is still much work to be done for the blackshirts, a 9-4 overall record (including a bowl win vs '08 preseason favorite Clemson) has the Nebraska faithful believing that Nebraska football can be great again.  A true Husker, Pelini left LSU after winning the national title there as their defensive coordinator to become the head man at Nebraska.  The defense played much better than they did under the ousted Bill Callahan, and Nebraska was overall much more competitive in '08 than they were in '07.  That's the good news.  The bad news is, well, Nebraska doesn't really return anyone on offense in '09, and playing against a dominant defense and an intimidating crowd in week 3 doesn't bode well for the Huskers.  They lose QB Joe Ganz, RB Marlon Lucky, and wideouts Todd Peterson and Nate Swift.  Add in the loss of big tackle Lydon Murtha, and the Huskers have a lot to rebuild on the offensive side of the ball quickly.  Hopefully RB Roy Helu, who gobbled up a lot of carries by the end of the season, provides stability and gives the new cornhusker QB a safe option to go to.

Bo knows D.

The defense is another (better) story.  DT Ndamukong Suh will be a force this season.  He led the team in tackles and sacks.  Now, if anyone could pronounce his name, he might make some major headlines around the Big 12.   The Huskers were the 55th best team on D in '08, which compared to the Callahan years is a god send.  But, Nebraska must continue to improve if it wants to climb back into the discussions of conference championships along with Texas, OU and Mizzou.

This is going to be a good old fashioned line em up and knock em down type game.  The VT O should be able to move the chains a bit better than the Nebraska O will, and both D's will be stout all game long.  This will be a great match up for those that love defense and hate the razzle dazzle of most Big 12 teams who don't play any defense.

Fun Facts / Stats:
Frank Beamer spoke of redshirting Tyrod Taylor in 2008.  He ended up ditching that effort after a week 1 loss, and TT rewarded him by scoring the winning TD against Nebraska.
These 2 teams battled it out for a spot in the 99 BSC title game vs FSU all season long.  VT won out, but the Vick-led Hokies couldn't pull out the victory vs the Criminoles at the Sugar Bowl.

Prediction:
If you like grind it out, defensive football, this is the game for you.  On paper, this game, independently, reads as an easy win for the Hokies.  But, adding in the factor of playing Alabama in week 1, and this game (2 weeks later) becomes infinitely more intriguing.  The Hokies might be a little mentally drained; after all, they only hear about Alabama all off season long, and before you know it they'll be playing another tough OOC opponent in Nebraska.  I think Tech starts slow (like they usually do), but maintains a steady pace throughout the game.  Tyrod leads the Hokies down the field more than a few times, but the Cornhusker D stiffens when it counts, keeping the Hokies to 3 field goals and a TD.  The Lane Stadium noise and the lunchpail defense are just a hair better on this day, holding the Huskers to 2 fields goals and a TD. 
Virginia Tech 16, Nebraska 13

SPECIAL LINK: 50% off sale going on at HokieJerseys.com until Sunday.  Check it out, Tech fans!  Get your VT jersey for this fall at a heavy discount while you can.

Past games:

12. 11/21 - Oklahoma @ Texas Tech

13. 10/10 - Bama @ Ole Miss

14. 11/28- Utah @ BYU

15. 11/28- UCLA @ USC

16. 9/26 - Iowa @ Penn State

17. 12/5 - West Virginia @ Rutgers

18. 9/18- Boise State @ Fresno State

19. 11/21- Penn State @ Michigan State

20. 9/7 - Cincinnati @ Rutgers

21. 9/3 - Oregon @ Boise State

22. 9/19 - Cincy @ Oregon State

23. 11/21 - OSU @ Michigan

24. 10/17 - USC @ ND

25. 12/12 - Army vs Navy