1 helluva a seasonal kick-off vs. a Top-8 team with MNC aspirations of it’s own.

Then 1 home opener that is at least a D-1 school; though this is a game that we really should win.

Then 2 games vs. 2 big-name D-1 teams that have only combined to win 55 conference and 9 national championships in the history of college football.

So………lets take a pocket guide sized look to some pros and cons of each game and set the very first pre-season odds on who will win the first two September Hokie football games here in September Part I.

o9.o5: vs. Alabama (in Atlanta)
Offense=4 back, Defense=9 back, ST’s=2 back
‘Bama Pros:

1. Killer defense, one of if not the best in the S.E.C., possibly the best stop-unit in all of D-1 football for that matter. ‘Bama only really needs to replace one quality Safety. Mt.Cody anchors the 3 down-linemen for ‘Bama and that provides the Neanderthal sized ‘Bama ‘backers who have Carl Lewis speed the room they need to seek and destroy. 9 starters back from the 3rd best defense in all of D-1 for 2008 is no bad thing; you do the maths.
2. Julio Jones should be ok for August post groin surgery. All he did as a freshman was haul in 58 passes for 954 yards. This kid is good folks, he is so good that he may spend his senior year at Alabama in the N.F.L.
3. #99 Leigh Tiffin is a real threat at Kicker for the Tide. Leigh has already nailed 54 FG’s and 94 PAT’s in his 3 year starting stint at ‘Bama. He also has a 55+ yard leg on him. He is a major edge in favor of ‘Bama vs. whomever our rookie K turns out to be. At Punter the Tide has another 3 year starter who has slowly and steadily improved. Steady is in fact the best word for P.J. Fitzgerald. He has a nice but not great leg, but is a fine directional punter.

‘Bama Cons:

1. Departing a near 1,400 rusher simply does not help. #22 Ingram and his 7oo legacy yards are back, but most of the Tide ball carriers for 2009 are not all that big. Part III here will be in play as well.
2. Passing Ratio for 2008? Virtually 1:1. McElory may throw for a few more TD’s than Wilson did, granted. He is a pure passer that ‘Bama has not had since the likes of run-slinging future Oaktown Raider himself, one Kenny Stabler. But where will his all-important passing ratio hover early on in 2009? (ratio of TD’s to INT’s) This one is also a segue for the third ‘Bama con.
3. OLine. OLine coach Pendry has a lot of mixing and matching ahead of him as the tries to plug-in VHT (very highly touted) JuCo transfers and true freshmen into his power-running attack. How will they block early-on? How will they protect early-on? Vs. Utah they did not look good.
4. Non-Julio Jones pass catchers. ‘Bama departed both of its top-2 Te’s and none of the remaining Wr’s really strike fear into your hind-4 (secondary) hearts.
5. NCAA wrist-slap or actual Probation? There is some magnitude of a textbook scandal brewing down in ‘Bama that just won’t help. This issue remains to play itself out however; stay tuned.

Overall ‘Bama letter grade: lowest possible A- to start the year. If ‘Bama only had two more OLinemen or  one more play-maker at Wr or Rb I would easily have to go all the way up to an A+. The ‘Bama defense could very well be the best in all of college football next year and ‘Bama could have a letahal edge in ST’s over us for game#1.  But if there is a time to play Alabama, it clearly is A.S.A.P. Pendry is too good and too smart to not develop this Crimson Tide Oline as the year goes along. McElory has all-world written on him. But will the ‘Bama OLine and McElory be able to play 6o minutes of misQ free football right out of the 2009 Bud Foster gate? Either way, this sure looks like a race to 13 to me. First one there, wins.

Early point-spread: ‘Bama-4.5
Odds on VT winning: 45%.
Early prediction: ‘Bama out-gains us, but we turn the all-world rookie ‘Bama Qb over 2-3 times and steal one down in the Georgia Dome in a game that will be Rated-R for hard-hitting violence from both sides.
VT=16, ‘Bama=13.

o9.12 Marshall:
Offense=7 back, Defense=8 back, ST’s=both return (2)

Herd Pros:

1. The Herd does return the most appropriate 1,000 rusher in all of college football. His name you ask? #5 Darius Marshall.  Sources suggest that Darius is on track beat his narcotic (mary-jane) charges and should be cleared to play full time pretty soon. This should help as Darius nearly hit the 1,100 yard plateau sharing time last year as a sophomore. On top of that the Herd has a remarkable 3 Rb’s in their 3-deep that were no less than 142nd ranked out of High School as recruits go. Not bad for Huntington, WV.
2. Pass Protection, 11th in sacks allowed last year and 4 starters are back upfront for the Herd. This list includes 2 all-Conference USA candidates that man each Ot position who could have Sunday futures ahead of them.
3. DLine. The Herd returns 8 of their top-10 Dlinemen from last year; including all-conference candidate Al McClellan at De. This may not be a great Herd defense, but it is set to advance to being much closer to middle of the road as all D-1 schools go.

Herd Cons:

1. When your top-recruit gets in trouble (firearm robbery) before the year even begins this is not setting a good tone. Nor is all of the other recent off-field ills that have thundered this Herd in recent years. Oddly enough, Marshall is pretty well disciplined on-field, but not so much when it comes to off-field events.
2. Qb is a bit unsettled here. Incumbent 2008 starter #10 Mark Cann has not only been injury prone, he appeared to have been nosed out by career back up Brian Anderson this spring. This is a Pivot (qb) position in flux folks. I would not be surprised to see both early on in 2009.
3. When your 3rd leading pass-catcher only chalked up 144 total receiving yards last year, and he is now your leading returning Wr this year, that’s not good. Marshall needs play makers on the edge and frankly they do not appear as though they have them.

Overall Marshal letter grade: D+++. Think of Marshall this way…………who wins if Marshall plays Duke? The Herd will at least run the ball, or at the very least attempt to run the ball. My pigskin I.Q. tells me that that will wind the game-clock for our game vs. the Herd. That will speed things up, and create less total plays from scrimmage or total scoring opportunities if you will. Marshall won 4 games last year; I expect they get 5-6 this year. But this is not the Moss and Leftwich Herd teams from yesteryear either folks.

Early point-spread: VT-30
Odds on VT winning: 89%
Early prediction: We would really have to help Marshall out for the Herd to win. They just do not have much offensive explosiveness. In fact they reminded me of us in 2008 as such in writing this preview. Even if ‘Bama wins, the way the Thundering Herd plays ball is a taylor made Chicago Maroon custom fit for VT. There is a reason the Herd has not trumped 5 wins in their last 4 seasons folks. 
VT=33, Marshall=8.

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“HOKIES!”

b’street.

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