Analysis Features 
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With the return of several key injured players, Stella has apparently got her groove back offensively after a sluggish start. The Hokies have averaged 411 yards of offense over the last three games. Following a 395-yard effort against Florida State, offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said, "We knew we'd improve and get better. It was just a matter of when. We got Ed [Wang] back in there and we feel we have our best line-up in there now. That makes a difference up front. And we've been getting good quarterback play from both Sean [Glennon] and Tyrod [Taylor]."
You will hear about Beamerball, flashy quarterbacks, and speedy wide receivers over the next few days but make no mistake, Virginia Tech's success over the years has been predicated on defense. The Hokies are having another successful campaign and it is in large part due to a defense ranked among the top six nationally in rushing defense (#6), pass efficiency defense (#5), total defense (#5), and scoring defense (#4).
Miami quarterback Kyle Wright may have said it best of the Hurricanes' 48-0 loss to Virginia, the Florida schools worst in almost a decade: “We got beat in every aspect of the game tonight. I can't explain the frustration.” It was the first time in the 2007 campaign the Cavaliers put together a complete effort from all three operations. The result was UM's worst defeat since a 66-13 road loss at Syracuse on November 28, 1998 and Virginia's best overall grade score in two seasons.
Virginia's Chris Gould has been a valuable piece of the special teams puzzle this season. Obviously, his game-winning kicks against Middle Tennessee State and Connecticut provided the winning margin in those games. But he's also been a clutch performer with his pooch punting, an important piece of Virginia's victory against Wake Forest last week.
In Larry Coker's first two seasons as Miami's head coach, the Hurricanes averaged 41.6 points per game, 189.5 yards rushing, and 272 yards passing. In Coker's final four season, UM netted 141.2 yards rushing and 215.5 yards passing, including last year's 116 yards rushing and 197 yards passing.
It's easy to understand why, unlike a lot of new coordinators who often retain some systems and schemes, new Miami offensive coordinator Patrick Nix scrapped the spread offense and read-option. But as expected, the results have been mixed in year one.
In college football, figuring out who receives a postseason bowl invitation is pretty straight forward. Teams with at least a 6-6 record are eligible and most conferences have bowl tie-ins, meaning only a handful of destinations are likely. College basketball on the other hand? Now that's a different story. The Sabre breaks down Virginia's schedule and the most likely route to the NCAA Tournament.
It's not "Greg's Game Grades" this week, it's "Reader's Game Grades" as Sabre Edge subscribers stepped in and took on the role of game graders. What they saw was an inconsistent day from the offense, a less than average effort from the special teams, and a pretty solid performance from the defense. Here is the report from Virginia's 17-16 victory against Wake Forest this weekend.
If it seems like the Virginia football team has faced dangerous returners on special teams a lot this season, that's because it has. Duke's Jabari Marshall, North Carolina's Brandon Tate, Middle Tennessee State's Desmond Gee and Damon Nickson, and N.C. State's Darrell Blackman all have impressive credentials. This week, you can add Wake Forest's Kevin Marion and Kenny Moore to the list.
The Cavaliers have certainly been living on the edge this season and that style of play finally caught up with the Hoos in Raleigh. The good news is this was not a game where Virginia simply did not show up. The game was in doubt until the final minutes despite the fact, frankly, that the contest could have been a State run-away.
Virginia has had less rushing attempts than passing attempts on offense only three times this season. The Cavaliers lost two of those games, including this past weekend's 29-24 loss at N.C. State. The Hoos rushed the ball just 36 times and a number of those were Jameel Sewell scrambles on non-running calls. That begs for one question. Why did UVa abandon the run?
The last time Virginia gave up a punt return for touchdown was on Nov. 13, 2004 when Miami's Roscoe Parrish sprinted 62 yards for the score. That return helped prevent UVa from sharing the ACC title, though a loss at Virginia Tech eventually finished the job. The goal on Oct. 27, 2007? Don't let N.C. State's Darrell Blackman produce a return that could be just as damaging.
With Maryland on the schedule this week, there is an obvious special teams theme in the storyline: fumbles. After all, a mishandled attempt at fielding a punt last season against the Terps allowed them to rally from a 20-0 deficit and defeat the Hoos 28-26. If that had happened this season, the fated bobble would have plenty of company. After all, the Cavaliers have lost 6 fumbles this season (15 total fumbles) and 4 of those have come on special teams.
Clearly the loss of Cedric Peerman was evident as the Virginia running game was fairly pedestrian Saturday. The loss of Rashawn Jackson early in the game didn't help matters. The quarterbacks delivered another consistent performance (not to suggest superior), but we've come to know what to expect. The return operation continues to be an issue for the special teams with poor decisions, turnovers and most discouraging, poor production.
For the second week in a row Jameel Sewell led his team to a victory on a late fourth quarter drive and Chris Gould made the connection to successfully complete the drive.
The drive began from the Cavalier 20-yard line with Virginia down by two points with 3:22 left in the game.
For the majority of Al Groh's tenure at Virginia, one thing the Cavaliers have done well is return kicks. Marquis Weeks streaking upfield against North Carolina immediately comes to mind. Alvin Pearman, Cedric Peerman, and even Ahmad Brooks have had success in that role at times. With kickoffs moving back 5 yards in 2007, the Hoos' return game logically seemed poised to get even better. At least in theory. In reality, the kickoff return game has been rather bland.
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