I know that this offseason will end up being the shortest in recent memory, lasting only from January 5th to August 26th. But if you are like me you have found it insufferably long. Come to think of it, I find open weeks during the season to be too long. Like many other Hokie fans, I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming season and what I would like to see happen this year. I don't know of many Hokie fans whose wish list for 2000 doesn't include 13 wins, a Mythical National Championship, and perhaps a Heisman for the precocious Mr. Vick. Besides those obvious and perhaps universal - in the Hokie universe - wishes, I’ve thought of a few things that would really make this season special.

So without further ramble or preamble, here are my top 10 wishes for the 2000 VT Football season:

10. The Internet Dominators become a little less dominating. I think this is an area where the Hokie fans can follow the good advice of some wise men who have played the game: "Act like you’ve been there." I think it’s time that we Hokie fans start acting like the big time fans of a big time team. To me, this means no more internet ballot stuffing. From now on, I’d like to see how Virginia Tech/Blacksburg/Michael Vick would actually finish in some of these polls without a few people voting 42 times each. Coming in first that way is a hollow victory. Let see where we really stand in the college football world. If we don’t always come in first, so be it. It’s time to stop worrying about those sorts of things and see how they shake out on their own.

9. The Virginia Tech football team makes it through the season without any academic or discipline problems. I know that EVERY program has its incidents in these areas and that the Hokies are no different. We have made some great strides over the last few years in dealing with these problems and I would like to see that trend continue. I also know that we will never be problem-free, but after the 1996 debacle and a few subsequent slip ups, any further progress we make is more than welcome. On a secondary and less important, but more football-related note, our team will not have the experienced depth it had last year, so it is even more critical that we not lose anyone over off-the-field issues. We’re going to need everyone to be successful.

8. Virginia Tech records its second consecutive 11-win season in a row. In 1995 and 1996, we racked up two 10-win seasons in a row, solidifying the best two year period in VT football. Certainly, competing for the Mythical National Championship in 1999 has set us up nicely to eclipse that mark in 2000. Not many teams have managed to win 11 games two years in a row and doing so would further solidify Virginia Tech as one of the top programs in college football.

7. VT takes UVa behind the woodshed. The last time UVa played in Lane Stadium, it was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had late in the fourth quarter of a home game. Considering I was a student in the 1992 fourth quarter choke-a-thon season when we finished 2-8-1, that is saying something. I hope that the coaches take game film of the ’98 second half fiasco and play it every day in practice during the two weeks between the UCF game and the UVa game. Last year, Coach Beamer called off the dogs in the second half of the UVa game, calling only two pass plays in the third and fourth quarter. Some of this I’m sure had to do with the fact that Vick was nursing the ankle injury that plagued him all season, but I also think that Frank didn’t want to be accused of RUTSing against a rival that we face every season. Well, if Coach Beamer decides to follow the same strategy this year, I hope we are up 68-3 at halftime. I really want to give the Hoos their worst beating of the season. Actually, scratch that. I want to give them the worst beating of this 105 year-old series. So far that mark is a 48-0 win back in 1983. I think we can do better. It’s time that we started dominating this series.

6. No need for a woodshed whipping, I just want to beat Miami. Never mind five straight Virginia Tech wins. For the thirty-sixth year in a row, Miami is back. In all seriousness, this probably will be the best Miami team that we have faced since 1994. They have a defensive backfield and a WR corps that are both expected to be among the best in the country. And of course they will be tabbed, as usual, to win the BE. A VT win on November 4^th will most likely put us into our fourth BCS game in six years. Also, while not nearly as important as the BCS but almost as satisfying, even the most unrealistic, head-in-the-sand, blinded-by-the-south-Florida-sun Miami fan knows that if they lose to us this year, there is no plausible excuse. No remnants of probation to cling to, no whining about flukes, nothing. This is a huge game for VT.

5. Nathaniel Adibi pulls a Michael Vick. If there was a debate about the defensive scheme employed at Virginia Tech and what position was most critical in that scheme, certainly the Defensive End would be at or near the top of the list. The DE is responsible for putting the pressure on the quarterback on pass plays and helping contain the run by shutting off the outside lanes and forcing the action up the middle to the linebackers. Last year, we had the luxury of having two of the top DEs in VT history on the field at the same time. This season, a redshirt freshman, Nathaniel Adibi, will be responsible for taking over where those two left off. Many good things have been written and said about Adibi and he would probably be garnering more pre-season attention if it weren’t for some guy over on offense. In fact, one coach remarked this Spring that Adibi was the second-best athlete on the team behind Vick. If Adibi can be half as successful as Vick was in his rookie campaign, I don’t think anyone will be saying "Corey who?", but the defense will certainly be in excellent shape.

4. Nick Sorensen finds his niche at Linebacker. This is Nick’s last season and it would be nice to see him have a great season at LB so that he can finish his career at VT successfully. I know that a few Hokie fans out there have some reservations about Nick’s ability on the football field and I must admit that sometimes I am also in that group of doubters. But there is something that no Hokie can deny and that is the fact that Sorensen has put the team first during his career at VT. Let’s review his moves over the last 5 years: 1996 - redshirt, 1997 - backup QB, 1998 - moved to safety in the spring, then back to QB early in the season after Al Clark is injured, 1999 - back to safety, 2000 - moved from safety to Linebacker to get more speed on the field. If there is one thing going for Nick this season, it is history…..sort of. Over the last few seasons, we have had some players who were somewhat maligned in their junior seasons come back and have big senior years. Loren Johnson and Anthony Midget come to mind, although they did it without switching positions. Hopefully Nick Sorensen can continue that trend and come up big this fall.

3. Jake Houseright plays a complete, injury-free season at linebacker. Jake Houseright, a high school All-American out of Gate City, came to VT as part of arguably the best recruiting class in VT history back in 1998. Because of injuries at the fullback position, Jake played as a true freshman and moved from his linebacker spot to play - very, very sparingly - at backup fullback, registering only seven carries during the 1998 season. Houseright has also suffered from injuries of his own. Before his playing career even began at Virginia Tech, he had knee surgery to remove torn cartilage. Other injuries have interfered with what was a very eagerly anticipated playing career at Tech. Hopefully, Jake can get through his last two years at VT without injury and realize his full potential as one of the highest rated linebacker recruits VT has ever had.

2. The Hokie faithful have a little patience with Michael Vick. I won’t even get into the media hype that has been in full force since January 5^th of this year. My concern is with the Hokie fans that are expecting even bigger and better things from Vick this season. While I fully expect Mike to have a good year, I think we should all take a breath and pull back a little bit on our expectations of 300 yard games and Heisman trophies. Think about all of the things the Vick accomplished last year: Second best all-time QB rating in NCAA history, third in the Heisman, ESPN College football player of the year, and those are just a small fraction of the highlights. I think it is extremely unfair to Mike to lay the heavy expectations of exceeding those feats on his shoulders. IF, and I stress IF, he should come out a little shaky in the GT game or have a bad game against a conference foe or, dare I say it, cost us a game along the way, then I hope that Hokie fans will keep their wits about them and remember that this is a 20 year old kid. With all of the media attention and scrutiny Vick will have on him this fall, his every negative move will be magnified and harped on repeatedly by others. I think we owe him the courtesy of allowing him some mistakes and staying behind him all the way. As far as I’m concerned, last year he filled his bank with the IOUs of every Hokie fan out there.

1. A rematch against Tennessee, Nebraska, or FSU in the BCS. Even though I’m not asking for a shot at the MNC, here’s where I get a little greedy. My final wish for the 2000 season carries over a little into 2001. I’m normally happy with any bowl the Hokies get invited to. As I mentioned previously, I was in school when we were the biggest chokers in college football. I was also there when we were "the best 6-5 team in the country" in 1990 and didn’t get a sniff from the bowls. Those flashbacks stay fresh in my mind, so pleasant Sugar Bowl memories aside, I’m happy going to the Music City Bowl. However, this year I would like, no, make that "love", to go to the BCS and face one of our bowl nemeses from the 90’s. If you look at what those three teams accomplished in the last decade it is quite impressive (316 wins and six MNCs among them). Impressive statistics aside, the time has come for Virginia Tech to go to a BCS bowl against a true power and beat them. The road is a little harder this year, but with some breaks and a little luck I think we can get there.