SW Louisiana Game Report Posted

If you're like me, you want to put the SW LA game behind you and get on with the rest of the season. But that didn't stop me from posting a game report. Check it out, and I hope you enjoy it.

By the way, according to my new web counter, Hokie Central received 330 hits between 7:30 A.M. and 11:00 P.M. on Monday. And only about 300 of those were mine! I just wanted to say a big, heartfelt, "Thank you!" to my 30 fans!

Crandell - In or Out?

A source of mine at ECU says, "Word is from the Sports Medicine physicians that ECU star QB Marcus Crandell is out for the VT game with a second degree medial collateral ligament tear and fractured ankle."

Ouch, sounds painful. My source promised to keep me informed and to try to verify the rumor. In the meantime, I think it's kind of a shame. I'd rather play ECU at full strength so there'll be no excuses, regardless of the outcome. On the other hand, with the indictments coming up from the Montgomery County grand jury tomorrow, Tech may trade the favor by suspending a few players.

In any event, don't get too excited. ECU's got a great running back in Scott Harley (6th in the NCAA at 141 yards per game) and a pretty good defensive front seven, from what I hear. Not to mention that they get fired up for Tech. So they've got more going for them than Crandell.

Orangemen Rolling

I hope there isn't any more doubt in your mind about who the best team in the Big East is. Not only did Syracuse thrash the Hokies when they met in game four this year, but they've proceeded to roll over everybody else since then, too, including WVU this past weekend, 30-7 (stat of the week: WVU has had seven punts blocked this year). My pessimistic prediction is that the Hokies have already lost the Big East championship - Syracuse is now smelling blood and will pound Miami at the end of the year. Remember, SU owes Miami one from last year, in much the same way that they owed Tech one.

The Mystery End Zone

Dave Braine promised on the Hokie Hotline Monday night that against ECU this weekend, the endzones are going to sport a new paint job that "you won't believe." I'll go on record as saying that I'll believe anything short of a paint job that shows a turkey holding up the headless body of a pirate.

Sorry, that was kind of a strange thing to say.

The evolution of Tech's field this year has been an interesting story to follow. A few weeks ago, a caller called in and said, "Hey, can you highlight the 20-yard lines? I've got seats near the field on one end, and that would help my depth perception in the other direction." Braine said okay, and that weekend, the 20-yard lines sported maroon-and-orange accent lines.

Somebody called in about the same time and said, "Hey, when are we going to paint the end zones? We've got ugly end zones." Braine said okay, and the next game, the end zones had the "VT Hokies" painted in.

I think ol' Dave's getting into this. I never took him for the artsy type. Keep an eye on the end zones, and we'll see what he's got up his sleeve.

More Poll Madness

Here's an analysis that I didn't have the time to do myself, but D. R. Cunningham (VT '91) was nice enough to do it for me. Check this out:

"Of the top 26 places in both polls, 13 teams are ranked identically, six teams are ranked one place differently, six teams are ranked two places differently (that makes 25 out of 26...), and one team is ranked different by eight places. EIGHT PLACES! Doesn't that seem odd? Do I need to tell you who it is? What is going on with the AP voters?

Not that it really matters; this month's games are going to put Tech exactly where they deserve to be, but I still can't help but wonder why there is such a big difference between the polls when it comes to ranking Tech. I'm calling for a congressional inquiry."

Thanks for the input, D.R. As for "what is going on with the AP voters," the answer is simple: Coaches smart, writers dumb.

That's why I'm here, Hokie fans. To protect you from the ignorant hordes who control the mass media. It's liberating, isn't it?

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