It was touch-and-go with Al there for a while, but the coaching staff is now saying that he will start at quarterback for Tech in the Music City Bowl:

Clark appears ready to take Hokies' helm - The Roanoke Times
Clark looking to start - The Richmond-Times Dispatch

Naturally, this is good news.  Sort of.  Well, forgive me if I'm skeptical.   Recently, Al was saying he was in so much pain that he had to sleep sitting up at night, so I'm wondering just how "ready" he is to play in this game.  And you can't blame me, given the history of Al's injury-riddled career.

I supposed that having Clark at quarterback beats the alternatives.  That's not a knock on Dave Meyer and Nick Sorensen, but the offense does seem to play better when Al's at the controls, although when you're talking about an offense that's ranked 88th in the country in yards per game, you're talking about an offense that isn't all that great with anybody at the controls.  That's not a nice thing to say, but it is a fact.

In any event, it's morbidly appropriate that Al is ending his career in the same fashion that he spent most of it:  injured, and operating at less than 100%.   It's not something I like, mind you, but it fits. More on that later, in my game preview.

Or, more precisely, Hokie fans are hot about when the game is scheduled.

The ACC released its football schedules recently (the Big East won't do so until some time in February or March), and two notable dates jumped out at Hokie fans.  The first date was a very odd-looking date of October 2nd for the Tech/UVa game, which will be played in Charlottesville next year.

That's right.  George Welsh is finally getting his wish, and from what I can tell, he's the only person who wants to move this game from its current end-of-the-season slot, except for perhaps Terry Holland.

There's a seamy underbelly to this story.  Welsh has been whining about the scheduling of the game since I was about, oh, three years old, and within the last year, Welsh and UVa Athletic Director Terry Holland teamed up on a neat scheme to get Welsh his wish.  First, UVa signed up for home-and-home series' with Brigham Young and Hawaii, and then told Tech that they (UVa) would have to travel to both schools late next season, and oh, Tech, "Please could we not schedule the Tech game at the same time we've got to make those two long trips?"

Tech said, "Well, okay, you can move it to the middle of the season."   Whereupon Welsh and Holland giggled, clapped their hands, and proceeded to drop the Hawaii game and replace it with Buffalo.  Mission accomplished - the Tech game got moved, and UVa won't have to play that pesky game at Hawaii, after all.

The 'Hoos close with Buffalo and Maryland in their last two games of the season next year, and you can bet your sweet bippy that the state media is going to rake them over the coals for that maneuver come next November.  While all the great rivalry games are being played at the end of the season next year, UVa will be tangling with Buffalo and Maryland, and the state media that covers UVa will be bored, and mad that they're bored.

As for my feelings, well, the 'Hoos are skating on thin ice with me.  They don't want to play home-and-home in men's basketball, and now they have moved the football game, thus minimizing the importance of the rivalry, and treating it like just another out-of-conference game.  While Auburn-Alabama, South Carolina-Clemson, Georgia-Georgia Tech, and every other decent rivalry in the country is getting played on "Rivalry Weekend" at the end of nex season, Tech-UVa won't be.

I have very nearly reached the point where I'm going to say, "To hell with them."  One of my personality traits is that I don't like to waste time on people who treat me like dirt and disrespect me.  And UVa's "you bore me, and you're lucky we play you at all" attitude towards Tech is about as disrespectful as it gets.

Who needs 'em?  I'd certainly like to fill their slot with an out-of-conference game that people will get excited about on a national or regional level.  Maybe Alabama, whose fans and coaches have shown us more respect recently than UVa has in a lifetime, would like to play us yearly, or perhaps Texas would.

Or there's another alternative that isn't hard to figure out at all.  Jim Weaver ought to call Terry Holland up and say, "Hi, Terry.  Since you want to play your home football games with us any time you please, we've decided to have the next Tech/UVa men's basketball game in Cassell Coliseum, okay?  Thanks, bye."  Click.

Message to UVa:  we like playing you guys, but trust me on this, the Miami, Syracuse, and WVU games have become way more important to our seasons.  Keep up with the attitude, and you may find yourself with another open scheduling slot to fill, and some ticked off fans and media to answer to.

Yeah, I wish.  I'd just love to turn my nose up at UVa, just once, instead of taking off my hat and begging them to please do this, or please do that, but it ain't gonna happen.

So, nice job Terry and George.  You got what you wanted, and you didn't look too slimy doing it.  Not any slimier than you did when you covered up the incident with the Georgia Tech fan, anyway.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to mention:  the other date that jumps out at you on the ACC's recently-released schedules is good news.  The Clemson game in Lane Stadium next year is scheduled for Thursday, September 23rd, and although I haven't seen an official acknowledgement of it yet, that's bound to be an ESPN Thursday night game.  And you know how much I love those.

It's a good bet that Tech will be able to take Clemson to the woodshed again next year (although nothing's guaranteed), since the Hokies will boast almost the same defense and an improved offense next year, as compared to the team that hammered the Tigers 37-0 nothing this year.

The only question is whether Tech can sell out the game.  Thursday night games are tough to sell out, and Tech will probably have expanded seating next year (as detailed in the November 9th Hokie Hotline Notes), which means that close to 55,000 seats will have to be filled for the game to be a sellout.

In any event, I love the Thursday night showcase games, and next year's Clemson game is a chance to show the country a dominating defense, an enthusiastic home crowd, and some hotshot new players, most notably a new quarterback.  Sigh.  It's only nine months away!

I've been reading articles from all over the country about the upcoming bowl game, and one thing has surprised me:  everyone, and I mean everyone, who has predicted a score or an outcome has picked Tech to win.

Every single one of The Roanoke Times's pigskin prognosticators picked the Hokies to win.  John Hale picked them to win.  A few national publications I've seen have picked us to win.  And everybody is acting like it's slam-dunk, a foregone conclusion.

This strikes me as odd. I mean, when you're talking about the Hokies, you're talking about a team that has almost no offense (with the exception of Shyrone Stith, who barely gets a dozen carries a game for some reason) and has shown that it can't hold a lead.  A big lead.  You would think that with our track record this year, someone would pick us to lose, but no one is.

Pluses and Minuses

On the positive side, Alabama's offensive line only goes five-deep, and Tech's wrecking crew of eight talented defensive linemen ought to be able to wear them down.  The Tide features a thousand-yard rusher in Shaun Alexander, but he's the only running back to rush more than a hundred yards for Alabama.  And the Tide has had trouble on special teams (except for the Alabama punter, who can boom it), which Tech could take advantage of, perhaps even for a score.

The Tide had to struggle (23-22) to beat an ECU team that Tech hammered 38-3.   Alabama also experienced something Tech didn't, getting blown out by an opposing team (Arkansas, 42-6).

On the negative side, Alabama has a talented young quarterback (Andrew Zow) who has engineered comebacks this season, something the Hokies are prey to.  Alabama finished a respectable 7-4 in the tough SEC, with close losses to powerhouse teams Florida (16-10) and Tennessee (35-18, but it was closer than that).

The Tide knocked off BYU, Ole Miss, LSU, and Auburn.

So, they're a Jekyll-and-Hyde team, much like us, capable of playing well one week and stinking up the joint the next.

Inside the Numbers

As you know, I like statistics, and here are the important ones (all stats taken from ESPN.com's NCAA statistics:

Interesting.  You can see that Tech's much-maligned offense still does better than Alabama in two key areas:  scoring offense (28th to Alabama's 71st) and rushing offense (37 to 97).  Granted, Tech's scoring stats are skewed by multiple defensive and special teams TD's, but you get the point.  When it comes to controlling the ground game and putting points on the board, Tech is a lot better than Alabama.

If it boils down to coming from behind, though, Alabama can do it much better with their #42 passing offense, as compared to Tech's #97, "I'm so small, don't blink or you'll miss me" passing offense.

On defense, the Hokies boast a much better, much more experienced defense.  Tech ranks in the Top 11 in all four major defensive categories, whereas Alabama doesn't crack the Top 40 in any one category.  Big advantage to Tech.

The turnover margin stat is a wash, and is meaningless on gameday anyway, since anything can happen over the course of one game.

Keys to Winning for Tech

1.)  Run the ball.
The Hokies need a good game out of the running game, against a young Tide defense that fares poorly against the run (#50 in the country).   Running the ball will also minimize the contact Al Clark will receive.

2.)  Don't get behind early.
If Tech gets behind and has to use their passing game to come back, with a quarterback whose ribs are killing him, there is nothing to stop the Tide from pinning their ears back in a blitz-o-rama, just like Syracuse and UVa did.

3.)  Score on special teams or defense.
The Hokies' offense will probably be characteristically anemic, so a score from the special teams or defense would be a big boost.

4.)  If Tech gets an early lead, they need to put the Tide away.
This statement speaks for itself.  If the Hokies get up early, they need to keep the lead and not give up a big play that lets Alabama and the young, enthusiastic Mr. Zow get back into it.

How it Will Go, and My Prediction

Tech will play it conservative and rely on the running game.  Rickey Bustle doesn't want to do this.  After a bad offensive year and much public pressure, he wants to open it up.  But I think Al's ribs aren't doing well, and the passing game will be pretty lame, so Rickey will have no choice.

Alabama will not be able to do anything consistently on offense, but they will strike for two scores with either big plays, or drives that consist of one or more big plays.

Defensively, Alabama, despite being young, will have some success against Tech, and will shut the Hokies down for most of the second half.

Tech will score one offensive touchdown, one defensive or special teams touchdown, and two field goals.  Alabama will score two TD's and may add a field goal.

Final Score:  Tech 20, Alabama 14.

• Message board poster "VTDeke" gathered information on where various HC message board posters are sitting at the Music City Bowl.  He compiled the information into a message board post, which I captured and posted to HokieCentral.  If you want to look up some message board posters while your at the bowl, then take a look at the HCMB Posters Music City Bowl Seating Locations.

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