Halfway through the 2009 college football season, a number of Hokies are sitting at or near the top of the ACC statistics. With five games remaining in the regular season, they are hoping to stay there.

You can't win without good players, and the Hokies are fortunate enough to have a number of good players. They also have two of the biggest offensive playmakers in the conference. Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams are carrying this offense in 2009, and they are showing up in the ACC statistics.

Tyrod Taylor - Taylor is having a great junior season. He is 68-of-118 (57.6%) for 1,154 yards, with nine touchdowns and just three interceptions. Taylor is sixth in the nation with an efficiency rating of 159.9. That mark ranks first in the ACC.

He is also ninth in the ACC in passing yards per game, averaging 164.9 yards per game. He would obviously average more than that, if the Hokies threw it more, but Taylor is very efficient with the opportunities that he is given.

Ryan Williams - Williams, a r-freshman tailback, is getting most of the media attention. He leads the ACC in rushing, averaging 119.1 yards per game. He is first in the ACC in touchdowns, third in all-purpose yardage and tied for second in overall scoring. Those are impressive numbers for anybody, particularly for a r-freshman in his first season on the football field.

Williams was also recently named to the CBSSports.com Midseason All-American team. He was a First Team All-American on that list, sharing honors with Alabama tailback Mark Ingram. Williams is the only freshman to make that list.

Ryan Williams is also eighth nationally in rushing yards per game. He has run for 100+ yards in five of his seven games this season, setting a Tech freshman record for 100-yard games. He is on pace to have a huge season.

Matt Waldron is quietly having a good season as Virginia Tech's placekicker. He is a perfect 27-of-27 on his extra point attempts, and he's 9-of-11 on his field goal attempts. He ranks second in the ACC in scoring among all of the kickers. Waldron is also fourth in overall scoring, and fourth in field goal percentage.

Waldron is just the first of a few special teams standouts. Punter Brent Bowden is leading the ACC in punting average. His 44.1 yards per punt is an easy winner over UNC's Grant Schallock at 41.6 yards per punt. Barring some kind of a collapse down the stretch, Bowden will finish first in the ACC in this category fairly easily.

Dyrell Roberts is leading the conference in kickoff return average. He averages 40.8 yards per return. Clemson's C.J. Spiller is in second place, averaging 37.1 yards per return. Roberts and Spiller are ranked #2 and #3 respectively in the country. Roberts returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Alabama, and he had another big kickoff return that set up a touchdown against the Crimson Tide. He also set up Virginia Tech's opening touchdown against Nebraska with a big return into Cornhusker territory.

Several defenders are also standing out. Whip linebacker Cody Grimm is having a big year. He is averaging 8.1 tackles per game, which ranks sixth in the ACC. His 5.5 tackles for loss ranks 13th in the conference, and he is third in forced fumbles with three. Grimm is the major playmaker on the Virginia Tech defense. Nobody finds himself in the backfield more than Grimm.

Well, nobody with the exception of defensive end Jason Worilds. Worilds has 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, which ranks 13th and 18th in the ACC, respectively. Worilds is playing much better than his stats indicate, and they could take a big jump in the second half of the season.

Cornerback Rashad Carmichael was considered the weak spot of the defense heading into the season. Now he's considered a lock down cornerback. He is fourth in the ACC in interceptions per game, and his three interceptions are tied for first among conference cornerbacks. Carmichael is also fourth in the conference in passes defended.

And finally, Mike linebacker Barquell Rivers had a big game against Georgia Tech, making 16 tackles. That vaulted him into third in the ACC in tackles per game with an average of 8.4. Jake Johnson is also 10th in the ACC in tackles per game, averaging 6.6.