Editor's Note: Will Stewart will continue to write post-game analysis articles, and he is currently working on his. Till then, Gary Cope brings us his thoughts on the game.

So which do you want first: the good news or the bad news? Taking into consideration that Tech won by 21 points, I think we have to start with the good news and then tackle the tape-rewinding, hindsight-being-twenty-twenty, knit-picking, Monday-morning quarterbacking breakdown of the game (i.e. the bad news).

First things first, I can think of only two words to describe Virginia Tech�s offense in Sunday�s 49-28 season-opening win against the Central Florida: Silky and Smooth.

In all the years I�ve been covering the Hokies, I�ve never seen Beamer�s offense fire on all cylinders, run like a well-oiled machine, or any other clich� that describes near perfection�.until Sunday.

Let�s review, shall we? The receivers only dropped one single pass they should�ve had. Kevin Jones didn�t fumble. Starting quarterback Bryan Randall didn�t come close to throwing an interception. The Hokies set a school record for first downs in a game (36). And the two-quarterback experiment was a bigger hit than the opening act at this year�s MTV Video Music Awards. Okay, well, let�s not get carried away.

Randall completed 22-of-28 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns and looked good doing it. The much-anticipated debut of Marcus Vick, albeit brief, was more than a rousing success, completing 7-of-10 passes for 102 yards. On his first series, he engineered a 7-play, 80-yard drive, during which he connected on 3-of-4 passes for 45 yards. His only misfired pass was a powerful display of strength and power. It didn�t look like it was his debut. Yes Virginia, he is the second coming of his brother. In fact, he may turn out to be better.

Randall, a junior, looked like a completely different quarterback from a season ago. He showed the poise and confidence of veteran and to think he still has one more year of eligibility, the quarterback situation in Blacksburg is in good shape for the next two or three years.

Vick, meanwhile, later led another 80-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter in his only other action of the game. He capped the drive with a perfectly placed pass to true freshman wide receiver David Clowney.

If it weren�t for the jersey numbers, it was rather difficult to tell the two quarterbacks apart, because they both ran the offense like seasoned pros.

And then there�s the defense, which looked unstoppable during the first three series, holding the Golden Knights three-and-out each time. Sophomore defensive end Darryl Tapp showed signs of brilliance that the coaches and fans have been hoping for from the Deep Creek High School grad.

Tapp made a big defensive stop on the Knights� first offensive series. Facing a third-and-short, Tapp flew in from the right end position, unblocked, before dropping UCF�s running back Haynes for a 1-yard loss, forcing the Knights to punt.

Of course, we can�t mention the defense without talking about the biggest play of the game, the play that turned a nail-biter into a blowout. We�re talking about Jason Lallis� interception return for a touchdown that gave the Hokies a three touchdown cushion and simultaneously took the wind out of the sail of the high-flying Knights.

It also marked the 10^th straight game the Hokies have intercepted a pass. Last season, Virginia Tech led the country with 24 interceptions as a team.

Okay, now that we�re all feeling the warm-fuzzies of an impressive win, it�s time to get to the stuff that didn�t go so well. And I�m afraid I have to start with the coach, Frank Beamer.

His decision to put in the second-string defense after taking a 28-0 lead wasn�t the best coaching call he�s ever made. I realize the importance of getting those second-teamers in the game and allowing them to gain some more experience, however, we weren�t even halfway through the second quarter.

That�s a knock on Tech that has dogged Beamer his whole career at his alma mater: "He lacks that killer instinct." Perhaps his ethos of not embarrassing another team extends too far and if they want to make a push for the national championship, Beamer�s going to have to learn to put his foot on an opponent�s throat and hold them there until they either give up or pass out. Instead, he lets them get back up, and an injured foe is always the most dangerous.

Central Florida made the Hokies pay for putting in their second team defense in the second quarter. The Knights picked apart the secondary and ran right down their throats on their way to a 67-yard scoring drive. To make matters worse, the backups committed two costly offsides penalties that kept the Knights� drive alive.

It wasn�t like the Hokies' first team defense was spending too much time on the field. They�d only been in on 12 defensive plays up until that point, having forced UCF three-and-out the first four possessions. If anything, Beamer should�ve left those guys in and gotten them some more reps.

Instead, he put in the backups and allowed the momentum to shift in a big way. Central Florida scored three unanswered touchdowns to pull within seven points of the 10^th ranked Hokies.

It wasn�t until the fourth quarter that the Hokies were able to get their heads back in the game and reel off three unanswered touchdowns to take a 49-21 lead. A late fumble with the second team offense led to the final UCF score.

Aside from Beamer�s questionable decision that cost the Hokies momentum and a convincing victory, there were other areas of concern that I�m sure the coaches will be fuming about when they break down the game tape. We here at TSL, have already broken down the tape and here�s what we found.

Let�s dissect and analyze the first offensive series for the Hokies, which was full of the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

The first play was a 10-yard roll-out pass to fullback Doug Easlick that resulted in a first down. It was a smart play and the offensive line did a great job blocking up front and Easlick executed his route perfectly.

However, the supposed strength of the Hokies offense, the running game, didn�t look impressive at all. Take the next two plays, both rushing plays: the offensive line was unable to open any holes for Kevin Jones, who literally bounced off the backs of his lineman before eking out short gains.

The fourth play of the game, a third-and-one situation, saw the Hokies line up in a double tight end set with one receiver, Ernest Wilford, to the right. Randall sold the play action fake to perfection before rolling to his right and completing a 9-yard pass to Wilford, on the run, for a first down.

The offensive line looked far more comfortable with pass protection than trying to open holes for Jones, Humes and the rest of the backfield. On the 9-yard completion to Wilford, the O-line got a great push to the left, keeping the Knights defensive line well out of reach of the sprinting Randall. Redshirt sophomore guard Will Montgomery pulled to the right to pick up the blitzing linebacker, making sure Randall had plenty of time to get the pass off.

Randall looked great in the pocket and when he would roll out to his right. But he has some difficulty picking up the blitz while still in the pocket. This was evident on the very next play. On first-and-10 from Tech�s own 39, Randall couldn�t find a receiver and panicked before getting sacked by no less than six UCF defenders. In this case, having been flushed out of the pocket, Randall should�ve thrown the ball away, but that was about the only bad decision he made, so we can�t really be hard on him.

The next running play, Easlick continued the blue-collar work ethic success story Tech always seems to develop at the fullback position (i.e. Jarrett Ferguson). Easlick did his job, taking on two blockers and creating a huge hole on the left side, but once again, the offensive line doesn�t contain their blocks and Jones is tackled for a loss of three yards by an unblocked linebacker. The right guard, James Miller, blocks out All-American center Jake Grove, instead of shedding his man and picking up the blitzing back. Again, first game jitters are definitely a factor here, so we can�t be too hard on anyone. But, these are the kind of things the coaching staff is going to critique, so we are too.

The play was a pass to Wilford over the middle and in double coverage to pick up a big first down. The pass protection was virtually impenetrable.

UCF got flagged for pass interference on the next play, but Randall did a great job of keeping the defensive backs honest by checking his progression of receiver. He looked right first before coming back to his intended target, Wilford, who was tackled before he got a chance to make the catch over the middle.

KJ, wearing No. 25 for the first time in his Tech career, finally got some great blocking up front, including a crushing seal block by Miller, who atoned for his earlier miscue. Jacob Gibson, a redshirt senior, picked up the blitzing linebacker this time, allowing Jones to gain 25 yards, putting the Hokies on the doorstep. It�s also worth noting that Randall had another Oscar-worthy performance, selling the fake reverse.

Jones found no room on the next play, a three-yard loss. He got those back on the next play, setting up a third-and-goal situation. Once again, Miller opened up a nice hole before Jones got stood up at the goal line.

The best blocking of the day by the Hokies� O-line came on the next play when the entire line got a great push up the middle, driving their d-linemen back into the end zone, allowing Jones to walk in untouched.

For two and a half quarters, Virginia Tech and Beamer Ball looked as though they could very well contend for a national championship. And you know that even though Beamer didn�t take the Knights too lightly, he still didn�t use everything in his arsenal.

For a quarter and a half, they looked like the most overrated Top 10 team in the country.

Next on the schedule is James Madison, which absolutely has to be quaking in their cleats after the juggernaut of an offense put up 49 points on a team expected to compete for its conference title.

Randall solidified his role as the starting quarterback, while Vick�s debut reminded us all of the greatness of the Vick name. Randall may be the starter for the near future, but Vick is the future. For now, however, Tech has two of the most talented quarterbacks in the country. They�ll both be back next season as well. Scary, huh?

The offensive line has a little work to do, and the defense has to learn not to relax, especially when the second teamers are in the game leading by four touchdowns.

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