During Tech’s annual late-season collapses, there had been at least one constant as the November losses piled up like leaves in my yard: the Hoos could be beaten. Not anymore. This Tech team, not content to merely replicate the dismal finishes of the last two editions, found a way to make this yearly breakdown even more memorable than those of 2001 and 2002: the Commonwealth Cup will not be a permanent fixture in Merryman. Will it now be referred to, for at least the next year, as the Chardonnay Cup?

It was to be assumed that sooner or later algroh would stumble upon a way to actually put to good use the increasing amounts of top-shelf talent that he is accumulating in Hooville. One did hope it would be later. That was not to be the case, however, and it was particularly jarring to watch the ease with which the Hoos blew past a Tech team that can now lay solid and claim to having been the most over-hyped and overrated in the country. It’s too bad we no longer have a Music City bowl tie-in, as a game between Tech and Auburn would surely prove to be a ratings winner. Were we really number three in the country only a little over a month ago?

Tech is, of course, heading to another bowl, the eleventh in a row. I suspect, however, that few around the program really want to play in the Insight and endure what will be a constant barrage of questions about how, yet again, a Tech program that constantly weauxfs about how good it is could, yet again, crash and burn during the most important month of the season. This has gotten very old.

That question never seems to get answered. Saturday night I watched a Miami team that bore little resemblance to the disorganized rabble that was pounded in Lane Stadium a month ago. Larry Coker and his staff got their ship righted. About the best Frank ever offers is "Beats me" before hastening to remind us that things are pretty good, we should be happy with eight wins, we’re going bowling again, ain’t we, the mounting losses are just one of those things, everybody loses a couple of times a year, year after year, to double digit underdogs, the main problem is that murderer’s row of a schedule we play that includes, week after week, games against elite programs such as Temple, Fredo and the Hoos, and he will get to the bottom of this right after a few rounds of golf and, by the way, be sure to pick up some deli fried chicken, log on and get in the game, go have a nice dinner amid an ambience designed to remind you of how badly we play this time of year and above all, dig deeper and hand over even more money to Tech because, after all, these kind of results don’t come cheaply.

Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but it is a harshness born of the building frustration that Tech’s mounting losses this time every season are bringing to all parts of the Hokie Nation [It might also have something to do with music. I generally write to Mozart – man does not live by classic rock alone- but today instead chose Wagner - if anybody knows crushing defeat he does and listening to the downfall of the gods in ‘Gotterdammerung’ seems apt given our current situation]. Frank Beamer is not losing all of these games on purpose, but, unlike any of us, he is in a position to do something about it other than complain.

Frank's dazed and confused sideline demeanor that has become all too commonplace indicates that he is having a great deal of trouble putting his finger on the problem. It is probably safe to assume that Frank, at the prodding of some of the biggest of the big money, will conduct a painstaking and painful review of his entire operation. I also assume it will include a long look at what seems to be Tech’s amateur-hour approach to offensive coaching and what looks to be the promotion of coaches according to the Peter Principle. Very sobering must be the realization that next year he won’t have an All-American tailback to cover up much of the offense’s blundering. Frank’s celebrated loyalty to his staff will be sorely tested.

Problems also seem to abound on the defensive side of the ledger; indeed, many of the offensive troubles could have been covered up had the defense been able to stop anybody, particularly late in games. These problems also seem to defy solution, or Bud Foster would have done what was necessary. An obvious answer seems to be linebacker play that can charitably be described as substandard. The Tech defense has not been the same since Ben Taylor and Jake Houseright left the program, and that positional grouping has seen numerous high-profile recruiting misses recently. Frank and Bud got a good look against the Hoos at a couple of guys they once held reasonable expectations would be lining up wearing maroon instead of blue. Were we to play UCLA in the Insight they would see another. Linebacking help is on the way, but the two kids being pointed to for relief will be redshirt freshmen next season and will make freshmen mistakes and lots of them.

Aside from inferior play by linebackers, there is a sneaking suspicion that things have gotten a bit stale among the defensive staff. Most of the defensive coaches have long-standing ties with Frank Beamer, Foster and Charley Wiles having them that pre-date their time at Tech, and Jim Cavanaugh has Tidewater recruiting duties that are vital to the future well-being of Tech football. Still, the feeling persists that some fresh blood and thinking might need to be injected into the defensive staff at some level. Tinkering with the defensive staff would require Frank to make some very hard judgments that I am glad I don’t have to make.

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