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Virginia Tech puts ECU in past

The Sports Xchange

September 16, 2014 at 1:46 pm.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — In much the same was as it tried to avoid a letdown last week after a big road victory over then-No. 8 Ohio State, Virginia Tech’s football team will try to stem the damage from Saturday’s bitter home loss to East Carolina.

“I think what’s important is you better go out and play the same every week,” Hokies coach Frank Beamer said. “Don’t put a name with it, whether it’s Ohio State or East Carolina or William & Mary. You better be ready to play the same. And that’s where we try to get to. I don’t think we’re there right now. We weren’t there this past weekend, but usually in the past we’ve gotten there and that’s what I’m hoping this team will do.”

The Hokies are a young team still trying to get used to the up and down swings of a college football season. Those swings couldn’t have been any wilder than the last couple of weeks.

The Hokies (2-1) were dropped from both major polls after jumping into both after their win over the Buckeyes, but they haven’t lost sight of their primary goal of contending for an ACC Coastal Division crown.

The road to winning the division starts Saturday in Blacksburg when Virginia Tech hosts Georgia Tech.

“We expect to win every game,” Hokies junior quarterback Michael Brewer said. “Obviously that didn’t happen this past week and there’s some things we need to correct, some mistakes that we need to correct. And we’ll do that. Now the big picture, we want to win our side and make it to the ACC championship and this is the first step to do that.”
Virginia Tech has had success against the Yellow Jackets in recent seasons, winning six of the last seven matchups. But Georgia Tech’s spread option offense has been a challenge for the Hokies since coach Paul Johnson took over the Yellow Jackets program in 2008.

“They’re good at getting at your legs and taking your leverage and stuff like that, so we just have to practice our technique and fundamentals 10 times more this week than we have in the past, and even more with the young guys so they understand the importance of doing the right responsibilities,” senior safety Kyshoen Jarrett said.

The Hokies say they’ve put East Carolina behind them. Then again, they thought they had put their big win over the Buckeyes in the rear view mirror last week as well.
“We can’t hang our head and feel sorry for ourselves and let it affect this week of practice,” Brewer said. “That’s done with. It’s over. We’ve already watched all the film. We’re starting on Georgia Tech and that’s the main focus now.”

NOTES: Junior backup FS Desmond Frye will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery Tuesday. Frye hasn’t redshirted, so he is likely to qualify for a medical redshirt, which would give him two years of eligibility remaining. … Starting DT Corey Marshall (ankle) returned to practice Sunday after missing Saturday’s loss to East Carolina. Beamer said Marshall is looking “better,” and he hopes to have him back this week against Georgia Tech. … Beamer gave freshman PK Joey Slye a vote of confidence after a tough game against ECU. Slye missed a 52-yard attempt, long by any kicker’s standards, let alone a true freshman, and sent a kickoff out of bounds to give ECU prime field position at the start of its game-winning touchdown drive. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in the kid,” Beamer said of Slye. “I think he’s a tremendous kicker.”