Hokies ripe for the plucking

By Brian Bailey
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I am a firm believer in the psychology of sports. How a team is thinking goes a long way toward how that team performs each week.

With that in mind, I thought South Carolina played with a hint of desperation in its 33-23 victory over East Carolina in Columbia on Saturday night. With Georgia coming to town the next week, this was a Gamecock team that just couldn't afford to lose.

Not that ECU didn't have its chances, because the Pirates most certainly did. In that same thought process about the psychology of sports, I wonder how the Gamecocks would have reacted down 14-0 instead of 6-0 when ECU failed to get the ball in the end zone on those two early drives.

Enter this week's ECU opponent, Virginia Tech. All the Hokies did this past weekend was beat the nation's 8th-ranked team on the road. Tech rolled past Ohio State and debuted in the national rankings this week at No. 17.

While South Carolina came in with desperation, this Hokie team will have its chest poked out after pulling the big upset the upset. The Hokies have a big slate of Atlantic Coast Conference games ahead. They may look right past the guys in purple.

I think Virginia Tech is ripe for the picking.

While East Carolina thought it could play with South Carolina, this is a Pirate squad that knows it can play with the Hokies.

ECU has dropped the last four games in the series. In 2011 Virginia Tech beat ECU 17-10. Last season the Hokies left Greenville with a 15-10 victory.

"It always comes down to who makes the most plays," said Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill. "It’s simple. I think we’ve approached each game like we expect to win."

The Pirates did expect to win on Saturday but just didn't make enough plays. Coach McNeill found several positives in the loss.

"We’re disappointed we didn’t win, but I think that game will make us a stronger team," said McNeill. "It was a game where we had to overcome obstacles and we didn’t flinch. Our offense moved the ball very efficiently at 6.8 yards per play. That’s an excellent stat. The offensive line did not give up a sack and paved the way for 132 yards rushing and a 6.3 average. We had 12 explosive plays."

McNeill spent part of his Monday press conference talking about the reaction his Pirates had to that first loss. The coach said his team went to work on the Hokies on the bus ride back to Greenville.

"I ride the offensive bus," explained McNeill. "It was the same on the defensive bus. I saw lights on from laptops and they were already finishing watching the game and watching Virginia Tech. It was 4:30 in the morning and I was texting them to get some sleep and they texted me back saying, ‘You get to sleep.’ Operation Move On was in effect pretty quickly.”

The Pirates have the experience needed to go to Blacksburg and get a win. The last ECU team to beat Tech on the road was the '91 team that finished 9th in the nation after its Peach Bowl win.

Back to psychology class, where I think the Pirates will have the mental edge.

Virginia Tech is on cloud nine after winning at Ohio State. The Pirates are a bit edgy after losing a tough tussle to South Carolina.

The table is set for a Pirate upset on the road.

BB

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