Maroon 27 - White 0 - Atmosphere Amazing

The stands in Lane Stadium were painted orange and maroon Saturday afternoon. In the spring those two colors are foreign there, almost always reversed for the fall, but as usual Hokie Nation came out in droves to support their team. From what my eyes saw, the only Hokie not wearing generous amounts of maroon and orange was Frank Beamer.

The Frankinator wore a black suit with a delicately checkered orange shirt on a day sunny enough to burn unprotected skin, and hot enough to make a cold beer taste that much better. As per his style, he smiled, shook hands, and observed the game more than he coached it. On Saturday he chose to be the CEO of Beamer Co., tucked away in the back of the boardroom, to not only oversee the first steps towards defending our ACC Championship, but maybe to relax and appreciate what he's built over the last 24 years. He didn't break a sweat.

Downtown Friday night at Poor Billy's was a who's who of Hokie royalty. Tyrod was the first person I noticed, then Macho Harris who in my semi-inebriated state I convinced myself I was taller than, then Antonio Banks who quickly corrected me when I mistook him for a bouncer, then Kam Chancellor who wouldn't form tackle me, then Bruce Smith, then many more familiar faces that were now out from behind bars, and thus were unidentifiable to me. It's hard to believe that I could watch every snap of Hokie football and not know what 90% of the players looked like in every day clothes. Then and there the buzz around the Maroon-White Game was palpable.

The shaky start of penalties, back-to-back interceptions (I called the Ju-Ju pick), and porous offensive line play had me pretty fired up and wondering if we could actually lose the game. Things eventually got better though.

Like everyone else, I came away impressed with Logan Thomas. During warmups he was releasing late and throwing some low balls, but by the time he got into the flow of the game I didn't notice that all. He's got great zip on the ball and it looks like he's doing work to develop the touch needed to become a great quarterback. Both his touchdown passes went to Marcus Davis, who beasted all over and through the White secondary. Thomas to Davis is going to be a beautiful thing this fall. I still can't get over LT's 37-yard scramble. He's decisively fast, more so than I thought. He doesn't sprint, he gallops and at 6-6 245 he'll be a terror when he breaks contain and gets to the second level.

I tried to focus on the offensive line play, which was hard because 1) for the most part they were awful and 2) I sat in the first row of the South End Zone. The seats were optimal for slapping the Hokie Bird five, but not for watching the play on the field. If the Frankinator wanted everyone to leave Lane with that feel good feeling about the offensive line he would have played the first team offense against the second team defense. Instead, the ones were mixed with the twos, and the sloppy play showed. And keep in mind the defensive line was broken up the same way, yet they dominated their offensive counterparts on almost every play. However, as the game progressed the Maroon line did provide some nice pockets for LT to step up and make throws, which he did. Ju-Ju and Mark Leal would have been better protected by three Mississippis.

I came away impressed with how well the defensive guys upfront controlled their gaps and moved laterally across the line of scrimmage to string out runs. The brothers Hopkins were the two most responsible for giving the White offensive line fits. Those boys were just into creating havoc Saturday. Derrick finished with 13 tackles and 3 sacks. I like the idea of the younger brother pushing the older, don't you?

If you haven't noticed by now I am driving the Coale-for-starting-punter bandwagon. Yes, large parts of the reasoning behind it are novelty and awe. At this point I think it is going to happen, and it makes sense. He's got the leg as evidenced by a 53-yard punt that stopped just short of the goal line, but the 36-yard liner that Jayron Hosley housed showed he's got a long way to go. Beamer said he needs to become a "two-step kicker". My knowledge of the kicking game really stops and starts with ignoring Corso's suggestion to punt on 4th down in NCAA '11. But I'd interpret the Frankinator's remarks as Coale needs to get the ball off quicker and more efficiently. There's plenty of time, and Coale has the work ethic. Listening to Beamer talk about Coale post-game you quickly pick up that he believes in him and trusts him, the latter being oh so important to getting on the field on special teams.

More of a technical breakdown to come once I re-watch (if I can find the tape).

The bunch of recruits in Lane to take in the game had to have come away impressed. The atmosphere was convincing enough for at least two of them to commit right then and there. As far as recruiting goes, Saturday was payday for Beamer Co.

When it was all said and done I left Lane half fed, but somehow satisfied. I guess the best meals don't require overindulgence. In about a week, like the rest of you, I'll be hungry for more and longing for September.