via www.thekeyplay.com
We will hopefully have a Q and A with our brother site Gobbler Country up at some point today/tonight, but in the meanwhile we got a chance to talk with another VPI blog in The Key Play. He is known as the guy on the Twitter Machine that uses all caps during football season. Who knows why, but it's certainly a unique touch that draws attention to them.
We found out that despite being a VPI fan, he can read and write, but I had to fix several spelling and grammatical errors to make it readable for us upper-class elites! In all seriousness, it was a great exchange, and I'll link to our answers when it gets posted on his site.
Click through for the Q and A on the big game tomorrow night.
BSD: What are the thoughts on the year so far? Who has impressed the most, and what do the fans think?
TKP: I thought we'd go 10-2 this season, so 5-1 at the half-way point sounds about right to me. Given our easy non-conference slate and favorable ACC schedule a lot of fans had a somewhat unrealistic expectation of 12-0. That's extremly tough to do with a rookie QB. I will say this, at the beginning of August I didn't think Wake would be one of hardest games, and a potential loss. Bully for y'all.
Chick-fil-A connoisseur David Wilson has been a stud. Going into the season there was a concern that he couldn't handle 20+ carries given he's a "speedster". He's deceptively strong (he set multiple team records in the weight room) and durable. Sadly, three guys who have really impressed me aren't playing tomorrow. Whip backer J. G-W, defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins and defensive end James Gayle are all out with injuries, the former two for the year. G-W underperformed as the starter in 2010, but really turned his game around this year. Gayle and Hopkins were having All-ACC seasons. And obviously I'm taking All-American corner Jayon Hosley for granted.
BSD: Talk about Logan Thomas and what makes him such a special QB, as well as how, in two weeks, he can go from being a goat to the G.O.A.T?
TKP: What separates Logan from every other quarterback is his size (6-6 260-ish). So far this year he's proven to be unstoppable in the open field, or when gaining the tough couple of yards up the middle. However, he's still a very raw passer, but his ceiling is sky high. The Clemson game was a reality check. The Miami game was a peek towards the future. Expect a performance somewhere in the middle.
BSD: What does Wake Forest have to look out for on Saturday defensively? There are a lot of injuries in the front 7, so what can we expect from Bud Foster?
TKP: . Bud Foster is going to challenge Tanner Price. Bud loves exploiting young QBs, especially those without a running game to rely on (Harris injury). Schematically I think we'll run a lot of Nickel, backup corner Cris Hill has had a great year and corner Kyle Fuller thrives in the Nickel roll. The Nickel replaces the Whip Backer, Alonzo Tweedy, who's semi-experienced, but is making his first start. That'll take the pressure off.
Tech really loves to control the line of scrimmage with its four down linemen (I mean who doesn't). That's the battle to watch. Miami beat us down up front and had tremendous success running late in the second half. Will Wake be able to do the same?
BSD: What's going on with the special teams this year? Beamer Ball doesn't seem to have the same ring this year as it has in the past few years.
TKP: Simply put, new kicker and new punter. Beamer's been able to plug in those holes these last few years, this year we've struggled.
BSD: Who is going to win this game and why? GIMME DEM SCORES!!!
TKP: I think Tech wins. It'll be close though, say 30-24. Wake's a very solid team, well coached, prepared and disciplined. At the end of the day, I just think we have a little more depth and talent. I'm sure you guys get that a lot.
BSD: Prediction from here on out for the Deacs and the Hokies respectively.
TKP: I think we'll finish 10-2, with a loss to either UNC or GT, and depending on how the chips fall will have a shot at Charlotte. I like Wake to finish second in the Atlantic, with losses at UNC and at Clemson. I think you'll beat ND at home. Nine wins against that man's schedule is a pretty terrific year in my opinion.
