Elliott didn’t like the look in players’ eyes before poleaxing from Hokies

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Coaches can usually look into their players’ eyes before a game and get a sense of whether or not they are ready to play. Early on in Saturday’s renewal of the Virginia vs. Virginia Tech state rivalry, those eyes didn’t lie.

Hokies coach Brent Pry saw confidence. Cavaliers coach Tony Elliott didn’t.

“I just didn’t feel like we had the right look in our eye, from really when we ran out for the game,” Elliott said.

Elliott’s intuition was a warning of what was to come, a 55-17 landslide in what looked like a close game on paper. But they don’t play on paper.

Tech got off to a fast start and delivered one of the worst beatdowns in series history, the most points by either side in a game dating back more than a century.

“The disappointing thing for me was, DNA-wise, I didn’t feel like it was Virginia football today,” Elliott said. “I didn’t feel like we played with the effort, the tenacity and toughness. I can live with mistakes, but we didn’t do the things we hang our hat on.”

Virginia’s defense uncharacteristically surrendered one big play after another, six of ‘em as a matter of fact, all of at least 30 yards or more, not to mention a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Defensive coordinator John Rudzinski was clearly disappointed in giving up so many explosive plays, but had no explanation for those, nor some shoddy tackling and an inability to lay a glove on Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones, who passed for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns, and rushed for 50 more yards.

Tech has dominated this rivalry, if you can call it that, since 1999, losing only twice during that span. Saturday was sort of a reset, considering last year’s game — the first year of both Pry’s and Elliott’s eras — was canceled because of the tragic shooting at UVA, which shortened the season.

Since then, Pry raised a few eyebrows in Wahoo Nation by noting how Tech wanted to own the state. When he heard about Pry’s statements, Elliott laughed it off and said, “That’s what he’s supposed to say.”

Elliott has similar designs, but Saturday didn’t help as visiting recruits — some considering both state schools — watched UVA unravel before their very eyes.

The Cavaliers coach entered the week hoping to continue the second half of the season’s momentum by his team, which upset No. 10 and then-unbeaten North Carolina on the road, took Miami to overtime on the road, had No. 11 and then-unbeaten Louisville on the ropes on the road (hey, maybe Virginia should just schedule 12 road games?), then won its first ACC home game in two years last week against Duke.

Certainly a win over the Hokies would keep that momentum going, perhaps turn some recruits’ heads, and give the UVA fan base a year’s worth of bragging rights over their neighbors and co-workers.

All that went poof early, as Tech rolled to a 24-0 halftime lead that felt more like 48-0.

“I’m not going to make this bigger than what it is,” Elliott said, refusing to accept the notion that the momentum was gone and that Tech lept ahead in the arms race to be the dominant program in the state. “That’s not how I view it. I don’t think [the momentum] has stopped. I’m proud of the improvement.”

Elliott, citing a long losing streak in the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry when he coached for the Tigers, said earlier in the week that he wasn’t going to put a huge emphasis on the Virginia Tech game and put too much pressure on his players. The Clemson staff felt that was one of the reasons it had been mired in that losing streak to the Gamecocks.

Meanwhile, that was not the philosophy Tech subscribed to in terms of facing UVA in its pursuit of bowl eligibility. Pry pulled out all the stops.

He showed his team motivational videos sent in by former Tech players explaining why the current team couldn’t lose to Virginia. He also had legendary Tech coach Frank Beamer and former defensive coordinator Bud Foster come in and talk to the team.

And while it wasn’t needed for extra motivation, Tech had UVA quarterback Anthony Colandrea’s quote from last week plastered all over the Hokies locker room, the proverbial bulletin-board material.

Colandrea had said that after Virginia beats the Hokies, everyone in the country will know about the Cavaliers.

“You shouldn’t really say things you don’t really know about,” said Drones, Colandrea’s counterpart, said after the game.

Elliott told Colandrea during game week that, “You can’t do that. You’ve got to ge smarter. You have to be confident. You can’t say things, you’ve got to do those things.”

Elliott said the worst part about trying to change the mindset of the rivalry from his end was that he had to wait 365 days to get the chance, but promised to figure things out. Perhaps next year he will put some pressure on his players to deliver and give Virginia’s players a chance to do what the Hokies and their fans did after the game in Scott Stadium late Saturday night.

Tech fans rushed the field. If that wasn’t insulting enough, the Hokies players came back out on the field from out of the dressing room for a team picture, with the celebration cut short when some Scott Stadium workers accidentally turned the sprinkler system on.

Oops.

Pry didn’t feel bad about putting 55 on the board, and wished he had added more.

“It’s awesome,” Pry said of the points. “I’m still mad about the seven we left on the 1-yard line. I think we were hitting on all cylinders, and when you do that, you have the chance to score a lot.”

That’s a whole lot better feeling than Elliott, who accepted the blame for the loss by not having his players ready for the game.