Playing for pride, Tech out to avenge loss to ECU

Three weeks ago, Virginia Tech’s football team had so much to play for. It was still in the national title hunt and was the odds on favorite to win its third straight ACC championship.

After two losses and a precipitous fall in the rankings, the Hokies have had to dig deep for inspiration.

There’s still at least one major motivator on the line for the rest of the season.

“It’s definitely pride,” Hokies senior linebacker Cody Grimm said. “We just want to come out and show everybody what type of team we can be.”

To a man, Tech’s players say their past couple of games are not indicative of how they’re capable of playing, and they insist there’s still plenty to play for.

“We’re just trying to get everything back on the right track and get our season going back in the right direction,” Tech wide receiver Dyrell Roberts said.

The Hokies (5-3) were ranked fourth in the country when they rolled into Bobby Dodd Stadium to play Georgia Tech on Oct. 17. Two losses later, they’re ranked 22nd and all but eliminated from the conference title race.

The Yellow Jackets would have to lose their remaining two ACC games — at home against Wake Forest this Saturday and at Duke on Nov. 14 — for the Hokies to have a chance to represent the Coastal Division in the ACC championship game.

Failing that, Tech’s biggest tangible goals are a sixth straight 10-win season and a bowl game that falls on or close to New Year’s Day.

For either of those to happen, the Hokies players would have to … well, they’d have to play better.

They hope to bounce back and beat East Carolina (5-3) tonight to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2003.

“I feel like we’re going to go back out there and make a statement,” Grimm said.

The Hokies fell short in many areas in last week’s 20-17 loss to North Carolina. Their offense came away with no first-half points, despite being inside UNC’s 40-yard line on four occasions. They lost two critical fumbles, including one late in the game by tailback Ryan Williams at their own 30 that led to Casey Barth’s game-winning field goal.

Tech’s defense allowed more than 150 rushing yards for the second straight game and couldn’t get off the field during the Tar Heels’ penultimate drive, which covered 78 yards in 8:59 and culminated with Barth’s game-tying field goal.

“We just couldn’t ever get the game moving right or consistently right, and a lot of that goes to North Carolina — they did well — and part of it goes back to us,” Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

So the Hokies went back to work this week to try to correct the mistakes it made in their last two games against the Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels.

They’re confident now that they can right the ship, win their final four regular-season games and make it to the best possible bowl.

It’s possible that not having the BCS rankings or ACC championship hanging over its head could actually help Tech play better.

“I feel like guys can relax a little more and go out and have fun and play the game how it’s supposed to be played,” Hokies cornerback Rashad Carmichael said. “The rest of the season can be how we make it out to be. That’s the mind state we have right now.”

East Carolina would love nothing more than to hand Tech its third straight loss, something that has happened only two times during the Hokies’ current 16-year bowl run.

ECU toppled Tech in the 2009 season opener in Charlotte, scoring the deciding touchdown in the final two minutes on a blocked punt return.

The Pirates have beaten three of their last four ranked opponents and have a potent rushing offense (149.38 yards per game) that could put a hurting on a struggling Hokies defense, which has yielded an average of 154.13 rushing yards through eight games this season.

“We have to keep them off balance,” ECU coach Skip Holtz said. “I loved the way we ran the ball at Memphis (last Wednesday) and was proud of the way our offensive line played. We have to run the ball some, but we have to be smart with how we run it.”

The Pirates might have to contend with a feisty Hokies team, one that has revenge on its mind from last year’s season-opening loss and one that is eager to get back on track after an atypical two-game losing streak.

“I know the season is nowhere near over, and for most people, I would say the urgency is as high as possible,” Hokies tight end Andre Smith said. “A two-game losing streak is not very common here, and it’s something we don’t like.”