The Virginia Tech Hokies reclaimed their status as the favorites in the ACC Coastal with a dominant 37-16 win over Miami which also basically eliminated the Hurricanes from contention in the Coastal. The Hokies also guaranteed their first winning home record since 2013 with the Hokies also being two wins away from going undefeated at Lane Stadium since 2008.
There were plenty of things to take away from this game but here are three of our top takeaways from the Hokies' victory over Miami.
1. Travon McMillian Has Gained Much-Needed Confidence Back.
One thing Justin Fuente mentioned ahead of this season was that Travon McMillian was struggling to keep his starting job in the spring due to what he saw as a lack of confidence. Throughout the first few games of the season, McMillian seemed to struggle a lot with only 1 game over 100 rushing yards coming in Bristol and just seemed to have an overall lack of confidence. McMillian had a solid game at UNC with 17 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown while overall averaging over 4 yards per carry the past two weeks as he seemed to be gaining some confidence. Then, McMillian played like a confident runner that had just ran for over 1,000 rushing yards last season as McMillian had 131 rushing yards on 18 carries and seemed to almost always get at least to 4-5 yards per carry. McMillian seemed to run with more aggression than we've seen from him in a while getting some tough, extra yards on runs up the middle or making a multitude of Miami defenders miss on the outside. McMillian is running the football with the confidence that Justin Fuente has been looking for now for months, making Virginia Tech's offense even more dangerous than it had previously been this season.2. Tremaine Edmunds is Virginia Tech's Best Linebacker in Years.
The Virginia Tech Hokies have had some linebackers that have been undersized but had great football IQ like Jack Tyler and Chase Williams hile also having some linebackers with some good athleticism but not as high of football IQ or not great work ethic like Deon Clarke. However, the Hokies now have their best linebacker in years in Tremaine Edmunds who has that combination of being a tremendous athlete and having a great football IQ. Edmunds had 10 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 QB hurry against Miami, and continues to play exceptionally well as the sophomore has 54 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 5 QB hurries, and 1 fumble recovery so far in 2016. Edmunds' impressive season is best described by comparing his numbers in 2016 so far to the 2015 performance of Deon Clarke and Andrew Motuapuaka. https://twitter.com/TechSideline/status/789821664074801152 Edminds has lived up to the hype and already is showing that he has the talent that he has the talent to go down as one of the greatest Virginia Tech linebackers. Edmunds's great first 7 games also have him in great shape to earn some All-ACC recognition this season and beyond while also being consistently productive. Tremaine Edmunds is the most talented linebacker that Virginia Tech has had in years and is a big reason for the resurgence of the Virginia Tech defense along with being a significant upgrade over Deon Clarke.3. Lane Stadium Dominance Is Being Restored.
For the past few years, the Virginia Tech Hokies have for some reason had some major home struggles despite the challenges that playing at Lane Stadium brings on a week-to-week basis. The Hokies haven't had a winning home record since 2013 with the Hokies going 3-4 in 2014 and 2-4 in 2015 at home but 2016 has been a year of revival for the Hokies in Blacksburg. The Hokies are 4-0 at home this year and should be heavily favored in their final two home games against Georgia Tech and Virginia. Georgia Tech and Virginia are two of the worst three teams in the Coastal and the Hokies have had both of these programs' numbers over the past several years including Virginia Tech's 12-game winning streak over Virginia. Lane Stadium was consistently one of the toughest places to play over the past decade before the recent decline with Corey Moore famously giving Lane Stadium the nickname the "Terrordome". The Terrordome has returned in 2016 with Virginia Tech's 21-point win over Miami being the closest win of the season at home. Virginia Tech is making its resurgence on the national stage in 2016 with Lane Stadium returning to its rightful places as one of the toughest places to play in all of college football.
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