Huddle up! Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene -- and a glimpse at what’s to come next week.
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Commanders certainly aren’t dull
The Washington Commanders certainly appear to be the best soap opera going in the NFL right now.
On Thursday, a report came out in ESPN that owner Daniel Snyder has “dirt” on fellow NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell as questions about his ownership status continue to swirl.
One owner in the report was quoted as saying that “all the owners hate Dan.”
That same day, cornerback William Jackson requested a trade after getting benched by head coach Ron Rivera earlier in the year.
Following a 12-7 win at Chicago on Thursday night, Rivera stormed out of the postgame press conference following a profanity-laced defense of quarterback Carson Wentz, after it was suggested Snyder was the person responsible for the trade that brought Wentz to the franchise.
Then on Saturday, Wentz found out that he suffered a broken finger in the Chicago game and might have to miss some time coming up.
Wentz is supposed to see a specialist in Los Angeles on Monday, according to ESPN.
Instead of “Days of Our Lives,” right now “Days of the Commanders” seems to be a more intriguing show.
Big opportunity for Flames to make statement
Liberty nearly knocked off one ranked team when it lost by one point at Wake Forest on Sept. 17.
Over the next two weeks, the Flames will have a rare midseason opportunity to see if they can upset two teams that have spent time in the national rankings this year.
First up is a 3:30 p.m. home contest on Saturday against BYU, which suffered a loss at home to Arkansas this past Saturday.
The Cougars beat Baylor earlier this year and have losses to Notre Dame, Oregon and Arkansas.
The week after that, Liberty will travel to Arkansas, which spent time in the top-10 earlier in the year.
If Liberty can hold its own in those two games and even win them, cracking the top-25 might not be so farfetched.
Late rally not enough for Hokies in another loss
Virginia Tech’s offense continued to struggle mightily in a 20-14 loss at home to Miami on Saturday.
The Hokies only managed 118 yards of total offense and no points in the first three quarters, but did have an uprising in the fourth quarter when they scored 14 points to make it interesting.
But in the end, it was the fourth straight loss for Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-3 ACC), which is now three games under .500 for first time since 1992.
Barring a massive turnaround, it will be the first time Virginia Tech hasn’t made a bowl game in a non-COVID impacted year since 1992.