When the Virginia Tech football team kicked off the 2024 season, expectations were high as the vibes around the program were those that had not been felt in years. Between a ton of retention and a strong finish to the 2023 season, Virginia Tech was a national media darling in terms of maybe, just maybe, being a dark-horse team for the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
However, things unraveled with a stunning Week 1 loss at Vanderbilt in overtime in a game where quarterback Diego Pavia did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted against the Hokies. They could not stop him. In fact, not stopping teams became the Hokies' calling card that season under defensive coordinator Chris Marve.
After the regular season ended at 6-6, which was a very disappointing season, former coach Brent Pry made some coaching changes before the Hokies' bowl game against Minnesota, and one of them was firing Marve. After a year out of the game, he was hired by Deion Sanders at Colorado as his defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. On Thursday night, the Buffaloes upset Georgia Tech on the road, and after the game, Sanders praised his new defensive coordinator.
Colorado fans should not get too excited about a Chris Marve defense
Colorado went to Atlanta and pulled off a 14-13 upset of the Yellow Jackets. They took a 14-13 lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Julian Lewis to Charlie Williams. They then blocked a game-winning field goal attempt as time expired to escape. How did the Buffs' defense play under Marve?
Georgia Tech threw for 237 yards with transfer quarterback Alberto Mendoza, but rushed for just 51 yards as a team. Colorado's defense bent multiple times, but never broke, which is rare for a Marve-coached defense. Sanders praised his new DC after the game.
"The defense showed a lot about DC Chris Marve, not just from an intelligence standpoint, but also in how he connects with the players," Sanders said.
Before Colorado fans start drinking the Chris Marve Kool-Aid, don't get used to that type of effort every week. As Virginia Tech fans can tell you, it might start well, but it likely won't end well. The Big 12 Conference is one where a lot of wild games break out on the scoreboard. Eventually, Marve's defense and scheme will be exposed with more and more film.
Sure, hats off to them for putting in the effort they had at Georgia Tech, but Buffaloes fans should be warned: don't get sucked into believing that it is something that is going to happen weekly. Sooner or later, it's bound to go sideways.
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