VMI Keydets 2010 Review

2010 Record: 3-8 (2-4), 5th Big South
2010 Postseason: None
2010 Schedule/Results
Lock Haven, W 48-6
@ William & Mary, L 45-0
@ Virginia, L 48-7
Presbyterian, W 24-13
@ Stony Brook, L 27-9
Liberty, L 41-7
@ Charleston Southern, W 34-16
@ Army, L 29-7
Coastal Carolina, L 31-3
@ Old Dominion, L 45-28
@ Gardner-Webb, L 10-7

OFFENSE
260.6 yards per game

VMI used to be an option team, but now they don't even dare dream about gaining yards on the ground, having only rushed for 85.7 yards per game in 2010. You don't win doing that. Here's the rub, the passing game was not a hell of a lot better, only averaging 174.9 yards per game through the air. Neither number will do you any god, unless one number is significantly higher than the other, which would have necesitated the passing yardage being double what they were to gain success.
By the end of the season, the Keydets still had not been able to settle or depend on any one QB amongst 3 for a myriad of reasons. Eric Kordenbrock played siginificant minutes as a freshman, and Cameron Jones actually played in one more game, but neither managed a QB rating of 100 or more by the end of the year, and they combined to get picked 15 times.
VMI also never could settle on a primary workhorse at RB, as Chaz Jones and Gabe Itoka shared the load all seaosn, with neither breaking above 550 yards. They combined for 903 yards on the season, which is sad considering that even two backs could not combine to hit for 1000 yards.
TJ Talley and Mario Scott were the top two receivers, but it took both to combine for 65 receptions for 782 yards and just 6 scores. Consider this a product of the poor QB play, but ood receivers make better QBs. Not the case at VMI in 2010.

DEFENSE
352.7 yards allowed per game

I saw worse defenses in 2010, but this was not great, and the pass defense was pretty much lost in space all season, allowing 213 yards per game. You may not think that this is a horrible number, until you consider that the Keydets played Virginia, Army, Garder-Webb, Presbyterian, and Stony Brook, none of which being passing luminary schools.
AJ Gross did all that he could do at LB for VMI, as he collected 110 tackles on the year. Byron Allen wound up with 78, but as a DB, that was more to do with missed opportunities and mopping up.
Gross was an animal on every play, and wound up collecting 15 TFLs on the season. Nobody else on the team managed double digits in this category, and nobody on the team had more than 5 sacks. Unfortunately, Gross was not a sack machine either, but his abilities kept the opposing run games to 139.7, not a great number, but if not for him, it could have been far worse.
Michael Rainey-Wiles and Greg Walker were busy in the secondary, as Rainey-Wiles finished 2nd in the conference with 10 pass breakups. Walker had 6 on the year, but they were the only DBs working hard in this area, as nobody else registered close to this output, and overall INTs were hard to come by.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Like was the story for the Big South as a whole, nothing special happening here. Patrick Sexton missed more than half of his FG attempts, finishing at 7 of 15 on the year, ans Marc Ray finished at under 37 yards per punt.

FINAL NOTES

The futility at VMI continues. This team has never been relevant in my lifetime, and I cannot see it becoming so any time soon. Remember when VMI used to be a Southern Conference doormat? Obviously the transition to the Big South has not changed the perception of who VMI is as a football program. Too bad.