Toney’s Take: Week 12

I don’t think I need to recount what happened against Clemson. You saw what happened.

I didn’t think we would be nervous, but it did seem that way. Everyone did their best, but we made some mistakes you just can’t make against a good team. There’s a smaller margin for error.

I thought we could have played better, especially offensively in the first half. After that, it turned brutal.

I was very unhappy after the game, needless to say.

Just like that, our bowl chances are done. That’s rough. Our job now is to make sure everyone still wants to win these last two games. Our goal is now to get to .500.

Virginia Tech is just as good as Clemson, if not better. Everyone has to be all in for us to have a chance of winning.

The seniors are going to play hard, and we’re trying to motivate everyone else to get the job done. It’s tough, especially for the guys who have no chance of going to the NFL or to even play football ever again. These will be a special two games for them and for us.

We found out that my sixth year of eligibility was approved this week, which is great. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet, but I’m glad to have the option to come back.

As far as protections, I did my job against Clemson and I have to continue that for us to have a chance to win this weekend. I didn’t miss any reads and I had a good third down catch. But obviously it wasn’t enough between me and Jamelle [Eugene] – we couldn’t win the game.

I’m having a good year, probably one of the better years I’ve had. But I’m down because we’re losing. Because of that, it doesn’t mean anything.

Coach [Mike] Reed, our defensive backs coach, gave us the pep talk at the hotel the night before Clemson. It was about standing in the moment and seizing that time. You only get a certain number of opportunities and a certain window of time, and you have to take advantage of it. We couldn’t do that in time to save our season, but we aren’t going to roll over.

On the same day we used up our last chance, over in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels were clinching bowl eligibility. It’s a completely different program and a completely different team, but we’re looking forward to sending them out with a bang for the last game. We didn’t want to be the spoiler at this point in the season, but that’s the reality.

Even though all it’s good for is our pride, Virginia Tech is one of the best places to play football. The environment’s going to be great. We’re going to go up there and upset them. We’re not going to make their job any easier.

Maybe we’ll see you at the game. If not, enjoy it on TV.

-As told to Kate Shefte