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Longtime rivals Miami and Virginia Tech look to get their season headed back in the right direction when they square off Thursday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup. Parris Campbell Womens Jersey .The Hurricanes (4-2, 1-2 ACC) have lost two in a row and have fallen out of the Top 25, but have never lost to the Hokies (4-2, 2-1) in their previous three Thursday night games.Virginia Tech has also tumbled out of the Top 25 after a 31-17 loss at Syracuse last Saturday.The Hokies have long embraced the opportunity for the exposure a Thursday night game offers. They played 30 Thursday night contests under Frank Beamer, second only to Georgia Techs 32, but this will be the first under new coach Justin Fuente.I always enjoy the challenge every week, but the short weeks are certainly different, he said. I told my wife when I got home, `Its going to be a long, short week. Thats just the way it is, but weve got two hungry football teams that are going to play out here. Theyre very well-coached, obviously have a fine tradition and history.The challenge also is new for first-year Miami coach Mark Richt.Southeastern Conference teams play some Thursday night games, but his former school, Georgia, does not. Richt said it was administration policy, and if he had his way, college teams wouldnt play on such short rest.He also said he doesnt like the idea of Miami getting home around 5 a.m. Friday.The five-day turnaround, in my opinion, I dont think its very good even though both teams are doing it, Richt said. If you have one team with an open date, and one team with five days, thats not fair. As far as what makes sense for TV, Im sure it makes sense for TV. But what makes sense for the student-athletes?I dont think its a good idea. I think its a bad idea.---Here are some other things to watch when Miami visits Virginia Tech:STAKES: The ACCs Coastal Division is a wide open race at this point with every team having at least one loss, the Hokies having beaten current leader North Carolina (3-1) and with games against the Hurricanes and Pittsburgh (2-1 in the division) still ahead. The next two weeks will likely help sort the contenders and pretenders.FRESHMEN STARTERS: Theres a chance that Miami could have five true freshmen starting on defense against the Hokies. Shaquille Quarterman, Michael Pinckney and Zach McCloud are the starting linebackers, and because of a rash of injuries, Miami might be forced to start Joe Jackson and Pat Bethel on the defensive line as well. Its been an unusual year, theres no doubt, with guys being in and out of the lineup, Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. But well see. Well have 11 the first play of the game Thursday night.NUMBERS GAME: Miami has the edge both in scoring average (36.7 ppg to the Hokies 35.7) and defensive scoring average (14 ppg allowed to the Hokies 18.2), but the Hurricanes also didnt play a Power Five conference school until the fourth game of the year, which could skew the numbers. Miami has won the last two meetings, and three of the last four, and is 3-0 against their former Big East Conference rival when they meet on Thursday night.PASSING FANCY: Since fumbling three times in a loss to No. 18 Tennessee, Hokies quarterback Jerod Evans has been very good about protecting the ball. For the season Evans has 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions, and hes the fourth-rated passer among Power Five schools. Miamis Brad Kaaya is 2-0 against Virginia Tech, but still working his way back from a shoulder injury that caused the Miami coaches to shut him down for a few days.COMMON GROUND: Richt and Fuente have plenty in common -- they are both quarterbacks successfully recruited out of high school by Howard Schnellenberger. Richt played for Schnellenberger at Miami, and Fuente signed with Oklahoma to play for Schnellenberger (though the coach resigned after Fuentes redshirt season there).---AP sports writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr Marshall Faulk Youth Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. Kenny Moore Colts Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. http:///...eonard-colts-jersey/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- The numbers sound superb. Miami gave up a mere 22 yards rushing in its opening game of the season, scored 10 touchdowns, set a school record with 42 points in a quarter, picked off two passes, blocked a punt and allowed only three points.So how should they react when watching the film?Horrified, Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said.He was serious. Even with many things going right, Miami still has plenty of work to do.What Miami dealt with after beating Florida A&M 70-3 likely wasnt any different than what Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan and Oklahoma State faced after they won openers by an average score of 68-9. Great-looking Week 1 scoreboards arent a cause for massive celebration, and not even the third-largest margin of victory in program history could dupe the Hurricanes into believing otherwise.I think most of our guys, the more mature guys anyway, understand when they make a mistake, Miami coach Mark Richt said Sunday, a day after his debut coaching his alma mater. They know we can get better.There was much to like. Miami had three running backs all eclipse 100 yards, Brad Kaaya passed for four touchdowns while barely breaking a sweat, the teams 13 pass completions went to nine receivers, nine players scored touchdowns and 29 Hurricanes found their way onto the defensive stat sheet.And a return to the AP Top 25 -- the next poll comes out Tuesday -- seems quite possible.Only eight current Miami players have appeared in a game for a ranked Hurricanes team. Kaaya isnt one of them; he was a high school senior when Miami was last part of the Top 25.If they rank us outside the Top 25, if they rank us top 25, 24, it doesnt matter, Kaaya said. I think weve got guys who are still hungry and are still going to keep going. This is a good win, a good team win, Coach Richts first win, but iin the grand scheme of things we have a lot bigger fish to fry. Bobby Okereke Jersey. You guys all know that. Weve got to win the big games, to be honest.Even with an easy win, Miami couldnt escape unscathed.The Hurricanes announced Sunday night that redshirt freshman linebacker Jamie Gordinier will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, another blow to a defense with major depth problems. Miami lost its three leading tacklers from last season after an investigation into their access to rented luxury cars, and started three true freshmen at linebacker on Saturday.Hence, thats why Diaz wants the players who remain to be horrified. He says problems on film can be good things -- since they promote more learning.Theres going to be a lot of things that we dont like, Diaz said. But now you finally have something to fix. You can tell them every day in practice -- theyre like `I hear you coach, I hear you -- and then they see it in a game and theyre like `Oh, yeah, we left that guy wide open. You make game corrections. Good football teams usually make a big jump from Week 1 to Week 2.The way to do that, he said, is to not overreact to how good a 70-3 win looks on paper.Its imperative that we come back with a mentality that we have got to improve off this performance next week, Diaz said.And if any further reminders are needed, their next opponent -- Florida Atlantic, which visits this Saturday -- gave Miami quite a few problems in the first half of their meeting on the Owls home field a year ago.Just because the first game ended up with that score, that cant help you relax, Miami receiver Braxton Berrios said. That should feed you. That should really drive you a little bit more. Thats what we can do. ' ' '