Like most of you, I'm a little miffed by everyone dogging Virginia Tech as a Top 5 team.
It's easy to point to Tech's schedule and say they shouldn't be Top 5 because they haven't beaten anyone.
Fine, but let's look at three other teams everyone had/has no problem sweating:
Oklahoma State
Before the Cowboys' tough loss to a 6-4 Iowa State team, everyone was saying they had an outstanding shot to beat Oklahoma and play for a national title. I would have been OK with that before the loss (pun intended on OK).
But who had Oklahoma State beaten? Baylor and Kansas State. That's it.
Texas A&M is 6-5, Missouri is 6-5, Texas is 6-4. So, those games shouldn't mean jack.
Baylor is 7-3 and is No. 21 the AP Poll. Virginia is 8-3 and No. 24 in the AP poll. Wash.
Kansas State is 9-2 and is No. 11 in the BCS. Quality win? Even though it's at home? Absolutely.
But what about the Hokies heading to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech on a Thursday night? Georgia Tech 8-3 and No. 20 in the BCS. A tad less impressive than beating Kansas State, but considering it's a road win and the Jackets have been a ranked with one of the most high powered offenses in the country, I say it's not that big of a difference.
Arkansas
The Razorbacks stand at No. 3 in the country right now and nobody seems to have a problem with it.
Who has Arkansas defeated? Allow me:
South Carolina. At home.
Even though it's at home, it's better than any win Tech has this year. If Tech wins Saturday, then beats Clemson, I'm going to call that a wash. And it would absolutely be a wash if Clemson decides to play unlike Clemson and beat South Carolina.
But what else is on Arkansas' resume?
They were smoked by Alabama, just like Tech was by Clemson (they lost by 24). They beat Texas A&M, whom I've told you is 6-5. Auburn? They stink, too. Unless they beat Alabama, then they're awesome. But they won't.
Here's an amazing stat: Arkansas' out of conference schedule is: Missouri State (2-9), New Mexico (1-10), Troy (3-7) and aTm (6-5). That's a combined 12-32. Tech's OOC combined record is 27-17. Huge difference.
Oklahoma
People are giving more credibility to a 2-loss Oklahoma team than a one-loss Tech team.
The Sooners have losses versus Baylor, whom we've discussed, and Texas Tech. THE RED RAIDERS ARE BELOW .500!
And quality wins? Well, we know F$U isn't quality. They stink. Otherwise, they've beaten just about every team we've covered on here. They have one impressive win over Kansas State. It's also worth mentioning Kansas State hasn't beaten anyone good. They beat Miami, but so did VT. So that's obviously not worth a nickel because Tech's schedule is so soft.
Bottom Line
It's not like Tech is going to get any respect for its schedule out of the blue. It is a weak schedule.
But why all the love for Arkansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State?
Haters gonna hate.
The real bottom line is none of this matters unless Tech wins out. In years past, it's been easy to write Tech off because of a bad bowl loss or stumbles early. If we win out, nobody can take away what the Hokies accomplished this season.
But the pressure is on. A win the next two Saturdays should have them in the disucssion, and that's a nice place to be.
#BeatUVA #ScrewEveryone
