Preseason magazine season is coming. Athlon Sports unveiled their 2015 Virginia Tech preview online. The Hokies are ranked No. 35 nationally and are predicted to finish second in the ACC Coastal. Virginia Tech's annual divisional nemesis, Georgia Tech, got the nod to win the division.
The strength of Bud Foster's group lies in the trenches and on the back end. The Hokies have four starting defensive linemen who have earned All-ACC recognition in their careers. Tackle Luther Maddy returns from a medical redshirt, paired with undersized but quick Corey Marshall on the interior. The ends are even more disruptive. Dadi Nicolas and Ken Ekanem combined for 18.5 sacks and 33 tackles for a loss last year, the most productive D-line tandem in the ACC.
The secondary is in flux because of spring absences, but cornerback Kendall Fuller is a stud, an All-American who might be the best the program has produced. The big domino is cornerback Brandon Facyson, who missed last year with a stress fracture in his leg, which he reinjured at practice in December. If he returns to form, it allows Tech to move the versatile Chuck Clark to his more natural position at safety. This group gave up a ton of big plays last year, but it's as talented as ever.
Athlon's preview of the Hokies is spot on as far as 500-word topical previews go. They nailed summarizing the low floor, high ceiling outlook on Tech's 2015 campaign and the ramifications either scenario would have on Frank Beamer's future as head coach.
Sidebar: Matt Brown of Sports on Earth included Beamer, along with Bob Stoops and Steve Spurrier, at tail end of his 2015 college football hot seat.
Beamer built Virginia Tech football, turning an aimless independent into a national title contender, then one of the most consistently good programs in college football all last decade. They've hit bumps lately with three straight mediocre seasons thanks to a stagnant offense, and at 68 years old, Beamer won't be around forever, especially with a new athletic director, Whit Babcock, coming in last year. But this year's squad has potential with a few breaks on offense, and Beamer has enough clout to control his own fate, before potentially handing off the job to loyal assistant Bud Foster sometime in the near future.
Comments
Man, I really hate GT. We better stick it to 'em this year...if they do end up winning the coastal, I'd hate if they did it by beating us
you and me both. Time for some sweet Techmo Bowl revenge!
That game last year sticks in my craw more than any other loss. We had them, I mean we had them. Justin Thomas is very good but so is Bud. Can't wait.
I had to watch that game late so I recorded it. Watching the first quarter and most of the first half (i believe) I was like "Oh we got this one." we seemed to be doing a lot better than our back and forth with them and were up. Then my neighbor came in and was like "Oh your really gonna watch this game??" And I was like thanks for ruining it for me!! Was pissed the rest of the day and watched in fast forward. Somehow I still felt at times that we would pull it out but knew the result. It was horrible. I think if we can contain Thomas and put lots of hits on him then we should be alright. Their passing attack is improved but I still don't think they can win if they are required to rely on the pass game, especially against the secondary we are bringing this year if Facyson is healthy and back to his freshman year ways.
It wasn't too many years ago that I despised Miami and FSU more than any team in any sport (well maybe excluding the damn Yankees). I would always joke that I hoped when they played each other the game would end in a tie and each team would lose four or five starters for the year. That's no longer the case. I HATE GT with a passion. Obviously that's because of the rivalry that has developed since we joined the ACC, and the number of times we've lost heart breakers to them. And I can't stand watching Johnson on the sidelines. It actually amazes me that he's able to recruit the kids that he does, because if I was a recruit and watched how he absolutely unloads with some wicked verbal assaults on his players when they screw up, I'd find somewhere else to play. But I'll say this, I'd rather be the hunter than the hunted, so let them have the preseason ranking. Until we beat them then they're the champ.
I mainly can't stand them for 1. PJ but more for 2. his offense that comes with him. I think it's stupid. Smaller schools run it because they can't compete athlete wise in regular offenses (see Army and Navy). They have better athletes and so can do better with it but if you have time to prepare for it it shouldn't be an issue. that an chopblockgate. I mean they will never win a national title with that offense. They may win the ACC here and there when the Coastal is down but give a good team proper time to prepare for it and they should be able to handle it. So frustrating.
its still a better offense than VT has had in almost a decade
You have just described:
If you're going to hate one system offense, you should probably hate them all.
That's really not true at all. The West Coast is used all over the NFL and college football alike and has pretty much assimilated into all levels. Ohio State runs a lot of spread option and just won a title. The others ones have their gimmicks, but not anywhere close to the degree of the triple-option, and spread teams may not have won a national championship yet, but they've gotten very close on several occasions, and it's been shown to work at the highest levels of college football.
A system is a system is a system. At one point the triple option was the dominant offensive system at most levels of the game. Ultimately, though, prevalence doesn't matter. There are just as many "gimmicks" in the other systems I mentioned as there are in the triple option, and they all are designed to create mismatches against the blockers.
When you say the other systems have nowhere near the gimmicks of the triple option, what are you basing that assertion on?
That the triple option doesn't play like football. It's predicated on putting the defense in dangerous positions where they're more concerned about getting hurt than playing the game. There's a difference between a strategy to create mismatches and a gimmick that works on a rules technicality. Throwing high percentage passes or giving your quarterback a read at the mesh point is just a wrinkle in how the game is played. Throwing yourself at someones knees because the rule book decided that it's OK if you're facing the player is gimmicky.
I guess you could argue that the line between gimmick and strategy is hazy, but are you actually arguing that the triple option is no different than the West Coast?
You are pretty far off base in your first two sentences.
First of all, chop blocks are legal and we use them. We don't use them to the extent that GT does, but it's a matter of degree. When properly executed, the injury risk of a chop block is minimal. The danger is in crackback blocks, which are what GT used to hobble Kam Chancellor the first time PJ beat us. That, I grant you, was dirty. But the rules have been clarified in the ACC subsequent to that.EDIT: Rick Smith pointed out below I was confusing terms. Said chop block, meant cut block.
Also, chop blocking isn't necessarily a fundamental feature of the triple option. I don't think Nebraska overused chop blocks under Tom Osborne, going with a more traditional system. Now you're welcome to dislike the way CPJ runs the flexbone offense, but you'd be wrong to say that as an offense, the triple option relies on the "gimmick" of chop blocks.
As for triple option vs West Coast, they're obviously very different systems, but they're both system offenses. They're both relatively simple and one-dimensional, and use different means to create basically the same sorts of defensive mismatches, where there's at least one offensive target unaccounted for by the defense.
OK? All offenses are a system, this is just getting pedantic. Besides, this wasn't even the argument I or anyone else was making.
Someone said they disliked a system that relied on relative novelty (I realize it's an old system, but today the triple option is novel) and a lack of preparation time. They asserted that a triple option team would never win a championship because of that, and thus it's a gimmicky system if you can't ever win the highest prize with it. You responded that they should dislike all system offenses then, which was a borderline non-sequitur because the problem wasn't with the fact that it was a system, it's that it's a system that can't win the big game. I pointed out that all the other systems you listed either have won the big game or have gotten very close. I couldn't care less about the definition of whether or not that it's gimmicky, just that your statement that we should hate all system offenses if we hate this one* was off base.
*I don't even really mind it too much, but I understand the hate
Well that's just wrong. Not all offenses are system offenses. An offense is either a system offense or a multiple offense (often referred to as a "pro-style" offense, but this term has less and less meaning as more and more NFL franchisees adopt system offenses). That's not pedantic, it's a valid differentiation.
And my original point stands, everything he pointed out hating about the triple option is applicable to any system offense.
This is getting a little long-winded. How does your original point stand? I made a counter-argument and supported it with examples as to why your argument doesn't make sense, and your response is just that your point stands?
I wanna make sure I'm giving you a fair shake here. The only examples I'm aware of you giving was saying that the triple option relies on the risk of physical injury through the use of cut blocks (incorrectly called them chop blocks, my bad, and thanks again to rick smith). To which I responded cut blocking isn't an essential feature of the triple option, citing Tom Osborne not using them at Nebraska in the most prolific triple option offense in history (one that won national championships, BTW, to refute your claim that the triple option can't win the biggest prize). Other than that, I haven't seen anything to support your argument, except your assertion that it's a gimmicky system. But you admitted yourself that the line between "gimmick" and "strategy" is pretty nebulous.
I definitely want to give you your fair chance to state your case. So far it hasn't seemed like your counterexample(s) stood up to scrutiny. I'm arguing that any system offense should be able to be handled with adequate time to prepare, whether it's the West Coast, Air Raid, triple option or whatever.
Totally agree with the first point. It's not a defined line and we're kind of splitting hairs, but I never really cared if it was gimmicky or not.
The main point I was making is that I just don't think that any system offense can be necessarily handled with time to prepare. There are a lot of West Coast system teams out there at multiple levels, and they've been very successful. Same with the spread, where we've seen teams like Oregon have continued success. The triple-option offense only works for GT because it requires a lot of practice to stop, and very few other teams run it, meaning it's success has more to do with its novelty than a tactical advantage. If a team has time to prepare (and the personnel to do it) they'll likely have no problem with GT.
I just don't think that's true for spread teams. (or west coast, etc). There's a number of PAC-12 teams that run some variation of the system. If all that was needed to handle them was adequate preparation, I don't think you'd see them having as much success as they've had. You'd see defensive coordinators adapt and offensive coordinator searching for new forms of competitive advantage. Look at TCU-Baylor this year. Two spread style teams with plenty of experience playing against that style, and they ran up the score against each other. I just don't see that happening with the triple-option.
Okay now I think I'm getting the feel for your argument. I don't necessarily think any team with prep time can handle the triple option. Mississippi State, of course, would be the obvious case in point. They had weeks and simply couldn't stop it in the Orange Bowl. Your comment about having to have the personnel to stop a west coast offense, I think that applies to the triple option. If you don't have DTs who can plug the middle and take away the dive play, the A back is going to eat your lunch all game. And if you compensate by cheating your linebackers and safeties up to plug the middle, that's when the B back will take the pitch for 35 yards.
My point being, you have to have the personnel to handle any system offense irrespective of how much time to prepare you have. ECU last season ate us alive because we couldn't pressure the QB and Facyson was hobbled. We knew exactly what they were going to do and we were powerless to stop it. The same applies to the triple option. If you don't have DTs that can plug the middle and DEs and OLBs who can contain the QB while covering the pitch man, you could have a year to prepare for the triple option and you'll lose.
I think the main difference between systems is whether the competitive advantage comes by way of tactics, or novelty.
Absolutely agree that without the right personnel any system can be stopped, but to me that just says that there will be occasional exceptions to the "any team with prep time can handle it" rule, but on a broad basis it's still true. I'll admit to not being super knowledgeable about Mississippi State, but I'd venture that they just lacked the personnel to stop an option attack. But that's also another case of gaining a competitive advantage through novelty rather than tactical prowess. If more teams ran it, then there would be a greater priority on finding and recruiting the personnel to stop it and the advantage of the system would be gone.
I don't think the other systems are so easily stopped. Otherwise you would have seen defenses adapt by now and the proliferation of spread teams wouldn't be happening at such a large scale. Same goes for the west coast decades ago, where the concepts have been so proven that they're a part of almost every offense multiple offense. There are teams that go up against spread offenses week in and week out over the years, and recruit with the intent to stop those teams, and still get lit up. To me that says that other systems offer a competitive advantage beyond being unfamiliar.
Is the spread option offense still... spreading? (Ba-dum, ching.) I know there was a huge post-Oregon-is-suddenly-relevant move toward the offense, but it seems like that has kind of tapered. Oregon still hasn't won the big one. Honestly, has any spread option offense won a NC besides Cam Newton at Auburn? In general, multiple offenses are the ones that win championships.
Also, a lot of what you're talking about in your final paragraph, while true, I would argue has more to do with the current "offense first" mentality of the sport today. It's not wrong, it's not right, but in general teams today are built around what the offense does, with a mindset that we're just gonna score more points than the other guys. I get what you're saying admit it being a novelty thing in the sense of not every team playing an option offense every year, but there is tons of tape on CPJ's scheme. Anyone should be able to study and gameplan for it. Plus, we and Georgia, two very good defenses, play it every year, and Georgia Techhas won its handful of games against both programs in the CPJ era.
Anyway, I'm probably not gonna convince you, but that's cool. Good conversation regardless.
Most definitely, all apologies if I came across as short before. Agree that a spread system hasn't won anything yet, but I think Oregon's gotten close enough that it basically comes down to luck at that point. They didn't lose because of their system, they lost to a very good team after beating 13 other pretty good teams. As for the spread spreading (repeat pun intended), I would say it's evolved to a point where it's being absorbed into pro-style multiple offenses, making the line even hazier than it was. I guess like most things the truth's somewhere in between.
Important fyi: you are describing "cut blocking." A legal block that all teams use during the course of a game. It means blocking below the waist. "Chop blocking" is the illegal/dangerous practice of blocking below the waist while the player is already engaged with another blocker.
Thanks, my bad. I was getting terms confused. Back in the day my little league coach called a block below the waist a chop block because he said it was like chopping down a tree and the analogy stuck in my head.
No problem. I live in ATL, so if you misuse the term gt fans will immediately start squealing in your ear.
I actually think it's an effective and difficult to defend offense. I think their defense is the issue. If they could put a 25 defense out there, they'd be a top 10 team every year.
Having a top 20 defense will be tough to do when you are practicing against that offense every day then playing traditional offenses every game... So the offense also hurts the defense.
Doesn't the GT scout team play a traditional offense?
Even if they did it probably isn't well. I can't imagine how much time they would put into it and then the scout team always changes.
This. I actually really like watching their offense work. It pleases me.
Justin Thomas is definitely a killer QB, too, I like where he's going. He ain't gonna go nowhere against us, of course, but he's a great player, especially for that offense.
The only real reasons I don't like GT are:
1) Chopblockgate. F@^% chop blocks.
2) That damn smirk on CPJ's ugly mug.
3) They steal letters off of our sign every year. I remember someone on here suggesting that the corps have an all night sentry at the stadium sign this year, and I support that.
Football fans are becoming pansy ass pretty boys who just like to see shiny scoreboards. Football is meant to be physical. It's not for everyone. It literally eats me up inside when we get best by Gt under PJ because it means we were physically beaten and mentally beaten. It is the most physical offense play for play that we face. We gotta get mean! Imlbho.
Agree with you to some extent. Wouldn't go so far as to say it "pleases me", but I just like seeing prolific offenses, and it is fun to see all that running of the ball. Also very much agree with points 1, 2, and most particularly #3. GT students/fans? are known for stealing stuff. Stole all the VT magnets from my buddy's car after the Lightning Bowl non-game, and I've never forgiven them for that. I think the Corps should definitely stand guard, but from the shadows so as to catch the thieves in the act. Maybe then, a little corps justice could be applied? Nothing like Jimmy Turk serious, just something to put the fear of VT in their little pea pickin' hearts. At least, make them head for WalMart for some new underwear!
Not everybody has a Bud Foster and assignment strong players. Ask Miss state, hell they even have some option and still got steam rolled.
Miss St and all of their top recruiting classes agree with you.
They are WRONG...nothing further to say!!!!!!
Did I miss this in all the top coaches lists that have been posted lately? if i did i apologize
http://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-accs-football-coaching-...
look who's listed as one of the experts. well done Joe
Um......No
Yeah!
Dook has tougher academic standards...and Stanford...and Vandy...and Notre Dame.
...oh wait...they win...Nevermind.
Totally agree, sorry to be limited to one leg up. What absolute horse hocky bullshit 'hooey. I used to go to some games there when they actually had a bit of a team, and while I cannot deny they cheered and sang and swayed, they certainly did not qualify as "passionate fans". I mean, they arrived late, left at halftime for the tailgate, and if they even bothered to come back in for the 4th quarter, they still left early. Of course I hyperbolize here, but a lot of their fans were like this. As for academic standards, I just seem to remember some less than stellar academicians on their basketball and football teams, so I suspect if they want someone, they'll figure out a way. Not qualified to speak on whether that sentence is true or not, though.
Aren't those shared titles too, not outright?
Correct, shared.
And only once did they receive the bowl bid meant for the conference champ... so really they only won one in '89.
Or this one:
And the jack wagon who called in with the "redneck from VT" comment is precisely why I despise your average UVA "fan". Just sayin'.
Passionate is pronounced "apathetic".
Or "invisible"
Or Artificial:
or "imaginary"
I saw that comment and had the EXACT same reaction. WTF are they talking about? Again, they need to listen to this:
GT lost their whole offense outside of Thomas. I know PJ's scheme doesn't require blue chip athletes to be effective, but losing that many senior skilled position players and lineman is going to hurt them more than most people think. Yes they beat us last year, but it took a complete meltdown for that to happen. Can't fault anyone for putting them up top though as I think any of 4 teams (VT, GT, Miami, UNC) could probably win the division this year.
GT returns 4 starting offensive linemen and a damn good QB. What more do they really need to be successful? The scheme itself is heavily predicated on the line making the blocks and the QB making the reads. Experience in those spots will make up for inexperience in the other spots.
well the one OL they lost was a very good player (4th round pick) I thought they lost a 2nd one as well. I still think losing their top 5 RBs and top 3-4 WRs statistically is going to hurt them even with JT back.
I think they're gonna miss Smelter more than people think. Smelter was a very, very good WR. It's easy to forget that there was a long drought of truly good receivers at GT between Demaryius Thomas in 2009 and Smelter (Stephen Hill was pretty much a 1-route WR). That being said I still think they manage to win the coastal.
Also, I really think Miami is gonna struggle this year, and I very much hope they do, and I'm gonna bang that drum until they prove me wrong.
I would give Duke a better shot at winning the Coastal than UNC.
I don't think GT is going to struggle as much as perhaps you would think given that they've lost a bunch of players from the Offensive side of the ball. That being said, I do expect some drop off from last season.
They still have Thomas, who is a baller, and CPJ can coach up his offense like nobody's business. I'm hopeful that GT will struggle early in the year due to having a bunch of new faces but they're still going to be a really dangerous team. As long as they have a QB who knows how to run the system they're going to move the ball and score points.
Add to that the fact that GT somehow finds a diamond-in-the-rough type of receiver every year. They're going to be a good team. I'm okay with putting them at the top of the Coastal in the pre-season rankings. Until somebody beats them I can't really think of a reason not to put them there. It would be a different story if they were breaking in a new QB. In that system, the offense goes as the QB does and Thomas has proven to be an effective option QB. That's really all they need.
All GT has to do is find adequate A and B backs. When you have a QB as good in that offense as Thomas is, the supporting cast doesn't have to be perfect. He might be the best triple option QB since Eric Crouch.
Playing GT late in the year is not favorable for us especially given our injury gremlin who I hope is dead for 2015.
GT is extremely annoying, but if they are our stiffest competition in the Coastal then I feel pretty good. I dont think they will be better than they were last year and that should have been our win. The Hokies should be the most improved team in the division.
They draw both Clemson and Florida State in inter-divison play, so we might not even have to beat them head to head to win the division. Even though I think we will beat them.
we may not have to beat them, but dammit I really freakin' want to. I hate GT more than loluva
Lets not get crazy here
well if loluva could actually win a football game once a generation I would undoubtedly hate them more...GT has actually beaten us a couple times over the last 11 years...and they do it by chop-blocking everything in sight. I hate them. A lot.
Wow. I don't get the GT hate.
I want to beat them every year. But I want to beat every conference opponent every year. Outside of the Techmo Bowl, I always hope GT does well because it is good for the conference. I pulled for GT hard in the Orange Bowl, and one of the best media moments of the college football season IMO was in the post game interview when Paul Johnson said, "Maybe now we don't have to hear about the SEC."
that's fine. I don't expect anyone to understand my hatred of them. I just hate them. I'm not asking you to hate them with me. I also happen to hate the SEC so I'll admit that the jab by CPJ is amusing to me. Well played by him.
I 100% agree with you. I hate GT more than any team. lolUVA is well lol, so until they become competitive these chop blocking bastards get my vote.
I'm for all ACC teams when they are not playing us too (yes, even GT, loluva, FSU, and Miami). The hatred is probably at how arrogant CPJ is and the growing rivalry between us.
After enduring years of neutered coachspeak from Beamer, I find CPJ's assholery kind of refreshing. I wouldn't want to have a beer with the guy, but he's entertaining to listen to.
This worries me. How can you hate someone worse than loluva? Is that possible for a Hokie? OK, I admit I got over hating VMI who was our main rival when I was a rat, but UVA? No, not possible to hate more.
When the opposing fan base just kind lays down and takes it when it comes to football and starts bragging about their women's lacrosse team instead, it kinda takes the fun away from hating on them. Still fun, but kinda like kicking-a-small-child-in-the-head fun. Sure, it's easy and the little punk's annoying as all get-out, but meh, what's the point?
If they won't shut up and still being arrogant about thinking they are better than you are, while cringing on the ground with their Zima and cheeseballs.....
Don't need a freakin' point, it's UVA. It's not fun, it's visceral, it's ingrained at this point. I can't help it. I know too many hoos, I've been hating them for decades...it's a force of nature.
Yep, Mississippi State was the most overrated team in the country last year IMO and it was nice seeing a team from the ACC expose them.
I hate them too. However, I also respect the system.
GT has been undoubtedly VT's biggest rival over the past 10 years. Rivalry creates hate. UVA just hasn't really generated that feeling recently.
Rivalry produces hate, yes. So does arrogance, condescension, and the irrational belief that LOLUVa football is even in the same league as Tech football (figuratively, of course. I know we're literally in the same league). I would say that LOLUVa has certainly generated the feeling of hate recently
I guess I know a lot more rational UVA fans than you. I have a lot of friends that go to UVA and really don't expect too much from their team. You can't just base your judgement due to fans that post on the internet because those are the big football fans.
GT plays Notre Dame, Clemson, and FSU before November. It's hard for me to see GT winning the coastal with that schedule but they do have a lot on defense returning as well as Justin Thomas.
I think UNC could have a very good year back with the starters they have returning, Chizik being a competent DC, and their schedule works out well. Think Duke lost too much to challenge for coastal crown.
Notre Dame has no bearing on the divisonal championship. It's a nonconference game.
True it is non-conference but it's another tough game to prepare for in a pretty hectic stretch of games for GT.
Oh, gotcha. I thought you were counting it as a conference game the way I read it. My bad.
Yeah the person wrote this prediction failed to look at schedules.
He mentioned it over on TSL but I am pretty sure that everything but the 1st top paragraph was written by Andy. Which explains why it is pretty spot on and reasonable. Maybe if he drops in he can confirm that.
That's true. I don't do the predicted finish either. That's all handled in-house by Athlon.
Have you gone on record with your own prediction yet, Andy? Or are you abstaining?
I'm thinking around 8-4, which will put VT in the Coastal mix. Not sure if I'll pick VT or GT. I'll make an official pick at ACC media days (which will then be mocked roundly by the end of the year).
As a frequent wearing of maroon and burnt orange colored glasses all I have to say about Athlon's observation is that obviously
I don't get butthurt by this prediction. In fact, I like that we're not predicted to win the ACCC. We (almost) always do better than predicted.
Besides, Bud has had CP "I want to get punched in the face" J for years. I worry more about winning the "other" games on our schedule. We could beat GiT and still lose the ACCC...cause I don't see them losing more that 2 conference games this year.
Maybe my Orange and Maroon goggles are on too tight, but I don't understand how everyone thinks GT is a lock to win the Coastal. I know their QB is a system stud, and I know the man/myth/legend CPJ can call plays like no other. Still, its the same team that we had beat, and gifted victory in the heart of our downward spiral. Their schedule is (unfairly) monstrous and we get extra time to prepare. Seriously, what am I missing? I am more worried about UNC and Pitt than I am GiT. /end rant.
My opinion about this prediction
In 2010, VT was hellbent on exacting revenge on git, for that heart-breaker my last football season as an undergrad. I expect something similar this year.
I predict that hoodie CFB's wearing to finish first in EVERYTHING.
That's a sweet piece.
Really, though...
I don't get bent out of shape over predictions. The only thing the media has to predicate predictions on is the past season. GT is keeping most of it's important pieces and they dusted a good Ole Miss team in a major bowl. The Hokies beat a mediocre Cincinnati team in a 3 days after Christmas bowl after Deon Clarke KO'd their QB. As far as pre-season predictions go, GT first in the Coastal is a no brainer.
However, us Smarty McSmartisons over here at TKP know that VT gift wrapped the game last year, and the stockpile of solid D-tackles, along with the speed on the edge is the perfect recipe to stop CPJ's Option Whatever offense he's running.
Congrats, GT. You won the prediction bowl. Your prize is nothing, See you in Atlanta, motherfuckers.
This whole thing, but especially that hoodie.
Leonard you are a saint!
Why do they think that a new A.D. makes Beamer's seat any hotter/cooler? I think Beamer would step down before Whit had to let him go if the team underperforms a few more years. Whit knows enough of the history to know that Beamer has done for this program.
I've never crunched the numbers, but I'll bet most pre-season prognostications - in virtually every sport - correlate more closely to the outcomes of the previous season than for the eventual outcomes of the actual season they are predicting...
Since I Bought Phil Steele's 2014 book I might as well get some use from it
Phil Steele's 2014 Post Sesason Expectations
1 Florida State
2 Alabama
3 Ohio St
4 OKLAHOMA
5 UCLA
6 OREGON
7 Georgia
8 Baylor
9 Auburn
10 South Carolina
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 Final Poll
1 Ohio State
2 Oregon
3 TCU
4 Alabama
5 Florida State
6 Michigan State (Expected Finish #11)
7 Baylor
8 Georgia Tech
9 Georgia
10 UCLA
Under preformed
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Auburn
Over Preformed
Mich State
But since we have the internet there is a page for that
source for more info on accuarcy http://football.stassen.com/
Seeing a lot of people in here saying they outright hate GT more than anyone. Makes me realize just how long is been since the last WVU game. I dislike GT, Miami, and LOLUVA. I hate WVU with a passion because fuck all of their asshole fans and the violence that comes with them.
Still pissed they are on our future schedule. That is one program I want nothing to do with ever again. I'd rather play at ECU 12 times in a single season than play one home game against WVU.
This x1000. I think every VT fan who started rooting for the Hokies after 2007 or so should be required to watch the 2004 WVU game and 2003 Miami game. Those games were rivalry and hatred, Beamerball, and Lane Stadium at their best.
I am so glad I started at VT when I did. Those games were my freshman and sophomore years. The two craziest games in Lane that I can remember. Clemson '06, BC '07, Miami '11 come close, but nothing is quite like those early 2000s...
WVU and Miami still rank as my most hated rivals.
There's a difference between hating the team and outright hate.
I hate GT because I hate PJ Chinballs and his chop blocking way of winning games. I hate them because they are tough opponents. I hate them because there is only one Tech school worth that title and that's Virginia Tech. None of that means I don't want to play them. I do. I Bud to shut that system down. If we didn't play them because they weren't in our conference I am fine with that, but they are so it's time to rumble.
I get the hate for WVU. I've endured morganhole twice. But my feelings are the same. I want to beat them because I take sadistic pleasure in seeing their ignorant fan base cry and burn their shit down regardless of wins or losses.