With Frank's final games, the coaching search, the hire, etc. I haven't even thought about where we would end up.
Did a little looking today and see a few projections of the Belk Bowl in Charlotte vs. Mississippi State, Dec. 30. Could be fantastic, would definitely see lots of maroon and orange in the stands. I've also seen Belk bowl vs. LSU. No matter who the opponent, I would love to see Beamer's last game close to home, may even try to get there myself
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I'll be there if it's in Charlotte.
Ditto! Four tickets reserved.
How do you reserve tickets (if it isn't too late)? I'm less than an hour from Charlotte so the Belk Bowl would be hella convenient.
Several ways, Jeep is a Hokie Club member so they allow us to reserve. But season ticket holders can and the Belk bowl itself will sell them through their website.
What Fireman said. They sent out a reservation application since I'm a Hokie Club member / season ticket holder.
The deadline for pre-registration was November 19th.
I don't think getting tickets will be a problem, though. In prior years I've purchased after the bowl was announced, directly from the school.
FWIW, very few bowls come remotely close to selling out and if it's Charlotte, it's a big stadium to fill. Plus the schools generally get the worst seats (many fans know this) and generally have return tickets.
You won't have any problem getting tickets unless it's the Military Bowl vs Navy...(or maybe Belk vs Tenn, but that isn't likely to happen).
I wouldn't be too surprised if the Vault gets filled pretty well considering the Beamer and vicinity situation if we're picked. Of course it would also depend on who else would be sharing the stadium with us, but I could see it being a bit more popular than most bowls from a ticket sales perspective.
I'll bet there are still thousands of empty seats if it's in Charlotte and even if it's Miss St or Arkansas.
Empty seats does not equal tickets not sold.
There will be thousands of tickets available on the primary and secondary markets.
This concern gets voiced every year without fail and despite the usual worries to the contrary, the actual answer is almost always the same.
Bowl game ticket allotment has changed ALOT in the last three years. First schools are not required to sell as many tickets and then eat the cost. Second tickets sold by the schools are getting better.
It's changed, but not that much. The best seats are still found on the secondary market and usually for a decent price.
You say you're less than an hour from Charlotte, yet your use of "hella" suggests Oakland, California.
Me,too!
I'll likely also make the trip if we're going to the Belk
You should look at other possible locations and matchups. I have heard the Belk Bowl wants Tennessee and likely won't take us if they get them. Nashville for the Music City Bowl or the Jacksonville for the Tax Slayer Bowl are also possibilities I have seen.
Where have you heard this? I only ask because it makes zero sense (to me) to not take VT if they could select Tennessee.
The only people that might be upset would be BMS. The bowl game would sell out in minutes, and I doubt the Belk Bowl has ever done that.
The ACC "places" teams, so they may not want to duplicate an early season 2016 matchup.
I don't think Tennessee gets to the Belk, one of the Florida bowls (Citrus or Outback) make more sense for them.
I'm calling VT vs. UGA in Charlotte.
It's a joint effort, the bowls AND the ACC meet to place the teams, bowl reps still have a voice.
The bowls have a say too - it is a joint effort. Money is the main factor in all of it and I don't think that the ACC is worried about a matchup for next season.
Edit: of course a fireman beats me to a post.
This. Living in TN, I can tell you the chatter here among the fans is a "better" bowl than the Belk for UT. As an 8-4 team, I have to agree, they'll likely be in the Outback or Citrus (whatever that's called now).
Yeah, UT's stock is way up right now. The guys in Bristol must love that.
Could be a top 10 team we face down there next season.
When this Battle was first announced, I recall most of us (me too) felt VT would also be peaking for this game in 2016. Unfortunately, we saw how 2015 transpired.
I'm still optimistic Fuente can get much more out of this offensive talent. But, asking him to do it in time for this game is a tall order.
Either way, I'll be in Bristol enjoying every bit of it.
I certainly thought 2016 was going to be the year, and I think on offense the talent we have supports that. But I was miffed when we picked up Brewer, not because he was a bad pickup, but because it means that 2016 will have tons of skill and experience on offense but a first year signal caller. I thought this was going to be the third year starting for Ford/Durkin/Motley, but instead we're going to end up with a new starter.
I still think the talent across the offense is some of the best we've seen in a while, and think we should improve next year, but oh what could have been if we had an experienced QB this year.
It's college football. As often as not, teams are going to be having a new QB.
The Citrus Bowl is now the Capitol One Bowl
Last year (2014) was actually the last year Capital One sponsored the bowl. Buffalo Wild Wings picked it up and it went back to the Citrus Bowl.
Link: http://espn.go.com/ncf/story/_/id/11568476/capital-one-bowl-renamed-buff...
You can't spell Citrus without UT
(Drum-shot!)
But you can spell Capitol One without it
I read it on twitter a week or so ago. It'll be impossible to find now. It makes sense that they don't want a match-up that duplicates one that has already been selling tickets in the future. Just a thought.
I know that some analysts have us in the Belk Bowl, but isn't that technically a tier one for ACC now? I just do not see us at 6-6 making it over an 8-4 Pitt and Miami. Personally, I think it would be cool for us to go back to the Independence since that is where it all began. If we go to Charlotte, I will definitely go.
If Clemson makes playoffs and UNC gets NY6 bowl Tech is in Belk no question.
Andy wrote this today in the Roanoke Times in regards to us jumping into a Tier 1 Bowl
I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if we were selected ahead of NC State to get into the Belk Bowl. They are 1 win better and obviously would have just as many fans there as VT would. Campusinsiders.com has NC State going to the Belk Bowl, but ESPN thinks they'll either be Independence or Military Bowl.
Was surprised that NC State averages attendance numbers less than 1000 people/game below ours. Pretty solid fanbase there!
Wins have nothing to do with it, it's about selling bowl tickets and TV viewership.
Sadly you're right there. Can you imagine if you were one of the 3 teams that were 7-5 and ended up in a lesser bowl though? I'd be livid. Of course it happens every year so why can't VT benefit for once...
Usually though fans have no one to blame but themselves. If a team is known to travel well, then they usually get the better bowls and they move up in the pecking order. I think that aided in us going to the Sugar Bowl a few years ago and possibly the Champs Sports Bowl (back when there was a bowl selection order).
So then we only have our own awesomeness to thank for if we get into the Belk Bowl? I like it!
The Hokies have been bumped-up numerous time over the years into better bowls based on our traveling record. All I want is to go to a bowl and play a beatable opponent. I do not think we would fair well against LSU or OLd Miss.
Andy Bitter explained how we could end up in a Tier 1 bowl.
Short version: There are 4 Tier 1 bowls. First, the ACC is getting one or two teams in the CFP/NY6. Then, the Russell Athletic Bowl. Basically, that covers Clemson, UNC, and FSU. There are only two other 8-4 teams (Pitt and Miami). That still leaves a Tier 1 slot open, unless ND doesn't make NY6. Our competition are the 7-5 teams (Duke, Louisville, NC State), and I think we can jump them all.
We travel well plus this being Frank's last bowl game, we should travel really well. It's all about the ticket sales so I wouldn't be surprised if we jumped some teams with better records.
As far as jumping teams, we have to be within a game of the team to jump it. We cannot jump a team with 2 more wins than us. Only Louisville, NCState, and Duke are options to jump; Miami and Pitt (& F$U) are out.
Here is what you need to see this weekend to make this happen. Clemson win will make it 90 percent likely, to guarantee it, USCw win, UF win, Iowa win.
Don't see how USCw, UF, and Iowa are relevant (and UF's offense is not going to beat Bama). We need Clemson in the playoffs and either ND or UNC in NY6. If two out of those three (Clemson, ND, and UNC) are in the ACC bowl pool, we cannot be taken by a tier one.
Just been seeing some reports about if Stanford wins the PAC they deserve a spot over MSU if they win. Plus talk about ND not deserving a NY6 bowl.
Yeah, it's hard to predict what a chaos scenario might do. All told, I hope Clemson and Bama win to make those two obvious. Oklahoma is in. Then it's just the fourth spot. Doubt that Stanford is going to jump all 3 B1G teams, given that they'd all have 1 loss compared to Stanford's 2 (yes, that's superficial in a sense, but would cause quite a commotion if it happened). Net effect is probably the PAC-12 is out of the CFP this year. If everything holds firm as it is, ND should get a NY6 based on name alone.
This is Notre Dame we're talking about.
Selfishly, I'm kind of hoping for not the Belk Bowl, because I'm not off that day while I'm off for most of the other ACC bowl days.
But on the other hand, while the Military Bowl would be perfect for my schedule, I don't want to go up against Navy this year.
Why? VT prepares for GT every year and would have a few weeks more to prepare for Navy.
Navy is a helluva lot better at the option that GT this year.
^ What he said.
It would also be a home game for them.
There would be no shortage of VT fans there.
Not really. Who did Navy play with a D? Notre Dame? They scored 24 vs ND. GT scored 22. And they both played Tulane. Navy scored 31; GT scored 65.
Georgia Tech played a brutal schedule and was in almost every game.
Frank's first win was against Navy. Would be kind of cool to see that be his last one too.
You want to watch ANOTHER game with the triple option.....snooze.....
Call me nostalgic, but I kinda want to see us in the Independence Bowl against Indiana. Frank's last bowl being the same as his first.
Edit: I know the SEC has ties and enough eligible teams to fill their slots, but I still want to see it. Otherwise I'm OK with Belk or Military Bowls
Do you want fans to show up?
We could play Indiana in the bowl game in Detroit.
It's really sad those are two cities the ACC plays bowl games in.
Is there ANY chance we could play Memphis in a bowl game?
Awwwk-ward....
Military Bowl is ACC/ND vs. American, so that could happen.
I'm pretty sure Navy is already locked into that bowl.
From the Military Bowl site:
We beat one flex option offense already this year. We can do it again
Navy would wax our ass this year. As much as I love the Military Bowl, we need a win badly. Did we even beat a team above .500 this year?
There's a DADT joke in here somewhere...
NC State...
I think Navy has the rights to the Military Bowl this year
Same bowl two years in a row though?
Sold out and a big success last year. And Beamer close to a big alumni base for his last game.
Could be worse.
With VT's proximity and Beamer's final game, this is about the only time I think the bowl and the school would both not mind repeating.
And to think, not too long ago some Hokies were complaining of going to those Orange and Peach Bowls
Serious question, a few weeks ago we were projected for possibly the Independence Bowl in Shreveport... is that pretty much off the table now??
Depends entirely on the scenarios described above. Gotta think Belk takes us in a heartbeat if we're in the tier one pool. Otherwise, yeah, we're probably going to Shreveport.
If it's the Belk Bowl, there is very little that could stop me from going.
Zombies? Bad Chipotle? Charlotte McKinney?
those are four things that could stop him, yes.
There was more than one zombie.
I'm pretty sure he meant that Charlotte McKinney has two things that add to the total...
glad somebody got it
After a quick Google search, I got it now!
via GIPHY
not to ruin everyone's fun, but please link NSFW images and label them as such
For example:
NSFW: "oh so that's who Charlotte McKinney is..."
These reasons are why I avoid speaking in absolutes.
Was hoping someone would catch that set up.
Which is of course an absolutist statement
Belk Bowl would be ideal
Jerry Palm, Mark Schlabach, & Brett McMurphy all have the Belk Bowl taking VT.
A poster above mentioned Tennessee - all of three of them also have UT in the Outback Bowl.
As long as Auburn doesn't go to the Belk Bowl, I'd love to see VT vs. SEC in the Belk Bowl. Would be a fun destination.
I live in Charlotte, party at my house!
I'm holding you this.
I have a special tent in the backyard with your name on it!
Do you have a pond and a pool?
We have a pond in the back. We have a pool and a pond... Pond'd be good for you.
What about the famous bowl?
Never heard of it...
/rimshot
I will selfishly hope for the Military Bowl (or whatever it is called now) since Annapolis is 45 minutes away...
ditto
Yeah I couldn't remember if the Military Bowl was the one in Annapolis or the one in San Diego (Poinsettia?), but I'd rather see us in the DC area. Makes it a trip I could take.
I've been to Charlotte and Annapoils for a bowl game. Charlotte wasn't bad, but Annapolis was a better experience.
Pro-tip if we go to Charlotte. Hit up Mert's Heart and Soul downtown near the Epicenter. You'll probably be down there at some point anyways and it's some great southern soul food. The MV's always stayed near there for ACC Championships and I made sure to hit up Mert's whenever I possibly could.
Except for the woeful lack of staffing. It took FOREVER to even get in the gate because they had high schoolers manning them (and not all the gates were even open), and forget about the concession stands...
Yep, that was about the only negative IMO. It helped when they eventually steered folks to the gates on the other side of the stadium from the parking and festivities.
Yeah me too, just moved to Southern MD a couple months ago actually. I just don't want to have the risk of losing to a school like Navy (stupid triple option...) in Beamer's last game.
St. Mary's County?
Yup, just got stationed at Pax River. It looked like there isn't really an active VT Alumni Assoc here? I really only just got settled so didn't actively look except for facebook. Maybe next season I can hop on the facebook page and push to meet at Buffalo Wild Wings or something...
Might be a few stragglers in Annapolis, but B'more is biggest really active one in MD.
DC is probably closer to you though.
I live in Christiansburg now. Grew up as a Navy Brat, Dad was stationed there off and on for 8 years. We lived in Greenview Knolls and then on the base. I worked at NESEA across the county for a couple summers while at VT. That was a 30+ years ago. Loved the crabbing, eating crabs at Evans, and the fishing.
Even surfed the bay in my back yard on the base a couple times.
Welcome to the County! I grew up there. It has changed a ton since I left there, but my family still lives there.
Sounds like if we make it to the Military Bowl I can stay a few days longer in MD for Christmas and make a return trip to Annapolis. OR head back to my new home city of Charlotte for the Belk Bowl... the Holiday's are shaping up niiiiiiicely.
Sweet, looks like I "Kiss of Deathed us" with this post, feel free to let me have it.
I'm not overly worried about a defense Bud Foster has essentially game planned for about 8 or 9 times (pretty successfully) and the players practiced for just a few weeks ago (pretty successfully).
I'd be more worried about better versions of UVa like Miss St or Arkansas.
Hoping for the Military Bowl because I would be getting my wisdom teeth cut out the same day of the Belk Bowl... Whoops
When will the bowl matchups be announced?
CFP will select on Sunday, and everything else will follow that. Most if not all matchups will be set on Sunday.
Navy has already received and accepted the Military bowl bid - as expected.
I want Clemson to lose to UNC to shut up the Clemson fans I know (and am surrounded by). But now that makes it less likely we get the Belk Bowl soooo... IDK
I want Clemson to win it all. There's no downside for us when two ACC teams win the national championship in three years.
There's a downside because their fans are the worst (I went to Clemson and I live in upstate SC) and have absolutely no respect for VT.
Respect is earned. They've wiped the floor with us the last few times we've been on the field, so they've got bragging rights, like we have over the Hoos. But soon we'll be going En Fuente on them. They'll see.
I lived in the upstate through middle school and high school, and most of my friends went to Clemson (brother included). Trust me when I say they never respected us, even when we were beating them into the ground in 2006 and 2007.
In my experience, Clemson has one of the worst band-wagoning fanbases in all of college football. Never have I seen a stadium so ready to boo its own team. I guarantee you they would have booed their team had the USC game been at home.
I hope we knock them into tomorrow the next time we play, and give them a 1999 Syracuse kind of beating.
Lane has been pretty close to booing our own team these past couple of years. There's been a bit of memory loss thanks to Beamer retiring with class. I was genuinely ashamed of how close that pot got to boiling over during some of the uglier losses like that Miami game that never happened on a Thursday night.
To clarify: the boos were for Loeffler.
Some, but not all. I recall a few booing segments on dropped balls and terrible defensive coverage.
To clarify, booing your own team/coaches/players is a bad idea.
This, this, a million times this. That's the point I'm making. They never respected us, it's not a recent thing, they act like they've been a blue blood program forever. (They have one ACC championship since I was born in 1992) They are absurdly delusional and I promise, if you spent any time around their fans, you couldn't help but root against them.
They may well have one this year.
Ehhhh, as someone who grew up in the upstate their entire life until going to VT (and also has a sibling who went to Clemson) and now lives back in Greenville I can say that this is a massive exaggeration. I think any #1 in the country is going to garner a lot of bandwagon fans. In fact I full well expect to see this is Blacksburg here in a few years (see what I did there). As far as their fans almost all of the Clemson alum have to upmost respect for Beamer and our program and have been telling me constantly that they hope Fuente can have us back competing with them in Charlotte. To be honest after being around Clemson a ton growing up (including going to a ton of games with friends) when I took my first official visit to BBurg in high school the very first thing I noticed was just how similar the schools and fanbases were. Now I'm far from a Clemson fan overall but all of these assertions are just plain unfair.
Now if you want to talk about hatable programs you have to talk about USCe. In an effort to be as unbiased as possible I have to say that for a million reasons that I don't feel like elaborating here that they are easily one of the most detestable programs/fanbases in all of college football.
PS: The booing assertion makes no sense to me. In fact I was also surprised at how supportive and excited their fanbase stayed even when Tommy Bowden was screwing the pooch every year.
We do play Clemson in Lane in 2017... oh wait, you mean...?
Well I also grew up in the upstate, I went to Clemson, and I now work in Greenville. The students and people closer to my age are insufferable and delusional. They most certainly do not respect VT. There are obviously some that do, but this is absurd.
They do boo their own team, I go to most home games because I live so close by and my stepdad has tickets/tailgates every week. They booed Cole Stoudt every time he came out for a series by halfway through the season last year. Additionally, they began booing injuries by the other team, every single time once Chad Morris got there, because every time someone got injured playing tackle football "they were just trying to slow down our offense" this eventually turned into booing even injuries by the opposing offenses which made no sense.
That said, USCe fans are also terrible. I can agree with that.
And sadly, their memories aren't long enough to remember the beat-downs we gave them from 1998-2007 (5 straight victories).
Both ND and FSU ranked ahead of UNC (10) in latest playoff rankings. ACC needs Clemson to win.
ND & FSU are irrelevant. Both will have
onetwo less wins than UNC (if UNC wins) and a loss to Clemson. UNC will leapfrog them easily if they win.But getting into the top 4 might still be difficult.
I'm not so sure about that. ND is also ranked higher than UNC. I don't think UNC jumps them. If Clemson loses they will drop and everyone behind them will move up a spot. UNC might move up 2 or 3 spots but still fall way short of playoff contention. If the favorites all win this weekend the playoff will be Bama, Clemson, MSU, OU. The only way ND gets in is if Clemson loses. Unfortunately, that's the most likely outcome, IMO. The ACC needs Clemson to win. Otherwise the conference will miss out on a chance to have a Champion and the money that goes with it.
Perception is everything and for the last several years the ACC has been the laughingstock of CFB. A 1-loss ACC champ is not likely to jump a 1-loss ND team that is playing well late in the season.
ND has 2 losses.
oh. weird for some reason I had it in my mind they beat stanford...welp, in that case yeah they out.
I still think ACC needs Clemson to win. If Clemson loses they drop out of playoff picture IMO and I don't know if UNC climbs high enough to get into the conversation. might open the door for a second SEC or B1G team or the Pac12 Champ.
I agree, Clemson is the ACC chance to both earn some extra needed money and some greatly needed prestige. Having 2 of the 3 playoff national champions from one league has to give the ACC a boost.
I think if UNC wins and Stanford loses, they have a good shot of getting in. They'd have to jump OSU that would have 1 less win than UNC and their best win is Michigan (albeit a blowout on the road) vs Clemson for UNC. But UNC has a bad loss and...it is the OSU, defending champs and TV ratings driver.
UNC isn't going to jump OSU.
I think if UNC wins and Stanford loses, they have a good shot of getting in. They'd have to jump OSU that would have 1 less win than UNC and their best win is Michigan (albeit a blowout on the road) vs Clemson for UNC. But UNC has a bad loss and...it is the OSU, defending champs and TV ratings driver.
I don't see how two SEC teams could possibly get into the CFP, even with a complete meltdown of the top 4 this weekend. The only two teams currently with fewer than 3 losses are Florida and Alabama. Either they both will have two losses, or Alabama will have 1 while Florida has 3.
And with the way Florida has been playing like garbage since they clinched their division, they barely have a chance of getting in the top 4 with a win.
yeah...but...SEC
without a doubt the most premier conference in all of sports. No other conference has a single team that could survive the gauntlet of the SEC. The SEC is all powerful and nobody outside of the SEC truly plays real football. The SEC deserves to have 4 teams in the CFP and it's ridiculous that they can only get 1 or 2 in. They're being robbed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!1!!
if you didn't notice that this post was dripping in sarcasm I'm not sure what to tell you.
That being said, on a more serious note I think perception means everything. The SEC does have a lot of money and fan support (ESPN) and the perception is that the league is head and shoulders better than everyone. I still think OSU would get in before a 3-loss SEC team but in the extremely unlikely event that Florida manages to beat Bama I think both teams get in.
I think that's due more to Bama bias than SEC bias. The committee loves them some Bama.
As Danny Kanell said, they seem to grade Alabama differently than everyone else.
Then how come every coach who coaches in the SEC would take any team in any other conference to the championship game in said conference most of the time? Saban and Bama are not the only things the general public (ESPN) drool over in the SEC. It seems like any time a team in the SEC gets docked for their W-L record (Georgia) the common response is "well, but that's in the SEC." It's not the Bama Bias. It's the SEC bias.
Could anyone explain all the respect Bama is getting? Their schedule now that's it's been played out looks like garbage. Their loss and wins are not that great anymore.
They have Alabama written on their jerseys. That's all the committee cares about.
You are kidding right? Look at their schedule and compare it to anybody else....and the reason it doesn't look as good by seasons end is because all those guys have to play each other. I would ask the same question of Ohio State. They play nobody except us (I am biased) until their last 2 games where they went 1 and 1.
Did you really just use the circular logic answer from the SEC handbook?
A quick search of a few different metrics ranks Alabama's strength of schedule at 1, 2, 5, 5, and 17. They haven't played scrubs. For me, I put stock in Sagarin's rankings, which has Alabama at 5 in terms of SOS.
I'm not saying they shouldn't be ranked but 2nd? Who is their marquee win?
5 wins over top-25 teams. 11-1 against a consensus top-5 strength of schedule. I don't care much for style points, marquee wins, or "Heisman moments," etc. They have a consistent, accumulated success. They're deserving.
Current top 25 or when they played? I don't take stock in beating a team over ranked that falls apart later in the season. Just because they you are ranked in the top ten to start a season doesn't mean you deserve to be there.
Granted, that was when they played. But again, look at the SOS ranks, by several different metrics. I defer to metrics rather than eye test. When compared against everyone else, the numbers say Bama ran through a gauntlet that most teams did not. And they won 11 of 12 times. Compare that with the remainder of the top 4: Clemson (47 SOS), Oklahoma (20), and Iowa (62) and tell me Alabama doesn't belong. Is it because they didn't have some epic victory this year?
Overall opponent W-L for Bama and how they fared (let's ignore rankings):
Wisconsin 9-3 (W)
Middle Tenn St 7-5 (W)
Ole Miss 9-3 (L)
UL-Monroe 1-11 (W)
Georgia 9-3 (W)
Arkansas 7-5 (W)
Texas A&M 8-4 (W)
Tennessee 8-4 (W)
LSU 8-3 (W)
Miss St 8-4 (W)
Charleston So. 9-2 (W)
Auburn 6-6 (W)
So let's ignore G5 and FCS, and every P5 opponent is .500 or better at the end of the season, all bowl teams. So these aren't teams that "fell apart." Sure, some of the preseason luster wore off (Auburn in the preseason top 5, ha!) but I really don't see the argument here, honestly.
I think Bama is the 4th best team, I think their loss is really bad, they have shown MAJOR weaknesses in the passing game and haven't shown they can keep up with a high speed high scoring offense.
which is why Saban wants to abolish up-tempo offense right? lol
All of this explains why we have a playoff system.
If they're not deserving, they'll be exposed.
Where would you rank them last year? Just curious, I thought 1 was way too high, with Oregon and an undefeated defending champ FSU out there.
You think Bama's loss to 9-win Ole Miss (who lost to the SEC East champ, the best AAC team, and a fluke play in 2OT to ark), is worse than:
OSU has the 'least-bad' loss of any 1-loss team, but literally half of their win's came over sub-.500 teams.
I think at this point you can argue Clemson & Iowa should be ranked ahead of them, but I don't know how you put Oklahoma above them. I'm not sure how you call their loss 'bad'.
People look at Bama with such jealousy/hatred blinders that they don't look at the the situation rationally (that you've just shown). Leg for you.
1st Memphis isn't the best AAC team, I also didn't have OK over Bama, I think OK's loss should have them at 8/9 at best.
Who IS your top 4 then?
You don't like Bammer. OK is #8/9. Who is worthy? You HAVE to pick 4...as do the committee.
As of today prior to comference championships, because that's what rankings should be what teams have done not what they will do.
1) Clemson
2) Iowa
State3) MSU
4) Bama
I'm guessing you mean Iowa, not Iowa St, who is currently 3-9.
Iowa State is a real get after you team though.
Well, after this weekend, you'll be forced to choose from Iowa (not Iowa State lol) or MSU. So who's your fifth best team?
well if OU is 8/9...ND?
Fifth is a tie between UNC and anOSU.
Oklahoma:
UNC:
At the moment, OU has significantly better wins and an equal/slightly less-worse loss than UNC. Unless you think ACC football is significantly superior to the B12 football (I do not), there is no way you can possibly rank UNC above OU, much less 4-5 spots ahead of them.
Rank at time of game means jack shit. Rankings in the first 5 weeks are guess work. I'm not impressed with the Big 12, really bad OOC schedule so we don't know how that conference really is we know that Texas beat OU like a rented mule and UNC had USCe and Fedora did Fedora things.
That's why I included wins over current top 25 and wins over 10-win teams.
UNC's OOC:
OU's OOC:
I understand what you're saying, TCU, Baylor, and OKSt haven't played any good OOC teams, so how do we know how good these teams actually are? That being said, what ACC team has UNC beat with a marque win? I just think you're giving UNC far too much credit. If they beat Clemson this week - it's a different story.
I agree completely.
that being said if UNC beats Clemson I don't think the ACC gets a team in the dance. Clemson will drop and UNC won't climb high enough from where they're currently ranked to get in. Unless Florida wins. That would really jack a lot of stuff up. Would be fun to watch though!
They both have the same scoring defense: 20.8 points a game. One is against 2 FCS opponents and a weaker schedule. One is in a conference that has 5 of the top 12 scoring offenses in the country this year.
Oklahoma this year reminds me a lot of Oregon in years past. And them playing at the top of their game is way better than UNC's best this year.
So Alabama beat everyone except Ole Miss.
Memphis beat Ole Miss.
Memphis coach comes to Tech.
So if Bama makes playoff and wins the championship, does this mean Tech will own two consecutive transitive national championships.
Just wait until they see how well we show up to our beloved head coach's last game if they select us
Laaser mentioned this and the Belk Bowl as possibilities this morning.
Belk Bowl has been VERY active on Twitter engaging with Hokie fans. They seem to allude to the fact that they're going to take us. Now the outcomes of the games this weekend just have to go as planned...
I think the playoffs are going to be a mess this year. Imagine if UNC beats Clemson (likely) and USC beats Stanford (not improbable). That's going to really jack a lot of stuff up for the committee. I thought the Pac12 was going to be on the outside looking in but Clemson losing to UNC would give Stanford a shot if they win their league. If an 8-4 USC team wins, though, that's going to open the door for either two teams from the same conference, 2-loss ND, or a G5 champ (Houston?) to get a shot at the playoffs. (by the way, I listed those in order of likelihood IMO)
Picture this, Iowa wins, UF wins, UNC wins and USCw wins. How does the committee handle that? Besides Iowa who is a guarantee to get in?
Iowa won't get past Michigan State
Sparty On!
That's what lots of other teams in the BIG thought this year. MSU needed miracles to win games this year.
lol...UF beating Bama doesn't phase you but NO WAY IOWA GETS PAST MICHIGAN STATE!!!!
I had the same thought haha.
it would be awesome! I would love it so much
If every one of these scenarios happen, UNC has a very high chance of getting in. They are one play away from being undefeated right now, and have won nearly every game convincingly. If the committee looks past any media bias, I think UNC would make a great case.
UNC is 9-1 from a playoff committee point of view. Multiple teams have more wins than them and the same # of losses.
(FCS opponents/wins don't count.)
But like I said, if they beat the #1 team in the country and enter the selection with a 12-1 record, how can you not consider that?
Oklahoma?
Yep
How is it likely that UNC beats Clemson? They've skated through an easy/moderate schedule. Clemson is the #1 team in the country. If our defense can shut UNC down, so can Clemson's.
Yea, I don't see that happening.
I doubt their defense does better than ours against UNC barring a complete team-wide UNC meltdown. Clemson's defense is a paper tiger. Numbers look good against horrible, horrible offesnes with no identity. They looked straight up BAD against Syracuse (almost not talent, played them with a 5th string QB) and South Carolina who is also garbage. If UNC doesn't meltdown on the big stage, there is no reason to think they won't score on Clemson, who also got into a shootout with NC State, who we held to 13(?).
I don't have that much faith in Clemson's defense. UNC is going to get lots of points. I think Chizik has a good shot to hold Clemson's O just enough that UNC's offense can get the win in a close game. I would not be surprised at all to see this game decided by 3 points either way.
Joe Giglio is pretty much always on top of this, and he thinks VT is a lock to the Belk Bowl.
The @HokiesFB account just tweeted out the following image:
Note that it includes an image of the Belk Bowl logo. We've never been to that bowl. Tipping their hand?
It also has the Rose Bowl...
Several on there actually that we haven't been to. Re-names, maybe? Not sure, because I tweeted back to ask if they were tipping their hand, and got a "like" for whatever that's worth.
Not saying I agree, but haven't there been a few posts lately about how the social media accounts for VT football have been handled lately? Grain of salt...
I take everything on social media with a grain of salt. They may have botched the BeamerBall -> HokiesFB transition, but when any official VT account starts tweeting about the Belk Bowl (and this is not the only instance), it's worth taking note. Of course, this is still premature because we don't know how Saturday will shake out, but if I had to guess based on all the smoke I've seen, there is probably a handshake agreement between the Belk Bowl reps and VT that we'll go there if they can take us.
...and the pintstripe bowl.
Looks like it includes a few bowls we've never been to though.
By my count, there are 17 bowls on there, only 8 we've been to. (To be fair I don't track the name changes well, so we may have been to some in that lineage)
(the 8 being Sugar, Orange, Peach, Independence, Sun, Military, Russell Athletic, and Music City)
TaxSlayer Bowl used to be the Gator Bowl, so that's 9.
Wouldn't this just be all the bowls that we could be eligible to play in (obviously with the appropriate record)?
No, we have no connection to the Rose. Clearly this is just a ham-handed graphic that wasn't well composed, but I thought it was worth posting because of several tweets involving the Belk from VT social media accounts. My initial impression was probably a bit overblown, but it's part of a larger collection of comments/mentions that seem to indicate to me that something is going on.
I agree about the reception VT has been getting from the Belk people so far. I think they'd like to take us if at all possible. Go Clemson.
Yep. Pulling hard for Clemson because it helps us the most. Otherwise, it's going to take a lot of interesting dominoes to get us to Belk.
If we get the Belk, I know the Hokies will show up in full force. I think it'd be interesting to play the Vols even though we've got the big game in Bristol next year. It'd be fitting for Frank IMO.
i doubt if they'll try to take the Vols in Belk Bowl against VT. That would surprise me
Have I mentioned how much I hate Tennessee today? I dont think I'm mentally prepared for that match-up just yet. I don't want to stop saying "37-14" to every UT fan in Bristol that trash talks Tech. I honestly think I'll have a nervous breakdown in September. *sigh* We have to have a heck of a Tennessee hate week.
But I think we'll end up playing Mississippi State. Definitely would be a sea of maroon.
I'm sure you get the classic UT fan blame Lane Kiffin defense to those 37-14 comments don't you?
Sure do! Along with the usual "chokies", "Never won a national championship", "Beamer only retired because he was afraid to play Tennessee in Bristol", "You don't even play anyone like we do in the SEC", "We're technically undefeated because if we could change one play per game we would've won", "Our stadium is bigger than yours", "What even is a Hokie?", "You don't have the history we have", "PEYTON MANNING", "1998 FOREVERZ" "We're back, Baby!" "Power-T is way better than Enter Sandman" and that's just to name a few.
Those of you who don't live in SWVA should be grateful that you don't have to deal with this on a daily basis. Our Alumni Hall store in Bristol is divided up with VT and UT gear and you can just feel the tension when you walk in the door, it's unreal. Like I said, give me UT hate month starting in August. I am ready.
I usually try to laugh it off but most of the time I just end up frustrated with their arbitrary superiority complex that some/most UT fans possess.
Belk Bowl is BAE..
This bowl game could be another jump-start to our recruiting for 2017 class. Beat an SEC team and then in week 2 head up to Bristol and beat Tennessee... jump into top 25 and never look back!
I would also like to change my name to --> HokieHuntin by the Jugs because there is no more wood.
Newly single huh?
newly single you ask? I think I know why. I didn't know Lorena was a Hokie fan.
These kids and their slang. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=choppin
all of those definitions are wildly different from one-another.
That's the point of Urban dictionary. Sheesh, way to kill my attempt at a joke after she said "because there is no more wood."
just returning the favor. you killed my joke. killed it to death you did.
haha not single.. just no point since moorehead's gone and we seem to have a new # for recruiting news!
Not looking good. But Nashville got ND last year (pretty much the first pick in tier 1) so I am thinking they will be forced to have the last "pick" and take Pitt.
It's not supposed to be picks anymore, it's supposed to be a tier process acting all together, both the bowl games and the ACC working together.
Which makes it an even better chance for Nashville to get the final say. Also, that's why I used the "" - not a pecking order but Nashville got a damn good ND team (in regards to other choices and fan travel) and shouldn't be allowed to get a team over the Belk if it comes down to it.
Not sure Duke has the traveling fan base to make a trip to Pinstripe profitable for them. Pitt to Pinstripe makes better geographical sense, which means Belk could take VT over Duke.
I am in 100% agreement with this. Not sure why anyone thinks Duke to the Pinstripe is a lock.
Well, she did say "if," so it's certainly not a lock, but I just wonder why that's even a plausible scenario. Sure, anything is possible, but Duke fans are not going to travel to NY for a bowl game. I just don't see it.
This is what I was referring to.
And Duke's 24/7 site is reporting Duke to the Pinstripe is done. But they also claim this, so it could be a joke.
Not sure which is worse, the grammar in the sentence above or the actual statement.
Fair enough. I certainly agree, this would be odd.
I'm still trying to find the verb.
In regards to Adam Rowe and Duke's 24/7 reports:
I'm assuming he's talking Indiana based on his twitter page pic.
Correct - should have clarified that.
Looks like Nashville is getting the last "choice" as it is coming down to Pitt/UL there. If true - then it would seem as if Belk has locked up VT.
Bit confused over the process. Does Pitt's record preclude them from being dropped out of the Tier 1 bowls? Is that what all the contention is over? No one wants Pitt? NYC wants Duke. NC State wants Shreveport. Miami to Sun. But no one wants Pitt and if they were to not be selected Belk would not be able to take VT over Pitt because of record? Are these rules written down somewhere or does the ACC and the bowls just have handshake agreements over stuff?
Edit: Just read Bitter's article on it. Still wouldn't mind if someone wanted to clarify as well.
I don't think anyone knows. Seeing conflicting reports everywhere. I usually trust Joe Giglio from N&O and this is what he just tweeted:
Giglio has been quite bullish on VT to the Belk, but now I am starting to get worried.
I'm a little worried, too. I really struggled with buying or not buying tickets early. I let my enthusiasm get the best of me and bought Belk tickets Friday morning, as well as reserving accommodations. Really hoping it pans out.
ACC refs are running the selection process aren't they. Oh man. This is going to be a ride.
Update: Also seems like if Pitt drops to Tier II the military bowl has to take them.
ESPN is reporting it like Pitt cannot drop out of the Tier 1 bowls unless all are 7-5 teams. All of the confusion.
ESPN is reporting that Tech cannot jump Pitt or Miami. But Pitt or Miami can be jumped by any of the 7-5 teams. So the way I read that is that for the Belk bowl to take VT both Pitt and Miami must be taken by other Tier 1 bowls. So if the other bowls dont want Pitt then it would blow everything up? Wonder how they would determine priority. Seems like Ron Cherry doing a coin toss is the only logical explanation for an ACC mess of this scale.
I agree- but Giglio has been claiming for days that there are some muddiness with the rules and that there may be ways around them.
I trust him way more than Andrea Adelson (who I assume the above info is from) and, to me, is just looking at the rules and isn't talking to anyone. I think Teel RT'ed Giglio last year and mentioned him being the ACC bowl expert, so I took notice. But then again, it could just be some Hokie bias right now as he sees VT as having more of a chance than AA.
So far today I have seen three bowls with Tech's name next to it: Belk (YEA!), Military (ok I guess) and Shreveport ( hell NO)
Interesting development:
So reports are Pitt to the Military Bowl.
Could still be NC State to Belk due to Tier 1 rules... Hope it is not or else we are headed to Shreveport.
What rules do you mean? The whole selection process is a ridiculous, muddled mess. We can jump any 7-5 team. We just couldn't jump into Tier 1 over Pitt or Miami. Aren't there still enough spots?
We can jump 7-5 teams. But the 7-5 teams can jump 8-4. If all of the 7-5 teams go to tier 1 bowls, then we can't, and even some 8-4 teams could drop to tier 2.
Ugh. What a damn fiasco.
Right. So Belk had NC State, Pitt, and us to choose from. We were eliminated from the selection because we can't jump an 8-4 team still on the board.
All of this confusion could be avoided if we wernt, you know, so god damn mediocre on the field this year
We're lucky to be going to a bowl at all.
If Pitt is indeed going to Annapolis, this would mean VT to Shreveport.
We are going to Shreveport. I'll eat crow if I am wrong, but damn...
Why on earth would the Military Bowl rather have Pitt than us? We'll fill that place, even if we were in it last year.
The only thing I can bring myself to like about being stuck with Shreveport is that Beamer will finish his part of the bowl streak where he started it.
So there will a few thousand fans total for Frank's last game. Wow.
Why in the world is NC state being rewarded for playing an out of conference schedule that FCS schools would consider weak? I'm not as annoyed that we aren't getting the Belk as much as I am that it's a team we beat, who played arguably the weakest P5 and maybe FBS out of conference schedule...
Agree completely.
If it had been Pitt it would have been no big deal for me. But in reality, the fact that Pitt has such awful fans really hurt us. If Pinstripe/Music/Sun/(or even the Taxslayer) took them we would be in Charlotte. The Pinstripe taking Duke shows how poorly they must view Pitt.
Don't want to take anything from anOSU, but Iowa deserved this more. I'm happy for them.
Umm UNcheat just got left out of playoffs.
Well, those two FCS games did them in. Plus, FSU will sell more tickets.
They get Russell Athletic. Not a terrible consolation.
Just saw that got announced, not bad. Have a I mentioned I hate bowl decision day. NCST with a shitty OOC Schedule gets rewarded Pitt with a stellar year gets punished.
If we played NCSU's schedule (subbing out OSU and ECU), we would've been 8-4.
We would have been 4-0 non-conference with Jack Click at QB with that garbage pile NCSU calls an OOC schedule...
We would have been 4-0 ooc with me as the starting QB..
The correct term is "preseason."
Good.
Double post via phone.
Military Bowl still on the table?
A lot of the best guys are saying VT gets to choose. Why in the hell would they choose Shreveport?
This, I guess.
If we really do have the pick and we don't take the military bowl, I'll be a little miffed.
It was either that or a game against triple option Navy on their home field. Lose-Lose situation all around for us.
I know it's been said in this thread before but it absolutely infuriates me that NC State gets rewarded for their horrific out of conference schedule. Complete and utter horse crap and I hope the Wolfpack get demolished by whatever SEC team they get to face in Charlotte
ACC gonna ACC
Yep, official: NC State to Belk.
I'm seriously bummed out. Belk was the only bowl I could've made it to this year. :(
Potential Independence Bowl opponent is Tulsa. How lame would this be?
This is a highly accurate depiction of my reaction.
I'm not sure the guidelines allow me to type what I'm thinking!
I mean. I get the nostalgia. But the opponent. Blah...
Had heard a prior rumor of aTm. That would have made Shreveport tolerable.
Well, it couldn't have been worse.
We are a .500 team that was out of the Divisional race early on and lost to ECU
We don't deserve anything more than what we got. Those who bought Belk Bowl tickets... This is why you wait till the announcement.
Completely disappointing draw. But it is what it is. NC State getting rewarded for lazy scheduling is pathetic. And it is Frank's last game. But we're a 6-6 team that struggled to beat 4-7 UVa for bowl eligibility. I can't get too upset when we don't earn something better on the field.
Where is that one TKPer who wanted this bowl? He should be happy but he better make this game with as many people as he can get there.
I didn't want it. But I called it. Heard whispers of them wanting to get us. But also heard they wanted us to play aTm. That would be been okay.
Can we please stop bitching about NC State.
The Hokies couldn't get it done, period. We beat 1 P5 team with a winning record this season, and lost to several mediocre teams. We are going where 6-6 teams go. If it wasn't for our coach's historic let game none of us would have been expecting any better
If we played NC State's OOC schedule we're 8-4. I think that's why most people are upset.
We lost to a not good ECU team. Win that game and we have a Belk invite
We lost to an ECU team who fired their coach.
And it was the second time in a row we lost to them.
I agree that we absolutely deserve the bowl game we got and nothing more. Getting a Tier 1 bowl game would've been nice for the team and us fans but, like I said, we didn't earn it.
That being said, NC State doesn't deserve that spot either. Pitt has one more win than them and had a tougher strength of schedule. I know that this is something that happens all the time with bowl games but that doesn't make it right
We're lucky to be going to a bowl at all, and I'm happy for that because it kept some streaks alive, and gave Beamer the chance of going out after a winning season. When you go 6-6, you don't really have the right to complain about your bowl game. Winning cures the "bowl selection blues".
Would I have traded the home-and-home games against anOSU to get into the Belk Bowl? No. I'd rather have a tougher OOC schedule than have a slightly better selection from the group of bowls that take 6 or 7-win teams.