http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll/2017/5
VT is now 5th in the AP Poll's "others receiving votes" category.
Others receiving votes: Arizona St. 135, Oklahoma 120, North Dakota St. 58, West Virginia 51, Virginia Tech 38, Colorado 33, North Carolina 26, Iowa 25, UCLA 22, Auburn 18, LSU 17, W. Michigan 14, Wake Forest 9, Memphis 6, Maryland 2, Toledo 1
I guess we're now 30th in the country. Last week, we did receive 1 vote but this is the first time we're gaining any real traction. We didn't receive any votes in the preseason or before weeks 2 and 3. Looks like we've been helped by back-to-back blowouts + Tennessee's comeback win vs Florida. Hopefully we can claw our way back into the spotlight as the season goes on.
Just something worth monitoring!
Comments
Drink!
We got 1 vote last week!
Edit: I should have read your whole post first.
That one voter will take pride in knowing he or she was ahead of the curve!
The funny thing is that guy from last week was a BC writer. Not even our own Mike Barber had faith in us then :(
'Cuz BC needed a boost in SoS? I suppose they were just trying to stay ahead of LOLUVA in the Bottom 25.
IIRC he didn't vote for us this week either
Can't say I blame him. We beat ourselves in ugly fashion and haven't beaten anyone of note yet. Now, if we roll UNC and Miami and still don't get his vote, I'll start questioning his visual acuity.
You can see who votes for wich team? That sounds potentially dangerous, haha.
You're right. The better Tennessee plays, the "better" that loss looks. All in all, I don't care about rankings right now. I want to see progress (so far we have). Regardless, we show up and beat UNC and we are for sure ranked. One game at a time.
And...SAN Diego St is 19 why????
Well they're 4-0 and beat a Cal team that beat a supposedly good Texas team. So, that's why
Beat a Cal team that was deemed good because they beat a Texas team that was deemed good because they beat a Notre Dame that was deemed good because they're Notre Dame. But actually Notre Dame is 1-3 and just lost to Duke. So what you're saying is Duke is top 20.
Arizona State was extremely close to losing to Texas San Antonio but because they beat Cal they are on the verge of top 25
And Wake beat Duke and is 4-0, which means Wake should probably be a top-10 team and lock for the playoff.
VT vs. Wake ACCCG incoming.
Glory Days.
Except this time the scoreboard will show 0 because we overflowed the variable that holds our score.
In that case the scoreboard would likely show NaN
At some point we are going to have to honor the retired coach by retiring this horrible gif that brings back such an awful feeling and such negative vibes about an otherwise fantastic coaching career.
I think we honor him more by remembering him accurately enough to poke some fun, while remembering what he did for the program.
http://www.myteamisbetterthanyourteam.com
They returned almost their entire team that went 11-3 last year, including a blow out in their bowl game (it was only Cincy, but still a blow out). They also have a Heisman "candidate" at RB who's broken Marshall Faulk's records. They are a legit G5 top 25 team, until they prove otherwise.
Worth noting: VT is ranked 14th in overall S&P+, and ranked 10th if you remove preseason predictors.
The best part of being ranked 14th in S&P, is that Tennessee is ranked 15th.
Link - for those that want to see the complete rankings.
Bottom line, keep winning. Nothing matters if we lose 3 or 4 more games. Given that we don't play next week, if we beat UNC then we will probably be ranked. But again, if we beat UNC and Cuse just to lose to Pitt and Miami, then it doesn't really matter.
This is true. We have blow out wins, but haven't beaten anyone of note yet. If this same trajectory had happened in 2012 or 2013, we'd be ranked. The last few years have put us in a hole in terms of perception (and probably rightfully so). Winning vs UNC, Pitt and Miami can help correct that
Joe said it best
B-but the shiny n-number.
I wants it so bad
and they don't taste very good do they precious?
Being ranked means your highlights are covered. Being on tv is better than not being on tv. If it wasn't for Evans run, we wouldn't have made the national highlight shows at all.
Being ranked is valuable and we should treat it as a goal.
Not caring about being ranked is a mentality that teams who aren't normally ranked have. The 2005 VT fan base would have not agreed that being ranked doesn't matter.
Mostly because those teams that don't take care of business on the field. I'm vastly more interested in seeing the team continue to improve, than worry about rankings, at this point in time. Kick the crap out of UNC and rankings will take care of themselves.
At the same time, if that happens and the team gets caught up in being ranked, then they'll likely lose said ranking very quickly. BudFu has them focused on the right goal which is the goal that Joe states, in his tweet.
I don't think it's so much "being ranked doesn't matter" as "being ranked before you've beaten really good teams" doesn't matter.
my ideal situation would be to be inexplicably unranked at 11-1 coming into the ACC championship game and then knocking off a top ranked team to get a #4 ranking for bowl season.
Bold prediction: If we beat Louisville in the ACCCG, we're left out of the playoffs with 1 or 2 losses.
1 loss Coastal team vs UofL in the title game? Winner goes to the playoff. The Coastal is setting up very nice right now for the battle of the pedigree programs (UNC, Miami, VT) to all be between teams that are either ranked or right on the cusp. If whoever comes out on top of that trio makes it to the title game with only 1 loss, they'll most certainly be either on the edge or in the Top 10. UofL right now is #2, and if they make the ACC title game, that very likely means they've finished the regular season at most with 1 loss, having already beaten Clemson and FSU. At that point, you have an ACC Championship of at worst, 2 Top 10 teams with 1 loss. Winner is in.
This is only true if Louisville beats Clemson to make the ACCCG but drops their game against Houston. If we beat undefeated Louisville we're in.
Spoiler alert: Neither of these scenarios are coming true.
Oh yeah, fully agreed... Ain't happening. We're in if it does, but it ain't happening.
So you think Clemson will be who we beat in the ACCCG? /s
Wake
Being ranked before November only matters if you're not planning on being ranked in November.
If you take care of business on gameday, all the rest (rankings/highlights/college gameday/etc...) follows.
You can argue which 1-loss team is better than the others, etc... Happens every year.
But that argument gets a lot easier with nothing but W's.
You must have missed the 30 replays of Strohman's return td...
Greg has been at Tech for 3 years, and he still doesn't have an H in his last name.
yeah, him and that Sam Rodgers guy
Yep, I never saw that replayed at all. I watched SC and both college football highlights shows on Sunday morning, only Evans run was included. (better than UVA, who was included last week for their clock management and FG Fail)
Another advantage of ranked teams: your score scrolls across the bottom about 10x an hour, whereas us unranked plebs get their scored scrolled about 2x an hour.
It was the replay making the rounds on ESPN.... right up until Evans went and Ole'd the entire East Carolina defense
I interpret Joe's tweet to be more along the lines of it we keep kicking ass, a ranking will take care of itself.
I agree. The Hokies are right where most of us, and rankings people, thought they'd be at this year. 3 to the good over mediocre competition, and 1 to the bad on the national stage against an ok SEC team.
While I agree that most had us 3-1 and maybe 2-2 (ECU has had our number for 2 straight years). No one expected 103-17 in scoring vs ECU and BC, so I have to say that this exceeds "expectation".
I see your point. Hokie fans should definitely be feeling good right now. The Hokies over the last couple of years have squandered games against ECU, and last year's BC game would have looked like a total squeaker if not for the defensive TD. This year they did what they're supposed to do. They put away mediocre competition early, and convincingly. Pretty exciting stuff for those of us who know the Hokies well. Still though, to vault the Hokies into the Top 25 at this point is still somewhat a leap of faith. Let's see what they do on the road against some decent ACC teams.
You'll note that no where did I even imply that VT should be ranked. Your point on that topic is spot on. Beat UNC convincingly and it should happen. Squeak by UNC and then beat Syracuse in consecutive road games and it should also happen.
It's early. In 95 and 96, the situation was the same, we had to work our way to the top 10. Let our play do the talking and the rankings will work themselves out. It's better to be the underdog.
Disagree. It's better when your opponent thinks they're going to lose before they step on the field.
A #17 or #18 ranked Hokie team is not going to send pregame shivers down anybody's spine left on this year's schedule.
Bank on that.
Doesn't matter what we're ranked, if we're putting up 50 against everyone, NOBODY is going to want to play us.
"How do we get in on this "everyone" thing?
~Liberty and Tennessee
Do you think VT believed they were going to lose when they played Defending Nat'l Champs. and #1-ranked Alabama? Or when VT played No. 7, and eventual Nat'l Champion Ohio State?
No team, or individual player, in their right mind believes they are going to lose before they step on the field.
I disagree. Teams have a reputation, and players buy into that. No one on USC thought they were going to beat Alabama this year. This happens in every sport, and almost every level. With each win, you seem a little more unbeatable.
Do you really think UVA actually thinks they can beat us?
Poor example because, yes, I really think they do, but that's due to a particular brand of delusion that resists logic even after 12 years straight of being put in their place.
I swear, there was a time that i would be pissed that we were "only" receiving votes. I never thought I'd be this psyched to set us in that section. If we can get back to where we were, i swear i will never complain about any level of success again
Sagarin is a better gauge- he has us at #23!!
Being off by 22 and off by 24 is hardly worth noting a difference.
Former ECU HC giving VT, some love.
I love me some Steve Logan. He and David Glenn are the only people worth listening to on the radio in NC.
I've always liked Adam and Joe to, but Logan and Glenn are definitely on another level.
Yeah, discovering David Glenn has to be one of my top-10 moments since moving here.
As happy as I am to see them show up on the radar, I really don't care about the rankings at this point in the season.
They won't really matter at all until VT faces UNC, Pitt, Miami, and now, the venerable Duke.
Also, I'm really hoping VT wins at Notre Dame, now that Duke has taken any real significance out of it.
At this point it will be pretty bad if we don't beat Notre Dame.
Play like we did the last 2 weeks on October 8th and they won't have a choice but to rank us on the 9th.
By the end of October, we will know where we belong. Until then, rankings are numbers thrown out by guys who think they are smarter than the rest of us. Remember, these are the same guys who said ND and USC were top 10 teams before the season started.
FTFY:
Remember, these are the same guys who said OU, LSU, ND and USC were top 10 teams before the season started.
moved
It's amazing how the last few years have affected our perception. If we had had started ranked, we would almost certainly be floating around the teens right now. However, because of the last few seasons we really have to "prove" we belong in the rankings.
Frankly, there shouldn't even be any rankings before mid-season.
Awesome, so does that mean there will be a little "5" next to our name on the ESPN scoreboard?
"25+5"
Let's have it show up as "5* VT" with no actual footnote, just to plant the seeds in the minds of the 5* recruiticorns.
Having that number next to your name makes a difference when it comes to respect from national media, which does make a difference to a recruit. The only reasons I can see for not wanting it are being afraid we will show ourselves as over-rated, or needing the disrespect for motivation. I ain't scared, and I'd rather learn to go ahead and learn to motivated to play as the favorite now than having to learn it later. Do I need it to feel good about the team or does it drive my excitement, no - but better to have it than not. Pretty sure no-one has made the play-offs without one yet.
Preach!
I want the Hokies to be ranked too... after they beat UNC, Syracuse, Miami, and Pitt. Not after they beat ECU, BC and Liberty.
Does anyone know when was the last time we were ranked?
2014. We were ranked 17 after beating anOSU and then promptly lost to ECU
An interesting thought. We went all of 2015 without getting ranked once. When was the last time that happened? Because even in 2012 and 2013 we were ranked for a bit. And before that we were winning 10 games and conference championships. It had been quite a while until 2015
And there is my answer down below
Sept 13. 2014 - We were ranked #17 after beating Ohio St
The week after we beat OSU.
I'm pretty sure it was during our loss to ECU two years ago following the win at anOSU
edit: wow, I was fourth.... 4th!
via GIPHY
Fun Fact: Prior to the 2015 season, the last time a Virginia Tech football team went an entire season without showing up in the Top 25 rankings was 1992. That's one hell of a long streak, and shows that returning to the rankings is just putting ourselves back to where we should be in the national scene.
Yea, I remembered looking that up last year and realizing that streak was ending. A somewhat related note (just not VT), Bama has been ranked #1 at some point in every season since 2008.
Can we talk about how ridiculous it is that OU is still receiving votes? How many games do they have to lose before they stop getting them? 6? 7?
Precisely the reason that you can't take the rankings seriously until mid year. OU had a huge amount of hype preseason. For a program like there's, it takes 3 losses to drop out and even then, 1 win and they are back in.
Actually reminds me of Tech in the early 2000s shortly after Mike Vick left. In 2002, we lost 3 straight after being ranked 3rd and didn't even drop out of the rankings. In 2003, after losing to WVU 28-7 ranked third in the country, we dropped to 10th, handled a week Miami team the following week (DeAngelo Hall said they were week in the week leading up to the game), and suddenly rose back to 5th. The rest of the season was rather forgettable after that.
We've got two separate monkeys off our back the last two weeks; one beating the piss out of LOLeffler and this weeks dismantling of an ECU team that has had our number the last few years. I like where this is going and hope Fuente shows the highlight of the OT TD catch from UNC game that was actually a drop.
Just went back and re-watched that OT play. As I remembered it from the stadium, the WR bobbles the ball after his feet leave the ground to be out of bounds. He does secure the football on the ground, but out of bounds. This is exactly the same as Carroll's catch, which was ruled out. I sure hope we avoid Ron Cherry for our close games this year.
In my completely unfounded and unresearched opinion it seems like Ron Cherry is ALWAYS our ref for the GT and UNC games...
I don't think I can ever respect Ron Cherry as a ref after this..
Remains up there with my favorite clips of all time.
Are you kidding? I love this. Cherry cut through the nonsense to call someone for a foul that they absolutely deserved regardless of whether the rule book had a specific penalty to call.
Ron Cherry isn't Ed Hochuli but he's a familiar port in a storm.
2014. Right after the win over Ohio St
If we keep winning the votes will take care of themselves.
Want some real accolade, won on the field? We need to get The Belt back. The College Football Belt championship, after we lost it to Clemson in 2011, bounced around the Big 12 for four years. Now aTm has it, it's like a magnet or something.
Who better than Coach Fuente, great grandson of the Spanish Red Devil, to orchestrate winning us a belt?
The College Football Belt - lineal championship
That's pretty sweet. I'd never heard of it before.
The Championship started with the 1971-72 Cornhuskers, but can be traced all the way back to Princeton-Rutgers, as well as the first AP champion from 1936. Interesting how the different suggested lineages unified through play on the field by the 1940's and later confirmed the Belt creators' choice of that '71 team.
I'm really nervous about that being in the SEC, only a matter of time until Alabama takes it. The Big 12 had it going back to WVU beating Clemson in the orange bowl the year we lost it, hadn't left the conference since.
If it gets to Alabama, then it will most likely end up with the true national champion this year, unless Alabama loses a stupid game in November.
Just checked, thanks to the Aggies, Bama indeed has the Belt. Better them than Big12 purgatory. Also a chance for ACC or B1G to take it in the playoff.
damn this is pretty cool....how come I've never heard of this?