The Hokies jump from No. 25 to No. 17 in the AP Poll after thumping then No. 17 North Carolina 34-3.
"I wouldn't necessarily say I wish we weren't ranked, but my opinion on being ranked is, 'The rankings come out but you're not truly ranked until you defend your rank,'" Augie Conte said last Monday. "I've never been part of a ranked team here at Virginia Tech where we've been a ranked team and went out and defended it the next week, which is something that I'm not necessarily happy about. You're not ranked until you go out and defend it and prove you're in a spot where you should be."
Ranking, defended.
Other ranked ACC teams are: Clemson (No. 3), Louisville (No. 7), Florida State (No. 14), and Miami (No. 16).
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Comments
yais
I like where we are sitting.
Always interesting where they place teams. How does Tennessee not move down at all, and 2 loss Florida St. jump 9 spots with a 1 pt win on a missed extra point against Mia?
UT I'm not surprised at all by. Double overtime loss to a team ranked one spot ahead of you is hardly a black mark on your season. Considering the winner of that game jumped to 6, staying at 9 is punishment enough (besides, with Alabama coming to town, they want to keep that a top 10 match up). FSU at 14 is probably more about not wanting to rank them below a team they just beat (which I agree is stupid) and rewarding FSU for beating a mighty SEC team in Ole Miss (also stupid). Ideally, ranking should be about who would win if they played tomorrow, but we all know that's just not the case.
I think this is a common misconception and not what the rankings really strive for. The thing about football is that it is extremely matchup based, so while team A may lose to team B, they could still be the better overall team if they go out and prove it against the rest of their schedule. Crazy things can happen in any given week so the rankings strive to look at the overall resume much more than what happened in a sample size of one. If you start overvaluing head to head you get wacky transitive property results and some absurd rankings.
I get how this is a response to my post, but not the part of it you quoted.
Rankings are supposed to tell us who the better team is. The better team should win the game. Give it a margin of error of +/- 2. So that means if the rankings are correct and two teams ranked closely play, it should be a toss-up (see: UT vs aTm). If the rankings have two teams further apart and the lower ranked team blows the socks off the higher ranked one, the rankings are probably wrong and need to be amended (see: VT vs UNC).
The whole reason we have a 4 team playoff now is that you can make the case for team #4 to play team #1 competitively. In the end, it does come down to head to head, but I agree that the rankings can't just be based on head to head.
I quoted the right part, I just disagree. Head to head results are too matchup oriented to work in that fashion. An example is our problems against power running teams. Let's say Pitt beats us this year and goes 9-3 while we go 10-2 and win the coastal. Pitt beat us, and would probably beat us the majority of times we play (for argument's sake), but that doesn't make them the better team just because they have our number.
If anything, a ranking should say that the higher ranked teams would beat a higher percentage of FBS teams than a lower ranked team. If team A can beat 90% of teams in the country, while team B could only likely beat 75%, team B should be ranked lower, even if they are one of the few teams in the country who can beat team A.
who gets to lift up the giant lip balm in January? The team who wins the game.
The title game has nothing to do with rankings because it is literally a case where the winner of the matchup wins the trophy.
That isn't what rankings are about. Do you think the whole list is made relative to two teams? It isn't and because of that a head-to-head record isn't always the appropriate way to rank a team.
Agree with everything you and Mog said. You've given me a fresh perspective on rankings that actually makes it easier to stomach.
I generally pay no attention to them anyway until the last few weeks of a season anyway, but your explanation will definitely make me look at them a different way.
Enjoy it! Being ranked should be nothing but fun!
I disagree, I think rankings should tell us who has had the better season not the better team. IMO results matter more than talent.
Rankings can serve as a barometer of a team's winning probability, but it shouldn't be it's purpose. IMO.
The Tennessee ranking is a perfect example of how many of these voters dont actually watch the games and vote purely on the final score and highlights from E$PN. Doesnt matter that they played as terribly as we played against them, the final score says within one td in 2OT.
I'm not a huge Tennessee fan, but I don't remember us taking them to 2 OT. Just sayin'.
You have to hand it to Tennessee, they've got something in order to make all those comebacks.
Still, I'd like a rematch.
Schedule them again? I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Home and home.
Why would Saban make a deal with Tenn?
I know, right? Next saturday is going to be all sorts of awkees down in Knoxville, especially after how that aTm game turned out. I mean, it's bad enough to renig on your deal, but then to come into their house and smack them around the week after? That's cold.
I agree with you. I think Tennessee has looked better each week. watching Saturdays game I think they looked considerably better.
While I agree that not all AP voters do their due diligence when ranking teams, I'm a big believer that they shouldn't rank/select teams based on how they 'look'. During CBB Selection Season, every network does this piece where they show a bunch of stats (RPI, SOS, top 10 wins, bad losses, etc) without showing the actually team name. The commentators/guest rank the teams based on the displayed stats, and then they reveal the team name. I understand that the sample size is smaller in CFB, making this exercise more difficult, but I hate the idea that beat writers who have no formal training on football are expected to make an educated decision based on what they see on the field.
TL;DR - I despise the 'eye test', and I'm in favor of a two person selection committee featuring only Bill Connley and Phil Steele.
It's all relative. If Houston had not lost, then Tennessee would have dropped down to #10. A&M and Louisville would have just flipflopped positions.
as VTGM said:
Syracuse, You're next.
Slowly but surely. The hokies are moving up to the top 10. Winning out , we have a shot to play a top 5 team. Winning against a top 5 team, there is a chance to make the playoffs. THERE IS A CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let's go 1-0 this week first.
The only game that matters is the next one.
No. no they all matter. I love looking ahead and thinking about where we may end up. I know coach has it under control as far as managing the player's focus on the next game. This allows us as fans to speculate wildly. Try it you might like it.
Personally I think every remaining game is not only winnable but likely a win. Pitt for sure gives the most pause. Miami did not impress me against FSU. They have some offensive weapons but there were times they just did not look good against what has proven a mediocre FSU defense. So I like our chances to go 10-2, maybe better.....
Let's go 1-0 every week.
Fulogics!
Regardless of rank you've gotta keep winning.
Fuente has the right idea, "Go 1-0 on the week"
See ya, Tarheels !!!!!!!! Thanks for stopping by the Top 25.......
They'll be back, after beating Miami this weekend.
hope not. I want a ranked, Thursday night match up in Lane Stadium.
Even when Miami loses to UNC they will be still be ranked for the Lane matchup.
I think Switzer is going to do unnatural things to the Miami rookie linebackers.
He's going to do them dirty, real dirty
Hell yeah! Bring on Syracuse.
Higher than I expected, but frankly I'm not interested in rankings until after the ACCCG. Let's just keep going 1-0.
This comment is eerily familiar... http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/462556#comment-462556
It's better for us to steadily climb. You don't want any added pressure from the media. One game at a time. We need to beat Syracuse, and hope Miami wins; it'll make for a great Thursday match-up
The main reason I like being ranked is that we get to be part of the conversation now.
Great new ESPN article by Davis Hale.
You can't overstate how much that little number next to our name impacts recruiting. I know we are a little wary of getting our hopes too high after the last few seasons, but being ranked will only help us achieve our goals.
Actually it's a pretty minor impact upon recruiting.
based on? I don't think there is much of an argument that more exposure (more highlights on SC), more discussion about your program from talking heads, and literally just being relevant to the nation (nationally ranked) could possibly not be a good thing for recruiting your program.
Does it mean you have to be ranked to recruit well? Certainly not. Does it mean that being ranked guarantees recruits? No. But the top recruiting teams every year, almost all of them are ranked for most of, if not the entire year.
Does being ranked bring in top recruits, or do top recruits cause you to win games and be ranked?
Yes
The egg always comes first. So you bet Emma? I will call and raise you this:
This is not escalating quickly enough.
Ha, thanks! Personally, I'm more of an Alyssa guy, but the board has a thing for Emma - so I oblige. When in Rome.......find an Emma GIF.......or something like that......
I think it's safe to say that winning, being ranked, and bringing in recruits are all indirectly related.
Not perfectly, but there's a correlation.
Still, they're all good things.
The answer to that is just like the answer to most things in life, a little bit of both. I'm sure some recruits are influenced by what they see on TV and on the field and so they commit there. But at the same time no one is gonna argue that better recruits makes yo win more on average.
I think it's also safe to say that a lot of these recruits want exposure for themselves when they do start to play college ball. They want the glory and eyes on them.
I get why a bunch of us want to take the cautious approach to the rankings, but for me the hype train has one speed and it's full steam ahead!
Shoot, "Fan" is just short for fanatic, we've got a built in excuse for being recklessly hyped, so I say let's keep beating teams by 30+ points all the way to Orlando and beyond.
As long as I live I will NEVER understand how the AP or
CoschesCoaches poll numbers work. How FSU who beat Ole Miss is ranked behind them?ALL HAIL THE COSCHES! THEY ARE ALL KNOWING! ALL SEEING!
DO NOT QUESTION THE COACHES!!
COSCHES*
Yea except the poll is really done by the SID's, like Pete Morris.
Simple.....
In the end it is all subjective.
Well, Ole Miss didn't get taken to the woodshed like FSU did by Louisville.
At least it's not as bad as the poll following week 2 of the 2014 season that had 1-1 OSU ranked higher than 2-0 VT.
Head to Head doesnt matter in Polls no one here think Navy should outrank Houston, neither does same opponents. when did you play them was it in the monsoon etc.
While I agree with Augie (because who wants to disagree with Augie), I would also argue that in the past few years, this team has looked like a team without much to fight for, aside from winning seasons and bowl streaks. We should aspire to much more.
I like the idea of not looking at rankings, writing them off as a distraction or whatever. But the "#__" next to our name could be something to rally around, a thing to protect. "This is where we belong. In the Top 25. In the conversation."
Because this team - this program - belongs in the conversation. Proud as hell to be a Hokie today. Gobble. GOBBLE.
Coaches poll is a joke and shouldn't be taken serious. How can we honestly expect these Football coaches to rank teams they know nothing about. As fans we watch more games than coaches as they are so focused on 1 team and only study/game plan opponents 1-2 weeks ahead of game time.
Also coaches have a Conference Bias no matter what they say. I'll bet anything if Wash or Clemson lose a regular season game they would drop much lower than an SEC team would in the ranks.
My biggest concern with how quickly Fuente has gotten us back on track is that there are too many big programs that are going to be looking for new head coaches. Doing it at Memphis is one thing but smacking around the ACC is another story. No buyout is going to scare off any of the three SEC programs that will likely be looking for a head coach and then there is also Texas.
I'd like to think Fuente is too good of a husband and dad to make his family move after just one season in Blacksburg. I'd also like to think he's too good of a hokie to move ever.
Also Notre Dame, but like the poster said above me, I'd like to think Fuente is a better man than to bail after one season. But hey if he does, there's always Rich Rod...
3....2....1....
give the guy a break, he's an emergency responder dealing with the aftermath of a cat 5 hurricane.
Wife post-partum or newborn?
Oh, I'm sorry, there was an actual hurricane?
/s
It would be pretty unheard of for a coach to leave right after winning the National Championship
Jimmy Johnson has done it...don't mean to be a jerk, just trying to point it out but I love the conclusion of your argument
Sir, this kind of talk just won't cut it in my hype-train car
I agree to an extent, but at the same time, what is the drive to move to an SEC school besides the bump in salary? VT has a relatively easy shot to the playoffs being in the Coastal, and being a decent sized P5, he's got some of the best facilities in the country, one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in his backyard, and not much competition.
Minus the ability to pay an absurd amount for a salary, it seems to me that Tech has all it needs to be an annual powerhouse, and Fuente just needs to capitalize on it all, which he is definitely starting to do.
I can think of a few reasons why Fuente will be at VT for at least 15 more years.......
Good to see they're all sporting a Full Windsor knot but Fuente is really the only one sporting a tie clip? Really? I guess they're not bow ties at least
Tie clips are very important when you have kids
Truth! Otherwise you're wearing a hangman's knot.
You guys are missing something very important here.
With everything that has happened the past year, if Fuente left for more cash, how big would the holes be, that Bud drills in the back of Fuente's head, with his laser beam eyes?
I think we're also understating the impact Bud's defense has had on Fuente's success. I said earlier this season that Bud is going to have a good year and in some respects, is auditioning for a head coaching job. Fuente's scheme has set Bud up for better defensive looks, and Bud's defense has kept Fuente's offense on the field (and the interceptions with better field position). They compliment each other.
No, the animatronic Bud Foster breathes fire, it was another coach who shant be named that had laser beam eyes.
I don't think Fuente will be in any hurry to jump ship. That is not what he came here for. And even if he did, I think Virginia Tech football has been changed forever. Fuente moved us into the 21st century now and we are not going back.
We are really struggling to adjust to having a winning head coach who hasn't been here for 20+ years, isn't an alum and who may leave one day, aren't we?
I'm not really concerned for at least the foreseeable future. Based on comments Fuente made after the hire I have a feeling the whole "#1 town to raise a family" thing played a lot more into him coming here than we realize. I worry about whole lot more about Bud finally getting his shot somewhere than Fuente leaving.
Also nice to see the Catholic School his kids go to his expanding.
I'm happy to see VT ranked, but they're 0-0 this week.
Really looking forward to the Miami game.
FTFY
I know that's what I SHOULD say, but really I meant Miami.
That's the one I'm really looking forward to.
Still, this week, the only opponent to think about is Syracuse.
Which is funny because it kinda contradicts the message of your first sentence haha.
I know, and I feel a little guilty about it.
I don't get this at all. We are fans. It is practically our job to speculate for fun. It is the coaches' and players' jobs to prepare for Syracuse, not ours. Let us have our fun, think wishfully of Orlando and don't be a buzzkill.
Yea I think this board has bought a little too much into Fuentes mentality. I'm seeing a ton of posts that immediately dismiss anything past Syracuse.
It got to be this way a few seasons ago when we first started losing games we weren't supposed to, and people were freaking out about focus and not looking ahead. It was just as annoying then.
Raymond James Stadium is in Tampa, not Orlando. Easy mistake!
I was actually referring to the ACCCG
Yeah, Orlando -> Atlanta -> Tampa.
That was the joke. :)
I think he just needs to purchase one of these:
There's no where to stand alone on this train!
FTFY.
EDIT:
2nd Edit: Seeing the run on joke that has been made from this, I feel I should clarify my comment, though I can't speak to others. I made this comment for 2 reasons: 1. Thinking he had maybe forgotten we played Cuse and/or 2. The fact that I'm personally super excited to watch VT play Cuse, on Turf in a Dome, because they're playing a really bad defense and I think this has potential to be reminiscent of the 1999 Syracuse game. But you can bet your ass I'm excited for the Miami game (Thursday night in Lane!!!) and am 100% in the crowd that as fans we don't need to take it 1 week at a time. ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!!
FTFY.
Can somebody tell me which game I should be looking forward to? Syracuse?
Definitely not Miami.
Ya, screw that.
Let me repeat: I AM NOT AT THIS MOMENT LOOKING FORWARD TO MIAMI!
That would be heresy and counter to all natural law. I'm ashamed at my moment of weakness in bringing it up.
I now look forward to the only game that counts, and that is Syracuse.
Yeah, Yeah.
You guys are, of course, right.
The only game to be concerned with right now is Syracuse.
Someone needs to explain to me how #8 Wisconsin loses to Michigan two weeks ago, falls to #11, and somehow jumps back to #8 after a BYE week. Hyping up this OSU game much?
Because 6, 9, and 10 lost.
teams in front of them lost/dropped in the rankings so they move up. Same way that Miami got up to #10 after not being ranked preseason.
Same way we got to 25 after a bye week?
We weren't coming off of a loss though. Seems strange to lose, not play, and then move up 3 spots. But with teams losing in front of them it makes more sense. I still think that big of a jump has more to do with hyping up the OSU game than anything else.
Then where do you put them? For Wisconsin to drop or not move, you have to have another team jump them. So, who jumps them?
Behind Wisconsin, you had Nebraska, Baylor, and Ole Miss that were all idle. You can't really change the order on those four relative to each other, because why would anything be different over a bye week? That group of four was going to all be rising relative to each other by virtue of attrition.
The next team 3 teams were #15 Stanford, #16 Arkansas, and #17 UNC, who all lost. Florida was #18 and didn't play.
Three teams ahead of Wisconsin lost. There is no way you can say there were three teams that were previously ranked under Wisconsin that could legitimately jump them in the polls. You have to go all the way to #19 Boise State, #20 Oklahoma, and #23 FSU to get to the next three teams that played this weekend and won.
Naturally VT has to jump all of them. I think that's the argument you're making, right?
Bluehokie2006 said top 10! Mark it down.
Actually, VT has always been #1 on my own list, but no one ever asks me.
Their defense held BYE scoreless. That's top 10 material.
AP logic also states that if Michigan beat them by only a touchdown but beat Rutgers by 70+, then Wisconsin must be a top 10 team.
Looks like VT is 19th in the Coaches Poll this week.
I've stopped caring for the rankings, and it's made me much happier. Especially with a positive result coming on the field week in and week out
Nebraska at 10 is absolutely HILARIOUS...
Why?
It's mostly because they're 5-0.
they haven't played anyone to be top 10. IMO they belong unranked especially with the cupcake schedule below.
Northwestern 2-3 > Losses to Western Michigan, Illinois State and Nebraska
Oregon 2-4 > Losses to Nebraska, Colorado, Washington State and Washington
Illinois 1-4 > Losses to UNC, Western Michigan, Nebraska and Purdue
Fresno State 1-5 > Losses to Nebraska, Toledo, Tulsa, UNLV, and Nevada
Wyoming 4-2 > Losses to Nebraska and Eastern Michigan
Ouuuuuuch that hurts
edit: somehow Eastern Michigan is 4-2 this year. That's....surprising to say the least
I watched that game (because I live in Wyoming), it was actually pretty good to watch. The UW team is really young, but their JUCO QB transfer has looked pretty darn good this year. Those guys went 2-10 last year, but I think everyone out here is seeing why they got Craig Bohl (old NDSU coach). Next year I wouldn't be surprised at all for UW to crack the top 25 and win the MWC, unfortunately after that Bohl is probably moving on to bigger and better things.
I'll admit I was really confused as to why you were expecting Washington to crack the top 25 *next* year
By that measure, VT didn't belong in the Top 25 last week.
not so sure about that, VT was ranked 25 because we have absolutely smashed some teams and our Defense is top 3 in the Nation.
Nebraska was un-ranked until week 4 and then all of a sudden was good enough for 20. Over on R/CFB a lot of their fans are laughing at them being ranked 10.
Nothing new as the rankings week to week are pretty hilarious as a whole. Only week that matters is the one after the Conference Championship games.
Well to be fair, when the CFB playoff rankings come out on November 1st, they DO matter. You aren't going to jump from 'unranked' to #4 after Conference Championship week. So if you're VT, you want to climb as much as possible prior to the Conference Championship to make that hop into the top 4 feasible. Now AP poll isn't official, but I call bullshit on the committee being 'blind' to the AP poll when releasing their first rankings.
I'm not saying they didn't belong - I'm saying that if the standard were beating someone who is already ranked, VT hadn't done that. Now they have, so it's all good.
Going undefeated will carry you a long way, particularly if it's late in the season.
Not to worry, though. Nebraska will play Ohio State and Wisconsin, so they will be tested.
The validity of the rankings certainly improves as more games are played.
Yea, they beat Oregon when people still thought Oregon was good top-25 material. That put them in the top 25, then they continued winning, rose up all the way to 10 because other teams were losing. It won't last long. I predict Nebraska will drop out this weekend, after losing to a good, but under appreciated, Indiana team.
I kind of hope they hang around up there for a bit though. I'm going to their game vs Ohio State in a few weeks. Two undefeated teams would make for a good atmosphere. But, I doubt they will be able to get a win on the road vs Wisconsin.
Something i've been a little confused about -
say we beat Cuse, lose to Miami, and then win out. Miami beats UNC, beats us, and then wins out.
That puts VT and Miami at a tie for the Coastal. How do they decide who is the 'winner' and goes to the ACCCG? Would it be Miami because they beat us?
Yes. Head to head is first tiebreaker.
Which is why I wouldn't mind seeing UNC win in a close one this weekend. I hate them but it gives us a little breathing room at the top.
This is why I'm torn on the Miami-UNC game next week. I want Miami to win (and us to handle Syracuse obviously) so that we have a huge top 15 game on our hands for Thursday night in Lane Stadium. My maybe more sensible and cautious side (which I've already stated above barely exists right now when it comes to Hokie Football) tells me I want a UNC win so we're still in the driver's seat if we should happen to stumble against Miami.
All scenarios are under the assumption that those 3 teams are the players in the Coastal this year.
You're overthinking it. You want UNC to beat Miami and give them a 2nd conf loss. Period.
Nah, I stated what I want. Which is either scenario.
Not necessarily. Maybe you want UNC to get a second loss. Do either UNC or Miami still play Clemson/Louisville? It's really hard to project how it might play out a 2 loss team may win the Coastal
No. Interestingly enough, they play each other's crossover rival, so both of them face NC State and FSU.
Louisville gets Duke and UVA, Clemson has GT and Pitt.
We're the only Coastal team that isn't scheduled to play any of the Atlantic Trinity.
Which could be a HUGE BLESSING in disguise considering how this year is going.
Not torn at all, I want Miami to lose every game from here to eternity. I absolutely love that LOLUVA crushed Miami 48-0 in their last game at the Orange Bowl.
Ew
You're overthinking it. Miami wins and we get an awesome ranked Thursday night game, way more fun. What's the point of being a fan if you're rooting against the awesome moments that make football great? Besides, if we lose to Miami at home on Thursday night we have no business talking about going to a championship game anyways.
Lane will be crazy regardless of the outcome of UNC/Miami game this weekend. And if we lose to Miami and still have the best conference record in the division then we absolutely have the right to go to the championship game. However, I understand what you're saying and I wouldn't mind having a ranked matchup on Thursday night.
This is my preferred response here. I tend to agree with you. Gotta beat the best to be the best. I've grown weary of going into games scared.
Miami would go through.
Tiebreaker rules
Head-to-head competition between the two tied teams.
Winning percentage of the tied teams within the division.
It would be more interesting if we lose to Cuse, UNC beats Miami, Miami beats us, UNC loses to NC State, UVA shits the bed (that part will happen) and the three win ever other game. I do not want that outcome though.
Edit because I forgot about Miami FSU game.
Edit 2 Holy Shit y'all didn't give me 2 Minutes to fix my mistake.
That would make VT 10-2 and the Coastal champ...only 11-1 would make you happy?
That would put Miami at two ACC losses so we would still go on to the championship game since we would hold the tiebreaker over UNCheat.
Edit: Well. I'm slow.
That's easy, Miami is sitting at 2 conference losses and we have the tiebreaker on UNC. I would hope you would take that outcome.
Edit: Is there an echo in here?
Yeah
Yes
Miami will most likely not get the chance to get their backups in the game as they play UNC. This means that it's not only important that we take Syracuse seriously but that we allow ourselves to get the backups in for most of the 4th. Miami has the same exact amount of time to prepare for them as us, so any advantage we can get is pivotal.
I don't know about that, Miami has something to prove now since losing to FSU and the Miami defense will give UNC a fit for a second straight week, UNC I believe is about to drop their 2nd straight game. I just hope our guys don't look past Syracuse. I think 2 teams in the top 15 will be playing in Lane Stadium in less than 2 weeks! The Miami defense will test VT like we haven't been tested yet this year, if we can pass that test we know we can beat Pitt imho.
UNC will also have something to prove, though. I think it'll be close throughout, not giving Miami the opportunity to get their backups in. I would like to see Miami win, though. The last top 15 game in Lane Stadium was Clemson 2011 if I remember correctly, and the last win in a top 15 matchup at Lanewas 2009 against Miami.
I hope that game goes to at least 4 overtimes and we're up on the Cuse something like 56-0 at halftime.
Per Phil Steele's power rankings, we're in a 3 way tie at the 8th highest total. Seems a little generous, but he's loving the ACC right now (Louisville & Clemson are above us, and Miami and FSU are tied with us).
Mood:
Meanwhile, Herbie's trying to like us again.
I don't watch a lot, so I'm sure I've missed a lot, but I never got the feeling he disliked us. He seemed more disappointed in us for not reaching our potential so many seasons in a row, because he had grown to like us and Beamer especially.
I have the same feeling about Herbie. He was a believer for a long time....then probably got tired of us losing in those primetime opportunities.
Also, he now lives here in Brentwood, TN -- so, my kids go to school with his. Hard for me to dislike him.
I agree with both assessments. I just think for a large chunk of the fanbase, it got to be "Herbie hates us!" or "He/They like to talk us up and then tear us down as soon as we lose!"
But think about the VT games he's called since 2006, when Saturday Night Football started -- 2009 vs Alabama, 2010 vs Boise State, 2015 vs Ohio State. People notice a trend. But he's not a bad luck charm for us.
Brentwood baby!!
I don't think it's just us. Back when Herbstreit was doing Thursday night games he used to hype up the "non-traditional" teams he'd see...VT included. But when he started teaming with Musberger, he seemed to take on more of Musberger's personality...which is to say, the only teams that mattered in college football were the name teams...Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, USC, Notre Dame, etc. I've tried to avoid watching any game he's calling since then.
#3 Total Defense
#69 Total Offense
http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings?sport_code=MFB&division=11
I know nothing about offensive stats and rankings. But, just in my gut, I guess I'm surprised we aren't ranked higher than that.
We are 25th in scoring Offence. We are farther down on total because it is based on yardage, and the D keeps giving the Offence a short field, IMO.
If that's what's driving it, i'll take that all day long, every day. Thanks!
Correct. We're third in yards per point.
https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/yards-per-point
we were in the 50s but slipped by not playing last week and well playing in a monsoon this week.
My guess is we end up in the top 30 in offense, which would be outstanding coupled with a top 5...errr #1 defense!!!
Rankings don't take into account the fact that we played in a hurricane. So as far as the numbers are concerned, we put up 260ish yards on a bright, mid-70s day. But hey, 34-3, bro.
uhhhhh ok...hooray beer.
Works both ways. No way VT D dominates UNC that hard in good weather.
Other defensive notables
1st Down Defense - 1st
3rd Down Conv. Defense - 2nd
4th Down Conv. Defense - 4th
Opp. OC shits pants - 1st
I love that they keep track of that last one. Crucial.
what's scary is seeing Ohio state in top 5 for total offense and defense. sheesh
Not sure where else to post this, but Danny O'Brien, a senior DT for the Vols, got injured in the Texas A&M game on Saturday. It was announced tonight that he was kicked off the team for violating team rules. Sources on Facebook are saying that they did a drug test at the hospital after the injury and that they found Adderall, which is a stimulant. "It increases alertness, aggressiveness, attention and concentration. It improves reaction time, especially when fatigued. Some think it enhances hand-eye coordination. Some believe it increases the mental aspects of performance." Yikes.
I know it's also a prescription for people with ADHD. Would be interested to know if he's diagnosed with that, and if so, whether it warrants a dismissal from the team? I know nothing about drug policies, so anybody who is knowledgeable on the subject, please enlighten me.
Covered here: http://www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/sport-science-institute/drug-testi...
Wouldn't surprise me if a quarter of the athletes are/have taken adderall, it runs rampant all over college campuses.
Do they vacate wins when something like that is discovered?
Maybe a certain game that occurred in a city that straddles two states
For adderall? are you serious? I can't tell.
Adderall? Yes, this is college. Problem?
All aboard the hype train. CHOO CHOO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExY-JMmU8-4
Warning: loud.
I don't know what I just watched, but it was god damn glorious.
I wish I could give this so many legs.
All TKP blog participants need to go view this. It is glorious.
Well done! Bwahahahahaha
Take it for what it's worth but.....
Also, this defense is the definition of elite so far this year.
too....much....hype
With all this attention I wonder when Bud and Fuente are going to leave us. If Fuente leaves, do you think Lawson will transfer?
I think we as fans who impact the performance of the team through our tvs, we just need to focus on Syracuse and not think about the future ever
I am so triggered right now all I wanna do is punch a wall.
I'll take it, I've always liked McElroy.
"I'll include Virginia Tech in the list of 10..."
"The winner of the Miami Virginia Tech game?"
"Miami will not beat Virginia Tech."
-said with finality.
At first I wanted Miami to win against UNC so they would be higher ranked for our (most likely) top 15 ranked match up on Thursday..... BUT...... fuck that, give them 2 ACC conference losses
Fuck Miami, and fuck Matt Ryan.
I like the fact we still have to play two big name recognition teams in Notre Dame and Miami....
We beat them both it just sounds more impressive saying you beat those previous power house teams, no matter how bad they are. But, one game at a time, we typically play awful in Pitt (and it's a Thursday night away game)
and UVA would love to somehow spoil the season. Wouldn't want our unlucky win #13 in a row ruin it for us.
Would love a shot at Clemson in the ACCCG.
I'm also getting married on the Duke away game so hopefully no bad juju for not watching the game closely......
Why is everyone having weddings on gameday?
scheduled it for the bye week 10/01, but church was double booked.... my next requirement was it had to be an away game.
Hopes for a noon kick off so I can booze and get ready while it's on.
That's why you schedule fall weddings for a Tuesday.
No chance your anniversary falls on a Gameday while the wife wants to do something romantic.
Your anniversary will always be, for example, the third Tuesday on October.
Gonna miss all that sweet MACtion, though!
Can't tell if you're being serious or not... That's not how anniversaries work.
1. What was wrong with all of the months that did not end in -ber?
2. My brother-in-law got married the last time we played at Duke. Went well for us.
Hence why Im doin it in june!
Good month to get married in.
The only thing to watch out for is having a date in mind, but the people who are scheduled to look at the venue half an hour before you take that date, pushing your wedding to the following weekend, which results in your anniversary falling on Father's Day every five years or so.
Don't really know where to put this and I don't want to make a new thread for fear of backlash as I'm sure some will not appreciate this but I was doing some speculating this morning...
Since we are fans and all we do is speculate, what are our chances of a VT playoff berth assuming the following based on today's AP rankings:
1 - Bama goes undefeated and wins the conference championship (pretty likely and would lock them in)
2 - Ohio State goes undefeated and wins the B1G conference championship (also pretty likely and would lock them in)
3 - Washington goes undefeated (I don't see them losing any remaining games, the question will be SOS) and jumps clemson and michigan assuming they lose to VT in the ACC championship and Ohio State in regular season respectively.
4 - Virginia Tech having gone undefeated the rest of the way and knocking off No. 3 Clemson in championship game. (O&M Glasses full tint)
I could see multiple teams in the No. 4 spot including a 1-loss Louisville, 1 loss TA&M, undefeated Baylor. The rest of the teams currently above VT would either lose another game based on above results and drop below us or will probably drop a remaining game on their schedule. Most won't have the benefit of a championship game win to pad their resume. Now this is all based on my opinions and light research. At this point, anything can happen and I know its still a long shot but we've seen many times before that losing in September is not nearly as bad as losing in November, especially when post-season talk begins.
I'm fully on board with this discussion. I don't see L'ville getting in with one loss over us assuming we beat Clemson in the ACCCG. Also, I wouldn't pencil in anOSU over Michigan. Harbaugh will Harbaugh.
Really, I think we have to pull for Bama and anOSU to win out so that they aren't the one loss teams looking for that 4th bid. IMO, there's no way we make it in over either of those if we're all whatever-1 regardless of the timing of the respective losses.
I think Ohio State and Michigan are interchangeable at this point. One goes but not both. Being that they are in the same division, whoever wins that regular season game right before the championship will then represent the division, more than likely win the title, and to to the playoffs. I don't see the loser with no championship game sneaking in over the ACC Champion early season 1 loss VT. I'm also assuming UT will still be highly ranked which means our loss is still a "good" loss.
I think OSU is going to hammer Michigan. I'm still not sold on them. Their defense looked tough last year too until the Buckeyes absolutely embarrassed them at home.
Obviously our first order of business is to take care of our business and worry about winning each game. That said, we certainly do not want Tennessee to beat Bama this weekend, that is very, very no bueno for us.
Unless Bama somehow takes another L along the line. Then I could see a scenario in which we get the rematch we crave
Why not? If Bama loses to Tennessee that continues to make our loss that much "better." Bama then beats A&M and wins out, then they're in the Championship game again against Tennessee. If Tennessee wins, then if we handle business and win out I think there's no way you can keep us out beating Miami, UNC, and Clemson/Lville.
So, I argue that a Tennessee win is ideal.
Doubt Louisville or Texan A&M would make it. Texas A&M has a better case if they barely lose to Alabama, but if Clemson loses in the ACCCG, I don't think Louisville has a case.
IF we were to win out and knock off a top 3 ranked Clemson in the ACCCG, I think we would be a shoe-in for the playoff. I think the Big 12 champ is going to get left out again this year, and I don't even think Baylor will finish the season undefeated. I think the committee really values head-to-head results in the regular season and conference championships at the top of their criteria, so if Bama wins out, I don't see a 1 loss SEC team that Bama would have beaten getting in. Louisville's playoff chances really took a hit with Houston losing, and since it seems likely they will be kept out of the ACCCG from the Clemson loss, they're pretty stuck unless Bama, OSU, or Washington comes off the rails. Washington the PAC-12's lone playoff hope, so if they lose, we could see some non-champion 1 loss teams getting back into the mix. Barring extreme chaos, the ACC champ will be in the playoff.
The ACC has 4 teams that could potentially make the playoff right now.
Clemson, Louisville, Miami, Virginia Tech
If any of those 4 run the table the rest of the way through the ACC Championship Game, they're in. Period, end of story, end of debate. Clemson and Louisville are already high enough for this to apply. VT and Miami play next week, and if they both win this week, its a likely matchup of 2 Top 15 teams. Winner moves into or just outside the Top 10. Win out from there, and they likely climb up to 8th or 9th before the ACC Championship, against a likely Top 3 or 5 Clemson or Louisville. Winner goes to the playoff.
Lots and lots to happen before we get to that point, but the path is still there for us in Week 6. Feels good after the last few years. Next step is to beat Syracuse.
Assuming Louisville and Clemson both go undefeated the rest of the way, you think the committee would take 2 ACC teams over 2 SEC teams? If TA&M loses to Bama and wins out, they would be in the exact same position as Louisville having lost only to a top 3 team, but not representing in the championship game. I think TA&M gets in over Louisville. The ACC is movin' on up but they haven't overtaken the SEC yet. Granted, they have a slightly tougher road the rest of the way so the odds are not in their favor.
Louisville does have the advantage of putting 63 points on FSU, and multiple 60+ point games.
aTm beat Prairie View 67-0, but the rest of their margins of victory have been 21 points or less.
Would depend on who wins the ACC...
If UofL and Clemson both go undefeated the rest of the way, Clemson plays for the ACC title. If Miami or VT go undefeated the rest of the way as well (neither play Clemson or UofL) the committee would have a tough time. At that point you have 3 ACC Top 10 teams, 2 of which playing in the ACC title, and a Top 5 Louisville sitting at home. At that point, if Clemson wins, I could see the Committee pulling in Clemson and Louisville and calling it a day. If Miami/VT win, I could see the Committee pulling in the winner, and freezing out Louisville. I don't see them necessarily being rewarded for not being in the title game, but I could see them tagging along with Clemson if things fall right for them.
a 1-loss Louisville team does not hop over a 1-loss ACC champion, period.
Is an undefeated Washington a lock over an undefeated Baylor?
I don't see a one loss aTm team getting in over other undefeated or one loss conference champions.
If Tenn wins the SEC east, I'd say that loss won't hurt us assuming our body of work from here on out includes solid wins over Miami, Pitt, ND, and Clemson.
all that still makes us a toss up with an undefeated washington or Baylor. Three teams for one spot.
EDIT: you know when you start typing a comment and your boss walks in and you have to ALT-TAB out of there ASAP and you come back and finish it later only to find that everyone else has already made the same points you were going to?
That's when you just edit the post to put up a funny gif.
Three teams for two spots, really. Undefeated Bama and OSU are locks for 1 and 2. I think the ACC Champ is in comfortably over both the Pac 12 and Big 12 champs. Lack of the championship game will hurt the Big 12 again, and I honestly don't see Baylor finishing undefeated anyhow. Games against Oklahoma, Texas, WVU, TCU still ahead. If Washington loses, we could start seeing the door open for some one loss teams or the Big 12 champ.
Holy shit, how did I not know about ALT+TAB?!
That'll give me time to read a few more words rather than moving the mouse up to the minimize button.
learned the hard way that ALT+TAB is less useful on dual screens if the next program is already open on screen 2. So CTRL+TAB is actually my go to in chrome.
Email inbox on TKP screen. Actual work on other screen. ALT-TAB still effective. Looks like I'm really trying to knock out my emails.
I use the Windows button + M. Minimizes everything.
but then how can I pretend to be working?
You're in between tasks.
Assuming you're in Windows 7 or newer, [Windows key]+[Down Arrow] should minimize just that window. Just so you know.
This is literally the most suspicious thing you can do. Rest assured if you're boss walked in on you like that he/she just didn't care you were goofing off. (I guess unless you can realistically pretend to be working without using your computer, but even that's a stretch.
I did appreciate the "boss button" that CBS did for streaming live March Madness games.
http://qz.com/365912/this-years-boss-button-for-the-ncaa-march-madness-livestream-is-the-best-yet/
In that scenario, VT would be 12-1. Louisville and Texas A&M would be 11-1. Baylor would be 12-0, but their OOC schedule is trash - Northwestern State, SMU, and Rice. Plus, the closest they have for "quality" wins would be Oklahoma (who already has two losses) and WVU (currently undefeated).
VT would have wins over Notre Dame and Clemson in this scenario. If we keep blowing out opponents, that will also strengthen our position. Our one loss would be to Tennessee, who would have a minimum of two losses in this scenario, possibly three (with two of them being to Alabama).
If we're looking at non-conference champions to possibly get into the CFP, the three main ones are aTm, Louisville, and Michigan.
-aTm's OOC schedule is boosted by a 7 point win over UCLA. They probably also get boosts from beating Tennessee and Ole Miss. (Transitive, they beat UT who beat VT.)
-If Louisville can't even get to the ACCCG, then I don't see them jumping the actual ACC champion into the playoff. (Plus, hypothetical transitive, VT would beat Clemson, who beat Louisville.)
-Michigan is probably the strongest choice out of this bunch based on how much they've been blowing opponents out by. But, they would have played OSU at the end of the season.
what could hurt us is that our loss to Tennessee was ugly on paper and in person. Lose like that to Alabama, but finish out in a dominant fashion, that's one thing. Lose to UT like that and have them stumble through the rest of the season only to get equally embarrassed by Bama(for a second time) in the SECCG? Doesn't paint us in a good light.
That said, if we're a one loss team come bowl season and our wins have been decisive, I don't see another team looking better.
We beat Ohio State by 14 in week 2. Granted, it wasn't as ugly, but they still ran the table all the way.
But based on the scenario, it looks like that fourth spot would be between 12-1 VT, 11-1 Texas A&M, 12-0 Baylor, and the 11-1 loser of OSU/Michigan. It'd be hard to keep out a conference champ over teams that already lost to someone already in the CFP.
And I really think that the committee is going to try to keep Baylor out as best as they can to minimize that whole narrative. Baylor's best chance at getting in would be to go 12-0, and have everyone else drop at least one game.
That game wasn't as ugly, but our record that season was definitely uglier, and it still didn't keep them out.
That's a good point. As long as Tenn continues to win most of their games, we should be good. And if they really get into that matchup, I think we beat UT on most of the stats that game except for points which further proves we made 5 mistakes that night that arguable cost us the game.
I think 12-0 Baylor (or WVU) will be a problem for us. Even with no conf. champ game, they would be the "one true champ" that was missing in 2014. It would come down to how our SOS is valued, and how our measurables stack up (who does the CFP committee think is the better team).
I don't think Tennessee winning vs Bama will be a problem. One of them will necessarily have two losses after the SEC title, and the one loss champion would have been in anyway so there's a wash.
Say the B1G gives us 13-0 Nebraska and 12-1 Michigan?
It is also helpful to remember that 13-0 defending champ FSU was seeded 3rd in the first playoff, so the committee don't care.
We keep playing like we are, and they'll excuse the loss as the aberration on the season, and they'll write it off saying it was a VT squad in its first game away from home under a new coaching staff in week 2.
This isn't like the past where a loss would kill us because the way we won games didn't afford us any style points. We're flat dominating teams this year, and when you're regularly outscoring your opponent by 30-40 points per game, the pundits are much more likely to turn a blind eye to a game where you outgained the opponent but turned it over 5 times than if you're regularly beating your opponents by 10.
While that's comforting to think about, the naysayer in me keeps waiting for our offense to deflate and the wheels to fall off the hype train. It actually makes every game a surprise and I still get really excited every time we score. The last few years have ruined me.
Oh absolutely. I'm still thinking its a great game when I see our score in the 20s. Then I realize its the 2nd quarter....
The one thing I will say is this. I think things are getting much more exciting in the college football race with the 4 team playoffs and the digital age of recruiting. Teams are balancing talent level much better (instead of every big player going to P5 teams) and we're finally starting to see the SEC level off in terms of competition level. The fact that we're even talking about whether the playoffs will have 2 ACC teams or 2 B1G teams or 2 SEC teams or (insert undefeated non P5 team) just shows how exciting this year could be. And imagine if we had that 8 team playoff...
Oh god, how bad would it suck to get beaten out by a (potentially) undefeated WVU team?
Bama, anOSU, Wash and WVU all go undefeated and we go 12-1, I think they would jump us.
Likelihood, super low. Shitiness, super high.
Well we have to beat 'Cuse first....
Wait, we play Syracuse this year? I don't think anyone on this board knew that. Has someone told Fuente?
Dino Babers told Fuente.
It's the whole season this week.
Trying to improve from this week's current record of 0-0.