All the way up to #14 this week in the CFP rankings...
Quite the jump for a sub-par performance against Duke.
UPDATED College Football Playoff Rankings:11. Oklahoma12. Colorado13. Oklahoma State14. Virginia Tech15. Utah— ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) November 9, 2016
It's a really good possibility that if we blow out Georgia Tech like some people are expecting, we could be looking at a top-10 team rolling into South Bend. Oof.
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Thankfully we aren't ranked with the cursed #17. That privilege goes to UNC, who faces...... DUKE!
I hope Duke beats them into the ground like so many tent stakes.
UNC is also Our best win.....
Nope dont care. Down with the Holes!!
Fuck the Holes? Fuck the Holes.
The beauty of it is, it will be our best win twice.
Shoot all we have to do is hope it rains
I'm sure they can just disregard the rain
If you disregard the number 7, they're #1
If you disregard the last 4 seasons, our 10-win streak is still going
So which poll are we looking at? #17 in the AP was on a loosing streak, but that was broken by Western Michigan this past Saturday. Now, the CFP #17 Baylor did lose. Are we assuming the #17 curse jumped polls? I certainly hope so, I want to see UNC lose to Duke.
COACHES POLL
Week 1 - #17 USC lost to #1 Alabama 52-6
Week 2 - #17 Oklahoma State lost to Central Michigan 30-27
Week 3 - #17 Ole Miss lost to #1 Alabama 48-43
AP POLL
Week 4 - #17 Arkansas lost to #10 Texas A&M 45-24
Week 5 - #17 Michigan State lost to Indiana 24-21
Week 6 - #17 North Carolina lost to #25 Virginia Tech 34-3
Week 7 - #17 Virginia Tech lost to Syracuse 31-17
Week 8 - #17 Arkansas lost to #21 Auburn 56-3
Week 9 - #17 Utah lost to #4 Washington 31-24
CFP POLL
Week 10 - #17 Baylor lost to TCU 62-22
It adapts to survive.
poor arkansas got hit twice, also lol michigan state was ranked this year
Week 11 - #17 UNC lost to Duke 28-27
someone, probably: "ha, there is no curse."
I was beyond nervous that we were going to be the seemingly cursed number 17, but was relieved to see that the Heels took that spot.
I'm sure if they lose to Duke, they will argue that it shouldn't have counted because everybody has lost as number 17 this year.
Maybe Duke can conjure up a hurricane to cancel out the L.
Goes to show that CFB rankings aren't necessarily about winning so much as they are about not losing.
Did anyone really see this happening one year ago today when we were trying to get #GamedayforFrank
Hell no, I sure didn't.
I'll be honest, I said I'd be happy with 7-8 wins. Being in that seat with at least 4 games left is amazing and I've really bought into how Fuente runs a team. He's a great coach for our program.
If we can hold on, we might have 5 games left...
Screw it, let's make it 6.
Damn, that year went fast.
I know... feels like Bristol prep was just a few days ago.
winning is fun; time flies when you're having fun
I don't think anyone was saying that in the offseason.
After Wisky at 7, it gets tough. I would go:
8aub 9OU 10Utah 11VT 12okie st 13UNC 14atm 15wvu 16fsu 17usc 18psu 19wsu 20colo
I would fro sure put PSU ahead of us. There really isn't a logical reason not to. They have lost to Michigan, by far a better loss than either of ours, and they lost to Pitt, who we only by 3, so an edge in that to us, but only marginally. Then they have a win over Ohio State, which is by far a better win than any of ours, and they have rolled their opponents the last two games while we only won by 3 each time.
Really nothing there that would convince my to rank VT ahead of PSU.
Maybe there is an argument that a road win by 31 over #17 is greater or equal to a 4 point win at home over #5? I'm also projecting OSU to lose to UM and UNC to win out, giving them final rankings more like 7 and 11.
I'll have some of what he's having.
Maybe, but I certainly don't think that. I believe college football is really more split into tiers. Right now the highest tier consists of Bama, Clemson, Michigan, Washington, Louisville, and Ohio State. Everyone below, even those directly ranked below are further away than a numerical ranking system can portray. So I would take a win over Ohio State over UNC all day.
Until you realize that they lost to Michigan by 39 points. That isn't a good loss in any way shape or form. It's actually probably worse than even our Syracuse loss.
Yeah, remember that time we were tied 17-17 in the 4th quarter? We had a slip up. 39 pts...
We lost to Tennessee by 21. Where are they right now? That looks pretty bad too, if not worse than a 39 point loss to the #2 team in the country.
We had a loss to Tennessee that we shouldn't have had. And eventually Tennessee got exposed.
Shoulda woulda coulda. We played bad and lost. Tennessee has also had an insane amount of injuries.
Saying we shouldn't have lost to Tennessee is almost as bad as UNC fans saying they shouldn't have lost to us. It wasn't even a close game. After the first quarter we got decimated.
Yes
Nope. To start the 4th quarter, down by 14, we pick off Dobbs and march down to their 31. On 2nd and 10, we get down to their 21 yard line only to fumble it. Then the defense forces a 3-and-out only to have us muff the return and give UT back the ball. Starting with this stretch right here is where we got decimated.
If we get a TD instead of a fumble, we're within a score and it's a game.
I've posted this before, but I'll do it again. UT had three respectable TD drives. Five of their drives were gifts resulting in 24 points. This was not an Alabama level drubbing where the winner is some unstoppable force. This was a sloppy game that we were still in until that stretch in the 4th.
You can look at yards, and field position, and what ifs if you like. I won't ask you to adhere to my definition of "decimated." We can squabble over the degree to which we got badly beaten, but 45-10 through 3 quarters is bad. That's real bad.
Decimated is very unfair to the position our defense was put in. I'm not saying we should complain about the game. But their offense only scored one time when they didn't start in favorable or absolutely terrific field position.
Like I said, I'm not asking you to agree with my use of "decimated." As a team, 45-10 is real bad.
Using the same argument, UNC had a loss to Virginia Tech they shouldn't have had. And eventually Virginia Tech got exposed (by Syracuse).
The game was played, we got beat by 21, it's over. We didn't play well enough to win the game that night.
Puts a big ol target on our back for the remainder of the year. Better be on our best from here on out.
...but HOLY SHIT WERE TOP 15 AFTER YEARS OF MEDIOCRITY!! WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS BONER??
Don't waste it
Oh my god, you guys are killing me this morning. LMAO!
I believe this answers the age old question: "How dirty can a gif be and yet still (probably) be safe for work?"
My wife glanced over at my phone last night right as I scrolled past this and said "What the heck is going on in that picture?" Thanks, TKP, for that little exchange I had to explain away.
If it last for more than 4 hours seek medical assistance.
Or call a friend!
Edit: NavyEMC beat me to it below. Didnt scroll far enough before posting. But since this is boner-talk, here's an Emma gif
Better not leave it in town.
Oh man, you caught me by surprise. Here I am in a funk and this thread is slowly lifting my spirits and then I read this and I'm holding in laughter with tears because my boss is next door dealing with an "incident" with HR and is pissed.
This will never get old. I love it.
Obligatory:
Here's my projections of the New Year's Six bowls.
Semi-finals (Peach and Fiesta Bowls)
#1 Alabama vs. #4 Washington
#2 Clemson vs. #3 Michigan
Rose Bowl (Pac-12 vs. B1G)
#5 Ohio State vs. #12 Colorado
Sugar Bowl (SEC vs. Big 12)
#8 Texas A&M vs. #11 Oklahoma
Orange Bowl (ACC vs. highest ranked SEC/B1G)
#6 Louisville vs. #7 Wisconsin
Cotton Bowl (at-large vs. Group of 5)
#9 Auburn vs. #21 Western Michigan
I'm predicting the at-large spot in the Cotton Bowl is simply going to be the highest ranked team not already selected for the other bowls. Seeing #9 Auburn there makes me think that it's still a possibility for VT to get there. If Alabama keeps steamrolling, Auburn will have to drop some. Penn State is #10. #11 and #12 are already placed. #13 Oklahoma State has to play Oklahoma, so one of those two will drop. And Texas A&M is likely to drop with their QB out.
I wouldn't be horribly surprised if PSU drops one before the end of it, and if Auburn gets completely bent over and given the business by Bama, they could potentially drop a few spots which would help us too.
We just need to win out and I can see us being top 10/12. Which I will gladly take!
Edit: my biggest question here is how the hell did TAMU only drop to 8 after getting embarrassed?
Psu is short on loseable games. @ Indiana this weekend may be their best shot at a loss. Mich St looks like an easy win. And Rutgers.
Hm, you're right. Was thinking they played Nebraska for some reason.
I can dream though, right? lol it's college football. Crazier things have happened.
PSU used to play Nebraska as their crossover game but when Rutgers and Maryland went to the Big Ten, they realigned and that got lost.
I don't think MSU is ever an easy win. PSU will be favored, but I think MSU could trip them up
I agree with you, MissSt is horrific this year and you think they would at least drop to 10. Without knight though they will struggle to win out.
As for us, factoring in the craziness of college football we could be anywhere from #6-10 if we win the next three games. But first gotta get past GT...I digress
Auburn. The committee felt that they couldn't drop aTm below a team they beat head-to-head while both had the same record.
Well that might have been true 2 games ago, the committee is suppose to rank based on the current snapshot of the season. The picture they're blindly looking at is a TAMU team with a late season bad loss and a backup quarterback. This is not the same team that started undefeated and made it up to #4. I don't agree with the committee on this one.
The QB went out during the last game. Yeah, they'll probably start tanking the rest of the season, but that's what the next four rankings are for. As for "current snapshot", the committee was looking at a 2 loss team that beat another 2 loss team.
So Louisville is one loss from Bama/Clem/Wash from the playoff (Mich/OSU knocks one out). If that happens, 2 ACC teams in the playoff, does that mean acccg loser to orange?
Bama may still be in the mix depending on who they lose to and by how much.
Does the Orange Bowl have to take an ACC team? I'm not sure I have ever seen it addressed as to what they can do if 2 ACC teams make the playoff.
Yes, highest ranked ACC team not in the semis.
For some reason a lot of people are glued to their TV's tonight waiting for these results to come out...looking good for Va Tech so far, hopefully we make the ACCCG! Injuries do have me worried though and the team has looked stagnant the past few weeks, but I know the home crowd will change that!
Everyone wanted to see who was going to get that number 4 spot.
Nothing else going on!
Still don't understand the love for A&M .
S-E-C
Just need VT to win out. Whatever else happens is far less important. The UVA game worries me the most because they've been good at times. But, we've got home field advantage by far. Can't let them ruin our plans.
Big games ahead:
OKST v OU
ALA v AUB
OSU v MICH
Never thought I would say this a year ago but if we win out I think we could end up top 10 if there are a couple upsets in the last couple weeks. Winning out is far from a given though. I'm pleased we've shown that we can win close, ugly games, but we're less than a season removed from losing those games. Glad we have 2/3 at home to finish out. Go Hokies!!
A little dip...
Total Offense: 45
Total Defense: 17
The injuries are concerning.
^^^^This. They are stacking up on us. We need to have some of these guys heal for the home stretch. GT and Notre Dame will both be a physical games, so no break there. UVA could be as well (yes they suck, but...rivalry game). Hope the team can keep the train rolling.
JUST WIN!
Hey guys, it's basketball season!
Some good news!!
For Duke it is good news!
Fuente Foster 16!!!
pretty much sums it up
Good news to move up but before we worry about all these scenarios, we need to go 1-0 this week. If we do that, the rest falls into place.
At this point, just keep winning and the path is there as long as Clemson remains #2 and the Atlantic Champion. We're #14 with 3 weeks to go.... Would not be out of the realm of possibility to climb to around #8 before the ACC title game if we take care of business the next few weeks. And at that point, the ACC Title game is a playoff play-in.
First things first... Beat GT
No way we make the playoff this year.
Worst loss by any team that has made the playoff was OSU losing to us, and it was the only loss of the season.
If we do make the playoff, bama will kill us. Possibly literally.
Got a (semi) realistic shot at a NY6 bowl though, which would be incredible this year.
Assuming we win out, we'll be a Top 10 team with a win over the #2 team in the country to win the ACC. Depending on how much the committee weighs winning a power conference, which they have repeatedly said they put a significant weight on, there's absolutely a chance we make it.
On this I completely agree. It would get ugly.
I think if we win out and beat Clemson, Louisville sneaks in the playoff and we do not. That is my hunch.
Technically we could make it, but we won't make it. Even if we win out we won't make it. Any number of one loss teams will get the nod over us.
I mean...hopefully I'm wrong, but I just don't see it.
well, there aren't "any number of" one loss teams
there are 4 undefeateds and 2 one loss teams currently ahead of VT with 3 games left.
2 of those are in the ACC and OSU and Mich still have to play each other.
not sure the CFP will ever take a one loss conference team over the two loss champ from the same conference
if VT wins out, hardly a given, and beats an undefeated Clemson for the title, VT has an outstanding chance to make the cfp
I think in your scenario VT has an outside chance....not an outstanding chance. IF VT wins out and beats an undefeated Clemson team for the ACC Title (big, big if) I think the more likely result is that we'll spoil Clemson's (and thus, the ACC's) shot at the CFP. I think it is unlikely VT sneaks into the playoff. I think we can assume that the winners of the B1G and SEC will get there. That leaves the door open for the PAC Champion and either a Big 12 team or an at large team to jump ahead of a 2-loss ACC champion. Let's not forget the possibility that the B1G and SEC could potentially get 2 teams in. Perception is important and right now the ACC isn't very well thought of outside of the ACC.
I would love for chaos to allow us into the playoff, but I will be more than happy to ruin Clemson's shot at it.
At this point I think the ACC's chances to make the playoff are either Clemson makes it as an undefeated or 1 loss ACC Champ (100% if it happens), UofL making it as a 1 loss ACC Champ (100% if that happens) and VT making it as a 2 loss ACC Champ (about 45% if that happens).
A 3 loss VT has no hope, even if we win the ACC. Louisville has no realistic hope if they can't win the Atlantic, as I don't see them piggy backing on Clemson, and I don't see them taking an ACC team that can't even make it to Orlando. And I don't see UNC with a truly realistic hope anymore after being stuck down at 17 this week. I don't think they're going to be able to climb fast enough even if VT stumbles.
CURVEBALL: what if Clemson has a post season ban for some reason? I mean, if we're throwing out hypotheticals, it has happened in the past with various divisional champions in the ACC.
At this point, its too late in the game for any violations to impact them for this year. Even if allegations came out tomorrow that Clemson paid for the recruitment of Deshaun Watson, and numerous people could back the claims up, the NCAA would still need about 6-8 months to investigate, and even then maybe sanctions would be handed down prior to the 2017 season.
would need something on the scale of penn state scandal to impact this year
I apparently cursed us with this post anyway.
Michigan State can relate to that.
Beat them so bad it ruined their next season, literally.
And possibly much more.
What would we be without loss to the 'Cuse and getting blown out my Tennessee
Where would we be without both losses, or where would we be if the only loss was a close one to UT?
A) with no losses we are top 5.
B) with one close loss we are below Louisville.
Side note, if Michigan and PSU win out, PSU will be Rose Bowl bound
Here is what I want:
VT in the Orange Bowl (either by winning the ACC-CG or by L'ville being in the playoff or by L'ville losing a game and being behind VT in the Orange Bowl pecking order even with an ACC-CG loss)
Wisky or OSU in the Rose
PSU in the Orange Bowl.
Honestly, I'd much rather see Ohio State in the Orange Bowl, which is very possible if they lose to Michigan, especially if it's not very close.
That way, we can finish off the Revenge Tour at a perfect 6-0.
PSU VT = best matchup
I know, I know, something 1-0 something something, but I can't help it. Been looking at this stuff Good thing I'm not on the team, I guess. First posted about this back when the AP had us at #25, figured it was time for an update based on the most recent CFP rankings. The rest of this post assumes that we win our next three games and upset Clemson in Orlando, which I realize is no small task but the point of this post is to examine what could happen, not trying to figure out what will happen.
With 4 teams in the playoff, we have to be ranked higher than at least one other P5 champion. The Big XII is the best bet for that, but if either Oklahoma or West Virginia win out (finishing either 10-2 or 11-1, respectively) I feel it is very likely that they would get a playoff spot ahead of us. Fortunately, they still get to play each other, and OU still plays Oklahoma State and WVU still plays Baylor, so there's plenty of opportunity for them both to lose. Oklahoma State is currently ahead of us, and could easily win the Big XII if they win out, but their schedule isn't as good as ours and they will have played one fewer game, so I'm less concerned about them.
We also need to be concerned with non-champions crashing the party. I see a few scenarios where a non-champion would probably be ranked higher than 11-2 Virginia Tech:
- Bama at either 11-1 with a loss in the Iron Bowl, or 12-1 with a loss in the SECCG
- Michigan at either 11-1 with a loss to OSU (losing the tiebreaker) or 12-1 with a loss to Wisconsin in the B1GCG
- Ohio State at 11-1 if PSU wins out resulting in a 3-way tie and Michigan wins the tiebreaker
- Clemson at 12-1 after losing to us (like it or not, their schedule is SIGNIFICANTLY better than ours, with the Atlantic being somewhat stronger than the Coastal and wins against Auburn and South Carolina compared against a loss to Tennessee and a win over Notre Dame)
There's a couple more scenarios that would make the CFP committee think twice before adding us over another P5 non-champion:
- Louisville at 11-1 (their schedule isn't any better than ours, but if they get back to early-season form they definitely pass the eye test and have the advantage in the L column)
- Washington at either 11-1 with a loss to Washington State or 12-1 with a loss in the P12CG, though in this case the P12 champion is either Washington State, Colorado, or Utah with a record no better than 11-2, or USC with a record no better than 10-3, so we would have a good shot of being ranked higher than the P12 champion anyway
- Ohio State at 10-2
- Texas A&M at 10-2, though only if Auburn wins the Iron Bowl. I think aTm drops a bit with an Auburn loss since that's their only quality win.
Looking at all of this, our easiest path is if Bama, Michigan, and Washington each end up 13-0, and Clemson drops one prior to the ACCCG, which is the bare minimum we would need for the committee to seriously consider us for spot #4. To essentially lock up the spot, we also need the following teams to lose once to a team not already mentioned (with remaining schedules in parentheses):
- Ohio State (@Maryland, @Michigan State, Michigan)
- Louisville (Wake Forest, @Houston, Kentucky)
- Texas A&M (Ole Miss, UTSA, LSU)
- Oklahoma (Baylor, @West Virginia, Oklahoma State)
- Oklahoma State (Texas Tech, @TCU, @Oklahoma)
- West Virginia (@Texas, Oklahoma, @Iowa State, Baylor)
But would the committee take a team from a conference but not the conference champ? I don't think that they would and in that case Louisville is hoping to win out and have Clemson win the ACCCG to have a shot at the playoff!
yup
Remember 2012, when FSU was 10-2 and played 6-6 GT in the ACCCG? FSU won that game by 6 points.
Imagine, if you will, in a year with a playoff, there was a conference championship game between a 12-0 team that had played a good schedule and a 6-6 team. Also imagine that there are only 4 P5 teams total with 1 loss or fewer. If the 6-6 team actually pulled off the upset, does the now-7-6 team take the #4 spot, does that automatically preclude the 12-0 team from the playoffs, or does the now-12-1 team take the #4 spot? I'd expect the last scenario.
Now replace that 6-6 team with a 9-3 team and run the same exercise, the 12-1 team is probably in the playoffs. I can't imagine it'll be that much different with a 10-2 team, unless they played at least as good of a schedule as the 12-0 team. And our schedule is much worse than Clemson's this year.
I mean, look at Penn State and Ohio State right now. PSU pulled off the upset, and is only one game worse than OSU actually tied in the conference with OSU not having played Michigan yet, but OSU is #5 and PSU is #10. I know PSU hasn't won their conference or anything, but head to head isn't the end-all-be-all of how you rank teams.
Assuming we win out, I think the only on Non-ACC school we have to worry about is WVU. A 1 loss big 12 team might make it in before us. A 2 loss Big 12 team doesn't make it in. I think the CCG boosts the resume enough. The 13th game also pushes us over A&M. Its doubtful IMO that both Ohio State and Michigan get in. I don't think the committee would want to setup a potential rematch, especially a late season rematch. Nobody outside those fanbases wants to see a Bama/LSU like scenario again.
That leaves Louisville and Clemson. If we go and beat Clemson convincingly (by at least 2 TDs) I think we are in. If the CCG is close or we hear the national commentators call our win a fluke for whatever reason then Clemson or Louisville might still get in.
GO USC!!!
You are correct, that IS the best hokies helmet.
This whole thread.
