Belk.
Bert.
Virginia Tech will play Arkansas in the Belk Bowl on December, 29. Kickoff is set for 5:30 PM EST. The Hokies last faced an SEC in the 2009 Peach Bowl — a 37 to 14 win over Tennessee. Tech has never played Arkansas in football before.
It's official.@ArkRazorbacks vs. @hokiesports https://t.co/7QOEVdYlKv pic.twitter.com/l3kblfvjuD— Belk Bowl (@belkbowl) December 4, 2016
"Our fans have been fabulous all season, and I know Hokie Nation will be anxious to join us in Charlotte for the Belk Bowl," Justin Fuente said in a release regarding Tech's 24th consecutive bowl appearance. "As I told the team after last night's game, our seniors deserve to end their careers out on a positive note. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to this senior class and our staff will do everything possible to prepare our squad to face a quality foe like Arkansas.
"Coach Beamer and his teams built Virginia Tech into the nation's most consistent postseason participant and we appreciate the standard we're expected to uphold. For myself, these seniors and this entire squad, we felt an obligation to extend Coach Beamer's bowl streak. Now, our objective is to prepare and play to the best of our ability to conclude this season with a victory. I can't thank Hokie Nation enough for their unwavering support and our team looks forward to seeing the stands packed with Maroon and Orange in Charlotte."
In related news, for the fifth consecutive season, Virginia is not eligible for a bowl.
Comments
KLEB
Best time to buy tickets? Think I'm going to wait.
I was wondering this as well. I've never been to a bowl game before so I don't know how these things typically work. I expect a strong showing from our fans it'll be interesting to see what the ticket prices do between now and then
It's a big stadium. Mid-week. Late afternoon start. The opponent was 7-5 and not nearby.
Tickets will be plentiful & cheap.
Which is just one more way this game hurts Tech as a whole because most won't be motivated to buy the allotted tickets for the school to sell because there will be an abundance of cheaper sources. Most times that means the school eats the cost of their unsold allotment. Reduces whatever minor amount we might have made from this game
I never quite understand the way this is done.
Each school is given a block of tickets to sell. If they fail to sell them, usually they are returned to the bowl by a set date and opened to the general public, if they fail to sell at this point than the school usually is held to cover the cost of those remaining tickets. It varies by bowl and stadium size, distance from schools on how big those original blocks are.
http://www.athleticbusiness.com/Marketing/schools-have-struggled-to-sell...
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/unsold-bowl-tickets-costs-b1g-n...
Here are a couple articles, the first one more ACC related where it discusses how many the school is responsible for, and then how the "conference" covers the remainder. Only problem with that logic is where do you think the conference money comes from? Other bowl games so it reduces the overall payout by the ACC to all its members.
At least it's not as bad as it used to be. The P5 lead the charge to renegotiate the amount of tickets required for each game.
It has little to do with Charlotte.
I could have written a similar conclusion about almost every bowl every year - including those VT has been to in recent years except perhaps the Sugar Bowl victory over Michigan. Tickets were cheap and plentiful for the Orange Bowls vs Kansas, Cincy & Stanford.
Thank you.
Glad, and surprised, we got the Belk bowl. Good way to end the season. Arkansas will be a good opponent.
I'm not glad. It's a slap in the face to the program. It's a pathetic Bowl to place your 3rd or 4th best team.
Said this in the other thread. The ACC bowl rankings are as followed 1) playoff 2) orange 3) RAB 4) Tax slayer.
RAB and Tax slayer can be flipped, but we shouldn't be at one of the crappiest bowl games the ACC is affiliated with. Tax Slayer makes so much sense and I have no idea why we weren't chosen to go there.
It's a little boring but on the bright side.. it'll be full of fans and we can celebrate the last win of the year with our team in person.
I would match rather play Arkansas then Kentucky. And go to Charlotte rather than Jacksonville. And Belk isn't one of the crappiest ACC bowls, we should be well acquainted with the numerous much worse ones, it's where we've gone the last 4 years.
As several others here have said, it's the same bowl we were considered for last season when we were 6-6. So.....that just doesn't sit well after a 9-3 regular season and taking #2 Clemson down to the wire in the ACCCG.
Yep belk is a garbage bowl. We should be in the RAB or tax slayer. I really don't want to go to fucking Charlotte in late December to play a bad team.
I'll be there but Orlando or Jacksonville would be much better.
I guarantee you we would have declined a RAB invite because of WVU, so that was never even on the table. Taxslayer is technically a higher bowl, except we would be there playing a worse team in Kentucky, in a location that's harder to get to as fans.
Why? Playing a ranked team at a good location with more money is a hell of a lot better than the belk bowl. I get that it would set up a rematch to setup the season but it could drive huge hype for that game too if the RAB was a close contest. Possibly game day worthy.
We'll probably get more fans for the belk bowl but we would have turned out Jacksonville too. I'm flying either way and I'm guessing most of the DC fanbase is too.
Charlotte is very drivable from DC, Jacksonville not so much.
Also, Charlotte is VT's third largest alumni base... Jacksonville, a little further down that list...
Outside of the Commonwealth, that is. At the Alumni Chapter forum I went to last year, I believe the numbers are that Baltimore is #1, followed very closely by Raleigh-Durham, then Atlanta, and then Charlotte. Even with that said, none of them approach any of the alumni numbers of the big regions within the Commonwealth.
But yeah... plenty of people in the area to fill BofA.
Can't wait to hang out in uptown then take the light rail to Bank of America...going to be awesome.
http://charlottehokies.com/about-us/
"...the Charlotte Chapter is home to the largest contingent of Hokies outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia."
Behind DC and Richmond.
when did Richmond no longer reside in the commonwealth?
Where did my comment say it didn't? It says Charlotte is the largest outside of the Commonwealth... meaning DC/NoVa (#1) and Richmond (#2) are ahead of it. Putting Charlotte as the third largest overall.
i read it wrong
it's a bit ambiguous though
What is bofa
Bank of America.
Dammit you ruined it.
No way ATL is in there. I live in the middle of the city and I rarely see Hokies out. I spend a weekend in Charlotte and I meet 10 recent grads.
Suburbs.
I'm ITP. I can't associated with people OTP.
Yep. In my neighborhood alone (Kennesaw) there are 4 Hokie families.
I'm in Woodstock and see VT gear and bumper stickers all the time.
That's a 6 and half hour drive. A little beyond what I am willing to do and I am guessing most people feel the same. So flying either way. The flight to Charlotte is cheaper, though.
Taxslayer isn't what we deserved either. We should be in the RAB playing WVU. They picked Miami to replace us but they can't even fill their own stadium, so any fears of us not turning up in droves is weird. Maybe we got offered it and Whit declined, but that would be foolish too. I think if anything, it would drive the hype for the rematch at Fedex.
Not when they scheduled the FedEx rematch to specifically end the 10 year drought in the series.
It's just ironic that all these times that we've come so close to playing WVU in bowl games, but missing out because of losing the wrong games or politics, the year that it would have happened, we already have them on the schedule for the very next game.
Sad as it may seem but I was way more likely to have seen us play the cousins in person at the bowl game than any chance I will ever go to another game at FedEx, regardless of opponent.
That is definitely caring too much about what the Fedex game represents, then.
Most of the under 28 fan base probably doesn't give a shit about playing WVU. I only do because both my parents also went to Tech so I had that hatred bred into me. Just a frustrating string of events. But Hotel and flight booked and tickets bought so I am trying to get excited to see what Charlotte has to offer. Staying til New Years to take it all in.
After they get a game day's worth of interaction with them, they'll understand us old fogies.
Although, the travelling contingent to FedEx I'm sure won't hold a couchfire to a trip to Morganhole.
I hear ya, but I am guessing it is going to take a while for that rivalry to respark, playing them back to back would do that. I am just saying, Whit is putting more stock in that game than a lot of the people that will be there (with the huge amount of young alumni in Arlington, I would assume its mostly a younger crowd.)
I think they'll spark it pretty quick with a few 9V batteries chucked from the stands.
Money doesn't factor into the equation - all the bowl money is pooled and shared according to some formula. The ACC is still represented in the RAB, so we will still get our share of it. Financially, Belk might be better because travel costs are lower.
Money is distributed evenly after each team deducts their travel expenses from the pot. Our own lower travel expenses only save us 1/14th the difference, since it gets split. However, since Miami also stays local(ish) for their bowl, we get 1/14th of their travel savings as well, which certainly helps some.
Would it really be better for the team to play Kentucky at 11 am on New Year's Eve, with the Citrus Bowl on at the same time and the CFP games later that day? Personally I would rather play Arkansas and think we would get more exposure for playing in the evening with no competing games on.
We were'nt really being considered for Belk bowl last year, we just wanted to be.
Loved the responses we got from the Belk Bowl's official Twitter last year. They had a funny tweet about 'Bama this year. Whoever is doing their marketing has a good sense of humor.
This isn't accurate. The Belk Bowl was very interested in VT last year for their bowl. The way the picks fell they did not have VT as an option when selecting.
Once you get past the top 10 bowls or so, they're all the same and it comes down to destination / venue.
Having been to both cities, I prefer Charlotte over Jacksonville.
Also what kind of garbage name is TaxSlayer.com Bowl? At least Belk Bowl is short and kind of generic enough [that it's not obvious to people outside the southeast that it's just another [insert sponsor name here] bowl.
Used to be the Gator bowl but when Taxslayer.com took over sponsorship, they changed the name.
and dale jr does the coin toss!
ive been to the "taxslayer bowl" a couple of times. its usually a crap game. tickets go for about 20 bucks. tons of empty seats.
im hoping that the proximity of charlotte and Blacksburg help with a good turnout just to support the home team! I mean we went to Shreveport last year for crying out loud! yes it was franks last game but that place was the worst!
Also consider that (by my count) 11 of our players are from the Carolinas, plus a lot of VA being close, those players are going to get to invite a ton of family members to come watch them play. There was a feature about that during the ACCCG and you could tell it was important to them.
Unless you're talking subjective rankings (that's fine and I pretty much agree), the bowl rankings in terms of choosing order are: 1) Playoff 2) Orange 3) Citrus, when the ACC has the slot 4) RAB T-5) Tax slayer, Belk, Pinstripe, Sun. And then a couple of even smaller ones for the remaining teams...
Maybe I've been in a cave a few years, but when did the Citrus Bowl make a comeback, or is that the bowl now known as the RAB? Next thing you know, we'll get the Tangerine and Astro-Bluebonnet bowls back.
The Citrus Bowl has been around, it just went by the name Capital One Bowl for several years. This was the original Tangerine Bowl, but it hasn't gone by that name since the early 80s.
The Russell Athletic Bowl-- which went by Tangerine Bowl in the early 2000s-- is a different bowl game played in the same stadium. It's had a number of names over the years, some of which you remember (Blockbuster Bowl, Carquest Bowl, MicronPC Bowl, Champ Sports Bowl, etc).
The Bluebonnet bowl died but they've started a few other bowls in Houston since then. You may remember the galleryfurniture.com Bowl from the early 2000s. (I'll never forget that one myself b/c ECU played in it one year and a friend of mine who went to school there had a bowl tshirt... I remember thinking it was the most ridiculous printed bowl name I'd ever seen.) That game also died, but another bowl started up in Houston more recently (currently called Advocare Texas Bowl).
I don't necessarily disagree with the overall message here, but the hell with Jacksonville. Too many bad trips there back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Also, there are definitely fans who can afford the ACCCG or the bowl game but not both, if they both require airfare. Charlotte is at least driveable for a lot of folks...
My understanding is Jacksonville is kinda a crap tourist town too. Although I have never been there to confirm.
Jacksonville=beach
Charlotte \= beach
Average December water temperature of 60° - no thank you.
Counter: average air temp Charlotte 42 with 3 inches of rain in the month
Jacksonville 54 with ZERO inches of average rain in Dec
we're talking beaches in December, right? Jacksonville is no Tampa. Having a beach is not a plus when comparing Charlotte and Jacksonville. Temperature and rain? Sure, but not a beach where it's too cold to enjoy it.
I love walking on the beach in Dec and January. Of course your not going swimming. But what does Charlotte offer in terms of things to do that Jacksonville doesn't? Take driving distance out and tell me why Charlotte is a place that's great to visit in late December? I'll even give you places like Biltmore as things to go do on way into and out of town.
This isn't an argument about where you should move. It's an argument about where is the better place for us to go bowling.
We want three things in a bowl: prestige, vacation potential, and convenience.
We will dominate the stands in Charlotte. Recruits from the region will easily be able to go with their families and communities. Charlotte is an easy drive from many parts of VA, NC, SC, TN, GA and a convenient flight (or, hell, amtrak if anyone does that any more) from literally anywhere else. A lot more of our players' family members will be able to attend because of that and that's huge for them.
TL;DR - yes, the biggest selling point is convenience, but that's still a big deal.
The ONLY quality point for the game is the number of Hokies that can go. They even rank among the worst for bowl gifts for players. I'll be there but only because I want to show the players Hokie Nation supports them. But the ACC and VT need to push for bowl reform within the conference stat.
Jax is actually a pretty decent town if you know what you're doing. My Tech best friend lived there for a few years, we never had a bad time. 100% better vacation town than Charlotte.
The convenience is both a boon and sucks because most Tech fans will be driving in the day before/of and leaving the day after. No multi day party with a bunch of alumni, which is arguably the most fun part of bowls. But players get a ton of family in the stands and we can get more recruits there, so that is a major plus.
54 still too cold for the eye candy
Jacksonville also has the misfortune of having some of my family living there. That makes Charlotte about a million times more appealing.
Not sure how to feel about that one.....
Though we deserved a better bowl, I'm glad we can send out the good guys with what should be a predominantly Hokie crowd.
Eh.
Bring on Bielema
Oh, that Hatin' On thread is going to be gold.
I respect his recruiting game, he outkicked his coverage with his wife:
Oh lord woo pig sooie
16 year age difference!
Proof that money trumps ugly.
You might notice, it looks like he has pretty big hands.
James Franklin would approve
bert
Eh, let's kick their asses and go into next season as a respected team.
We're having bacon on the 29th!
Every day is bacon day.
VT 34 Arkansas 24
Can I just say....I was really close on this one.
Saw on 247 I think it was that Drake Deiuliis predicted 35-24; another recruit said 34-24. There was not a prediction from Malik Willis, which would have been funny since he didn't know about the game.
Bleh with Bielema, bleh
We deserve better
Bowl games aren't about "deserve" or "fair". They are about making money. All in all, Virginia Tech fared rather well int its matchup — SEC opponent and a close drive for the majority of the fanbase.
If it's about making money then put us in the citrus or rab, the payout is higher:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/college-bowl-game-payouts/
Having said that, I think some of it had to do with Lamar Jackson and his popularity and then wvu in the rab. We won the coastal and played solid against Clemson.
I'm annoyed that big 10 has 4 teams in the new year's six
You're missing Joe's point. Bowls exist so that the bowls can make money. Bowls invite teams that will make them the most money, it's not some benevolent effort to pay the schools more money.
I know his point, we still deserve better
So someone smart explain why taxslayer didn't want VT? Also are bowl payouts split evenly? Or did Tech lose money by going to Belk?
Taxslayer could have really wanted us, but since it's on the same tier as Belk, I'm sure the Belk Bowl and VT were in mutual agreement that it was the best destination for ticket sales. We would be in the RAB if it weren't for WVU.
Taxslayer is on the same tier, but according to this there were still 2 bowls that picked ahead of the Belk: http://www.theacc.com/page/bowls
Looks like the Russel Athletic Bowl and the Citrus Bowl choose before all the Tier I bowls. If so, then the RAB picked Miami over us.
RAB may have wanted us, but VT would not have necessarily wanted a "pre-match" with WVU since that's how we open next season, and ticket sales to that game are going to be of greater importance.
TaxSlayer may have wanted us but (1) there is a VT-Duke home basketball game on the same day, so VT would have declined so as not to diminish a premiere ACC home game and (2) the VT fan strongholds in Bburg/NRV, NoVA, and Richmond are less likely to travel to Jax for a "lesser" bowl than they are to make the shorter road trip to Charlotte.
Does ACC pool bowl money or did losing RAB payout to take Belk hurt VT?
Pretty sure everyone but Notre Dame shares profit
The ACC's distribution formula is private, and it is not entirely split evenly. Given that RAB is a higher-tier bowl, it's likely we lost some money.
http://www.syracuse.com/acc/index.ssf/2016/05/acc_revenue_increases_100_...
A couple of the various beat reporters have done stories on it over the years. I think I remember that basically, each team spends a "reasonable" allowance out of their specific bowl game payout to handle travel costs, etc. Then the remainder gets pooled and divided amongst all the schools. No details on the formula for dividing the remaining pool.
Based on my reading of that article, each school's piece of the ACC revenue is partially based on how they perform. Syracuse apparently sucked in basketball and football during that year.
My understanding is that all of the bowl payouts going into the ACC bank, and then the ACC redistributes to each school. So, VT would be getting the same amount regardless of which individual bowl they were in. In other words, if the ACC is pooling money from Bowls A, B, and C, it doesn't matter which one of those VT goes to, because the ACC is getting money from all three.
Overall, the conference did well by replacing the St. Pete bowl with the Fiesta and Citrus Bowls.
I don't think VT could have completely sold the ticket allotment for RAB. I think we can for Charlotte.
I would have preferred Nashville (Nashville > Charlotte for a 1.5/2 day trip), but this was our best none NY6 landing spot IMO.
Are we still affiliated with the Music City Bowl? I thought it was B1G and $EC now.
TaxSlayer and Music City are both affiliated with the ACC and they split a number of selections from 2014-2019. Since the ACC sent a team to Music City in 2014 and 2015, if both TaxSlayer and Music City wanted an ACC team this year, TaxSlayer got priority choice.
Thanks for that.
The ACC and B1G will split those two games over the six seasons from 2014-2019. Each conference will send a team to each of the two bowls three times during that span.
Hadn't checked who else was in the RAB...makes a lot more sense with WVU being chosen. Leg for noticing that before I did.
Right, Citrus and RAB pick before Tier 1 bowls, but I'm sure a ton of extenuating circumstances lead to us getting passed over by the RAB. They probably would have otherwise taken us, but fears of poor travel for a return to Orlando and the guaranteed WVU matchup probably heavily lead to this decision.
Not sure they would not want Miami over us. We may travel better as a whole, but Miami is a Florida team, and probably has similar national name after us both being down. We were just there yesterday, with only an okay fan support. Yes we beat them, but I'm sure Belk wanted us a lot more than anyone else did. They were willing to take a lessor opponent because they know VT will be there.
Where on that page does it say anything about the order that bowls were selected? The slideshow has them grouped by tiers, and the graphic at the bottom has them grouped by tier and sorted by time. (Plus the slideshow forgets about GT in the Taxslayer, and wishes UNC luck twice for the Sun Bowl.)
And if you're referring to the Citrus and RAB selecting first, they did, and plenty of people have explained why they picked who they did in this thread.
https://campusinsiders.com/news/acc-bowl-tie-ins-selection-process-11-01...
Good thing about it is having a nice Hokie contingent there.
Also cool playing an SEC team.
Yeah meh, but I'm sure we'll travel extremely well and hopefully win. Fuente will have them ready to play though.
Can't go wrong with a chance to get a win over the SEC in a bowl game.
We fought hard against Klemson, and need to have a major turn out and game plan against Arkansas. Belk is a lot easier to get to than Florida for many fans, and can we can pack the house. I like the support for NC, since the ACC made a STUPID decision to move the conference championships out of state. STUPID!
Go HOKIES!
FIFY
Dear God, both of you stop. We do NOT need to go through that again on this site. I have my opinion on the matter like everyone else but this is NOT the place to discuss it.
This all day.
Seems like every thread is now becoming a referendum on HB2 or the CFP rankings.
Because CFP rankings are controlled by the politicians! Amirite??!
/s
And we all know the crooked politicians are pie eaters!
#debatesthatmatter #teamcake
You know who loved cake, Hitler, Hitler ate so much cake he got sick often.
Not to get too historical here, but Hitler was also taking so many various and ridiculous drug cocktails that it's pretty amazing he lived as long as he did. So I doubt it was just the cake making him sick.
Well then. It looks like you need a history lesson from this completely credible historical resource...
Completely Credible Historical Resource
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2614525/2pm-lie-ins-daily-Fuhrer...
I guess we can call this one a draw. Besides if anything this just throws that fringe "cookie" group under the bus...
Oh and just to go ahead and play my trump card...
Emma is #teamcake
PS: Don't even bother with a pic of her eating pizza. Pizza does not fall under the category of pie. If you silly pie eaters feel the need to try to claim pizza then you have already lost the war.
PPS: And yes cupcakes fall under the category of team cake as they are the exact same substance, just in smaller form.
it's PPS....not PSS
and also, #teampie
Typo fixed. Your pallet however... that seems irreparable.
Edit: I mean I guess I can add a /s for whoever has been down voting me, lol. If the debate means that much to ya you can just hang on to the legs. I have some extras.
Just googled "Emma Watson eating pie" but to no avail. We all know she has the common sense to be #teampie though.
I feel like that search may have come up with some very interesting results.
Lots of feet for some reason?
*bing* paging Rex Ryan
she's clearly just eating the icing off that cupcake because she can't stand the actual cake part of it.
still just consuming icing. What's your point?
Look closer. The bottom of her jawline is clearly under the cake line.
BTW it's nice that we can all get back to debating the things that really matter in life.
That is my prime focus here.
MaroonX2 trying to see like...
The bottom of her jawline, but NOT the bottom of her mouth.
She clearly doesn't want to touch cake.
I mean I can see a good inch of cake at least at the bottom of her mouth.
that is a pained expression...almost as though she's being forced against her will to eat that junk
Emma disagrees
How do you have so many pictures of Emma eating? I'm a little concerned....
Like this
Here you go...
Emma with a pie.
Actually that's pizza which is NOT pie as I addressed in my earlier post. To feel the need to claim pizza as pie is to admit defeat.
well, for starters, pizza IS pie but we don't need to claim it because ALL pies are superior to all cakes.
Honestly, I just appreciate your effort in defending your stance. Agree to disagree on pie/cake debate though.
quitter
kind of like when team cake claims cheesecake?
Get real. Here's what you need for pie:
crust
delicious gooey ingredients inside crust (not necessarily homogeneous)
typically eaten in slice increments
Pizza as a category of food is just subset of...wait for it...PIE.
You just made up your own personal definition of pie to fit your agenda.
Typical pie propaganda...
Can you think of any criteria for pie that includes all commonly accepted pies (apple pie, chess pie, chicken pot pie, etc), but excludes pizza?
I'm sorry, but it sure looks like a pie to me.
Pizza is definitely pie but crab cakes are classified as cakes, which means cake has at least something going for it
Nope, crab and all "fish cakes" are croquettes. NOT cakes.
having cake in the name does not make something cake. See "Cake, Cheese"
IT IS A CAKE AND I WILL EAT IT LIKE A CAKE
I'm not big on seafood so explain this to me. Are crab cakes basically just hamburgers fried in a skillet (if you swap crab meat for ground beef)?
So does that mean we should call hamburgers beef cake?
Hamburgers could be called beef cakes. But cake doesn't come on a bun. Crab cakes are like hamburgers, but with crab meat, which is better, as well as not normally fried in my experience but maybe they are.
Crab cakes are crab and some filler, usually bread crumbs and egg. Actually, they are probably most often fried. Broiled crab cakes are definitely good, though in my experience, most are sauteed, pan fried or deep fried. Different chefs and different regions have their preferences. They really aren't like hamburgers, definitely more of a croquette.
I would say there is no bite out of that cupcake. She definitely just licked the icing. Furthermore, that face is more one of a person who has just been offered a slice of pie after assuming the only dessert option was cake
Notice not a single piece of disgusting "cake" is bitten into, she is just using it to hold the frosting.
So, you're saying a cupcake is just a delivery device for frosting.
Sorry everyone. I couldn't let it go. Not the place, I get it.
No better time to visit NC since we moved back to PA.
Would have liked better bowl...but I love Charlotte and it's really close. I'll take it.
does VT get an allotment of student tickets for bowls?
Affirm.
It's too bad we never got to play FSU or Louisville head to head this season. It feels very arbitrary that VT is picked 4th of the ACC schools.
It would have been nice, but FSU does not want to play us. They fought against us being in the same division with them when we joined the ACC to prevent it. We are #2 in the ACC, the championship game proved it, yet we still get passed over. Yes, it is a financial decision for bowls, not what is fair. We need to live with it and make the best of the opportunity to face and beat and SEC team.
Yep, this was a huge middle finger. We need to turn out hard and rip Arkansas a new hole.
Maybe we shouldn't have lost to Syracuse and GT.
Huh? FSU got the Orange Bowl by being the highest ranked ACC team. Louisville likely got the Citrus due to having Lamar Jackson being the Heisman favorite and one of the biggest names in college football this season. They also happen to ranked 9 spots higher than us (not that I agree with that). Regardless we have a winnable matchup against an SEC West team. That's pretty cool. Sometimes I don't understand why every little thing is made out to be a slight.
If everything's a slight, the chip on our shoulder is bigger. And we all know what happens when Sam Rogers has a big chip on his shoulder.
Not that I agree this should be a slight.
I'm not sure that the ACCCG "proved" that we're better than FSU and Louisville so much as it affirmed that we're on a similar level. I'm just saying I would have liked to have played them because even if we had lost at least we could justify why we're ranked below them.
We lost to a really bad team and two mediocre teams.
I know we feel let down after lasts nights performance, but that was a 4th loss. Not really a whole lot we can complain about with getting the Belk.
My cousin has two daughter at Ark. I'll have some fun back and forth with him leading up to the game, lots of Hokie fans can go there easily, and frankly it's a really great chance to blow up an SEC West team with a dingus as a coach heading into next season.
Strangely, I feel like last night was the definition of a "good loss". We overperformed national expectations and looked good playing against the #2 ranked team in the country. But a loss is a loss I suppose.
If moral victories were real last night was a moral victory. It was a cover though so that made some people happy.
With Dungey, Syracuse isnt a really bad team, just a mediocre one. And Ga Tech and Tennessee were good not mediocre teams. But either way I am all for the Belk bowl as I should be able to make the trip!
I'll take it every single day. Let's whip an SEC team in front of a sold out home crowd.
I think I am definitely going to this game.
I'll be there ordering tickets now
Consider me underwhelmed.
Okay.
I'll just leave this here.
wtf did i just watch?
not sure but she has haunted my dreams for a while now.
Now that is a redneck nose job!
Scotch tape will get after ya.
Really. That is some f'ed up shit!
WOW!! Serious fandom delusion going on.
Arkansas can throw the ball fairly well but their defense is bad. Ford might have himself a fun last college game.
I think of Ark as a power running team. Is tyat not them anymore?
I know Allen is a solid QB, but us he mobile? I can't remember.
Ark is not a power running team this year. Bert doesn't have the players to handle that (mostly at the TE/H-Back/FB spots IIRC). He does have a relatively consistent passer and good backs who catch well out of the backfield. I think.
Hard to gauge their offense. Only game I watched was Auburn blow them out in Fayetteville. I think VT could do the same.
Arkansas's inconsistency is what hurt them the most this year. They are not a mediocre team in terms of the talent they have and they could be a dangerous opponent...that Auburn game was a fluke. They put up 30 on Alabama...second most of any team this season so we know they can score against a good (great?) defense. If they show up ready to play, it could be a lot more interesting than people think.
I don't think I intimated that I thought Arkansas was untalented. If I did, my bad.
Arkansas has the horses to make this a game, and win outright. If their defense gets a couple stops, they can definitely score points (as seen in the Bama game and others throughout their season). The Auburn game was a fluke for them, but it also highlights that they have trouble stopping the run at times which causes them to struggle with play action.
Travon could have a really, really nice game against this team. We'll need his speed on the outside IMO. Rogers can still blast up the middle as it's his final game, but Travon will need to run with purpose to setup some play action.
Agree with TallaHokie and would also add that they blew out Florida, who themselves have a great defense. Austin Allen is probably a top 3 qb in the sec and they have the talent to score lots of points, just very inconsistent. We could be in for a shootout if they come out in top form.
Hahaha I'm so excited for this foerensics though.
Not sure if I will have anyone to go to Belk Bowl with because it's on a work day and none of my friends are Hokies. Would love to meet some TKP folks at a tailgate or something if I have to go it alone.
I'll be there alone too since my wife can't go. We should grab a drink!
Hoping to buy the lower level ($92) tickets through Virginia Tech this evening. I know the players seem a little bummed about this, but I am happy that I'll be able to make a 3 hour trip to support these guys.
And worst game goes to Quick Lane Bowl. BC vs. Maryland.
December 26 in Detroit. Over/under on actual persons in attendance? I'll set the number at 12000
You know they will be giving away tickets too. I say they will have 16,000.
I know I had to do a triple take to believe BC had become bowl eligible.
So last year t team was 6-6 and came this close | | to getting Belk Bowl, this team has 9 wins, just played for ACC championship and it's a good bowl pick?
Bowls outside of the elite ones have never been about fairness. We got passed over by RAB and Citrus, and that sucks, but I am excited that I will be able to attend this game.
Based on the circumstances, yeah. The RAB would make our super-awesome-crazy-hype FedEx kickoff game a rematch in less intense circumstances. The TaxSlayer was in Jax, FL and we didn't travel super well to the ACCCG. So all around, with the circumstances, yeah a good bowl.
The ACC selection process has screwed us twice.
What is there to be done about it at this point? The annoying thing i will say is that if we didn't start the season next year with WVU, I guarantee the Black Diamond Trophy is making an appearance at the RAB this winter.
For all we know Whit told them he didn't want to play WVU if it could be avoided
Whit assuredly would rather be in the Belk than against the cousins.
I don't think it's the selection process that's the problem, it's the bowls that the ACC has ties to.
Didn't go into our last RAB against Rutgers at 7-5?
No, we were 6-6 in the 2012 regular season.
Right. So I'm wondering why those lamenting at being picked for the Belk Bowl, which we were supposedly being considered for last season (but I really don't think we were), are upset that we weren't picked for the RAB which got after going 6-6 in 2012
RAB got boosted significantly in its stature, so it's hard to compare. In 2012, RAB was an also-ran kind of bowl. Now, they pay more money to the ACC to get a much better spot in the pecking order.
Remember when TCU felt slighted and beat Ole Miss 42-3 to make a statement?
Can we do that please?!?
If we play like we did last night I think we win by at least 3 TDs.
Hoping this game can be similar to Alabama in 1998.
Sorry but this game just looks crappy at face value. Arkansas is not a very good team. Any team with an offense beats them. And losing to Missouri is worse than Tech's lose to Syracuse. Tech wins so what! And if Tech looses it takes the momentum of the season down the drain.
Well, they did manage to beat Alcorn State, La Tech , Texas State and TCU.
And Florida.
Arkansas hasn't been good this year, but beating an SEC West team is always good for perception, it doesn't matter who they are. It doesn't really matter that Arkansas underwhelmed this year, this is a chance to get a win against the "best" division in college football.
If Tech wins they'll have 10 wins for the first time in 5 years...so I'd say it still matters.
Sending a division champion who was 20 yards from potentially beating the #2 team in the country to face a bad unranked SEC opponent in a cold boring destination doesn't seem appropriate for the season we just had. I don't care if the Belk is technically Tier 1, these players deserved a better reward for their season than this. This is the same bowl we almost got last year after being .500, so it definitely feels like a bit of a slight by the conference and bowls.
You forgot middle of the week game versus Taxslayer or Citrus being a Saturday game which for some is the only way attending is going to happen. Also despise that there are no New Years Day games because of the NFL.
I don't view this as a slight at all. It's not an elite opponent, but let's face it, past NY6 bowls, no one really cares about bowl prestige. 10 wins and smacking an SEC team to finish off a season is a perfectly acceptable end to this season for me.
Agreed. The win total has more visibility than which bowl we played in 2016. No one really remembers or cares about that on a national scale unless you make the playoffs.
And a win means we finish the season ranked.
And start next season ranked.
Yep, a win looks like a top 15 AP finish. Preseason should be pretty close to that with Evans returning, even with assumed loses of Ford and Bucky and senior loses of Baron, Nigel, Ekanem, Clark, McGlock, Conte and Rogers. Some thoughts on loses:
OL: With Osterloh and Chung, I feel like we can fill Conte's spot. With Plantin, Moore, Dzansi, and maybe TJ Moore, we will go through a learning curve at RT. If Chung can learn to snap, he could beat out Gallo. My bet: Nijman/Teller/Gallo/Chung/Osterloh start the season.
WR: Losing Ford will hurt badly, but Phillips has stepped up and could be ready for even more responsibility. Carroll can backfill Phillips with Murphy getting more time. Losing Bucky will hurt, but we may be better in other areas....like blocking. Excited to see what Deilius, Capehart, Pimpleton and Savoy can bring to the table. I wonder if Dalton Keane will play TE or DE?
RB: Losing Rogers versatility hurts, but I'm excited to see what the coaching staff does with TMac and Peoples....maybe Holston.
DL is scary, especially depth. Still seems hard for Settle to play for long stretches and I'm not sure what we have at #4 DT. Losing Ekanem may be even tougher, everyone loves Mihota's grit but he's not a pass rusher...he's a pocket mover. Need Garbutt to commit and come in and help out.
Chuck Clark was solid, but with four solid DB's returning in Stro/AA/Facyson/Edmunds, we should be able to figure it out. Need to build depth....and get Hunter.
Should be favored in ever game but v. Clemson and maybe @Miami. WVU game will be interesting, but they lose their QB....I think we're probably a TD favorite.
Don't forget about Deablo and Patterson, haven't gotten much burn this year, but they figure to be competing for spots next year. Blocking should improve dramatically if the teams really has bought in. On DL, there's some depth issues, but Trevon Hill is super promising, and Housh could step up in a big way as well.
WVU will be interesting, I've heard some fans are happy to have Skyler move on, a lot of excitement for the next guy up.
Yeah, I should have mentioned Deablo. He should get a lot of time next year, big spring for him.
I guess William Crest is next at WVU? We recruited him pretty hard.
That next guy will likely be Will Grier, who looked great at times last season as a redshirt freshman at Florida.
His saga has been very ridiculous and unclear. Will he be eligible to play the first game? Will he have to wait until like midseason based on when his infraction occurred?
I thought he was eligible but every search result I get says WVU "expects" him to be, not that he is. I wouldn't shed any tears if he's not for week one.
Big deal. Nobody really argues or cares about the prestige of the Russell Athletic Bowl vs. the Belk Bowl.
Bowl games that aren't New Year's 6 should be about getting good location for fan support and a decent opponent, which we got both of.
The only reason RAB is elevated in our minds is that we know it stands alone in the selections.
Folks, remember the last time we were in the RAB. It was a shitshow against Rutgers.
God I didn't even remember that that awful game was the RAB.
Yep, the RAB is just a worse version of the Belk, farther away.
At face value, this looks like it sucks (TaxSlayer = $2.75M payout, RAB = $2.275M, Belk = $1.7M). However, what are the prices on the Athletics Department to send the team to Charlotte vs Jacksonvile or Orlando? I'm also positive that a greater # of Hokie fans would be able to attend in Charlotte vs flying down to Florida.
WRT opponents, yes the matchup with the cousins would have been a tempting draw, but it's already been discussed that having them on the schedule for next year would cause the bowl to look the other way. The other two opponents have identical records, scoring offenses, and scoring defenses, so level of difficulty is negligible.
Price: A quick glance at bowl game ticket prices show the Belk Bowl at 1/3rd of the price for near field level seats, compared to the TaxSlayer Bowl.
I'm in the belief that, while this does look like a lower prestige bowl due to the payout, the direct expenses to the school, coupled with the direct expenses of the fans should be lower. The degree to which I do not know, but we might be able to turn a greater profit in Charlotte than Orlando or Jacksonville.
We historically travel well when we're excited for the team, which I think we all are. I was prepared to go anywhere. I think a lot of people didn't go to the ACCCG because we were expecting to get the RAB.
But best response we can have is to make it a sellout with 80% tech fans and smack Arkansas in the mouth.
all ACC teams get their bowl expenses paid and the conference splits the bowl revenues equally except for ND.
the differences in the bowls are the perks and the swag
NC isn't as fun as FL for the players but there will be more VT fans that can go to the game and Charlotte is prime recruiting territory. One of the ways to get better bowl games is to get better talent. In this regard, Charlotte is way better for VT than Orlando.
In other bowl news, the trash talk between WVU fan Twitter and Miami fan Twitter is already hilarious.
Dana Hologram!
Seeing him get a 5-year extension after one 10-win season in the Big 12's weakest season in a very long time was interesting. His record over the last five years was 36-28 with the only other 10-win season being with Bill Stewart's players.
Let's beat them by 30 in FedEx and watch his fanbase turn on him in person.
It could happen. Next year is a good year to play WVU. At a minimum they lose their QB, 2 o lineman, 8 defensive starters. Of course we lose some players as well but in most spots we seem to have clear replacements in place with experience.
Also can't hurt that we plucked Coach Mitchell from their staff.
Will Grier is most likely better than Skyler Howard, though. It will be interesting.
They deserve each other
I'm pumped about this selection to be honest. I was going to be in Charlotte that day anyhow, now I get to go to the game.
Also, Bank of America stadium and Charlotte are great places to host big games.
See some of you there!
EDIT: I'll also add that I'm excited to be playing a new team and one we're not slated to play anytime soon.
Consider this! There are actually only 3 bowls that matter anymore.
I can't believe people are suddenly surprised or disappointed by the Belk Bowl. It was pretty obvious for several reasons to anyone paying attention for the last week or so that it was the likely destination if VT lost the ACC Championship.
I'm beginning to think that some people on message boards just like to complain...
You're right. The fact of the matter is we got into a first tier bowl. We're playing against an SEC team that is very beatable with an opportunity to get to 10 wins for the first time in five years. Lots of momentum coming from the regular season with a chance to add even more going into the offseason.
Beginning?
Tongue in cheek, my friend...tongue in cheek.
Just because people talked about it as a possibility for the past week doesn't make it any less disappointing. This is the same bowl we almost made last season with a 6-6 record. Sorry, count me as underwhelmed. And count this solid VT team as slighted.
Bet you $100 that our players are disappointed. They did earn the right to play in a better bowl against a better opponent.
Hmmmmm.....I wonder what is in the gift bag.
Other than not going to some warmer weather in late December, I seriously doubt the players are disappointed. They're far more grounded and less obsessive than message board posters.
We've also discussed WVU to the RAB and avoiding a pre-match for a while also, not a surprise.
I wanted somewhere warm...
Is Charlotte a cool city? Haven't been in years
I don't comment often, however, I must say that I was at the ACCCG last night and I must say that I after the game I went back to the hotel I was staying in and just sat there for almost an hour before even trying to go to bed because I was so happy with the game (regardless of the loss), because it proved our team has balls...
Virginia Tech, the program that could barely stay afloat the last couple of years took (in my opinion) the second best team in the nation down to the wire. Dabo knew what he was facing, he diseminated that in his postgame interview, and he is fearful of what is ahead of him when the Maroon & Orange is on the other sideline of him in the future.
I don't think anyone should be disappointed in the Belk Bowl. The team has the opportunity to win a game in front of a large group of Hokie Nation for our seniors. The Seniors that were the Lieutenants to starting a new football culture at Virginia Tech under Fuente.
Let's Go...
Hokies!
Great post. Thank you for an excellent perspective from the aftermath of the ACCCG.
I regret that I have but one leg to give.
Why does not this post have 1000000000 legs?
For everyone that's disappointed in the Belk Bowl, some of the reasoning is Whit not wanting to take attention away from Buzzketball's win over a top 5 Duke team on New Years Eve!
Aren't students on break then anyway?
Yup.
rolls eyes at ACC
A few things to keep in mind..
1. The ONLY reason we were really ever in the conversation for the Belk Bowl last year was because it was Frank's last season and there was thought that a local bowl game would have huge Hokie Attendance.
2. Jacksonville....seriously?? Does anyone here want to go back to Jacksonville? I'll take Charlotte everyday. The idea that the Tax Slayer Bowl is any more prestigious than Belk is hard to support.
3. The reasons for not going to Orlando bowl have already been covered. We would have probably helped ourselves a bit more if there were more Hokies at ACCCG last night.
4. The costs of going to Fla bowl and the minimal ticket sales we would have (esp. to Jax) probably make the Belk financially better for us as well. The only major downside I see here is the mid-week start; which is going to take a a significant contingent out of the equation.
My priorities for a bowl game in terms of personal travel are a location that is either a really cool city that I haven't been to before, or a beach. Charlotte is a fine place, but I've been plenty of times and I'm not taking a vacation there. Jacksonville, while it may not be the best city Florida has to offer, at least there's a beach and it'll be warm.
So yes, for me I'd much rather go to JAX.
As a fanbase, our incessant need to feel slighted is getting old. Even if we were snubbed, who the hell cares. We get easy travel to a bowl game to face a SEC team that we've never faced in our history. We get an opportunity to send this team out right with a heavily hokie crowd, and most people don't have to spend a fortune on plane tickets to do it.
And really, it's likely we weren't even snubbed. We were never going to go to RAB thanks to West Virginia. There is no way us or them would suck the energy out of next season's opener like that. As for TaxSlayer, we've already established that we have a home basketball game against Duke, there's no reason to distract from that and I bet we had a part in not going there. And besides, TaxSlayer bowl would have us play a worse opponent at 11AM. Literally nothing about that bowl is better other than a made-up measure of "prestige".
How about we get excited about stomping an SEC West team in our first ever meeting and sending a truly special team out right.
People expect a lot out of this basketball game. Students are gone, 757 and NOVA/DC alums are not going down in droves on that date to see a basketball game.
TV?
Whit could have asked for the game time to be moved back.
If we roll into that game ranked (and there's a good chance of that as long as we continue to take care of business) I think you'll be surprised at how many students made the trek back to celebrate New Years. Duke games have historically drawn really good student crowds, and even though it's on break most students live in off-campus apartments anyway.
Couple that with the fact that I checked Stubhub about a week ago, and cheapest tickets were well over $100. I know the box office hasn't started selling them as individual game tickets yet (though I just checked and they will go on sale on 12/14 at 10:00 AM, so hopefully I'll be able to grab some then), but I was both discouraged by the fact that I was priced out of the game and encouraged that apparently tickets to the game are apparently in fairly high demand.
Not so fast, my friend.
Yep and here they are:
https://www.stubhub.com/virginia-tech-basketball-tickets-virginia-tech-v...
That's every sporting event, everywhere. I think we'll have a solid turnout.
The ACC doesn't screw Tech with another year of top games on student break there would be a lot less tickets on sale and a lot more Hokies in the stands. But this seems to happen every year to Hokies basketball.
Hokie Sports put this out about 45 minutes ago...
Men's Basketball vs. Duke sold out
Damn, as per my comment above I was hoping to snipe a few at face value when they went on sale on the 14th. Though currently there are some on Stubhub for under $80. Is Stubhub the one where the price shown is the price paid to the seller and the buyer pays additional fees to Stubhub for their service, therefore making those essentially $90+ each? Or are they reasonable and display (almost) the price you pay, and give less to the seller?
Edit: just saw that they went on sale to HC members yesterday, should have asked my dad to grab some. This is what I get for not being a member myself, which I've been thinking about changing recently.
Join us!
I live in Albany now and until a couple years ago was a broke (college student|recent grad) and my wife is finishing up grad school in the spring, with her student loans from undergrad set to come out of deferment then.
Couple that with a father who is a Golden Hokie (pretty sure) and gets season tickets in great seats, so I have a great place to sit the one or two times I make it back to Blacksburg each fall (this year was 3 times, which was fun but way too much traveling), and there hasn't been much motivation to sign up. But I've been considering donating the minimum (whatever that may be) just to start working on "consecutive years" or whatever since I can afford it now, even though it sounds like the benefits of that are shrinking with the new HC structure.
I wonder how many people wanting the tax slayer bowl noticed the kick time. I did that back in 06. Had a good time but that 11 AM kick time was awful. Our tailgate basically consisted mcdonalds breakfast and as much liquor we could down in 2 hours.
This isn't about needing to feel slighted. This bowl assignment is by any measure you want to use a slight to this team that went 9-3 in the regular season and finished runner-up in the ACC. People can say there's not a bowl pecking order. But, all you really have to do is compare the bowl $$ payouts.
I haven't done the research, but I have a strong suspicion the Belk Bowl has never before had the ACCCG runner-up. Likewise, I bet they've never had a 9-3 regular season ACC team.
Look, just because people throw out explanations for why the Citrus, RAB and Taxslayer may have passed on the Hokies doesn't mean we should just feel peachy and grateful to go to a middling 6-6/7-5 type of bowl.
As I've been saying today, I get that a lot of Hokies can make it easily to Charlotte for the game. And yes, that's a good thing. But that doesn't mean it's the ideal bowl we could have gone to based on our season of work. I believe this team earned a better opportunity than this bowl. And, it's a shame, too, because no one outside of the VT and Arkansas fan bases will care much about this game. That further hinders national perception and recruiting.
If the ACC didn't get the extra bowl bid with the Citrus, then we were looking at a 9 win team going into the Tier 1 bowls regardless, possibly even 2.
Outside of Clemson, there are 3 9 win teams and 4 8 win teams. That's 7 teams. Between the 3 Florida bowls and 4 Tier 1 bowls, that's 7 games.
Louisville went as a 9 win team two years ago. Unless you're in the running for the playoff or New Year's six, bowls are all about getting a decent opponent and having a fun game that you normally wouldn't see. Even if you feel slighted, have you stopped to think about who did it? It's the decision makers for the individual bowls, basically a bunch of sponsor reps. Who gives a fuck what they think.
You realize the alternative was the TaxSlayer bowl, at 11 am, against Kentucky, at the same time as Louiville/LSU...that vs a game against a mid-profile SEC west school in an after-work slot with no competition. Belk wins hands down.
I agree, Taxslayer isn't any better than the Belk. That's not really my point.
I believe this team did enough to get the Citrus Bowl bid. That's my bigger beef.
It's a business decision. Citrus bowl should pick the team with the heisman winner over the 3rd or 4th best conference team every time. Louisville vs LSU sells ads and viewership better than VT vs LSU
2014 Louisville is the only 9 win ACC team coming into the game. But most of the matchups have featured an 8 win ACC team.
Outside of the NY6, and a rare few others, who cares about random bowls unless its their team?
In 2012, Georgia Tech lost the ACCCG and were sent to the Sun Bowl, which I think we'd all agree is a far worse destination than the Belk.
In 2013 and 2015, the Coastal champ was easily the highest-ranked team not placed in a BCS/NY6 bowl after losing the ACCCG, and were selected for the top non-BCS/NY6 bowl accordingly.
In 2014, the Coastal champ (GT) was easily the highest-ranked ACC team after FSU was selected for the playoffs, and were therefore placed in the Orange Bowl.
In 2016, we are not the highest-ranked ACC team not slotted into a NY6 bowl, so we were placed in the Tier-1 bowl that made the most sense considering geography and quality. I know the Gator (TaxSlayer) bowl has a higher payout, but all the payouts get split by the conference, and who really wants to go to Jax anyway? Orlando was out of the question due to (a) Louisville, and (b) WVU, so playing a game where we should be ashamed if we don't show up like a home game isn't a bad next option.
And that is what we have! Go forth and recruit! OL please.
Someone tell Fuente the game is at 4:30!
But it's at 5:30. Am I being wooshed here?
...Cause we've showed up and hour late for a few games
I'm looking forward to it. Frankly it would be the only bowl game I could get to this year!
Here's a thought. Has VT really done much in tier one bowls games other then get embarrassed or lose. Until we change that perception of course we will get skipped over. The perception will change but not this quickly, we have to win bowl games to be taken seriously.
No hard feelings but honestly, look at the names of the bowls we are fighting over. Taxslayer, RAB, and Belk. When's the last time your volunteered to go into a belk?
Come on guys I would understand sugar and orange debate but TaxSlayer vs Belk. I just want to win and move on to getting better.
We've only been in one tier 1 game, which we did get embarrassed and lose. (2013 Sun Bowl)
Your know what I mean. I meant serious bowl games. Ones people talk about, debate about and show our bowl record on graphs every time we play in one.
"Tier 1" has a very specific definition when talking about ACC bowls. But even expanding to the vague "serious" bowls definition, yes, our overall bowl record is pretty bad. But it's been improving the last few years. Granted, that's partially due to getting into the tier 2 bowls that gave us favorable matchups as a 6-6 team. But over the last 8 years, we're 5-3, and one of those losses is the questionable Sugar Bowl loss in which many people acknowledge that we got ripped off.
Speaking of that Sugar Bowl, that was a game in which we got elevated into, probably more than we should have been. VT travels well, and that has rewarded us in bowl selection.
Well, we beat Cincinnati in 2009 and Michigan in 2012. Other than that it's been tough. ;)
So after reading some of the Jacksonville local populations reaction to U.K./GT in the taxslayer they aren't happy about this matchup either. News stations social media comments from the public is overwhelmingly negative.
Out of curiosity what teams were the locals wanting to see? FSU and UF were non starters to begin with.
Teams with better records.
Then Jacksonville needs to pony up more $$.
Just curious - for those into that type of thing, how much will VT be favored by against Arky?
I just saw a line (on twitter, so who knows). It was VT -3.5
because....SEC
I would guess VT -4.5...maybe -5.0.
Booo!!! BOOOOOOOO!!! This sucks!! Bring back tulsa and the independence bowl!
/s
You do remember we were 6-6 last year vs 9-3 (reg season) this year. Shouldn't there be a significant step up in bowl game?
I do member! And charlotte/arky seems like a step up from shreveport/tulsa, regardless of the name.
I will say this tho, Im stoked that this is the kind of thing hokie nation is upset about! Good sign! Hopefully next year were mad about ending the season ranked 5th and missing the playoff and two years from now were mad at how boring winning the natty over bama was!!
I dont care about the sponsor, location, or prestige of the bowl (outside NY6 bowls). We're a ranked team, and it would have been nice to play another ranked team.
Anyway, lets kick their @$$es
We would have, had we not been skipped over by the 3/4 bowls ahead of Belk that took a pass on us.
Two. There were 2 that passed.
After the committee was done, Citrus had first pick. Then RAB had second pick.
After that, four bowls huddled together and picked who they wanted.
In the event that multiple bowls pick the same team, then the acc steps in and decides so odds are they asked tech and we said charlotte for the fanbase to come out in droves.
I feel like the "slighted" crowd is feeling that way because we were being courted by the Belk Bowl last year at 6-6, and yet we ended up there this year at 9-4.
Maybe a refresher on last year's bowl situation is needed.
Orange Bowl was a semi-final, and Clemson (13-0) went there. FSU (10-2) was picked as a NY6 at large.
The ACC pool of bowl teams looked like this:
11-2: UNC
8-4: Pitt, Miami
7-5: Louisville, NC State, Duke
6-6: VT
RAB had first pick, but could only select UNC because no one else was within a game of them.
The Tier 1 bowls huddled together for the next four picks. The only way VT could get in at 6-6 was if both Pitt and Miami were selected. But no one wanted Pitt. Belk had flirted with us, but had to choose between Pitt or NC State.
The Military Bowl had the next pick, but was forced to take Pitt, since we couldn't jump them. And that's how we ended up in the Independence Bowl. If we had ended up in the Belk Bowl, we would have been punching above our weight class last year.
This year, there wasn't as much separation at the top of the ACC.
13-0: Clemson
9-3/4: Louisville, FSU, VT
4 8-4 teams
3 6-6 teams
Now, if we had won one more game, we would have been bowling in Florida.
On top of that, the only reason Belk would even consider a 6-6 VT team last year was because it was Frank's last game and fans in the area would definitely but up tickets to attend it.
I am actually glad we went to the Independence Bowl last year (despite the adventure trying to get out of that damn place) because we got to send Beamer out with a win in the bowl that started it all. We would have been trounced by Dak Prescott and Mississippi State if we got into the Belk Bowl.
And then there's this . . .
This counts as bulletin board material
Thing is he isn't only coach to leave HOKIES off ballot. Several coaches left Navy, Houston, Boise and WSU on their ballots.
Hey! No classy stuff here. Get that Shizzle outta here!
Let's be honest, most of the angst of this thread comes down to how terrible a job the ACC has done in establishing affiliation with quality bowls from top to bottom. If I had to put a number on it, the ACC is at best fourth of the Power 5 conferences in terms of bowls, quite possibly dead last especially when you consider quality of destination. On top of that we are then hampered by our deal with Notre Dame most years that bumps everyone down a step because of the Irish draw.
Plus, the ACC took a hit when the Chick-fil-a/Peach Bowl got sucked up by the New Year's Six. A good promotion for that bowl, but it took away one of the best non-BCS bowls out there. Plus, CFA usually had a favorable matchup with ACC #2 vs. SEC #5. During those years, that was usually a fair matchup.
But just look at the bowls the ACC has.
-Russell Athletic Bowl: Until the latest bowl restructuring, this was a dog of a bowl. Personally, I prefer that bowls have real names (for the most part). As I said above, the only reason this one is elevated in our minds is because we know that it stands alone, pretty much getting the selection that used to go to Chick-fil-a.
-Taxslayer Bowl: This bowl took a hit when they got rid of the Gator name. It should be better than it is.
-Sun Bowl: I get that this is an old bowl game, but the ACC has no business being in it. If the conference is going to have a tie-in to a far off destination, they need to pick an interesting one, like Dallas or LA. If the ACC keeps this bowl, they really need to dump it to tier 2.
-Pinstripe Bowl: Even though this is new, it's actually not bad. I wouldn't mind going to NYC and checking out Yankee Stadium. If the ACC and Big Ten could move it up in the pecking order, it could turn into a decent game.
NYC hotels have to be absurdly expensive the last week of December, though and I would expect the town to be slammed with tourists.
I was actually interested in going to the Sun Bowl just because I haven't been over the Mississippi before (except New Orleans but I don't count that.)
Well said -- this all day long.
- From one of the fans sorely disappointed and feeling VT was slighted.
This means absolutely nothing but this is the ESPN prediction for our bowl:
Link here.
Forreal, what's done is done. Like what others have said on this thread, let's beat up on an SEC West team that somehow thumped an SEC conference contender, Florida, end the season with 10 wins and ride into the 2017 season ranked. I think under a first year coach, we did damn well and most of us had us pegged at going 7-8 wins hoping for probably a tier 1 but most expected a tier 2. Belk is fine for the situation we are in, allowing a quick turn around for fans planning in only 3 weeks
Flippin Arkansas?
After seeing the rest of the ACC bowl matchups, it reaffirms how happy I am we got Belk this year. The only one that provides a more desirable matchup and location combination is the Citrus, and we had almost no shot at that when they had the option to pick the Heisman favorite. Russell would have been okay but that WVU matchup just wasn't going to work out.
The rest are frankly awful opponents, timeslots, and locations.
^^ This.
I've been reading the comments on here since the Clemson game, and I understand we played like the top 2-3 ACC Team. But I don't see any great matchup possibilities for us outside of the Orange/Citrus Bowl. At least that I would want.
I'm as upset as most people are on this thread, but I'm learning to count my blessings and take a look around at what COULD have been. Think about it... UVA and VT weren't that far apart last year. Even the head-to-head was too close for comfort. We both went out and hired proven coaches, and look at how it turned out for both teams. I'm pretty stoked for the future of the program.
It doesn't really feel like the ACC ever recovered from losing the Gator and Chick-Fil-A bowls off their list. I know it was supposed to elevate the Russell and then there's Citrus, but neither feel like the two aforementioned in terms of prestige to me.
ACC didn't lose the gator bowl, it got renamed the Taxslayer.com bowl and then the whole world went "ugh" and stopped caring about it.
Ah well, yeah... same thing really.
The fact that I didn't know that was the case probably says something about it, although I'm clearly not caught up.
Actually the ACC did lose the Gator Bowl after 2010, when it became the "TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl" between the SEC and B1G. In 2014, at the start of the CFP and the bowl realignment that ensued, it officially changed its name to just the "TaxSlayer Bowl" and semi-realigned to be between the SEC and (B1G or ACC, 3 appearances for each conference over 6 years, mirrored with the Music City Bowl).
Would have been an attractive matchup in a great location, but this is what we get for scheduling tough preseason opponents.
Geezus, people.
Bowl games, outside of the playoffs, are meaningless. Really... we're debating whether or not the TaxSlayer.com bowlis better or worse than the Belk Bowl?
They're both exhibition games that are played to fill somebody's pocket, that nobody's going to remember besides the seniors... whose last game it will be.
Personally, I'm thrilled at the chance of a day trip to go see Woody, Isiah, Sam, and Bucky's last game as Hokies.
Yeah I am at a loss for why people are so pissed about this. Outside of playoff/NY6, nobody gives a shit about what kind of bowl you play in nor will they remember. We are playing an interesting matchup with a P5 program we have never played before with a chance for 10 wins. Enjoy the shorter trip and extra Hokie football.
I think it is more about going somewhere warm vs cold. That is all I care about. This is my vacation and a vacation to Charlotte in late December is worse than Orlando or JAX. (Jacksonville is a dump but at least there is a beach and it won't be cold.)
But I have never been to Charlotte and was in Jax earlier this year for a wedding so that is a draw in my mind.
From the perspective of a vacation I definitely understand that. For me, it's a day trip and I'm only 2 hours away so that works out great for me. So Hokies in NC, SC, and parts of Virginia it works out really well from a day-trip perspective.
Yeah, but I think the people complaining (I am salty about it) are complaining from that perspective. People who can make it a day trip are happy about it, thus the split.
I actually prefer to travel for a bowl, though. It makes it more eventful to go somewhere new and party. The Military bowl was kind of lame because it was a day trip. I am sure a handful of people care about the prestige of the bowl but the difference between the RAB, Taxslayer, and Belk is small. If anything, people might hold the Belk higher because it is later in the year than the RAB.
Apparently Texas A&M fans are jealous of the Belk selection.
That guy has some amazing talent.
hahaha wow. Lot of effort to show their displeasure. I would have been ok playing aTm, but I got family in Arkansas so I'll enjoy beating them, too.
Check out his original tweet, this guy is obsessed about the belk bowl
I've never seen Up but goddammit that was sad
Then I suggest you don't see Up. Brutal opening.
Just skip the opening and get to Dug and his dog pals.
Skip the opening to save yourself from possibly the saddest story every told
Did y'all ever watch Dug's Special Mission?
Dug got his own special!!
Great movie, if sad at times. You may cry, but are all the more entertained for it kind of like they did with Inside Out. Not that I cried about the emotional turmoil of an animated pre-teen girl or anything...
And there's this:
I don't know how they did it, but I think the creators of Up invented smell-o-vision or something. Because every time I watch that opening someone is cutting some onions.
I love this video.
wish I could art like that
Surprising amount of salt in this thread. For those that want to go to this game - this is the easiest for most of the alumni/fans to get to. Grab your best pair of sensible khakis and let's do this!
You don't get to judge my salt intake! /s
I only can think of SLP when I see that second gif.
YIKES... not looking so good for bowl game gift baskets reviews from the past year or two
Three worst bowl game gift baskets:
1. Belk Bowl
Shopping trip to Belk department store; Fossil watch
You're not even trying ... ranked 36 of 39
36. Belk Bowl
Shopping trip to Belk department store; Fossil watch
Payouts
TaxSlayer (Previously Gator Bowl) $2,750,000
Russell Athletic Bowl $2,275,000
Belk Bowl $1,700,000
Yeah.... the players have to absolutely looooooove this trip. Garbage gift basket and a trip to Charlotte in late December. What a lovely reward for the season they had.
A great way to avoid it is to not lose to Syracuse caliber teams next year.
Also, it's free stuff and an extra game (with several extra practices, which is big for us). They'll also be supported by a lot of fans instead of an empty stadium. They'll be okay.
They aren't excited I can tell you that.
how do you know?
Social media and people inside and at school talking to them. They are happy to be going bowling and excited for fans to be at game would have liked to go to bigger game and a few of said something about going somewhere nicer. But it's chip on their shoulder type stuff so hoping it works in the teams favor against Arkansas.
Edit: also for clarification I won't embed tweets of people if they are not publicslly viewable.
Yeah, well I love those guys, but not dropping the ball to 22 point dogs and not losing at home to Georgia Tech would have been excellent ways (that they had control of) to avoid this outcome. I hope they get over that aspect soon and are excited to play for a 10 win season and send these seniors out with a season they expected to have when they signed with the good guys.
I would love a shopping trip to Belk right now. I hate being an adult and needing nice business casual clothes.
Last Year:
Russell Athletic Bowl
Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN); Orlando
$447 Best Buy gift card and shopping trip^; watch; athletic performance shirt
TaxSlayer Bowl
Jan. 2, 3:20 p.m. (ESPN); Jacksonville
Panasonic gift suite; Fossil watch
For goodness sakes FAM! A year ago, we were hoping to go to a post-season bowl and keep the bowl streak alive at #23. Belk isn't the glitziest of bowl destinations but it is "All for you!" and "Modern. Southern. Style."
Remember that when it comes to bowls, we hold the active record. Take pride in our bowl streak during this bowl season. FAM!
It's true. The only streak LOLUVa football has is the one in their pants when they realize Timmy Settle is just a r-freshman.
I was born in late 1992, so there has never been a full season of VT football in my lifetime that hasn't resulted in a bowl game.
Yikes! I feel kind of old now...
Geesh....I remember the opposite problem....VT going 9-2 and getting snubbed for a bowl game. I feel REALLY old.
Now you're starting to get closer to my kind of old. That was a monumental snub, and I remember it well. I'll take the Belk bowl and hope we do what it takes to get that special destination next year.
And with 5-7 teams now getting a shot at bowls, we should never lose our active streak.
Looking at you ND...
Thanks NCAA for vacating FSU's 2006 bowl.
FSU fans are suuuuuper salty bout that too
I live in Texarkana, Texas which is a border town between Texas and Arkansas. I am thus right in the middle of Razorback country. I work out at a local gym 5 times per week or so and am always rocking out my Hokie gear. Occasionally someone will approach me and say "I like your football program." Early in the season several said: "I hope yall beat Tennessee" (Arkansas fans despise Tennessee). Last week, I got a few "Yall need to beat Clemson." We cannot afford to sleep on Arkansas. The Razorbacks have been up and down this year. They look like world beaters one week and terrible the next. VT has the much better team but if we have the attitude "we should have had a better bowl vs. a better opponent" we could get beat. By the way, I was in Blacksburg to witness the Wahoo beatdown. That was fun...pure fun.
Still have more bowls than UVA had fans at the spring whatever.
I was one of the ones pretty vocal on these boards yesterday about feeling like the team was slighted by falling to the Belk Bowl. While I've generally come to accept it today, I just received the following in email from a friend who is a fan of USCe. (The USCe fan part is shared only to say....this guy has no love or hate for VT -- he's an average football fan). Of course it's only an n of 1, but I'm sharing this to lend evidence to how I think the average college football fan feels about the Belk Bowl.
"The 'bummer' when you are a team that makes a conference title game, but didn't have a stellar record -- and then you lose the game. Sometimes you get hosed for a bowl selection. Tie-ins or not, I just feel like your Hokies got a bit hosed. For as well as they did, to not get better than the Belk Bowl, to me, is lousy. Your fans will show up, for sure, with it being that close -- and especially since the team surpassed expectation. But that was a bowl game that 6-6 South Carolina was lobbying for..."
His comments were completely unprovoked by me. Yet, he sums up my thoughts very well.
I have a slight against USCe after our ACCCG, bunch of my gf's friends that went to USCe were openly rooting for Clemson. Which Im pretty sure was just to say "fuck you" to me (which is cool, they're garbage people), but they kept saying "No it is because I root for the state.". That would be like us rooting for UVA to beat Florida State or somebody in the ACCCG. That would never happen.
So, not sure what is up with them but definitely a school on my no fly list.
There were people arguing that exact thing on why they were cheering for UVa to make the Final Four and win it all last year on both TKP and TSL.
You get extra money from NCAA tourney.
But on the other hand.... fuck LOLUVa
I hope that wasn't after the Elite Eight, when the ACC literally owned the entire right side of the bracket and was guaranteed playing in the final.
The only time I "rooted" for UVA was when they played Miami in The U's last home game at their own stadium. And that was because Miami had made such a big deal about it. They had all of their famous alumni back, tons of fireworks ready to go . . .
. . . and lost 48-0.
It pained me to enjoy a UVA win, but damn, that was funny watching Miami get beat like that.
It made it especially nice because I believe we ended up spanking both teams after that game... Miami the next week and UVa later on
Plus, it was the same day we beat Florida State for the first time in forever.
I watched that game...I was torn between thoroughly enjoying Miami getting worked on their home field for their last game in that stadium and being disgusted with a UVA win
Honestly, once it gets past the Orange Bowl, I have no idea what the pecking order is nor do I really care.
I just look at:
Location: Charlotte - Not the perfect place to go for a bowl, but better than many. Easy for many VT fans to get to
Opponent: Arkansas - Not great, but not terrible. Somewhat down year in a tough division. Solid history & tradition. New opponent is a plus. A team VT can beat, but can't sleep on is a plus (for fans and the players).
Time/Date: Not great, but not enough to keep me from going.
All in all, I'm fine with it.
Honestly, ever since the CFP was implemented, most of the dates and times for bowls kind of suck, as everyone got pushed around and away from the premiere slots on 12/31 and 1/1.
And I like us playing teams we might not play again for a long while. The more UCLAs, Arkansas, Cals, Auburns, ect the better. Even the Air Forces and Tulsas of the world are nice to see.
In any of the folks staying at home care about that kind of stuff, the announcers for the Belk Bowl are Mike Patrick and Ed Cunningham with Dr. Jerry Punch.
Mike Patrick was the one calling the 2011 Miami game. ("These people are losing their minds.")
I care about this kind of stuff. This broadcast crew is Beard-approved
Pretty sick helmets for the Belk Bowl, if you are to ask me