Given UVA's newfound obsession with beating Virginia Tech this season, I posted the following poll on Twitter:
Which hypothetical season would you rather have?
A: VT goes 11-1, only loss to UVA; UVA goes 1-11
B: VT goes 5-7 but destroys UVA; UVA goes 11-1
Vote on Twitter but discuss here...I'm genuinely curious about how everyone feels!
Forums:
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Comments
Let me throw out the first comment here...I don't care how LIKELY either of those scenarios are, just which you'd rather have.
I'd have to vote for season A. Unfortunately, the streak will end at some point. I'd rather have that point be in a season where we probably make the playoff and at least can console ourselves that way.
That being said, there's no way in hell we beat FSU, ND, and Miami just to lose to the Hoos.
The 2017 Miami Hurricanes are holding on Line 1, sir.
? UVA gave them a scare but still lost by more than 2 touchdowns.
Miami was 11-0 and lost to 5-7 Pitt. Not a primary rival of their's, but same idea.
Pitt had QB issues for most of the season until Kenny Pickett injected some life into them. Also I'd argue 5-7 is a far cry from 0-11.
True, but... 1) da U pulled their typical douchy overlooking an inferior opponent move. The swaggiest chain in the world can't make up for not playing. 2) The hold by the Pitt that sprang the last TD on the bootleg was very Matty Ice BC-like. Seriously, the OT has the DE in a half Nelson. (ACC officials suck.) If Floyd played like #3 on that TD, we never would've had 4 downs of awesomeness.
Exhibit A
But seriously, if those were the only options, I'd go with the first, because it would put us in the ACC CG and a win there would likely send us to the playoff. Ask Ohio St fans if they still give a shit they lost to us in 2014
They don't, most cover their shame by back-handedly "thanking us" for the spark to their national championship run.
C. None of the above ... The correct answer is Tech goes 10-3 (being hopeful) and LOLUVA goes 0-12.
Option A would be better for VT, but I can't really bring myself to actually vote for either scenario. WOOF
A. All day everyday. We need to aspire for ACC Championships and playoff appearances, regardless of the out come of the uva game.
You're asking if I'd rather be a power and go to a good bowl game or beat our rival? Who are we? UVA? Of course I'd pick A
gotta go with A. It would suck to lose to UVA but going 11-0 the rest of the season would temper the pain. If losing to them cost us a shot at the playoffs that would be a bitter pill but a small one.
Meanwhile having a losing season.. ugh that is just 100% puke
Just remembering how bad JMU idiots still are after we won the ACC that year, picking A is so hard. But of course that is what I would pick.
Luckily we play UVA every year with many chances of redemption in that scenario.
Those idiots have a serious inferiority complex.
I thought this thread would be about Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter - and the answer is always Fall.
Season B, for the following reasons:
I selected A because I think our football team is at a higher prestige level than judging the entire success of one season on whether or not we've beaten lowly UVa. Our sights are set much, much higher than that, so even if we beat Virginia like that, its still a massively disappointing year for a program that has division, conference, and national title goals every season.
I hear ya. But let's say JJ and Ricky Walker are both injured against FSU, and Fuente decides QP is the future, so we're going to deal with the growing pains now. IF that happened, I'd settle for 5-7, showing improvement through the season, and keeping our in state rivalry winning streak alive.
Counterpoint: We should never rush the field after beating uva.
Never.
What about rushing their field?
I disagree. If you ruin anyone's undefeated season (much less a rival's) on the last regular season game of the year, you can storm, regardless of opponent. If you just completed an undefeated regular season, you can storm, regardless of opponent.
I regret that I have but one leg to give for this. Couldn't agree more
I like your reasoning, which is based on the premise that our season is already ruined and beating them would be a worthy consolation for a bad season.
BUT I'd rather have a strong season, tank the game against UVA because we're preparing entirely for Clemson, destroy Clemson in the ACCCG, then go into the playoffs with swagger.
I'd pick option A if we won the national title. Otherwise it's basically UVA's 2017 basketball season.
This is a valid point... I'd likely be okay at 11-1 with a loss to UVA and playoff appearance (assumes we win the ACCCG, finish with program record 12 wins). I would 1000% take 11-1 with loss to UVA and a Natty; no question.
I'd have to disagree on your second sentence. 11-1 teams don't win the national title all the time. Now if we were 11-0 coming into the UVA game and lost to a 2-9 UVA team that somehow kept us out of the playoffs even with a ACCCG win.... that would be similar in my book.
edit: which when I read your comment again, is very similar to what you're saying.... doh! I guess I'm just saying that on the football side of things, getting into the playoff means so much that unless they could keep us out I don't feel it's quite the same as UVA's basketball loss.
Scenario A easily wins. As mentioned above, that puts us in the ACCCG and extends the bowl streak at the very least. Realistically there's still a good chance we wouldn't make the CFP due to losing to an otherwise winless UVA but the other goals we'd accomplish in that scenario would do far more good for the program than a losing season with another W against UVA.
Even looking at it from UVA's perspective, they gain a whole lot more momentum as a program in scenario B than A.
Option A for sure. 11-1 + ACC Championship (I don't see any way we could not be in the championship in that scenario) would almost guarantee a playoff spot, and at the very least a NY6 bid.
We would 100% be in the ACC CG in those circumstances. We would own all tiebreaking scenarios in the division, as only 1 other team could possibly have that same record, but that 1 loss would come to us, putting us through.
A should be the answer, every day and twice on Saturday (or I guess Friday now?).
Our goal isn't to beat UVA, our goal is to win a National Championship. 11-1 likely puts us in the playoffs and I'll accept the trade off of getting a shot at winning the whole damn thing but losing to an in-state rival anytime.
I'm surprised how many people assume A means a trip to the playoff...with a loss to a winless team to finish the regular season, VT would have to beat presumably Clemson AND have Clemson be a top 5ish team (likely but not guaranteed). And then the committee needs to believe VT is better than other 1-loss teams potentially, and it's hard to imagine a worse scenario for that debate than having lost to a winless team at the end of the season and otherwise a fairly weak schedule, so basically putting everything on that ACCCG win.
Maybe there aren't enough 1-loss teams, but I just don't see the committee being enthusiastic about VT in that scenario unless they were absolutely throttling opponents along the way. I just don't think the playoff is a given in scenario A...maybe a 2/3-3/4 chance.
I agree and think there's a very good chance we would miss the playoffs in that scenario. In order to feel great about it I'd want another conference champ to have 3 losses and no 1 loss teams that didn't play in their conference championship (SEC West and B1G East are the biggest threats). Also it would help if there were extenuating circumstances contributing to the loss to UVA, such as injuries or suspensions.
All that said and even missing the CFP, I would still choose Scenario A.
To reiterate what was said above, VT uses the UVA prep week to prepare for Clemson entirely so they have two solid weeks of Clemson prep, and destroys Clemson in the ACCCG, then the committee knows VT is for real and picks VT for the playoff.
The answer is easily A. As someone who graduated recently and grew up out of state I really think our rivalry with UVA is pretty weak. Maybe it is different for people who grew up in VA. However, UVA doesn't even care anymore and people outside of VA usually think it is a lame rivalry. I talk to UVA fans and they don't care that we beat them every year. I really wish we would make our rivalry week game against WVU. The game at FedEx felt like a rivalry between the fans and the players.
Also from out of state, but I disagree. VT/UVA is one of those rivalries where the schools have diametrically opposed personalities. VT is a land grant institution that prides itself on it's engineering program and it's 'roll your sleeves up' or 'lunch pail' mentality. UVA is a school that prides itself on it's law school, business school, and network, and portrays itself as an aristocracy. Beating UVA isn't just about an in-state rivarly; it's about knocking elitist off their high horse (literally).
I'm from Virginia, and it's a fine rivalry.
Still, the answer is A.
A is better for the program, and I care more about the program than one game.
You fall into that trap that those new to the rivalry often do. You believe them when they say they don't really care about the rivalry or that we beat them every year. You have no idea how much it bothers them, or how much it means to those of us who've lived with it for decades.
This, and the fact that the rivalry runs much, much deeper than football.
Out of curiosity, where did you grow up?
I work in an office with a bunch of Hoos, not just people who graduated from UVA, but those who have been fans for decades. The "we don't care about the rivalry" is a defense mechanism. They wear "Beat Tech" stuff during rivalry week. They rub it in my face when we lose to anybody, especially so when it's to them in a sport other than football.
I say this because, even though they may say they don't care, they care a lot. It may be in good fun, but they care a lot.
I could see this happening. JJ quiets all the doubters with a Heisman winning season, then comes down to food poisoning the day of the LOLUVa game. Forced to rely on our untested backup quarterbacks, the streak ends.
I'd ask UVA the same question with the teams reversed lol
Answer A. But both feel like my balls are in a meat grinder.
neither, I want 10+ Wins and included in those wins should be Pitt, GT and UVA for certain and screw Miami
Yeah this is gonna be a hard N-O from me. I can't believe this is even a thread. What kind of sick person thinks up, wonders & asks these kind of questions. No! Just, NO! Absolutely NOT.
It me.
"Beating UVA and a bowl" isn't an appropriate expectation for me. I know it was a years ago, but we should have much higher aspirations now.
I think the more logical and realistic question should be:
Would you rather be 12-0 and beat uva by 1 or be 6-6 and beat uva by 51?
I think just about everybody would still take 12-0 and beat UVA by 1. Heck, I'll take 12-0 and beat UVA in 5OT. Who aspires to 6-6? (Well, except in Charlottesville.)
This is the worst game of FMK I think I've ever played.
Scenario A.
We basically already did B back in 1990 when UVA was ranked #1 going to GT (lost) and then lost to us in Lane. I stormed the field after that game from the temp bleachers in the endzone (this was before all the expansions) that were temporarily erected because the athletic department gave a bunch of the student tickets to UVA.
Oh how things have changed. Now scott stadium is just another expansion of Lane.
I think for any & everyone that picks selection A should be forced to watch the game from '03. Better yet, they should be made to watch '03 as well as the games from '97 & '98 (fuck damn, those ones were absolutely fucking painful).
This is the problem with such a long win streak, everyone's hate softens and we forget how insufferable Hoo fans can be when they win. Never let the flicker of Hoo hate be extinguished.
KEEP HATE ALIVE. GIMME B ALL DAMNED DAY.
With A, a loss to a horrible UVA team keeps us out of the playoffs. You know the committee already finds whatever justification they can to either keep an ACC school out or drop them down to 4th, and we already have the disadvantage of not being a football blue-blood.
With B, us beating UVA won't mitigate the fact that they'd be one of the two best teams in the conference, and I can't abide that.
All that to say...
via GIPHY
If we are going to go 11-1 this year I would prefer that the loss comes against FSU. That leaves us 12 weeks to climb back up the rankings, would be in the ACCCG as a top 10 team playing probably a top 5 Clemson
The first one, because beating UVA in and of itself doesn't make the season successful.
A, clearly. We're here for the season success. Eventually, we will lose to them. When it happens, let's appreciate the run we had and move on.
But 11-1 with this schedule? Holy shit, yes. A 1,000x yes.
Do you have some sort of crystal ball or something? It sounds like you know some things a lot of us don't.
UF has 30(?) straight over Kentucky. We can double this streak.
31
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_consecutive_NCAA_football_wins_over_one_opponent
Unless there's another that's currently between 15 and 19, ours is the second longest active uninterrupted streak.
Don't know about 15-19, but we are tied with the Wisconsin - Minnesota rivalry (Wisconsin has won 2004->).
After the game last year I think Kentucky is cursed and will never, ever beat Florida. Ever.
Anyone who doesn't pick A is crazy. The streak is going to end, sooner or later. If that is at the dispense of VT going 11-1, count me in!
Now, the only problem with losing to them only is that it is most likely at the end of the season. I think we all know if you are going to lose a game, it is always best to do it earlier in the season.
Is it, though? And, honestly, does it absolutely HAVE TO? I haven't read or spoken to a high authority that spaketh it must.
You're right, but if Miami had beaten Clemson in the ACC title game they likely would have made the playoffs despite losing the last week of the season.
Yes most likely, but we also know that there are things we can't control. Meaning, there could be too many teams in front of them or not enough teams lose during the last couple weeks of season.
Plus, you lose to LOLUVA at the end of the year, evening beating Clemson/winning ACC Championship probably doesn't make up the ground you lost in losing to a UVA-caliber type team.
If we're 12-1 with wins over FSU, Miami, ND, and likely Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, you're getting into the playoff. In all likelihood, before the UVa game, we'd probably be sitting at a very comfortable 1 or 2 in the country, and while the UVa loss would hurt, a Clemson win would more than make up for it.
Possibly but not a given. What is a fact is we have no clue what ranking these teams will be (outside of FSU) or how good they will be by when we play them and at the end of the year, so you can't just hang your head on those teams being good wins. Clemson being the outlier.... no way they can suck with what they return. Look at FSU last year.... Started as #3 team preseason ranked, injuries happened (and possibly not as good talented wise as people thought) and ended up 6-6 and unranked.
But like I said, it all depends on how many teams are in front of you and/or if they lose at the end of the season. If you are sitting at #10 after a loss to UVA, even if you beat a hypothetically top 4 Clemson team, there is ZERO guarantee that will push you into playoffs rankings. Especially if teams #5-9 all/most win. Shoot, you are probably ranked way lower than #10 if you lose to a more than likely unranked and under .500 UVA team.
Too many "what ifs" at play to claim that the 12-1 Hokies are definitely in. What if they squeaked by a Clemson team who ran the table convincingly during the regular season? There are also many other possible 12-1 and 11-1 scenarios from the PAC-12, SEC, B1G, and Big12 that could push the Hokies out. If the UVa team they lost to was 5-6, or even 4-7, I'd be on board, but when a biased committee is selecting teams anything can happen, and we all know the Hokies have not exactly been a committee darling in the past.
FWIW, I choose beating UVa. Every time. If the 11-1 Hokies lose to UVa they MIGHT have a shot at the playoffs, but if they beat UVa, there's a 100% chance that they beat UVa and I really like that. A lot.
It's an okay season if, in order:
1. beat loluva
2. bowl streak
3. win the AC...actually, get those first two and I'll run around in my onesie the whole week between christmas and new years stoked to be a Hokie.
True but the season still has a better ending than if you go 5-7.
oh absolutely.... I am all about option A. I was just going on a tangent from original post by playing along with the "what if" scenario.
C. 3-9 so long as we make the playoff next year. UVA is irrelevant and only some of the VT fan base and 3 people plus Bronco care anymore.
Me to my wife the Ohio State fan: "That was an awesome game when we beat you in the 'shoe"
Her to me: "Haha, remember when you never won the Natty"
/FATALITY
I mean, if you ask the NCAA, neither have they or any other team in Division I except those from the I-AA/FCS playoff. Which is part of how Alabama can claim 16 national titles (including a few questionable ones) and UCF can claim one as of last year.
This question got asked last year. Why is it cropping up yet again?
B. Doesn't matter if they win or lose, as long as they beat UVA and WVU.
Doesn't matter if they win or lose, as long the Skins beat Dallas twice.
You got that backwards.. it should say "As long as Dallas beats the Skins twice"
Thanksgiving week will be fun and interesting. Cowboys/Skins on Thanksgiving and Hokies/LOLUVA on Friday.
Thanks for fixing that, Lancer. I have lived with, around and amongst those insufferable Deadskin's fans for most of my adult life.
Absolutely. In addition to O&M, I bleed Blue and Silver. Living in NOVA can be interesting as a Cowboys fan... I am loved and hated (especially when I wear my vintage 1980's Starter jacket that I permanently borrowed from my Dad)...
The local stations are super quiet when the Deadskins lose and they are unbearable on the occasions that they actually win..
But in all honesty, there are more Steelers fans (and other teams) than Skins fans in this area..
The bowl streak is a bigger deal than the rivalry streak. At this point its been so fricken long that, no matter what, when we eventually do lose to uva it'll be really tough to take. But in the grand scheme of things, losing to your rival isn't as damaging for the image as missing bowl season. I'd take option A every day of the week and twice on Saturdays
Let me ask you a question: have you watched the games from '97-'98 as well as '03??
Might as well give it up, Mac. Some folks will just never feel it like so many of us do.
I'm pretty sure I know what offseason I'd rather not have. Clue: this one.
I would go with option A, for no other reason that when we win the cup back the next year, we'll have an excuse to gifify this: