At some point this year, the Hokies are probably going to lose a football game. If history is any indicator, every FBS team lost at least one game last year, and Virginia Tech has never finished the season with a stainless record in the modern college football era. But which game would cause the biggest freak out from Hokie fans if Virginia Tech lost? It all depends on what goes into your personal rage factor. It could be distaste for the other team's fan base or the unexpectedness of the loss. Here's my ranking of which games are mostly likely to result in us getting on This Week in Schadenfreude.
12. Ohio State
The Buckeyes could be higher on this list just because of the hype and eight months of build-up we've had. Losing here would be a big let-down, but c'mon, it's the defending national champion. Could we really have that much rage over a loss here?
11. Pittsburgh
At this point, I can't even be mad.
10. NC State
The Pack are probably the school in the ACC most similar to Virginia Tech, so there's not really any culture clash. They're also not in our division and aren't a downtrodden program. Losing to NC State would be disappointing, but it wouldn't bring out the torches and pitchforks like losing to other programs would.
9. North Carolina
This was the toughest one to rank. There's a lot of hate in our fan base for UNC because of how those blue bloods reacted when they "let us" into the league. Add in the recruiting aspect and a loss to UNC would send a lot of Hokies over the edge. But until UNC sheds its "sleeping giant" tag, it's here.
8. Boston College
I always hated losing to Boston College because I hated the idea of losing to a hockey school I thought we should pound. To make matters worse, I have never seen us beat BC in person. However, I've cooled on my personal dislike of BC because I like Addazio. As a fan of terrible early 2000s movies, I can't hate a guy who says 'dude' a lot.
7. Duke
Could be lower because they're good now. Could be higher because losing to Duke is still losing to Duke. It just depends on your perspective.
6. Miami
This used to be THE game on Virginia Tech's schedule. Now with the way things have gone for both programs, it no longer has the same meaning. It's still Miami, but the big-game vitriol that used to come with a loss to the Canes is now reserved for the next team on our list.
5. Georgia Tech
The Jackets could be lower because this is the best conference opponent on the schedule and a loss here wouldn't be completely unexpected. But this is the game that will most likely determine the winner of our division and it would be tough for the Hokies to make the ACC Championship Game if they drop this one. Rage on.
4. East Carolina
I can't wait for this series to end.
/Checks future schedules on HokieSports.com.
3. Purdue
I have Purdue this high because of where they fall on the schedule. If the Hokies are 1-1 going into this game, odds are we aren't going to really know what kind of team we have on our hands. A loss here would indicate that things aren't going to go according to plan. If the Hokies are somehow 2-0 and drop this one it would be the equivalent of the ECU loss that followed the big Ohio State win last year.
2. Furman
Once you've lost to an FCS team, can you really get that mad about losing to another one? I think at that point it drifts more into disappointment, like when your kid wrecks his third car that you footed the bill for.
1. Virginia
There is a laundry list of reasons why this is (and should be) No. 1 every year. It's our rival and failing to achieve victory would hinder our ability to point and laugh at the 'Hoos.
Comments
I like your analysis. If I were to go by pure personal rage, I'd go
1. UVA (always)
2. Georgia Tech (I CANT STAND chinballs)
3. ECU (seeing as Ill be 93 when this series ends I might as well get used to it)
The longer I follow the Hokies, the more I find that I hate most ACC opponents less, and a few (GT, UVA, possibly Miami) collect all my rage as a whole
wow so you're only 11? You're very well written for an 11 year old. At least you've never seen VT lose to UVA..
They keep telling me I need to skip middle school altogether and just go straight to ninth grade, but I dont think Im ready to give up nap time and getting snacks from my mom just yet.
Wait.... we were supposed to give up nap time at some point?
Not that I'm aware of:
I like the idea but I would change a couple things.
1 - I wouldn't rank ECU as high. Sure losing to them last year sucked because it followed one of the best wins for this program in history but they have historically fielded a decent team in the last decade and match up well against us so the expectation of losing is possible. Also, being OOC, they don't really tarnish our schedule except for it being a blemish on a perfect record. But as you mentioned, almost no one does that ever.
2 - Losing to Purdue would not be the same as losing to ECU for me. They are predicted to be one of the worst teams in FBS this year. We should not lose to them, even with our 2nd string. But then again, if there's one thing I've learned about Hokie sports, its that we play to the level of our competition. So anything goes.
Seriously, can we just stop playing ECU already?
i can endure a bad season but if that were the case, we better beat the 'Hoos
If we're 1-2 after the Purdue game my only feeling will be
At least we might be on a 1-game winning streak!
... or knowing how VT operates, we'll be on a 2-game losing streak.
That's my sarcastic post for the week, it's all positivity from here through Monday. I'll just let myself out.
I'd be more mad if we lost to Furman. Losing to 2 FCS teams in 5 years would be appalling. Losing to UVA twice in 17 years is still damn good
Pitt and BC are high on the list for me because even though I expect it, it maddens me every season.
For some reason, I feel very strongly that this should be a euphemism, but I just can't come up with anything.
"When B.C. and VT get together, one team is going to be victorious and the other team will lose. Boom!" - Madden
My God, if we lost to the Hoos... I might actually consider learning how to "hack" websites and shut down the Sabre. ...the smugness of those bastards with a 11 year losing streak is already sickening enough. I know, I know... I could just not go on the site at all, but I like to get an insider's perspective on their program. I browse a lot of team's websites.
So you're an admitted masochist? I mean the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Good for you!
TIMEOUT!
All kidding aside I think * should be higher just due to their fanbase being a bunch of dicks for the most part and all the talking heading picking against us. I hate the thought of meeting everyone's expectations...
Way to jinx it, man!
The answer to that question is yes, you damn well can
I feel like this line should have been repeated for the UVA line.
I've had so much preseason kool-aid that ohio st might not be last on my list. i'm so numb to pitt that its like i've already put an L there
This is a great topic. I'd put Duke lower. I don't like losing to Duke but they've always been the lovable losers in my mind.
I'd put GT, Pitt, and UNC higher. They're top four in my mind with LOLUVA.
UNC would be number 1.5 for me.
I have no respect for them.
Really.
With as hyped up as this year has been there are no losses I won't be upset with. Based on the defensive talent and the talent around Brewer there isn't a reason in our schedule to falter.
There is some legitimacy to all the calls about VT being a dark horse
OSU - 4 Top impact players missing with a good defense to offense matchup
Furman - FCS
ECU - Lost Players from all positions on offense, rebuilding year
Purdue - Rebuilding Years
Pitt - BRAND NEW HEAD COACH
NC State - Atlantic teams are weakz, also rebuilding years
Miami - The U is not back, memories from last year. more seriously a loss won't hurt as much due to the caliber of the QB leading the team
Duke - Rebuilding Year for offense
BC - Bottom of ACC team, seriously we can beat them
GT- Last year.Also more seriously a loss won't hurt as much due to the caliber of the QB leading the team
UNC - VT Defense should be able to manhandle them
UVA- Didn't the entire team transfer to a D-1 Football school overthe summer? But also It should be Mike Londons last game and I worry this may inspire players the way it did for Miami Last Year
I've got my Hype train ticket bought and my pitchfork out of the closet and cleaned off. Miami and GT are bad losses due to the Coastal division and previous losses but not pitchfork worthy induhvidually. But other losses or combined losses and the pitchfork is ready to come out
The only team preseason ranked by Saragin as better than us is OSU and GT, with miami on our tails. Any other losses are upset losses
Don't tell that to CFN. They have us 6-6 this year with wins over Furman, Purdue, ECU, NCSU, Duke, and UNC
In fact, they have GT as the only Coastal team that finishes with more than 6 wins.
Ok it seriously seems like whoever made that article just didnt feel like showing up for the day and said "I could actually put some thought into this....OOORR I could just have everyone finish .500 and call it an early day!" Give me a break
Wow glad one team made it out alive
r/cfb did crazyness again
ACC Coastal Matrix of Doom
this dude gets it
Let's use their LOLUVa picks as an example for why we can completely disregard their opinion, shall we? I won't comment on the losses, because I happen to agree with all those picks.
LOL. They have UVA beating Boise State and us and finishing 5-7. Hahaha, that says all I need to know about the credibility of that prediction. Oh and they have NC State going 10-2. Man...these guys are all over the place.
We'll beat 10-2 NCSU, but we'll completely shit our pants against Pitt, Miami, BC, and UVa... totes makes sense
Barring a huge rash of injuries again, we don't finish the year with fewer than 8 wins.
I agree. 8 wins is my benchmark. anOSU, GT, Pitt, Miami, and UNC are the toughest matchups on our schedule. I think of Pitt, Miami, and UNC, we should take 2 of them, could take all 3. I'd put my guess at a 9-3 season, but there's absolutely no reason this team should not finish at least 8-4.
Yep.... 8-4 to 11-1 is the realistic range this year with a healthy team. 8 wins being the low end and 11 being the high end.
Of course, if we have what happened last year, that could quickly shift to a range of 4-8 to 8-4
Hey, who cares if NC State didn't beat a single team that finished over .500 last year. They dominated everyone else!
Ummmm - I think CFN forgot to proof read or they posted this in the wrong part of their site. They have LOLUVA at 5-7 with a W over us?!?!? I think the "writer" for was just pulling 'L' or 'W' out of a hat
CFN sucks! Even the locals that they employee to report on our region are idiots. I have read them for years. I went back last week and they showed nothing new. All 2014 stuff. Hey I really needed to read about our win vrs uva again.?!
Maybe it's my obsession with hokie football, but I've seen a fair amount of predictions just brushing us aside, most likely due to the last couple of years. They completely ignore the fact that our talent level is starting to come back up
I would go
1. LOLUVA....because
2. GT....I can't stand PJ and his offense. Sure his QB is good but that offense I HATE IT. Even though that's always a tough game it pisses me off to no end when we lose to them.
3. Pitt.....because they play us tough and there is no reason that we should lose to them but somehow we do.
4. BC.....almost the same reason as Pitt
5. UNC....we should never lose to them either
6. Miami....although a long rival their ability to get talent there is pretty good however the ability to harness it is something they've struggled with for a long time. I like beating them but can sometimes rationalize the loss to them more because they were once a national power and fielded awesome teams.
7. ECU....hate playing them so much. Obviously we play them enough to let the odds hit every once in a while....a la last year.
8. NCSt....they are supposed to be on the upswing so maybe it's ok but I still don't like losing to them unless they are going to win the Atlantic....then perhaps it could be justified.
9. Duke....agree that Duke is kind of a loveable team but again it's Duke. They have gotten better but we still have no business losing to them IMO.
10. Purdue....We have no business losing to them and don't think we will.
11. Furhman....low on the list cause there's really not words if we did lose to them. However I don't really think we will no matter the outcome of the OSU game.
12. OSU....can't really complain about a loss to the #1 ranked defending national champions. As long as we don't get embarrassed then I'll count it as a good game (unless there are obvious problems that led to the loss, but that's another discussion entirely.
So thre is my list.
**3, 4 and 5 are really all interchangeable to me.
I would agree completely with this if you put Miami in at 5, and flipped Purdue with Furman.
I actually had Purdue and Furman flipped at first but then changed because they are a cellar dweller FBS team.
edited to reflect Miami and NCSt which I left out the first time.
I have Furman higher because I hate and am reminded of the JMU game that wasn't more than the WF tragedy, and I live outside of Winston and rock the VT all the time in front of Wake fan
s.Wake has fans? It's been a while since I lived there, but I remember there being more excitement about steeplechase than about football.
If you look really hard you can see the strikeout I used on the "s" in fans to try to make that point. It just faded into the "s".
Gotcha! Great minds and all that . . .
There's as large a gap between UVa at 1 to everyone else as there is for everyone else to Ohio St...
We lose to UVa I'll be all
But if we lose to Ohio St I'll be all
I just can't get over the BC loss of 2007. So I'm always extra salty when we lose to them.
Yeah, but the win against them that year kind of made up for it, right? If we were going to split wins with them, I'm glad it happened that we won the one that sent us to a better bowl game. Granted, we lost the bowl game, but, we got our revenge against BC the same year.
True enough. There's just something about standing in the rain and watching Matt Ryan pick apart our secondary that really just ruins my day.
The night puker beat us in the waning seconds was the pits. I got a call from the cops at 1:30 that Friday morning because my dormmate was a psychopath. I was spending the night elsewhere..for obvious reasons. Cherry on top...
suddenly, I find myself wanting to know more about your psychopathic dormmate...this sounds like a popcorn type of story.
Yeah, the win kind of negates the loss for that year. I remember thinking that payback was very, very sweet. After that, it didn't bother me.
BC and Pitt are lower (as in closer to #1) on my list because it would just be another year of not being able to get their thorns out of our sides.
ECU is higher (as in closer to #12) on my list because at this point I just don't care and want them to go away forever and ever.
loluva is #1 for sure though, don't want to lose to an FCS program
I think for me, it has to do with effecting the outcome of the season, losing OOC games does hurt our record, but unless we run the table, we are not seeing the playoffs.
1. UVA- stay down and never get up
2. GT- he who wins, wins the coastal
3. Miami
let's think positive(I'm still on the hype train!)...why not consider which victory would be sweetest?
Good idea.
1. anOSU
2. LOLUVA
3. GT
4/5. Pitt/Miami
6/7/8. BC/NCSt/UNC
9. Duke
10. ECU
11. Purdue
12. Furman
1. anOSU - because #1 that's why
2. GT - because this matchup is always frustrating
3. LOLUVA - because they should never be far from our minds
4/5. Pitt/Miami
6/7/8. BC/NCSt/UNC
9. Duke
10. ECU
11. Purdue
12. Furman
1. National championship game
2. First round playoff
3. ACCCG over Klempson
4. LOLUVA (never gets old)
5. GiT (chin balls)
6. Miami (revenge)
7. anOSU
7a. UnCheat
8. Dook
9. BC
10. ECU
11. NCSU
12. Pitt
13. Purdue
14. Furman
15. Pats the first game Brady is back for suspension
now that's optimism!
I'm considering beating UVA a "given," as in math. So, to rank the remaining:
1. anOSU
2. our Atlantic div opponent in the ACC CG(I said think positive)
3. Miami(revenge factor for last year's embarrassment)
4. GT(more revenge)
5. BC(still with the revenge theme)
6. Pitt(see above)
7. EC(only lower because they are out of conference)
8/9/10. NC State, Duke, UNC
11. Purdue(beating 2 B1G teams in one season would be nice)
12. Furman(should be a given)
Do what you wish with the list. I will go by that. Fuck ecu! Witt please remove Weaver's mistake.
Yes, you can. I live in Greenville, SC. Furman's fan base is small but loyal. If we lose to them, I may have to move. /s