Ever since the night of September 6th, the eyes of the College football world have not ventured in the direction of the state of Virginia. The Virginia Cavaliers have struggled through Head Coach Mike London’s first year. And people seem to have forgotten about a certain team that dons maroon and burnt orange on Saturdays. But tonight, as that team steps back into the spotlight, the nation should understand that the Hokies aren’t only playing for themselves. They are playing for the life of BCS busters everywhere.
After the Hokies lost a thrilling Week 1 showdown to the Boise State Broncos, many expected the win to boost Boise into the Top 2 of the BCS for the entirety of the year. Such a strong win in a virtual road game (at Fed Ex Field) would definitely sway the votes in the Broncos favor, right? Conventional wisdom said yes. What conventional wisdom didn’t expect was for those Hokies to go on to lose their next game to the FCS (formerly D-1AA) James Madison Dukes. It was a devastating blow to Boise’s chances to play for the national title as it appeared that this Hokie team was vastly overrated. Nobody has thought about the team since that devastating Week 2 blunder.
Then came Week 3… and Week 4… and weeks 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. And quietly the Hokies have won 6 straight games, including a road win against #23 ranked North Carolina State. And suddenly in the last BCS standings, Virginia Tech showed up at #22. They now enter their toughest stretch of the season starting tonight against Georgia Tech, followed by trips to North Carolina and Miami, before finishing at home against the rival Cavaliers. If the Hokies win 3 of 4 of those games, they will win the ACC Coastal division and play for the ACC Title in December. And even more interesting, certain projections show that if the Hokies win all 4 November games and the ACC Championship, they could move into the Top 7 of the BCS Standings. Would you believe me if I said another school would be even happier with Virginia Tech’s success than the Hokies themselves?
Nobody stands to benefit more from the success of Hokie Nation than the Boise State Broncos. With Oregon and Auburn atop the standings and fellow BCS busters TCU ranked #3 and Utah ranked #5 rounding out the top 5, Boise State is in a prime position to capitalize on this years love of the Non-AQ schools. Utah and TCU face off this week in an “elimination match” that will only leave 4 unbeaten’s in the country. If Auburn and Oregon win-out, then they will undoubtedly play each other in the BCS Championship game. But if either slips up, it possibly opens the door for a Non-BCS school to finally play for a BCS championship. With Boise sitting at #4 in the polls and playing only 1 more ranked opponent on their schedule (#23 Nevada on Thanksgiving weekend), their only hope of catapulting the TCU/Utah winner in the polls would be for Virginia Tech to win out and finish ranked in the Top 10.
As if that weren’t enough to make this game important… let’s not forget about the defending ACC Champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. With a remaining conference schedule that consists of tonight’s opponent, Virginia Tech, along with Duke and Miami, if the Yellow Jackets win out, they will claim the ACC Coastal division title and play for a 2nd consecutive conference championship. All the while, the Miami Hurricanes are sitting at home realizing that if they win-out, they have a chance to win the Coastal division and play for the conference title for the first time in their ACC existence. “The U” still plays both of these teams later in the season. Think they might be interested in this game?
And in case you haven’t put this puzzle together yet… consider that if Alabama wins out (which would include wins over #2 Auburn, #10 LSU, and #20 Mississippi State), they might leap-frog an undefeated Boise State, especially if Virginia Tech isn’t highly rated come December.
Interested yet?
Sure, at (6-2) and (5-3), respectively, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech aren’t exactly competing for a National Championship tonight. But when the 2 teams face off in Blacksburg, VA this evening, the implications of this game will stretch as far south as Miami, FL and as far west as Boise, ID (not to mention Tuscaloosa, AL, Eugene, OR, Fort Worth, TX, and Salt Lake City, UT).
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