Virginia's Upset of Miami Puts Hokies in Coastal Driver's Seat
by furrer4heisman on Oct 31, 2010 1:40 AM EDT
in Virginia Tech Football
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PrintVirginia Tech picked a good week to be off in the ACC. While the Hokies sat at home and watched, ACC favorites dropped like flies on a crazy weekend in conference play. Losses by Atlantic contenders Florida State and Clemson to NC State and Boston College were only prelude to what happened in the Coastal.
Perennial doormat Virginia knocked out Jacory Harris and knocked off No. 22 Miami. The win broke a nine-game ACC losing streak for the Hoos but ironically helped the Hokies immensely. Thanks to UVa's win, Virginia Tech now enjoys a two-game lead in the loss column in the ACC Coastal.
The Hokies have only lost two November games since joining the ACC in 2004, but both have been to Miami. If the Canes were to beat the Hokies again on Nov. 20, the Hokies would have to hope Miami suffered a second conference loss to avoid losing the division on a tiebreaker. That loss came Saturday in Charlottesville.
Tech now has room for error in a conference where no team has run the table since 2000 when Florida State finished with an 8-0 ACC record. The goal for Tech's coaches is to avoid complacency with its new bigger division lead and continue its recent run of dominating play.
While a lot of Hokie fans are thanking UVa for its extra Coastal cushion, I'm not sure they should be. I wasn't among the Hokie fans rooting for UVa to pull the upset for a few reasons. First, I think teams should just worry about taking care of business and not root for help from others unless they need it. This happened two years ago when we all wound up rooting for Georgia Tech to knock off Miami after the Hokies lost to the Canes. Tech didn't need UVa to beat Miami because it will get its own shot at the Canes.
Second, I don't want UVa to succeed in anything, ever or experience any sort of joy whatsoever. I wish nothing but defeat and pain for the Hoos. Finally, that was a big win for the Hoos as far as recruiting goes. UVa's new coach is a good recruiter and the Hokies don't have a lot of scholarships to give out this year, meaning the Hoos have a chance to gain ground on Tech in getting the Commonwealth's best players.
UVa's win over Miami signals to recruits that progress on the field is being made under London, unlike what new hires at Notre Dame, Texas Tech and Kansas are experiencing. UVa's win over Miami means the Hokies have a very good chance of making it to Charlotte, but it also makes it that much more important that Tech absolutely pound the Hoos when they come to Lane Stadium.
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I think my hatred for Miami has surpassed that of UVa only because UVA has meant nothing for so long now. They are so worthless that they’re not even worth my disgust towards them.
Another thing recruits saw there yesterday was a quarter of the stadium empty on a day when you’re playing a top 25 team in the country. The win may overshadow that but its definitely gotta keep some recruits away.
I understand the the disgust for the 'Hoos
but am still glad that Miami got their butts whipped & gave us a cushion.
We’ll still take care of our own business.
If the thunder don't get ya then the lightning will!!
Robert Hunter
I don’t want UVA to have something to build on for the season. This definitely gives them more confidence for the rest of their games. That being said, I’m still not worried.
I’m glad to see Miami lose, though. Maybe ESPN will stop acting like they are the second coming now.
Pirates, Vikings, Hokies. I'm used to heartbreak. At least I have the Penguins....
"When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on earth."
-The Great One
by blackjackfishtaco on Oct 31, 2010 12:09 PM EDT reply actions
Agreed
I despise everything UVA. I have taken great pleasure in watching their football program become totally irrelvant over the last decade. I am not worried that any great recruits are going to see one win over a barely top 25 team (made possible only by Miami’s QB going down), and say “Wow, what an impressive program! I need to be a Cavalier instead of a Hokie!” Every football player in Virginia with a clue knows you go to VT to win conference titles. I am more concerned about Georgia Tech Thursday night. This two game lead reeks of a scenario where we drop a game and sweat out the rest of the season. Tyrod has been playing so well all season that I am worried he is due to have a bad game. Yeah, maybe I’m paranoid.
Mixed bag
Certainly the Miami loss helps us, but Furrer is right…we didn’t need UVA to have any more help getting recruits. Now they have a season that people (recruits and their families) can look at and say “hmmmm…., it’s looking up over there in Charlottesville.” So it is vital that we just PULVERIZE the Cavs to keep our stronghold on the state, but seriously, any chance we had at some of the state’s top recruits (namely the TOP one) was over when we blew it against JMU. Top recruits won’t see past that, and I wouldn’t if I were them either. But I will take a Miami loss that helps us on our way to Charlotte. I think more good lies in the balance for us from that game than bad.
No mixed bag here
I’m in lockstep with Furrier on this. Except for the recruiting thing. I don’t think this is going to help with recruiting. If I’m a recruit, I’m licking my chops over playing in Lane Stadium, and playing on ESPN on Thursday nights. When was the last time UVa played on Thursday night. They’re irrelevant, and they’ll stay that way for awhile.
But…, I didn’t not want help from the Cavs. VT still controls their own destiny, like Furrier said, and I believe the Hokies always do better when fighting for the division. They never do well when they have the opportunity to go for the kill. They certainly have that opportunity over the next two weeks. If they win the next two, the division is wrapped up. I predict that they will choke in either the GT or UNC games.
by Leonard Thompson on Nov 1, 2010 10:29 AM EDT reply actions
Losses helping VT
In other news, if you care about somewhat meaningless statistics, Texas lost to Baylor and now cannot win 10 games. If VT wins 4 more games in 5 or 6 chances, then it will have the longest current streak of 10-win seasons with 7. Texas currently has 9 10-win seasons… Of course, now that I just jinxed them, they’ll probably only get 9 wins (or less)….
by Chazz Micheal Michealzz on Nov 1, 2010 4:12 PM EDT reply actions
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