Virginia 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.