History will not be kind to the 2010 Virginia Tech Hokies. While most fans will remember the way the team came together and was resilient on their way to 11 consecutive victories and an ACC championship, outsiders will only remember the losses to James Madison and Stanford.
Is that fair? Probably not, but there's some fairness to it. At the end of the day, all but two of Virginia Tech's wins came against teams that will wind up not ranked in the final Top 25 poll. Was it a great and memorable season in the minds of Hokie fans? Absolutely. But was it a great and memorable season in the grand scheme of college football? No where close.
What I'll choose to remember most from this season is Tyrod Taylor coming full circle as a quarterback and as a leader of this team. When things seemed their darkest, we really had nothing to worry about because we had No. 5 under center.
Unfortunately, you're only as good as your last game and the Hokies were pitiful against Stanford. Neither the coaches nor the players were at their best. On offense, our play calling was stale, but our offensive line made it look 10 times worse than it was. On defense, Stanford's halftime adjustments crushed our and we left TIGHT ENDS open all night.
The other thing that will stick in most minds is the historic loss to James Madison. There plenty of excuses that can be used to try and explain away an inexplicable loss, but at the end of the day, the history books will only remember the final score and the fact the Dukes limped home to a 6-5 record.
This team's place in history is set, but it will be much different for Hokie fans and non-Hokie fans. Ask one group and they'll be talked about glowingly. Ask the other and they'll be laughed at. At the end of the day, I think we should remember the ride. That this crazy, depressing, exhilarating, stupid season brought us joy that we will appreciate more because we experienced every bipolar moment that came with it.
[Coming later this week will be our annual look at offensive and defensive efficiency and a closer look at what went right and wrong for the Hokies in 2010. We'll also have our Depth Chart Debates and look at the prospects for a prosperous 2011.]