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Virginia Tech No. 14 In Initial BCS Standings

By chicagomaroon
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

After finding out where they ranked today in the Week 9 AP and Coaches' Polls, the Hokies received word tonight that they are ranked No. 14 in the first BCS standings of the 2013 season. That ranking is considerably higher than where the Hokies stand in the AP (16) and Coaches' (19) polls.

As Andy Bitter explains, here's how the BCS standings are comprised:

Certainly it's surprising to see the Hokies getting love from the computers, or at least that much, considering how long it took them to break into the polls and how slowly they've been climbing despite losses from many top-25 teams during that timeframe. It does speak to the Hokies' average quality of FBS opponent, which is actually pretty good.

Not only is Tech ranked No. 14, they are not too far behind LSU, who lost to unranked Ole Miss this weekend. The Hokies average is .4408 and the Tigers at .4552, which is not all that large of a gap, despite many being surprised the Hokies are as high as No. 14.

The ACC also has three teams in the BCS top-10, in Florida State at No. 2, Miami at No. 7 and Clemson at No. 9. the only conference to do so. With the Hokies included, the conference has four top-14 teams. You can see all the standings and each individual ranking below.


BCS		 Harris Poll USA Today Computer Rankings
RK TEAM AVG PVS RK PTS % RK PTS % AVG A&H RB CM KM JS PW %
1 Alabama .9841 2 1 2615 .9962 1 1544 .9961 2 2 1 3 3 2 1 .960
2 Florida State .9348 12 3 2401 .9147 3 1410 .9097 1 1 5 2 1 1 2 .980
3 Oregon .9320 4 2 2520 .9600 2 1482 .9561 4 4 2 4 4 4 4 .880
4 Ohio State .8553 NR 4 2321 .8842 4 1382 .8916 5 5 3 5 8 8 7 .790
5 Missouri .8219 NR 6 2026 .7718 7 1184 .7639 3 3 6 1 2 3 3 .930
6 Stanford .7414 6 8 1952 .7436 8 1117 .7206 6 6 4 6 6 15 10 .760
7 Miami (FL) .7200 NR 7 2008 .7650 6 1186 .7652 10 8 21 12 9 12 8 .630
8 Baylor .7120 NR 5 2038 .7764 5 1255 .8097 12 9 11 11 15 14 13 .550
9 Clemson .6249 14 10 1616 .6156 10 913 .5890 9 10 7 8 10 13 9 .670
10 Texas Tech .6220 NR 9 1662 .6331 9 981 .6329 11 11 14 10 12 10 11 .600
11 Auburn .5058 NR 15 1105 .4210 17 537 .3465 7 7 17 7 5 9 6 .750
12 UCLA .4807 17 11 1323 .5040 11 710 .4581 14 15 16 19 13 11 12 .480
13 LSU .4552 8 12 1212 .4617 13 688 .4439 15 14 9 17 11 19 16 .460
14 Virginia Tech .4408 NR 19 841 .3204 19 499 .3219 8 13 NR 9 7 7 5 .680
15 Oklahoma .4204 11 14 1110 .4229 12 695 .4484 16 12 8 15 19 20 19 .390
16 Texas A&M .3666 9 13 1177 .4484 15 622 .4013 18 22 18 22 16 22 17 .250
17 Fresno State .3379 NR 18 920 .3505 18 532 .3432 17 16 NR 14 NR 16 14 .320
18 Northern Illinois .3032 15 21 518 .1973 22 298 .1923 13 19 10 13 14 5 15 .520
19 Oklahoma State .2687 NR 17 951 .3623 13 688 .4439 28 25 NR NR NR NR NR .000
20 Louisville .2556 21 16 1046 .3985 16 571 .3684 28 NR 15 NR NR NR NR .000
21 South Carolina .2161 10 20 673 .2564 20 468 .3019 26 24 19 NR 22 NR 23 .090
22 Michigan .1637 18 22 415 .1581 23 268 .1729 21 17 20 16 NR NR 25 .160
23 UCF .1394 NR 25 238 .0907 25 151 .0974 19 23 13 23 NR 17 18 .230
24 Nebraska .1354 16 23 414 .1577 21 385 .2484 28 NR NR NR NR NR NR .000
25 Oregon State .1042 13 NR 168 .0640 NR 91 .0587 20 NR 22 24 18 6 21 .190

So what does this mean for the Hokies? Well, No. 14 is certainly a favorable initial ranking. Depending on how the Florida State-Miami bout plays out, the Hokies could be going into Miami on Nov. 9 at 7-1 and playing a top-5 team. Based on how Florida State played last night, however, that would appear unlikely, though anything can happen in college football.

The benefit of this ranking is if the Hokies take care of business the rest of the way, winning out and earning a spot in the ACC Championship Game. The high initial ranking should help the Hokies be in contention for a BCS bowl even if they do not win the league title game, as was the case in 2011. A national championship appearance is unlikely, and would require a lot of things to happen, the least of which being the Hokies beating Miami on the road and a pretty impressive Florida State team (assuming they do not lose two ACC games and miss out on the title game).

But all of those hypotheticals are a ways off. All Tech can do now is to continue to take it week by week and see how high it takes them. They're one of two teams in the Coastal Division that controls their own destiny, and thanks to the BCS standings, may have another shot at a BCS bowl they wouldn't have otherwise.

For more Hokies rankings/standings posts for as long as they stay in them, Gobbler Country brings you the most-complete coverage out there. Be sure to consult us for all your Virginia Tech sports needs.

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