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Virginia Tech will officially open the season against the number one team in the national. The Associated Press pre-season football poll was released earlier today and the Hokies were not to be found in the top 25. Virginia Tech was among the schools that received votes but did not have enough to crack the top 25. Instead, Virginia Tech will start the season 28th having received a total of 86 votes.
The poll looks as followed:
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (58) | 0-0 | 1,498 | NR |
| 2 | Ohio State (1) | 0-0 | 1,365 | NR |
| 3 | Oregon | 0-0 | 1,335 | NR |
| 4 | Stanford | 0-0 | 1,294 | NR |
| 5 | Georgia (1) | 0-0 | 1,249 | NR |
| 6 | South Carolina | 0-0 | 1,154 | NR |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 0-0 | 1,104 | NR |
| 8 | Clemson | 0-0 | 1,083 | NR |
| 9 | Louisville | 0-0 | 1,042 | NR |
| 10 | Florida | 0-0 | 894 | NR |
| 11 | Florida State | 0-0 | 845 | NR |
| 12 | LSU | 0-0 | 802 | NR |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 0-0 | 755 | NR |
| 14 | Notre Dame | 0-0 | 748 | NR |
| 15 | Texas | 0-0 | 677 | NR |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 0-0 | 579 | NR |
| 17 | Michigan | 0-0 | 531 | NR |
| 18 | Nebraska | 0-0 | 382 | NR |
| 19 | Boise State | 0-0 | 328 | NR |
| 20 | TCU | 0-0 | 323 | NR |
| 21 | UCLA | 0-0 | 286 | NR |
| 22 | Northwestern | 0-0 | 199 | NR |
| 23 | Wisconsin | 0-0 | 185 | NR |
| 24 | USC | 0-0 | 134 | NR |
| 25 | Oregon State | 0-0 | 129 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes: Michigan State 95, Baylor 92, Virginia Tech 86, Miami (FL) 85, Arizona State 53, Kansas State 43, Fresno State 36, Vanderbilt 19, Washington 17, Northern Illinois 16, Mississippi 11, Utah State 8, Georgia Tech 6, North Carolina 3, Arizona 3, Cincinnati 3, Penn State 2, Brigham Young 1 |
As you can notice, Virginia Tech is scheduled to play one team in the pre-season top 25. Granted, that lone team just happens to be the clear favorite to win the national championship again and the clear number one team in the nation before the season has actually started. Two ACC schools, Clemson and Florida State, made the top 25 but won't be on the Hokies' schedule due to a required ACC schedule alteration with the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the conference.
Virginia Tech isn't unfamiliar with starting a college football season unranked in the AP poll, but it has been a rarity in recent history. The Hokies started last season unranked, but before that had been ranked for eight straight seasons dating back to 2003 when Virginia Tech was also unranked. The climb up the polls could be a rough one for the Hokies this year with injuries and a tough opening matchup against the Crimson Tide. However, being an "underdog" is something that Virginia Tech has historically taken pride in overcoming.