Week 2 @ Ohio State: Was the Hokies' victory over tOSU their biggest win of the 21st century?
giftedidiot
Absolutely. The 2004 victory at #9 Miami was the top one for me until Saturday. That one was significant because it showed all the trolls who didn't think Virginia Tech was worthy of being a member of the lofty ACC that we not only belong, we run this conference. The first conference champion post-expansion wasn't their darling Seminoles or their coveted Hurricanes, it was the lowly Hokies. You know, the team Virginia legislators had to twist arms to get a seat at the ACC table. But, that was a #10 ranked football team. True, they started out the season unranked because of the meldtown at the end of the '03 season; however, there was a certain amount of stability present during that season in that we all knew we had the athletes to be successful, we just had to put it all together.
Going into the game with the Buckeyes, the Hokies had suffered a two-season funk: an identity crisis, if you will. One more season of mediocrity and the program's national reach would certainly evaporate and the program would be reduced to "Remember that quaint little school with the awful shooting that used to have a good football team? You know, the one with the cute little old man coach who the game has passed by that says "Aw, shucks?" Forget attracting top recruits to Blacksburg with a third straight circa .500 season.
Historical stats are a lot of fun, but my favorite thing is that not only did we beat the Buckeyes, it was most definitely not a fluke. VT never trailed during the game, and the Buckeyes offense looked grossly overmatched in the 4th quarter against the LPD. We came out and punched them in the mouth early, survived the game's ebbs and flows, and the LPD closed it out late.
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HokieMark
Absolutely. In fact, it may be the biggest win ever. I'm not sure the Hokies have ever beaten a top 10 team on the road before. It was a record crowd in the Horseshoe. It was the first time Ohio State has lost a home opener since Woody Hayes was coach (if you're too young to know who that is, check Google). It was a dominant performance by the defense. It was a rite of passage for Michael Brewer - the first REAL quarterback Virginia Tech has had in years. It was the best special teams since the Beamerball days. Yeah, this was the biggest win in the 21st century for the Hokies!
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I'm going to call it the 2nd most important win. The first was the road win in 2004 over Miami to win the first post-expansion ACC BCS bid. It let the ACC know that even though they expanded with Miami/FSU title games in mind that VT would have some say in the matter. And with the ensuing years doing nothing to dispel that notion, you have to look at that game as the advent.
But as far as non-conference games go, in an environment as large (and supposedly intimidating) as The Shoe, you have to give style points for how easy we made it look, even with all of our own errors. Ohio State was reduced to a puddle of themselves.
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Greg Quintero
I would say this is the biggest win of the 21st century. They went into Columbus and handed Ohio State in a home opener for the first time since 1978. Also a road win against a top 10 team is huge. Aside from a few mistakes all parts of their game was clicking, and they look like a legitimate threat to challenge for the ACC if they keep playing like this. Also showed heart by scoring immediately after Ohio State tied it, a lot of teams would have folded up shop at that point. Huge win, also made me believe in Brewer.
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maroonhiker
Yes. Beamer not only gets a reprieve from the "terrible big game coach" charge, he reversed it a bit. That's crucial for the closing years of his coaching career. We will remember this win for a long time no matter what the Buckeyes do the rest of the year. Foster showed why he still is one of the top defensive coordinators. Loeffler put VT's offense back on the map. Even the special teams were decent. And this game established Brewer as THE leader of this team. You couldn't ask for much more from a single victory.
Perhaps that is why late last night my black lab, Simone, was sprayed by a skunk for the first time ever in our backyard. I'm convinced it was Woody Hayes reincarnate. And Simone wasn't even wearing a Clemson helmet.
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I was freaking out and running around screaming when Michael Brewer threw that second interception, but as soon as they showed his face on the sideline..? He had zero reaction. He was cool as a cucumber. I legitimately shut up mid outburst when I saw how unaffected he was. If he's chill, then I'm chill. It was amazing.
Let's just hope that there are little to no further osu losses, and no Hokie losses..or the impact of last Saturday's win will be diminished :(
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