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Nobody rational thought that we’d end up in any sort of real poll mention for the last weekend. I almost thing that if we win on Thursday night that we still won’t get much mention. NC State was smacked but not dropped in both polls and for whatever reason Miami shows up in the Coaches’ Poll at #25 even if they lost to the Hoos and the Hoose only got a few more than last week. No one ever really accused the polling of being particularly rational, especially anything between 10 and 25.
Click for the Amway Coaches Poll
We have seen this sort of reaction before. What gives is that the Polls are not reflecting most of the actual standings in all but the top 5. As far as Virginia Tech is concerned, our season is uninteresting and of no value to the poll voters of the AP, and the Coaches really don’t think that we can hang on to our current position. Right now, the fumes and spotlights of the buzz machine have UVA favored to win the Coastal this season.
Virginia Tech fans are going to have to square with that. Even if we roll out of the Miami game undefeated in the stretch the Friday after Thanksgiving might very well be the ACC Coastal Championship game. Right now the bets are shading toward the Wahoos; not by much. But we have to live with the fact that even if we take the field on November 23rd as an underdog in our own house. Though I expect to be that way for nearly all the games that we have left. We should also fully anticipate that we won’t break back into the rankings for the remainder of the season up until we either win or lose the Commonwealth Cup.
The sports punditry just doesn’t believe that we can do it. Well, we have always played better when they didn’t think much of us. Even Coach Fuente noticed that.