Hokies' hopes at national title disappear quickly
October, 17, 2009
10/17/09
11:39
PM ET
Posted by ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Virginia Tech couldn’t control what Iowa, Cincinnati and USC were doing on Saturday night. They had no power over Alabama or Florida. All the Hokies could do was control the game in front of them, and in the second half against Georgia Tech on Saturday night, they couldn’t do that, either.
Virginia Tech’s chances at the national title -- and the ACC’s hopes that were piggybacking on the Hokies’ success -- took a dramatic dive after the Hokies' 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech. Only once in the history of the BCS has a two-loss team ever played for the national title, and that was in 2007, when a loss to LSU kept the Hokies out of the national championship game and opened the door for the Tigers. Similarly, Virginia Tech’s loss to Alabama in the season opener would also come back to haunt them, but with so many other teams in the country with one loss or still undefeated, it’s an improbable scenario anyway.
The No. 4-ranked Hokies (5-2, 3-1 ACC) waited until the fourth quarter to play like a team with the national title on the line, and by then it was too late.
“UNC. Isn’t that the next game? UNC,” said Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams. “We can’t think no further than that. I think that’s a problem with a lot of people. They look at the bigger picture before they take care of the smaller picture. We have to work and get ourselves prepared to play UNC. We can’t skip. We can’t skip to the end of the season. Before the season, there were so many talks about the national championship. Then we lost. Then we got ourselves back into the rankings. We took another (loss). We have to be prepared to take every week, week by week, and play our A-game. We can’t play our A-game in the fourth quarter. That’s what killed us.”
The loss dropped the Hokies behind Virginia in the Coastal Division standings and into a tie with Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Virginia, which started out 0-3 overall, is suddenly the only team still undefeated in the conference, thanks to a win over Maryland today.
The biggest loss of the day, though, was the for the ACC -- another year without a contender for the national title.
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| Paul Abell/US Presswire | |
| Tyrod Taylor and the Hokies no longer have a shot at playing for the national title. |
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Virginia Tech couldn’t control what Iowa, Cincinnati and USC were doing on Saturday night. They had no power over Alabama or Florida. All the Hokies could do was control the game in front of them, and in the second half against Georgia Tech on Saturday night, they couldn’t do that, either.
Virginia Tech’s chances at the national title -- and the ACC’s hopes that were piggybacking on the Hokies’ success -- took a dramatic dive after the Hokies' 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech. Only once in the history of the BCS has a two-loss team ever played for the national title, and that was in 2007, when a loss to LSU kept the Hokies out of the national championship game and opened the door for the Tigers. Similarly, Virginia Tech’s loss to Alabama in the season opener would also come back to haunt them, but with so many other teams in the country with one loss or still undefeated, it’s an improbable scenario anyway.
The No. 4-ranked Hokies (5-2, 3-1 ACC) waited until the fourth quarter to play like a team with the national title on the line, and by then it was too late.
“UNC. Isn’t that the next game? UNC,” said Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams. “We can’t think no further than that. I think that’s a problem with a lot of people. They look at the bigger picture before they take care of the smaller picture. We have to work and get ourselves prepared to play UNC. We can’t skip. We can’t skip to the end of the season. Before the season, there were so many talks about the national championship. Then we lost. Then we got ourselves back into the rankings. We took another (loss). We have to be prepared to take every week, week by week, and play our A-game. We can’t play our A-game in the fourth quarter. That’s what killed us.”
The loss dropped the Hokies behind Virginia in the Coastal Division standings and into a tie with Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Virginia, which started out 0-3 overall, is suddenly the only team still undefeated in the conference, thanks to a win over Maryland today.
The biggest loss of the day, though, was the for the ACC -- another year without a contender for the national title.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Heather Dinich
Dinich covered ACC and Big Ten football for five seasons before joining ESPN.com in November 2007. She's an Indiana grad but somehow her favorite day of the week is Saturday.
ACC SCOREBOARD
Saturday, 12/17
Final Temple 37 Wyoming 15 Final Ohio 24 Utah State 23 Final San Diego State 30 Louisiana-Lafayette 32
Tuesday, 12/20
Wednesday, 12/21
Final 18 TCU 31 Louisiana Tech 24
Thursday, 12/22
Saturday, 12/24
Final Nevada 17 21 Southern Miss 24
Monday, 12/26
Tuesday, 12/27
Final Western Michigan 32 Purdue 37 Final Louisville 24 North Carolina State 31
Wednesday, 12/28
Final Toledo 42 Air Force 41 Final California 10 24 Texas 21
Thursday, 12/29
Final Florida State 18 Notre Dame 14 Final Washington 56 12 Baylor 67
Friday, 12/30
Final Brigham Young 24 Tulsa 21 Final Rutgers 27 Iowa State 13 Final Mississippi State 23 Wake Forest 17 Final Iowa 14 14 Oklahoma 31
Saturday, 12/31
Final Texas A&M 33 Northwestern 22 Final/OT Georgia Tech 27 Utah 30 Final Illinois 20 UCLA 14 Final Cincinnati 31 Vanderbilt 24 Final Virginia 24 25 Auburn 43
Monday, 1/2
Final 19 Houston 30 22 Penn State 14 Final Ohio State 17 Florida 24 Final/3OT 17 Michigan State 33 16 Georgia 30 Final 20 Nebraska 13 9 South Carolina 30 Final 10 Wisconsin 38 5 Oregon 45 Final/OT 4 Stanford 38 3 Oklahoma State 41
Tuesday, 1/3
Final/OT 13 Michigan 23 11 Virginia Tech 20
Wednesday, 1/4
Final 23 West Virginia 70 15 Clemson 33
Friday, 1/6
Final 8 Kansas State 16 6 Arkansas 29
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