Hokies debut at No. 20 in USA Today Coaches Poll
Virginia Tech debuted at No. 20 in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll on Thursday, the eighth straight year the Hokies have started in the Top 25 of the poll but their lowest starting point since 2004.
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The Hokies are one of three ACC teams in the poll, joining No. 7 Florida State and No. 14 Clemson. Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Virginia also received votes.
Virginia Tech began last season ranked No. 13 in the poll and finished at No. 17. The Hokies haven’t started this low since being unranked to begin 2004.
Frank Beamer is one of the 59 head coaches voting in the poll this season. From the ACC, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, Miami’s Al Golden, Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe, Virginia’s Mike London and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney have ballots.
Here’s where Virginia Tech has started and finished in the coaches poll since joining the ACC:
- 2011: 13th –> 17th
- 2010: 6th –> 15th
- 2009: 7th –> 10th
- 2008: 15th –> 14th
- 2007: 9th –> 9th
- 2006: 16th –> 18th
- 2005: 7th –> 7th
- 2004: NR–> 10th
Here’s the entire Top 25 (first-place votes in parentheses, last year’s record and final rank listed):
- 1. LSU (18), 13-1, 1,403 points, LY: 2
- 2. Alabama (20), 12-1, 1,399 points, LY: 1
- 3. Southern California (19), 10-2, 1,388 points, LY: NR
- 4. Oklahoma (1), 10-3, 1,276 points, LY: 15
- 5. Oregon, 12-2, 1,258 points, LY: 4
- 6. Georgia, 10-4, 1,061 points, LY: 20
- 7. Florida State (1), 9-4, 1,055 points, LY: 23
- 8. Michigan, 11-2, 1,023 points, LY: 9
- 9. South Carolina, 11-2, 981 points, LY: 8
- 10. Arkansas, 11-2, 948 points, LY: 5
- 11. West Virginia, 10-3, 833, LY: 18
- 12. Wisconsin, 11-3, 743 points, LY: 11
- 13. Michigan State, 11-3, 717 points, LY: 10
- 14.Clemson, 10-4, 598 points, LY: 22
- 15. Texas, 8-5, 549 points, LY: NR
- 16. Nebraska, 9-4, 501 points, LY: 24
- 17. TCU, 11-2, 499 points, LY: 13
- 18. Stanford, 11-2, 497 points, LY: 7
- 19. Oklahoma State, 12-1, 476, LY: 3
- 20. Virginia Tech, 11-3, 461 points, LY: 17
- 21. Kansas State, 10-3, 398 points, LY: 16
- 22. Boise State, 12-1, 271 points, LY: 6
- 23. Florida, 7-6, 250 points, LY: NR
- 24.Notre Dame, 8-5, 166 points, LY: NR
- 25. Auburn, 8-5, 66 points, LY: NR
Others receiving votes (with 2011 records):
Washington (7-6) 64; Louisville (7-6) 46; Georgia Tech (8-5) 35; Cincinnati (10-3) 32; Texas A&M (7-6) 28; Baylor (10-3) 23; Utah (8-5) 22; Mississippi State (7-6) 21; South Florida (5-7) 12; N.C. State (8-5) 11; BYU (10-3) 10; Louisiana Tech (8-5) 10; Virginia (8-5) 9; Houston (13-1) 7; Southern Mississippi (12-2) 6; Central Florida (5-7) 5; Rutgers (9-4) 5; Florida International (8-5) 3; Missouri (8-5) 3; Tennessee (5-7) 3; Northern Illinois (11-3) 2; Texas Tech (5-7) 1.
Are the Hokies overrated or underrated in this poll? Put your thoughts in the comments.
August 2, 2012 - 12:17 PM
The poll is a joke as usual. Most overranked teams include FSU, Michigan and Texas. VT should be ranked around #13/14.
VT should be somewhere between 20 and 15. FSU, ND & Texas are overrated.
20 is about right for VT and that’s where they should be at the end of the year, but because of the cupcake schedule they will continue to move up into the top five by years end. Making hokies believe they have a top five team!
Out side of the SEC Tech as a tough of schedule as any other team. PAC 10? teams have very weak schedule but because many are over rated they appear to have a stronger schedule.
For several years I have compared the final poll with the preseason and the conclusion is: The Preseason is not worth the paper it is printed on.
I think the #20 ranking is about right.
Would you and Mark Berman along with Doug Doughty and other sports reporters that cover Tech and Uva some toug questions like Why do you refuse to play the HBCU schools that are 1A in your state in Football .They play them in Basketball . is Tech afraid that what happen with top seeded Missouri losing to Norfolk state would happen, of course not . the Following ACC schools play there Black College teams in the state Univ of MIAMI Univ. MARYLAND, Duke Univ. Clemson and previously Univ. South Carolina and Georgia Tech this year Florida State along with big 12 schools Olka. State, Olka.University, TCU AND SEC Texas A&M all play historically Black Colleges and Universites. I Could go on. Stop with the Cookie cutter questions and ask why Liberty in LYNCHBURG and not the black colleges will they not benifit from the same check they give liberty for coming and getting there ….kicked you guys let Coach BEAMER off easy the Coaches in the SEC gets the tough questions i love hearing there coaches respond i miss coach Bowden . now i wager you coach Beamers response is i do not set the Schedule come on !!!!! okay i guest Old DOMINION WILL APPEAR NEXT. One would ask why ? i could give them an answer but some may be stunned.
Preseason polls are invalid and no poll should be taken until some games have been played.
Let’s go Hokies !!!
Andy shows that only two out of eight times has VT has been ranked higher at the end of the season than they were at the beginning since joinng the ACC. This fact shows that polls don’t mean much, and it gives credence to the thought that VT is habitually over rated and ranked too high. It also provides insight into the reason for their less than stellar on field record against top ranked teams. I’m a fan of VT football, but the numbers don’t lie. So realizing polls don’t mean anything and national championships are unheard of for most programs, perhaps we should be thankfull for the team we have each year and leave the polls and national championship debates to people with nothing better to do. Look at the top five or ten in the preseason poll….cheaters and bad actors a plenty.
What’s your opinion of the ranking Andy?
I don’t really care where this poll has us. The keys to the season are how the new guys at o-line, RB, and WR perform. How can anyone predict that right now? Starting at 20 only adds motivation
I’d say that FSU, Georgia, and Michigan are ranked too high. FSU is WAY too high.
Texas, Florida, and ND have no business being in the rankings right now.
I would have personally put VT in the 14-17 range, based on my preseason guessing.
20th is a fair ranking to begin the season. Remember the starters that we’re replacing – RB will be ALL new guys. WR – the two best WR’s in our history, replaced by an inconsistent one and one that was injured. Virtually an entire new offensive line. Special teams are in dire shape right now. That is a lot of question marks. Once the team proves itself, there will be plenty of time to rise in the rankings. The GaTech game could be a good boost.
I think there’s such little difference between 15 and 20 that it doesn’t matter a whole lot. But I think the Hokies, given their question marks on the line, are about right. It won’t look anything like this three or four weeks into the season, though.
#20, probably understandable when just about the entire O is being replaced.
Sherman, there are only 2 1A football programs in Virginia. Norfolk State and Hampton are both 1AA (FCS) programs. ODU goes 1A next year. Maybe you should write the AD, I’m not sure this blog is the appropriate venue to make actual changes. Venting, yes, schedule changes, no.
Had to be an oversight on someone’s part to have excluded UVa, but I know, it’s only preseason…
To be quite honest, I have often felt that the poll should be released sometime after week 3 of the football season because by then, everyone would have the best idea of who should be in the top 25, and as the season goes on, the shuffle will continue until the end.
My biggest gripe with the poll is the BCS ranking. It don’t come out until week 9 and when it does, to hell with the other poll because that is the one that matters the most, and it’s one that is computed for bowl match up. Now, I know that some polls do matter to the BCS because it’s part of their pseudo-math formula, which are so laughable that even PhDs in mathematics call it rubbish, and if I’m not mistaken, the Associate Press poll is excluded. I’m not sure if USA Today is part of the BCS formula, Andy?
Coaches poll is one-third of the BCS formula. Harris poll is a third. Computer composite rankings are a third.
If you ever do decide to give us an answer Sherman try to pay a little more attention to your grammer and spelling. Understanding that post you just wrote is kinda like pounding sand up a gnats rear end……it’s hard to do dude. And you’re on City Council? JEEEEZ
Andy Bitter – “us” !!!! It took less than a year for you to start sounding like Randy King. Disappointing.
Yeah, you’re referencing a comment by “Andy.” If you’ll notice, my handle is and has always been “Andy Bitter.” That’s not me using the phrase, “us.”
Andy Bitter – Thank you for pointing out my error. I apologize and stand corrected.
yea, scott Norfolk State and Hampton are the same classfication as William and Mary, James Madison, Univ. of Richmond Liberty And this year Austin Peay I thought they were div2 or NAIA. OH by the Way, Norfolk State Drove by Va. Tech last year on there way to Morgantown West Va. to play West Virginia and led at half time. Yes the same West Virginia that Mauled Clemson in The Orange Bowl oh Clemson beat Va. Tech TWICE last season. Hey it an apporiate question it about Football. My friend i pay taxes in the State of Virginia not Clarksville Tenn home of AUSTIN PEAY. Maybe when Coach Beamer goesto the Coaches Convention he should do what the Coaches in the Big East , SEC , BIG 12, PAC 12, Talk with those coaches in the HBCUs especially in his home state.
STILL LEARNING , JUST GET THE POINT!!!! and learn something more about Football than what you READ in the times !!! how is that !!!
Yeah sorry for any confusion. My name, obviously, is Andy. I’m not pretending to be AB or anything like that.
I like us at 20 because it puts less pressure on the team and allows them to just play without having to worry about high preseason expectations. That’s good for inexperienced players easing into new starting roles. If the OL comes together (they have the talent) the team could be a top 10 team pretty quickly as grossly overrated teams like Michigan lose.
The defense, along with an elite talent at QB, will keep this team inside the top 20 all season long. With a few players at OL, WR, and RB stepping up, it could be an under-the-radar, special season.
Hey Robert,
You are right. That “cupcake”schedule at the end of the season will definitely help. Especially the finale’! I’ve lost track of how many years straight the losers from hooville get their Thanksgiving weekend spoiled!
Sherman,
Schedules are made year’s in advance, like 8-10. Then a school drops a game with VT the year before the scheduled affair. At that point, the athletic dept has to scramble to find a quick fix opponent, and the schools you reference do ot have an easy opening to allow for another loss on their schedule. Most of these schools do play at least one FBS school and know they are the cupcake in doing it.
In summary, Austin Peay is a great example of where a schedule changed at the last minute (last off-season), and the pickings for a replacement are very slim.
Sherman… Are you getting at some political thing here? Where do taxes come into this anyway? Lighten up man, this is only football! I would call Jim Weaver right up and tell him to schedule Norfolk State. I am sure he would be impressed. I think if Norfolk State had been availble when he had to find almost anything to fill that hole in VT’s schedule he would have taken it. That is the only reason that schools like AP get on these schedules. Florida State practically held the ACC schedule hostage last spring trying to fill one of these holes when WVU dropped out. So I wouldn’t make a big deal out of this.
Oh to followup. The AP thing also had a great deal to do with avoiding another disaster like we had with JMU on a short week after a tough game. I can’t blame Weaver for that. I think FSU did the same. So just to be fair I am sure that Norfolk State’s record might have figured into that discussion also. But who is to say they would have been available anyway? That plus we aren’t past GT yet. We could find ourselves in a similar position with AP if the planets line up again.
#5 after they beat AUSTIN PEAY!!!
I think 20 is a good and fair place to start for VT. I would rather be underrated (based on rankings) and battle our way into the top ten with tough play and motivation than to be overranked/overrated. The players would be cocky and overconfident and likely not play up to their potential.
And Mr. Lea..really? What is this nonsense? Frank Beamer and VT does not owe Hampton, NSU, VA State or any other (HBCU) school anything! The don’t owe W&M, JMU, ODU or any other school in VA anything for that matter. They schedule these teams (years) well in advance and sometimes they just need to fill a slot and they start placing calls. JMU and Richmond has won FCS NC in the last 10-15 years. When these teams are winning their conference running away and consistently completing for FCS NC and Beams is still “Scared” to schedule these teams, then you have a gripe. So, Just stop now. You are starting to sound really bad (like Jesse Jackson bad).
#17 Still Learning: “try to pay a little more attention to your grammer and spelling.” “Grammer”? Guess you still are learning…
Didn’t he play on ‘Cheers’ & ‘Frazier’?
Kelsy Grammer?
I agree that a higher ranking early helps a team get to the #1 or 2 spot. Its hard to climb all thw ay up.
4 SEC teams in the top 10 won’t last. They’ll kill each other off. To me, USC has an easy path to the top. Oregon and Stanford only while the SEC teams have quite a climb.
I wonder what Stanford has left with Luck gone. This will be interesting.
I say Notre Dame remains a media and coaches darling but we never see it on the field.
Living 60 miles from Austin in our great Republic of Texas I haer a bunch about UT (and UT is NOT those folks on Rocky Top). There is hope for the Longhorns but I am doubtful. The problems of the past two seasons seem to persist.
I’m surprised Oklahoma State didn’t get more love.
Most of the time ZMan it all works out in the end. It may be a longer climb to the top from #20 to #1 (probably from beginning of the season to the end) but it really doesn’t matter as much as one may think. It won’t matter if you start #5 or you start #20, if two or more undefeated SEC, B1G, Big 12, or PAC teams are undefeated at the end (along with say a VT/ACC type school).. The ACC/Big East/MWC school will be left out nearly every time. Right now schools in these conferences need respect from the voters, an undefeated team, and a little bit of luck (no other undefeateds). Until the ACC starts winning big OOC games (and can say they are on the same level as these others), the perception will not change on that
It was a joke Scott. Guess it went over your hed.
“OH by the Way, Norfolk State Drove by Va. Tech last year on there way to Morgantown West Va. to play West Virginia and led at half time. Yes the same West Virginia that Mauled Clemson in The Orange Bowl oh Clemson beat Va. Tech TWICE last season.”
This is the type of “reasoning” that gets people laughed at.
Uh.. uh.. well… we had the lead for a little while over a team that beat a team that knows a team who drove by a team who beat your team… so there!! I guess I told you! Nanna nanna boo boo!
*taps fingers* still waiting to be stunned by Sherman’s answer…….maybe the answer is because they drove back by Blacksburg on their way back to Norfolk State and because they were going over the speed limit VT is too scared to schedule them
Sir, I think the correct term is “nannie-nannie-boo-boo”. VT’s preseason rank of #20 is theoretically irrelevant.
Beyond the grand hyperbole above, the true impact of a preseason rank can be judged by its effect on the final post-season ranking. In this case it is irrelevant unless VT wins all of its games (NC). If VT doesn’t, then all that matters in post-season really is that VT wins the most in the ACC (ACC bowl).
In terms of schedule, the season’s games will propel VT into NC consideration as long as VT does not lose (which is VT’s only realistic shot for the NC anyway); however, this is dependent on Clemson and FSU as well. Due to their date of loss, teams currently ranked above us (and as we move up) should propel VT upward, including our wins against GT, CU and FSU:
9/1 – CU/AUB
9/1 – Mich / UA
9/15 – USC / Stan
9/22 – FSU / CU
9/29 – OKST / TX
9/29 – Wis / Neb
10/6 – WVU / TX
10/6 – OhSt / Neb
10/6 – GA / SCar
10/13 – LSU / SCar
10/13 – OK / TX
10/20 – VT @ Clemson
10/27 – OKST / TCU
10/27 – Mich / Neb
11/3 – LSU / UA
11/8 – Florida State @ VT
If Clemson and FSU take care of their business along the way, and VT remains undefeated, they are a top 5 team by 2 pm, November 9.
Should get us AT LEAST back to the Sugar Bowl, if not Orange or Orange NC.
VT doesn’t seem to be getting enough credit for what they have coming back on D (which should give them one of the top 5 defenses in the country) and who they have filling the holes of those they lost on O (our WR corp may actually be better this year, the same is true for the OL, and Holmes & Co. should be fine at RB). #20 is too low. We should finish the year well above that.
#34 If it was I apologize. Not perfect here but bristle at corrections that need corrections…
With this guy on city council, I am more confident than ever of Roanoke’s bright future. Also, Tech played Florida A&M a few years ago (2004, I think), a black college.
Sherman doesn’t understand why the National Championship isn’t played at the old Victory Stadium site between a HBCU team and William Fleming.