collegefootballandnascar

So everybody [and by everybody I mainly mean Georgia Tech fans] have been complaining about how Virginia Tech does not deserve to be in the ACC Championship Game tomorrow… Here are my reasons why the Hokies rightfully should be there.

1. Better division record —  OK, this should be the end-all to the discussion right? Should be, but it’s not. Bottom line here is that Virginia Tech won the games that mattered. The Hokies went 4-1 against teams in the division, with the lone loss coming to Miami by 2 points. VT took care of GT 20-17 in Blacksburg, UNC 20-17 in Chapel Hill, Duke 14-3 and UVA 17-14. GT on the other hand lost 3 conference games as well, but lost all 3 in their own division. VT beat them, UVA won 24-17 and UNC had no problem against them winning 28-7. So how can a team [and fans for that matter] argue that their team deserves the trip to Tampa when they couldn’t even beat 3 other teams in their division?

2. The whole season counts… not last couple games —  Another common reason GT fans give for their ‘deserving’ spot in the ACC Championship Game is that they are playing better than anyone in the league right now. While this may be true, it’s the whole season that counts, not just the last couple of games. Obviously the Big 12 doesn’t think so in that their tie-breaker system sent Oklahoma to the championship game this weekend while Texas — a team that beat them by 10 points on a neutral field — is sitting at home. GT may be the ‘best’ team in the ACC right now, but they didn’t win the games that mattered and the Hokies did.

3. Offense doesn’t win championships… defense does —  GT fans are blasting the VT offense [which is a dismal 109th overall out of 119 FBS teams] and saying they will get owned by Boston College and if they happen to win, by Cincinatti in the Orange Bowl. Virginia Tech’s offense may be awful this season, but their defense is playing lights out right now and has won their way into the championship game Saturday. Bud Foster lost 7 starters from last seasons top-10 defense and has put together another top-10 D [actually sitting at #6 currently]. Virginia Tech doesn’t have to put up big numbers on the scoreboard, because their defense keeps points at a minimum on the opposite sideline and usually gets a few points of their own. VT has an average difference of scoring of 7.2. The largest margin of victory was a 17 point win against Furmanj, but yet they have won the big games and will be playing Saturday.

4. VT Coaches got it done —  Frank Beamer entered the season saying this would be his toughest season to date. Losing his entire wide receiver corp to the NFL, his previously All-ACC running back, and other starters to injuries, Beamer knew his coaches were in for a challenge. But he and his staff didn’t back down from that challenge and continued to win games, including a win on the road against Nebraska.

5. Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech — That’s all I have to say — they won the game that mattered most during the season.

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