Hokies At 11-1 Still 'Don't Get Any Respect'

I'm sick of the national sports media. I've cringed over the years as the national sports media kissed Joe Paterno's butt. How'd that work out?
Here's an update, 'Bear' Bryant doesn't coach at Alabama anymore. You can stop kissing his butt, too. Here's another update, many of the schools that the media adores that have been awarded championships have been cheaters. Look it up.

I've got a chip on my shoulder because I grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia and I'm a Virginia Tech fan. I watch a lot of college football. There aren't that many teams this year as good as the 11-1 Hokies. Still, when the national media goes over national championship scenarios, they leave out the Hokies. The NYC sports media has called the Hokies a 'fake' good team. WTF?
How many teams have won 10 or more games for the last eight years? None. With Paterno fired Hokie coach Frank Beamer is now the winningest active coach. Still no respect.
I've heard all the arguments national media types use. Goes something like this. "We like conferences that give us big TV ratings. We love Notre Dame, the SEC, the Big 10 and Texas schools. We love TV ratings. We love TV ratings."
A small market school tucked away in the mountains (Boise State fans know what we're talkin' bout) gets no respect. It's all about hype, entertainment, and ratings. It's sickening to see all these fired coaches and ex-jocks make fools of themselves every week, trying to sound like they know what they're talking about.
Against the University of Virginia, the Hokies had to win to get to the ACC championship game.
They won 38-0.
The Hokies ran the clock out in the red zone, with Beamer,as he always has, refusing to run up the score. With Logan Thomas and David Wilson, the Hokies have two of the best offensive players in the nation. They have the top two receivers, Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale, in school history.
Virginia geared up to stop Wilson, Boykin and Coale, so Thomas hits receiver Marcus Davis for 36 yards on the first offensive play. Thomas caps the drive with 14-yard run to put the Hokies up 7-0.
Then came the game's turning point. The Cavs took the ensuing kickoff down to the Hokie seven-yard line and went for it on fourth down. The Hokies defense stopped them.
At the start of the second quarter, with Boykin and Coale covered, Thomas hit Davis on a 52-yard pass. Three plays later, Thomas hits Boykin for a touchdown and the Hokies go up 14-0.
Receiving the second-half kickoff, Thomas guides the Hokies down the field, completing four passes to set up a 27-yard burst by Wilson for a score. Game over. Wilson runs amok the rest of the game, finishing with 153 yards, and the second unit gets to play much of the fourth quarter.
Next up for the Hokies is Clemson. The Hokies have lost to a team in the regular season before and won the rematch in the championship game (Boston College fans know what we're talkin' bout). It should happen again. If so, the 12-1 Hokies deserve to be considered for the national championship game. Will they?
Probably not.

Hokies Smack Seminoles; Win ACC Championship

Eleven in a row. It may take awhile for that to sink in. Looks like we get a month to savor it. Saturday's 44-33 win was the 11th in a row for the Virginia Tech Hokies since the loss to James Madison in September.
I am partying like its 1999. That's the last time the Hokies won 11 in a row. Michael Vick was the quarterback. Virginia Tech went 11-0 in the regular season, the Hokies were in the Big East, and played Florida State for the National Championship.
The Hokies led 29-28 going into the fourth quarter before falling to the Seminoles, then coached by Bobby Bowden. Saturday, the Hokies played Florida State for the ACC Championship, no longer coached by Bowden.
Tyrod Taylor, who reminds some people of Vick, quarterbacked the Hokies, still coached by Frank Beamer, to a convincing 11 point win over Florida State. The turning points in the game, all in the first quarter, set the tone and momentum.
Whenever the Hokies win the opening toss, they defer to the second half, the other team gets the ball, and marches down the field to score a touchdown.
The Hokies start slow, get close at halftime and then dominate the second half to seal the deal. This game was different.
The first turning point was a 3rd and 2 at the Hokies 14 yard line. Safety Eddie Whitley broke up a pass intended for Taiwan Easterling in the corner of the end zone. The Seminoles settled for a field goal. That made it 3-0 Seminoles.
On a wet, slippery field, Taylor had three incomplete passes opening drive and the Hokies had to punt. That was a shame, because Ryan Williams looked good, rushing three times for 31 yards.
One play after the punt, Seminole quarterback E.J. Manuel's pass was tipped by lunging linebacker Bruce Taylor. Instinctively, Jeron Gouveia-Wilson gathered the pass in and ran 24 yards for the score. The extra point by Chris Hazely put Tech up 7-3.
The next turning point was on the Seminoles' next possession. On a 2nd and 8, Steven Friday tackled Manuel for a three yard loss. Manuel's eight yard gain on third down wasn't enough and Florida State had to punt.
After a touch pass to Williams for five yards, Darren Evans burst through the middle for a 51 yard gain. On the next play, Evans scored from nine yards out. With Hazley's kick, the Hokies were up 14-3. They never relinquished the lead and never let the Seminoles back in the game. The Hokies were in control rest of the way.
Remarkably, both teams went on to score 30 points each. Sometimes a bad field can favor the offense.
Taylor was magnificent, throwing for 263 yards and three touchdowns. The Seminoles for some reason decided not to cover Danny Coales, who was wide open for many of his six catches. But Taylor's signature moment in the game was a run.
On a third and goal from the five yard line, Taylor weaved and juked his way through numerous Seminoles for a touchdown. Even a botched extra point didn't detract, putting the Hokies up 41-26.
It has been a joy watching Taylor take snaps for the Hokies these past four years. Knowing there will be one more game, the Orange Bowl, is something to look forward to, a sports memory to treasure.
What a year! It would be nice to be playing for the national championship. Looking at other teams, TCU seems to be the only one that could beat the Hokies. They aren't playing for a national championship, either.
By the way, JMU finished 6-5.