Congratulations to the 2007 ACC Champion Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies, playing for the ACC crown for the third time in their four year membership of the ACC, defeated the Boston College Eagles 30 - 16 in what many of us in the Hokie family considered a revenge game. Earlier in the season, BC completed in improbable Thursday night comeback to beat Tech in the 'burg 14 - 10. As the Tech mantra was for the entire week -- 'A minor setback for a major comeback' -- the Hokies showed heart and determination after being manhandled for much of the first half.
From a broader perspective, VT had a slim, very very slim, chance at possibly playing in the National Championship. All they needed was for #1 Missouri to lose to favorite #9 Oklahoma, #2 West Virginia to lose to unranked and lowly Pitt, and, to a smaller extent, Tennessee to upset #7 LSU......we got two out of three. Missouri was no match for Oklahoma for the second time this season. West Virginia scored it's lowest total of the season in an embarrasing 13 - 9 loss to the 4 or 5 win Panthers in the Backyard Brawl. LSU did beat Tennessee, but not nearly as convincingly as some would have thought.
So now we have a conundrum in the BCS. Most do not dispute Ohio State getting in. They are #3 with a fairly weak schedule and one loss as the only real chink in their armor. After that, the picture gets pretty muddy. Georgia as the number 4 team is hoping the BCS operates as it has promoting in a direct line which would make them number 2. I oppose that not only because I'm not a Georgia fan, but also because they didn't win their division much less their conference. Of course, the more bullheaded Dawgs fans claim they were 'co-champions' of their division, a joke to all but UGA fans. So after number 4, you have Kansas. Kansas was a surprise one loss team this year, although once they played a reputable team they were not nearly as successful. Also, no conference or even division championship for Kansas. Though there is no specific rule that says a team must win it's conference in order to play for a National Championship, I personally feel that a National champion that doesn't win their conference cheapens the whole process. Many folks argue that there have been Super bowl champions that didn't win their conference -- but they have a playoff! After Kansas, we have the Hokies. Conference champions. Two losses both to teams ranked number two in the country at the time the game was played. The real chink in our armor is the 48-7 loss to LSU early in the second week of the season. It was a horrible loss, but we are nothing like that team in September. In fact, I would love the chance to play LSU again, especially in a neutral site. Speaking of LSU, their are the layman's pick to jump to number two. Given that they won their conference, and have only lost games in multi-OT games many believe they should catapult to the number two spot.
I believe it should be either LSU or VT. Trying to be objective, I understand that LSU has had the tougher schedule and they did beat Va Tech -- in Death Valley on a Saturday Night; one of the toughest venues in the country. However, LSU also lost to unranked Arkansas (last week!) and a Kentucky team that didn't pan out as being as good as originally thought. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, has lost to BC in a nail biter that they easily should have won. In fact, if not for a complete meltdown in the last 6 minutes of that game, Virginia Tech could likely be looking at a number one or two ranking...no controversy. If shoulda coulda woulda......In any case, Kansas and Georgia with no conference championship to their names, should not be playing in the National Championship.
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