The Virginia Tech Hokies came into the weekend ranked 13th in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. After defeating Duke 24-3 in the pouring rain, the Hokies will stay at #13 in both polls going into next week.
The Hokies first scored with five minutes to go in the first quarter on a Deshawn McClease touchdown run from four yards out and Joey Slye kicked a field goal to put Tech ahead 10-0. Duke kicked a field goal soon after, but Josh Jackson connected to freshman receiver Sean Savoy with 15 seconds to go before the half.
Jackson was 13-27 for 200 yards and a touchdown. His completion percentage of 48.1% was his worst on the season so far, but he made plays when it counted and led the Hokies to victory. McClease had 15 rushes for 75 yards while Cam Phillips had 5 receptions for 49 yards. The Hokies will travel Miami to face the 9th ranked Hurricanes next Saturday at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.
In the AP Poll, Clemson and Miami are ahead of the Hokies, ranked #6 and #9. In the Coaches Poll, Clemson is ranked #5 while Miami is #6. The Tigers are coming off a 24-10 victory over Georgia Tech and they will travel to Raleigh this upcoming weekend, where they will face the 20th ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Wolfpack lost 35-14 to Notre Dame yesterday in South Bend, which boosted the Irish up in the polls.
Miami defeated North Carolina 24-19 in Chapel Hill yesterday and will host the Hokies this weekend with title implications in the Coastal on the line. North Carolina State is the only other ACC team to receive votes in either poll. The Wolfpack are ranked 19 in the Coaches poll.
The two games this weekend between Clemson-NC State and Virginia Tech-Miami will be the biggest factor in deciding who will be in attendance in Charlotte on December 2. Miami is one of five undefeated teams left in the nation with Alabama, Georgia, and Wisconsin, and UCF being the others.
Clemson has one loss to Syracuse, while North Carolina State has two non-conference losses to Notre Dame and South Carolina. All four of these teams are “in control of their own destiny” in the ACC. Win out the rest of your games and they are in the ACC Championship. Win that and all other than NC State should be in the College Football Playoff.
The first College Football Playoff poll will come out at 7PM on Tuesday, October 31. I think the Hokies will be ranked around 11, but I could understand the committee putting Tech at 13. The Hokies need another quality win with this game against Miami being the best opportunity remaining on the schedule. For the Hokies, the focus must continue to be going 1-0 each week, especially with three of their final four games coming on the road.
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