Photo Credit: ACC Media
Virginia Tech took care of business Saturday night with a dominant 40-14 victory over Boston College thanks to another strong rushing performance that ran for 350 yards and an opportunistic defense that forced 5 turnovers. Because of that game, the Hokies unsurprisingly rose a few spots in the polls this week.
#Hokies up 4 spots to 19th in this week's AP top 25 https://t.co/Kh0Y2iv3qt
— Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) October 18, 2020
#Hokies rise 3 spots to #20 in the Coaches Poll. 1 of 6 ACC teams ranked in it https://t.co/WMavtV851V
— Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) October 18, 2020
Virginia Tech climbed 4 spots for 23rd to 19th in the AP Poll while also rising 3 spots in the Coaches Poll from 23rd to 20th. This is the second time in the past three weeks that the Hokies have been ranked in the top 20 of both polls as they basically erased their rankings drop in the AP Poll after the UNC loss.
This was also a big week for the ACC as the conference leads all FBS leagues with six teams ranked in the top 25 of both polls. In addition to Tech at #19, Clemson is ranked #1 still in the AP Poll while Notre Dame rises to #3, Miami jumps to #11, North Carolina falls to #14, and N.C. State joins the rankings at #23.
The Coaches Poll is similar with Tech at #20 instead of #19, Clemson still at #1, Notre Dame up to #3, Miami up to #11, North Carolina down to #13, and N.C. State jumping in at #22.
Boston College and Florida State both received votes in the Coaches Poll while no ACC teams who weren't ranked received votes in the AP Poll. Upcoming Tech opponent Liberty did receive votes in both the AP and Coaches Polls.
Tech is back on the rise and as they are getting closer to full strength, they are also leaving strong impressions across America with the Hokies receiving national praise after their win this weekend.
Saturday Takeaways
— Chris Vannini 😷 (@ChrisVannini) October 18, 2020
Virginia Tech might be really good when it’s healthy. Now 3-1, scoring 42 ppg and the only loss was a shootout with UNC when the defense was decimated by absences. Demolished BC 40-14 last night.
Outside of Alabama and Clemson dismantling Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech was the one team yesterday that really grabbed my attention. https://t.co/cWYG7u1qwp
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) October 18, 2020
Looking ahead, the Hokies have a pair of road games at Wake Forest and Louisville, and an intriguing home game against Liberty to navigate to set up a potential top 15 showdown with Miami. While that may not sound too hard, there are a couple land mines with Louisville being much better than their 1-4 record suggests and Liberty having a chip on their shoulder and win over Syracuse.
Of course, a healthier and better conditioned Virginia Tech team should be a big boost in the coming weeks as well.
