Virginia Tech Rises to 18th in the AP Poll, Drops to 19th in the Coaches Poll

The Virginia Tech Hokies came close to pulling off a big upset over the Clemson Tigers but came up just short 42-35 with Clemson locking up their spot in the College Football Playoff. However, the Hokies proved in that game that they are one of the top 20 teams in the nation, but the AP top 25 and Coaches Poll both had different reactions to Virginia Tech's loss to Clemson. https://twitter.com/techlunchpaild/status/805449118290235392 https://twitter.com/techlunchpaild/status/805460314456260608 The Virginia Tech Hokies rose from 19th to 18th in the AP Poll while dropping from 17th to 19th in the Coaches Poll after their loss to Clemson. Virginia Tech is now in a strong position to finish in the top 15 of the polls if they can win their bowl game while also potentially finishing in the top 25 even with a bowl game loss depending on the opponent and what happens elsewhere. Virginia Tech has exceeded all expectations for the first year of the Justin Fuente era with the Hokies poised to be the favorites next year to win the ACC Coastal and return to the ACC Championship. The Hokies are already headed in the right direction and in some ways, Justin Fuente's rebuild is over though there is still a need to improve the depth on the roster while continuing to build Fuente's culture after this strong season. The ACC has five teams in the AP Poll this week with Clemson ranked third, Florida State ranked tenth, Louisville ranked 15th, Virginia Tech ranked 18th, and Pittsburgh ranked 22nd. Stay up with The Tech Lunch Pail for the latest on the Hokies via Facebook and Twitter plus subscribe to our email updates.