Virginia Tech travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday in what may be the biggest hurdle left on the Hokies' regular season schedule. The fourth-ranked Hokies are in prime position to be in the national title race with some help. They will also virtually wrap up the ACC Coastal Division with a win in Atlanta.
Of course, this isn't expected to be a walk in the park for Tech either.
The Yellow Jackets, who have won three straight, present a unique challenge to the Virginia Tech defense behind their triple-option. Over the last three games, Georgia Tech has averaged 472.3 yards of total offense. The Hokies, always strong on defense and special teams, appear to be finally clicking on all cylinders now that quarterback Tyrod Taylor and running back Ryan Williams are propelling the offense.
The way Frank Beamer sees it -- and the head coach has a crystal-clear view as a three-time ACC football champion -- being a member of the ACC is good for Virginia Tech. And he's hopeful Virginia Tech is good for the ACC.
Of course, the Hokies will get the opportunity to boost the reputation of their program and the ACC when they open the regular season against Alabama Sept. 5 in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Both teams could be ranked among the top 10, and a victory will provide early momentum and respect.
"I thought there were a lot of good teams [in the ACC last season], maybe not a great team, but I think we are going to take it up another step and hopefully be a factor in that national stage, too," Beamer said Monday during the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, N.C. "It's a competitive league and I think all of us are stepping it up a little bit right now."
Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida), which pits Virginia Tech against Cincinnati.
Overview/Matchup: Welcome to the showdown of the century, folks. It's the ACC (Va Tech, BEAMERBALL!) versus the Big East (Cincy, Who?) in a matchup that will determine what major conference was most inept in 2008? The Hokies, as you can see from the capitol letter phrase above, win by playing hard-nosed defense and special teams, and creating turnovers. Cincy wins because Jerry Kelly is a freaking magician.
Hotels: Bowl-travelers descending on Miami will be glad to know that the best spots in town are just a mile or two from the stadium. Many of the finest hotels, restaurants and clubs are in the bay-front area. For luxury accommodation, we recommend the Mandarin Oriental Miami. The hotel's design combines Asian simplicity with Miami flare and the service is world-class. Renovated and rebranded in June of 2008, the Hilton Miami Downtown offers better service and newer guestrooms than most other midrange hotels in the downtown area. Be sure to check out La Brisa Bistro, the hotel's restaurant serving Cuban-accented meals with international flare. If budget is your primary concern, the Rodeway Inn Miami Airport is the spot for you. Accommodations are limited, but the property offers rooms for less than US$100 per night.
The Orange Bowl already has one team locked up -- again, the anti-climatic downside of the BCS Selection Show -- because Virginia Tech beat Boston College for the ACC championship and guaranteed themselves a spot in the Orange Bowl.
The thing that stinks for fans of this game is that the Orange Bowl gets the last pick of all the BCS games, meaning that they get the "leftovers." That's not to take a shot at Cincy, who did win the Big East ... which, um, is somehow worse than the ACC.
On the bright side, the two worst major conferences do get to play each other, so we'll know by the beginning of 2009 which conference really was the most mediocre this past season.
Cincinnati did lose two games -- albeit one to Oklahoma -- and theoretically took care of business.
However, the Bearcats will likely be in trouble come New Year's Day, when whatever analysts FOX assigns to this game will suffocate their ability to perform by reminding them that they have to go head-to-head with "BEAMER BALL!" for four quarters. And when people yell that at you for 60-plus minutes of football, even from the booth, it's a total nightmare.
The College Football Songbook is a weekly feature in which we'll be making as much fun as humanly possible of the most embarrassing moments in college football. Through words, music, and related video we'll leave a lasting memory implanted on the brains of the vanquished that they are not soon to forget.
All three ranked ACC teams were upset and knocked out of the top 25. It seemed more fun than a song about BYU...
The College Football Songbook is a weekly feature in which we'll be making as much fun as humanly possible of the most embarrassing moments in college football. Through words, music, and related video we'll leave a lasting memory implanted on the brains of the vanquished that they are not soon to forget.
Since I didn't get to do an ACC preview song, the teams in the ACC went ahead and stunk it up so I could give you this. Cheers guys!
The Petulant Graduate looks at worst aspects of college football from a post-educational, snarky attitude. Really, it's just an excuse to use "petulant".
The arrival of college football on campus is a significant moment on the calendar year -- it marks the beginning of fall, and most importantly, 12 hour days spent either on the couch or at the tailgate. There are upsets, there is heartbreak. There is sweet, glorious football again.
But not everything smells like roses. In fact, there are many moments, to paraphrase my boy Andre 3000, that "really smell like poo-poo-poo." Some of these are particular instances and some of them are general themes that echo across an entire weekend, or even an entire season. We will examine these, and appreciate your future nominations or corrections in the comments.
1. ACC Football Like any good dead horse, the ACC's utter failure in the first weekend of 2008 will be beaten mercifully into the ground via countless Sportscenter replies and verbal thaththayings between Lou Holtz and Mark May, so let's go ahead and get it out of the way -- the Atlantic Coast Conference = FAIL. Virginia Tech lost to East Carolina, Clemson was flat out embarrassed, NC State didn't score on national television, North Carolina and Maryland beat McNeese St. and Delaware by a combined 14 points and Virginia got rooster-slapped by USC at home.
There were several ridiculous things that happened in and around Charlotte, N.C., involving the East Carolina - Virginia Tech game on Saturday.
First of all, East Carolina won. Congrats, Pirate fans. Secondly, Sean Glennon started for Virginia Tech. Memo to Frank Beamer: he's not good. Thirdly, Dave Pasch and Andre Ware agreed that this was only an upset on paper. (/Bangs head on table)
And finally, Mark May chatted, while Lou Holtz blushed and giggled -- his son Skip coaches ECU, about the Pirates chance at a BCS bowl this year. To sum up: ohmygodlookoutthat'sbrimfirereigningdown!
Former West Virginia and College Football Hall of Fame coach, Don Nehlen is recovering from triple bypass surgery.
Nehlen's son-in-law, former NFL quarterback Jeff Hostetler, said Nehlen underwent surgery Tuesday following routine testing and that his recovery was going well.
Nehlen always has been and always will be a very important figure to me. Besides being the coach at my school, he also spent a great deal of time recruiting kids from my high school not named John Radcliff. He was also the guest speaker at our football banquet my senior year. Nehlen was and is a kind man that is as real talking to you one on one as he is being interviewed in front of a national audience. Sadly, he's what we consider a throw back these days.
As much as any coach from the early years of the Big East conference, Don Nehlen was an influential force in it's formation. He lobbied hard for the inclusion of a Virginia Tech program that didn't have a winning season in Frank Beamer's first six seasons. Unlike most, he could see that it was a program just waiting to explode if it could get into a major conference. Beamer and company didn't disappoint. Often at Nehlen's expense.
He had the same kind of vision about West Virginia. Before coming to Morgantown, Nehlen was an assistant under Bo Schembechler at Michigan. And although Schembechler thought a lot of Nehlen, he was less that willing to encourage his assistant to take the Mountaineer job.
At some point in all our lives, someone tells us not to do something because it won't end up the way we want it to. And of course we do it anyway just to prove them wrong. And West Virginia isn't such a bad place to be anymore because of it.
I never intended this piece to sound like a eulogy, and I hope it doesn't come across that way. But the man did incredible things building up the West Virginia program, and I can't not salute his accomplishments when I speak about him. He built the foundation that Rich Rodriguez was able to take to a national level. But no matter where the Mountaineers go from here, it's all because of Don Nehlen and his vision. Get well soon coach!
It appears that Charlie Weis may have finally come to the realization that he can't do everything by himself anymore, and that sometimes you have to swallow your pride and ask others for help. That's why Notre Dame has brought in Jon Tenuta as it's assistant head coach for defense, and it's also the reason behind Charlie's latest move.
Weis said Friday he will begin severing the ''umbilical cord'' between himself and the offense during spring practice and will relinquish play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike Haywood this fall.
'Play-calling is my greatest strength, OK, but I'm the head coach, and when you're play-calling on offense, you might not necessarily be the best head coach,'' Weis said. ''So what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to be a better head coach.''
Weis said he will use the time he once devoted to scripting plays and fine-tuning game plans to make himself more available to young players. He hopes forging better relationships with them will ease and hasten their adjustment to the college game.
Weis also plans on spending his newly found free time to help the Irish with their special teams. Notre Dame didn't have a special teams coach last season, instead using all nine assistants to help out. This season Brian Polian, who coached the inside linebackers last season, will be focusing full time on the special teams units. Weis is also planning on visiting with Frank Beamer for advice as well.
Virginia Tech travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday in what may be the biggest hurdle left on the Hokies' regular season schedule. The fourth-ranked Hokies are in prime position to be in the national title race with some help. They will also virtually wrap up the ACC Coastal Division with a win in Atlanta.
The way 
Turkey Legs to Go
Former West Virginia and College Football Hall of Fame coach, Don Nehlen is recovering from 
It appears that 
