Hokies Dispatch of SW Louisiana, Reappear in AP Top 25

Despite showing an alarming inability to score in the red zone, the Hokies pulled off a 47-16 victory over SW Louisiana that wasn't too impressive in person, but looks good on paper. As a result of that, combined with WVU's loss to Syracuse, the Hokies have reappeared in the AP Top 25, at number 25. In the CNN/USA Today poll, the poll of choice, Tech vaulted three spots from number 20 to number 17. Tech's next opponent, ECU, is currently ranked 26th in the AP and 28th in the coaches' poll, and they are foaming at the mouth to knock off the Hokies and continue what has been a pretty good season for them.

Although my "prediction" record is atrocious so far this year, I will predict that you'll see a hyped, motivated Hokie team next Saturday. They've been waiting for a chance to prove themselves against a good team ever since Syracuse pounded them five weeks ago, and I can say from my perspective in the stands that the fans are itching for that, too. Look for a loud, packed house Saturday night, and look for the Hokies to come out fired up.

It should be a fun week here at Hokie Central. I recommend to all of my readers that you visit the "Skull and Crossbones" web site often this week, in particular the message board, to see what the Pirates have to say about the upcoming game. Also, go to Mike Bakas's Big East College Football site and watch the message board there, too. Those pirate fans are internet maniacs when it comes to their team, and they've got plenty to say. I will too, so stop by Hokie Central often this week. I'll post my game report on Tuesday morning, as usual.

The Tiebreaker Question Answered

The gold star and extra credit for answering the tiebreaker question is split between Bruce McKinley and Bill Roth, our very own Voice of the Hokies. Bruce emailed the question to Bill and then forwarded Bill's response to me.

We knew already that in the case of a two-way tie, the tie is broken by the head-to-head game, unless the loser of that game is ranked six or more spots ahead of the winner (I've heard five-or-more and six-or-more; we'll go with six).

In the case of a three-way tie, if the head-to-head records don't break the tie, here's what happens, in Bill's own words:

In the event of a three-way tie in the Big East, a 'mini conference' is created among the three tied teams. If all three teams are 6-1 as you suggested, and each team is 1-1 against the other two, as is the case in your scenario, then the highest ranked team among the three earns the bid.

There you go. That Bill Roth knows his stuff. Thanks, Bruce and Bill!

Where to Get the Bumper Sticker

Everyone wants to know where to get that bumper sticker that reader Sam Hampton told me about a week or so ago - "Women at VMI? What's Next? Men at UVa?!?"

The answer is that you can get them from a guy who walks around the parking lot on game days with a satchel and sells them. I ran into the guy in the Litton-Reaves lot at the SW Louisiana game, and after picking him up and dusting him off, I talked to him for awhile. He said that he and his brother had the stickers made up by a company in California, and they're selling them basically at cost. They're not looking to make money, just to add a little fuel to the fire.

Now that's a Hokie fan! He charges $1.00 a bumper sticker, and when I gave him five bucks, he threw in an extra one for free. So keep an eye out for the guy, and don't ask me for one of my extras ... I'm hoarding them.

UVa - Ugh?

You may have noticed that I don't make as much fun of UVa on this page as I used to. I used to mention them often, and I'd put the word "ugh" after every instance of UVa, Wahoos, Charlottesville, etc.

One day a while back, though, I got a pleading letter from a Hokie fan who asked me not to mention UVa so much, and he basically said, "Every time you make fun of them, it gives them credence and elevates them that much more. You'll accomplish more simply by ignoring them."

I thought "You know, he's right." One of the reasons I started Hokie Central was to give Hokies a place to go where they wouldn't have to be confronted with the site of orange-and-blue, and all those nasty words like UVa, Hoos, etc. Lord knows, every time you open a Richmond Times-Dispatch or Roanoke Times newspaper, you get the flaming Wahoos crammed down your throat. So I figured I would stop doing those preppy, blazer-wearing so-and-so's the honor of giving them air time here on Hokie Central.

So that's why I haven't had much to say about the hated Wahoos lately. To heck with 'em. Until it's their week to show up on the schedule, I'm more concerned with our Big East foes and ECU.

Having said that, I will now encourage you to email me your favorite UVa jokes. In the weeks leading up to the UVa game, I'll collect them, and the week of the game, I'll post them on the Mailbag page. Yes, I know, you're saying, "How am I supposed to pick my favorite joke? There are so many of them, and it's so easy to make up new ones. I'll go crazy trying to pick just one!"

Yeah, I know. But try. It'll be fun for all of us to read the results.

Who Was That Guy?

I don't know who got on my computer and made up that last Mailbag page for me, but he must have been on dope. Whoever he was, he actually said that WVU should have taken the safety against Miami. Can you believe that?

I was emailed by a reader who correctly pointed out that if WVU had taken the safety, that would have put them up by the score of 7-5, instead of 7-3. Miami then could have taken the free kick, moved a few yards, and kicked a field goal to win. That's a riskier scenario than just punting the ball and forcing Miami to score a TD to win.

I think what that stupid imposter was really trying to say was, "If the decision was made to take a safety, the correct way to take it would have been to throw the ball out of the end zone." Don Nehlen had said that he didn't think the WVU punter could outrun the Miami players to the end zone, and that's one of the reasons he didn't take a safety.

That's not the correct rationale for not taking the safety. The correct reason for not taking the safety is, "If you can't get off a simple punt, then you don't deserve to win."

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