Virginia Tech Football: Hokies in jeopardy of missing bowl game
Virginia Tech football started the season with a big win over Florida State. The 10 weeks that followed have been rough for the Hokies and their fans.
It’s been a long season in Blacksburg. It seems like forever ago since the Hokies crushed No. 19 Florida State 24-3 in Tallahassee. From that point, it’s been more or less downhill. Virginia Tech added wins over William & Mary, Duke and North Carolina, but a jarring upset on the road against Old Dominion was the first sign of trouble.
The Old Dominion loss was the first of six losses for Virginia Tech this season with the latest coming in blowout fashion against the Pittsburgh Panthers in Week 11. The win put Pitt in sole possession of first place in the ACC Coastal and send Virginia Tech’s postseason hopes into red alert.
Virginia Tech has been to a bowl game in 25 consecutive seasons — the second longest streak in the nation behind Florida State’s 36 straight bowl appearances. Now both schools are staring down the barrel of a bowl-less postseason.
Virginia Tech’s plight looks particularly insurmountable. They close the season against Miami and Virginia, thankfully both at home. ESPN FPI gives the Hokies a 41.8 percent chance to beat Miami and a 63.2 percent chance to beat Virginia. Both games project to be more or less coin flips, but the Hokies need to hit heads twice. Their only two-game winning streak of the season involved an FCS squad whereas their next two opponents have combined for 12 wins.
Next. Projected CFB Playoff Ranks after Week 11. dark
There is still a possibility the Hokies schedule a game on conference championship weekend to replace their canceled contest against East Carolina. Winning one of their two remaining ACC games and matching up with a relatively easy non-conference opponent seems plausible. But this is the same team that lost to Old Dominion. The Hokies postseason streak is officially in jeopardy.