ACC Championship Game Loss Shows The Hokies Are Close

The Hokies had no reason to hang their heads when they left the field on Saturday night.
The Hokies had no reason to hang their heads when they left the field on Saturday night.

In 2010, Virginia Tech defeated the Florida State Seminoles and first-year head coach Jimbo Fisher in the ACC Championship Game.  FSU had been down in the latter years of the Bobby Bowden era, and Fisher gave them an immediate spark.  The ‘Noles won 10 games that year, and it was obvious that the program was moving back up despite the loss to the Hokies, who were at their peak with quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

In 2016, Clemson defeated Virginia Tech and first-year head coach Justin Fuente in the ACC Championship Game.  The Hokies had been down in the latter years of the Frank Beamer era, and Fuente gave them an immediate spark.  Despite the loss to the Tigers, it was obvious that the program was moving back up.

Do you see the similarities there?  Two historically good programs were down, and in each instance a first-year head coach led them to the ACC Championship Game where they were defeated by the ACC’s dominant program at the time.

Since that loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game, Florida State is 68-13.  They’ve won three ACC Championships, a National Championship, and made the College Football Playoffs one other time.  I’m not saying that’s going to happen to the Hokies, but you’ve got to admit that the start of the Justin Fuente era is very similar to the start of the Jimbo Fisher era.  If the Hokies beat Arkansas, Fisher and Fuente will each own a 10-4 record in his first season.

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