I suspected that Louisville would be a bridge too far for a Virginia Tech team that has made major progress against the bad teams on its schedule. However, I didn’t realize the bridge was as wide as it was. I think we pretty much know who the Hokies are at this point, and that’s a middle-of-the-pack team with some good strengths, but also some major flaws.

The Hokies have three ACC wins against Pitt, Wake Forest and Syracuse. Those teams have combined to go 2-14 in league play, and they’ve been outscored 471-250 in those 16 games. The Orange, who were Tech’s most recent victim, have been outscored 167-44 in five conference games. That trio makes up three of the bottom four teams in the ACC standings, with UVA joining them with a 1-4 conference record.

What which section of the middle-of-the-pack does Virginia Tech belong in? The upper level, or the lower level? The Hokies have lost to the two best teams in the league, and they’ve blown out three of the four worst teams in the league. They have yet to face a middle-of-the-pack team. They haven’t played an opponent on their own level. That’s coming up the next two weeks, with a road trip to Boston College (3-2) and a home game against NC State (3-2). Bowl eligibility will be on the line.

We’ll talk a little bit about those two games at the end of the article, but now unfortunately we have to look back at that 34-3 drubbing at the hands of a very good Louisville team that is solid across the board. They are 8-1 for a reason, and though I don’t particularly like their program because of past issues, I do have a tremendous amount of respect for their current coaching staff. That’s an awfully good group, many of which were with Jeff Brohn when he turned Purdue around, which is no easy task.

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