The ACC's list of embarrassments in non-conference showdowns is long.
Georgia Tech getting manhandled by Iowa last year in the Orange Bowl.
Clemson getting shredded by Alabama two years ago in Atlanta.
Florida State getting pummeled by Florida just about every year, though it's hard to classify those games as showdowns.
Virginia Tech has made its contribution to the ACC's black eye, getting toasted a few years ago at LSU, upset by East Carolina in Charlotte two years ago, and getting pushed around by Alabama last year in Atlanta.
The ACC is past the point of being able to claim moral victories, because this is the conference's year to put up or shut up.
But last night's stirring game between the Hokies and Boise State was certainly a step in the right direction. The Hokies didn't embarrass themselves or their conference. In fact, one could make a compelling argument that the Hokies were the better team despite their inability to hold on to a late lead in the 33-30 defeat.
I came into this game thinking Boise State would win, thinking a lot of people were underestimating the speed and physicality the Broncos possess. So it was hard not to feel a little ego-driven satisfaction when the Broncos thoroughly outclassed the Hokies on the way to a 17-0 lead.
From that point forward, though, Virginia Tech looked darn good. The story was obviously Tyrod Taylor, who certified himself as an elite player before our eyes, but I was thoroughly impressed with Bud Foster's ability to limit a high-powered offense for some stretches.
The Hokies gave up 33 points, including that dagger of a touchdown drive in the last 1:47. But if you consider Virginia Tech's offense and special teams basically gift-wrapped those 17 points on the Broncos' first three possessions, it was an encouraging night for a defense that lost so much in the front seven.
Frank Beamer has to be gnashing his teeth at the late penalty that wasn't (the clipping flag on Boise that was rescinded), and the one that was (the questionable late-hit penalty on Virginia Tech).
Then again, you could argue that Boise would've scored anyway but wouldn't have left the Hokies any time to tie or win the game.
When you move past the drama and the details of last night, Virginia Tech's loss represents the extension of some sobering statistics.
The Hokies fell to 0-22 against AP Top 5 teams away from home (though the joint in D.C. was a close approximation of Lane Stadium).
The ACC has 28 consecutive losses against Top 5 non-conference opponents dating to Florida State's win over No. 4 Florida in 2000.
It's not all bad for the ACC, though. A depleted North Carolina team acquitted itself well against LSU. Maryland pulled out a win over Navy when most folks thought the Terps were going down. And those Hokies, who early in last night's game appeared on the way to delivering yet another embarrassment for the conference, were outstanding the rest of the way.
Now we turn to the next showdowns on the docket: Miami at Ohio State, Florida State at Oklahoma, Clemson at Auburn.
Still plenty of time for more of those black eyes. But still ample opportunity for some favorable results as well.
In this game story from Newport News, Beamer talks about the clipping flag that was picked up.
"You're talking about a big penalty now," said Beamer, whose only win against a top-five team remains a 31-7 win in 2003 against No. 2 Miami. "(It's) not only where (Boise State) gained the yardage, it's where the penalty would've taken them back. You're talking about like probably a 40 or 35-yard penalty."
In this dispatch from David Teel, Beamer says: "I firmly believe we are going to be a great football team."
Gotta wonder what might've happened had Virginia Tech run the ball on third down instead of throwing it. Boise was out of timeouts.
This columnist from Boise says no trickery was needed for the Broncos' latest mammoth victory.
Third-ranked Boise State slugged it out with No. 10 Virginia Tech outside the nation’s capital Monday night, trading shots with a rugged, physical BCS team in front of a partisan sellout crowd. This was big-boy football, as the saying goes, and the Broncos prevailed 33-30.
Doubters of the Broncos, of which many remained, surely saw membership decline last night. That list has been dwindling ever since the Broncos emptied their bag of tricks to best Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. They needed sleight of hand to top TCU in last year’s Fiesta Bowl.
This time, Kellen Moore and Austin Pettis went all Joe Montana-John Taylor on the Hokies. No Circus. No Statue Left. No Riddler. Just 1 minute, 47 seconds and 56 yards separating victory from defeat, euphoria from dashed dreams.
Or, as the saying goes, big boy football.
Mark Bradley of the AJC says Boise belongs in the BCS title game.
And how 'bout Maryland?
Hard for Navy to make a claim that it deserved to win with all those squandered opportunities.
How many times have you seen a team penetrate the opponent's 6-yard line four times and come up with nothing?
Huge win for the Fridge. Here's the story in The Washington Post.
The Midshipmen, who had designs on going undefeated, amassed 485 total yards. They controlled the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game. And they converted 10 of 18 third-down chances. But Dobbs, a dynamic player who scored 27 rushing touchdowns last season, failed to come through time and again just feet from the goal line, no play bigger than the one in the final minute.
"I can't tell you how many of those plays I got," Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said, choosing his words carefully, "how many didn't go my way [through the years]. I'll put it that way."
By the way, inserting Danny O'Brien for Jamarr Robinson in the fourth quarter was one of the more hare-brained decisions I've ever seen (the Terps promptly lost the ball on a quarterback-running back exchange). And so was the decision to throw the ball in the second quarter when the Terps were gashing the Middies with the run (the pass was intercepted).
Maryland is going to be an intriguing team to follow this year. I suspected and said they'd be significantly better, largely because Robinson and his mobility give Friedgen something to work with. But they're gonna have to throw the ball.
Jimbo Fisher calls the trip to Norman a "measuring stick" game.
Here are some notes on Auburn as it prepares for a dogfight in Starkville on Thursday night.
And in closing, a refreshing dose of MMA (Mixed Meathead Arts).
LW
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