The worst kept secret in college football scheduling was revealed today at Redskins.com, and that is the movement of the 2010 Virginia Tech vs Boise State football game at FedEx Field in Landover, MD from what was October 2nd to Labor Day (September 6th). This is no surprise to me, as ESPN seems to each year go trolling for big out of conference match ups it can move, feature, and advertise the hell out of for months and the Hokies are often willing parters (and generally mutually benefactors).
There's banter on the blogs and forums as to if this is a good or bad thing for the Hokies. I'm mostly excited thinking back to September 2004 and the environment in that stadium the night Virginia Tech played USC.
There's no doubt playing Boise State, a top 5 team returning all their starters (literally 21 are back, according to what I've read), in the first game for the Hokies who will have a experienced offense but a pretty green defense is a tall order. And there is a reason many schools duck these very good mid-majors: 1) they usually beat you and 2) they are a mid-major. So that means there is a very real chance the Hokies will start their season for the 2nd time in 3 years with an out of conference loss to a mid-major.
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But of course their is a reason Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer, and Hokies in general like these games, as it energizes the fan base for 7-8 months, builds anticipation, motivation, and when gameday comes, lots of exposure. We will see, but I assume ESPN College Gameday will strongly consider being at FedEx for this one, so what better way to kick off college football season with a night on TV all to yourself with a game that lots and lots of fans will watch.
I plan to tailgate long and hard (I live 45 minutes away), yell like crazy, and be glad their is no Reggie Bush this time.
National Letter of Intent Day
So tomorrow is signing day, hugely important to college football programs and college recruiting followers alike. I used to follow it hard, and tonight and tomorrow would be incredibly unproductive days for me, as I'd spend much time online following last minute recruiting drama. Over the last 5 years I gradually pared down my recruitment following, mainly sticking to headlines and big announcements (not every little rumor and secret meeting).
It struck me today how 'quiet' this 2010 signing day is for me personally. Of course Virginia Tech has little drama this year which has a lot to do with it, but I've done the 'hype curve' on recruiting and now observe it for what it is: inexact science. Don't get me wrong, I still love my HokieHaven.com membership at rivals and couldn't do without it and the recruiting coverage at TechSideLine.com. I just don't sweat the detail like I once did.
One thing that is new and a sign of the times: HokieSports.com will be streaming the recruit signings on their twitter feed. Recruit-geeks have ever more powerful tools to feed their passions. Nothing like sweating tomorrow around 6 pm because Zack McCray's letter hasn't been tweeted yet.
I noticed that we are #19 on rivals team rankings, for what its worth. Pretty typical for VT.
A new site for you to check out if you want one place to consolidate following lots of sports blogs: MyFanFlash.com.
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