Virginia Tech Football: The SEC Experiment

The ACC and SEC are officially done with the regular season.

A lot of Hokie fans are taking issue with the fact that Virginia Tech was jumped by Stanford in the BCS this week. SEC fans are arguing that the Hokies wouldn’t last in their “super” conference.

These two opposing views brought me to a thought experiment—one that I suggest you all try. Take your team and place them in the SEC. Choose either the east or west division depending on your school’s location, and take the schedule from a team that is comparable to yours.

By using these rules, I have placed the Hokies in the SEC East. I find the Hokies are comparable to Georgia, so I’m going to use their schedule and see how Virginia Tech would fare. Georgia must also be on the schedule, so I have to take out a non-divisional opponent to make room for the Bulldogs.

Georgia is currently ranked 13th,  so I’m going to remove the Auburn game from the schedule in order to play Georgia. I am also replacing the Bulldogs game against Georgia Tech with a game against Virginia (it being rivalry week and all).

So I have laid down the ground rules: Continue on to view the game by game analysis of Virginia Tech’s SEC schedule.

Week 1: Virginia Tech vs. No. 5 Boise State (Georgia Dome)

The Hokies played the Broncos in 2010 and lost. That team was filled with veterans, but it didn’t matter against Kellen Moore and Boise State.

The Boise State game in 2011 would have been Logan Thomas’s first career start as a college quarterback. Running back David Wilson would have made it a respectable game, but the Hokies will start the season out 0-1.

Virginia Tech 21—Boise State 34                

Week 2: No. 12 South Carolina vs. Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech’s biggest strength this season has been its defense and its running game—two things that would win this game for the Hokies. Jeff Garcia was still the Gamecocks quarterback in Week 2, which would be a huge advantage for Frank Beamer’s unit.

The game would be a low scoring affair with Bud Foster’s defense making a key stop at the end of the game. The Hokies are now 1-1.

South Carolina 14—Virginia Tech 17

Week 3: Coastal Carolina vs. Virginia Tech

Coastal Carolina wouldn’t need “some dogs," they would need some Turkeys to keep up with Virginia Tech in this matchup.

This game would give Logan Thomas the chance to mature as a quarterback (something he has done quickly this season). It would have been scheduled as a win, and I don’t see any reason that it wouldn’t go as expected.

Virginia Tech would now be 2-1.

Coastal Carolina 10—Virginia Tech 41

Week 4: Virginia Tech vs. Ole Miss

This would be the Hokies first true road game in SEC play, and they couldn't ask for a better opponent. Ole Miss has been terrible this year—the Hokies would lay it on the Rebels. This game would also help Logan Thomas’s development.

The Hokies would win this game, even though it’s on the road against a hostile SEC crowd. The Hokies are now 3-1.

Virginia Tech 31—Ole Miss 7

Week 5: Mississippi State vs. Virginia Tech

This game would give Virginia Tech the ability to sweep the state of Mississippi in a rather short period of time. A lot was expected from Mississippi State this season, but they crumbled early. The Bulldogs are 6-6 this season.

I am going to chalk this up as a Hokie victory, but Mississippi State would keep it close. Virginia Tech is now 4-1.

Mississippi State 17—Virginia Tech 21

Week 6: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

The Volunteers have had trouble winning in recent years. We saw this matchup in the 2009 Chic-Fil-A bowl and the Hokies dominated that meeting. Tennessee’s biggest strength is their defense, so I would expect it to be a low scoring game, but the Hokies would pull away late.

The Hokies are now 5-1 and 3-0 in SEC play.

Virginia Tech 21—Tennessee 7

Week 7: Virginia Tech vs. Vanderbilt

The Hokies swept Mississippi, and now they are looking to do the same to the state of Tennessee. Vanderbilt wasn’t a pushover in 2011. The commodores are bowl eligible, and overachieved throughout the season.

They played a lot of tough teams, so I am going to say that the Hokies would squeak out a win on the road. This makes Virginia Tech 6-1 on the season.

Virginia Tech 21—Vanderbilt 19

Week 9: Virginia Tech vs. Florida

Week 8 was a bye for Virginia Tech, giving them extra time to get ready for the Florida Gators.

The biggest problem the Hokies would face in this matchup would be playing in the Swamp. The Hokies seem to play their best ball on the road, but the swamp can be a little intimidating to even the best road teams.

Florida has had a bad year, which is why I would pick the Hokies to win in Gainesville. It would be a low scoring game, but the Hokies would make a big stop at the end of the game to get the win.

Virginia Tech 14—Florida 10

Week 10: New Mexico State vs. Virginia Tech

This would be the same kind of game as Coastal Carolina—a random out-of-conference game in the middle of the season. The Hokies will win this game handily as Logan Thomas comes into his own as a quarterback.

New Mexico State 7—Virginia Tech 35

Week 11: No. 15 Georgia vs. Virginia Tech

This is the Auburn game on Georgia’s schedule, I have the Bulldogs traveling to Blacksburg in Auburn’s place. At this point in the season Virginia Tech is in the midst of a eight-game winning streak—a streak that will come to an abrupt end against the Dogs.

I think that Georgia and Virginia Tech are evenly matched when it comes to talent, but the Hokies would lose a low-scoring affair.

This loss will lose the division for the Hokies. They would lose the head-to-head with the eventual winner of the SEC East.

Georgia 20—Virginia Tech 17

Week 12: Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech

The loss against Georgia would leave a bitter taste in the Hokies’ mouths, and that frustration would be taken out on the lowly Wildcats. The Hokies would win by a large margin in this game.

Virginia Tech would still have an outside shot at the SEC east title, but Georgia would have to lose for that to happen.

The Hokies do their part, but the Bulldogs don’t. Georgia wins the SEC east.

Kentucky 3—Virginia Tech 28

Week 13: Virginia Tech vs. Virginia

We just saw this game, so I will just use what happened. Hokies win the Commonwealth Cup.

Virginia Tech 38—Virginia 0

Conclusion

The Hokies would have done well in the SEC east this year. Frank Beamer’s team would have finished the regular season with a record of 10-2. This isn’t to say that this success would be a yearly thing, as I don’t have the Hokies playing LSU, Alabama or Arkansas this season.

Virginia Tech would have one more loss than they do now if they were in the SEC east. That isn’t as much of a drop off as many SEC fans believe it would be.

The Hokies wouldn’t make it into a BCS bowl game, but they would get a bid to one of the mid-level bowls at the end of the season.

The Hokies wouldn’t be a bottom dweller in the SEC, but rather a mid level team that could occasionally compete with the big names in the conference. Virginia Tech won’t join the SEC unless the conference goes to 16 teams, but it is always fun to deal with hypotheticals.