Sugar Bowl 2012: Did Virginia Tech Deserve Its BCS at-Large Bid?

The Hokies walked off the field Saturday with their heads lowered. They suffered an embarrassing loss (38-10) to the Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship game. After the game, it was expected that Virginia Tech would go to Atlanta to play in the Chic-Fil-A bowl, but the Hokies got a pleasant surprise Sunday night.

Virginia Tech was selected as an at-large team in the All-State Sugar Bowl. This is the first time that the ACC has had two teams in BCS bowl games (Clemson is in the Orange Bowl). The 11^th ranked Hokies will be playing the 13^th ranked Michigan Wolverines. It will be the first time that these teams play each other. But a question remains; do the Hokies deserve the bid?

Virginia Tech finished the regular season with a record of 11-2. Both losses were blowouts against Clemson. The Tigers were clearly the best team that Frank Beamer’s group played all season. The Hokies best wins were against Georgia Tech, Virginia and, interestingly enough, Arkansas State. The Red Wolves finished their season with a record of 10-2.

None of the three teams mentioned are currently ranked in any poll. So it appears that the Hokies season wasn’t good enough to receive a BCS at-large bid, but that isn’t the only thing considered when it comes to the BCS.

People must remember that the BCS is a business. That fact is the main reason that a playoff hasn’t been implemented in FBS college football. The fact that the Hokies travel well is probably the biggest reason that they are going to New Orleans in January; the same can be said of Michigan.

The most interesting aspect of Virginia Tech’s bid to the Sugar Bowl is that the Hokies actually benefited from losing the ACC Championship game. If the Hokies had won the ACC, then they would be headed to the Orange Bowl to face the 23^rd ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. The Hokies will now play what many consider a better bowl against a better opponent.

There will be plenty of complaints around the country for the Hokies' inclusion in the BCS, but one team was notably left out of the BCS. That team is the 7^th ranked Boise State Broncos. The Broncos' only loss on the season came against TCU because of a missed field goal.

There is one difference between Virginia Tech and Boise State: the number of fans that each school has. The Hokies may win the fan matchup decisively, but the Broncos probably deserved it more. The Hokies will be questioned over the next month, and they will have one night to prove the doubters wrong.

Virginia Tech has a history in the Sugar Bowl. The Hokies beat Texas in the 1995 Sugar Bowl, lost to Florida State in the 1999 National Championship game and lost to Auburn in the 2004 Sugar Bowl. The game will be questioned because of the Hokies inclusion, but there is one that thing that is for sure.

The Hokies are returning to New Orleans.