{"id":2822,"date":"2016-10-24T08:00:09","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=2822"},"modified":"2018-01-08T11:14:43","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T16:14:43","slug":"virginia-tech-hokies-back-in-top-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2016\/10\/24\/virginia-tech-hokies-back-in-top-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Hokies Back In Top 25, Prepare for Pitt"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Hokies Back In Top 25, Prepare for Pitt<\/h2>\n<p>After falling out of the AP Top 25 with a 31-17 loss to <strong>Syracuse<\/strong> on the road, the <b>Virginia Tech Hokies<\/b> have found their way back into the polls with a\u00a037-16 blowout win over the <b>Miami Hurricanes<\/b>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Hokies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Hokies<\/a> return to the AP poll at No. 25 too. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Sm3vWk5k0K\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/Sm3vWk5k0K<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndyBitterVT\/status\/790253403993698309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HokiesFB\/status\/790254176450338816\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/HokiesFB\/status\/790254176450338816<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Hokies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Hokies<\/a> are back in the top 25 at 25th in both the AP and Coaches Poll <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wJ32nKnFxc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/wJ32nKnFxc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tim Thomas (@TimThomasTLP) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TimThomasTLP\/status\/790260175076626432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Virginia Tech will look to stay in the Top 25 for more than a couple weeks as they as the Hokies are a 4.5-point favorite at Pittsburgh, their toughest opponent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Andy Bitter<\/strong> of the <strong>Roanoke Times<\/strong> sent out a tweet received a lot of feedback about the Hokies&#8217; record at <strong>Heinz Field.<\/strong> But like the <strong>Carrier Dome,<\/strong> Heinz Field is a similarily\u00a0tough place for to play. Combined, Tech is 2-11 at both: 2-7 at Carrier Dome, 0-4 at Heinz Field.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The bad news? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Hokies?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Hokies<\/a> have been ranked in three of their last four trips to Pitt. Lost each time. Are 0-4 at Heinz Field.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndyBitterVT\/status\/790240530898845696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>ACC<\/strong> is represented well in the Top 25, with <strong>Clemson<\/strong> leading the way at No. 3, <strong>Louisville<\/strong> at No. 5, <strong>Florida<\/strong> <strong>State<\/strong> at No. 12, <strong>North Carolina<\/strong> at No. 21, and the Hokies rounding it out at No. 25. <strong>Pittsburgh<\/strong> was the only other ACC team to receive any votes.<\/p>\n<p>The official poll was released on Sunday at 2 PM.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/collegefootball.ap.org\/poll\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/collegefootball.ap.org\/poll<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With a win over Pitt, the Hokies can easily win out their schedule as they face <strong>Duke, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame<\/strong> (non-ACC) and <strong>Virginia.<\/strong>\u00a0The two toughest opponents in that lineup being\u00a0Pitt, who they face this Thursday, followed by Duke. The Hokies lost to both Pitt and Duke last year.<\/p>\n<h3>Hokies Ready for Pitt<\/h3>\n<p>Just 24 hours after a\u00a0huge win over Miami, <b>Justin Fuente<\/b>\u00a0had his team out on the practice field late on Friday night. That&#8217;s not something anyone would have seen the last couple of years, but Fuente seems to know his team, and his system is starting to work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s time to shift our focus and get ready to beat Pittsburg,&#8221; Fuente said. &#8220;When you have 85 guys playing with great emotion, great discipline, with a team first mentality cannot be stopped.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Fuente may be the coach, but one player everyone enjoys playing with, especially <b>Tremaine Edmunds,<\/b> is <b>Woody Baron<\/b>.\u00a0&#8220;Woody (Baron) is a big time player. I&#8217;m excited to be playing on the same field as him,&#8221; Edmunds said. &#8220;He&#8217;s a guy who you know is going to give it his all every time he steps on to the field.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Primetime Again for the Hokies<\/h3>\n<p>The Hokies had a primetime match-up against Miami, and they will continue on the road against a tough Pitt team on Thursday, October 27th at 7pm on ESPN. Two out of the last three games played between the <strong>Panthers<\/strong> and Hokies, Pitt has won, with the Hokies winning 19-9 in 2013 in <strong>Blacksburg<\/strong>. However, in those games neither team\u00a0has seen the other score more than 21 or win by a bigger margin than four points. Last year, Pitt won behind <b>James Connor<\/b>, 17-13, and in 2014 Pitt won, 21-16.<\/p>\n<h3>For Virginia Tech to Win<\/h3>\n<p>For the Hokies to win this match-up, they will need to shut down Connor, who is having a fantastic season after beating down cancer. He\u00a0can easily take control of a game and rush for 200 or more yards with two rushing touchdowns. If the Hokies can stop Connor, they will come away with a huge ACC win.<\/p>\n<h3>For Pitt to Win<\/h3>\n<p>In order for Pittsburgh to win the game, they will need to force turnovers early and often either through the passing game or running game. That won&#8217;t be a easy task to do as <b>Jerod Evans <\/b>has only thrown two interceptions this year. After their bad showing against Tennessee, the Hokies haven&#8217;t turned the ball over much, but there&#8217;s always room for improvement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We just need to be 1-0 each week,&#8221; Fuente said. That&#8217;s been Fuente&#8217;s coaching card all season. Win each week. Win each practice. Win each game.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/616026716\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:70.033670% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/616026716?et=qBOzRoM4TrZqpyVkC87cQw&#038;viewMoreLink=off&#038;sig=hFOLEHkh8B4T-8bZXuQID1vm96yL-r77LgMp5xgSeuE=&#038;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"416\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hokies Back In Top 25, Prepare for Pitt After falling out of the AP Top 25 with a 31-17 loss to Syracuse on the road, the Virginia Tech Hokies have found their way back into the polls with a\u00a037-16 blowout win over the Miami Hurricanes. The #Hokies are back in the top 25 at 25th [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1661,"featured_media":2857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[102,79,71,146,302,126,256,100],"class_list":["post-2822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acc","tag-acc","tag-college-football","tag-football","tag-james-conner","tag-justin-fuente","tag-ncaa","tag-pitt-panthers","tag-virginia-tech-hokies"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}