Matt Hinton would rather see Georgia Tech in Tampa than the Hokies:
So three months later, as Georgia Tech's "quirky" offense rolled up 86 points and 882 yards rushing in consecutive wins over Miami and Georgia, the Hokies had the luxury of just doing what they do; specifically, surviving lackluster offensive performances against the two worst teams in the conference, Duke and Virginia, to wrap up another division championship. Georgia Tech has a better overall record (9-3 to VT's 8-4), will be ranked higher than the Hokies for the third week in a row, just earned the ACC's best non-conference win of the season and, after what the Jackets have done offensively on national television the last two weeks, might constitute an actual draw for the dreaded conference championship next week. The Jackets also beat the Atlantic Division champion, whether it's Boston College or Florida State. For the first time all year, an ACC team looks like it's separated itself from the pack.
But: 20-17 after three turnovers in September. A tiebreaker rule is a tiebreaker rule.
And while I don't want to see Virginia Tech in another Championship game either - I'd prefer a team in blue that could beat State - that's rather a selective reading of the season. GaTech wouldn't have fallen victim to the tiebreaker if they'd managed more than showing up against the Heels, and the fact that VaTech lost three of their last five is mitigated by their quarterback injuries and the fact that they did knock off another contending Atlantic Division team in Maryland.
This isn't one of those situations where the best team is left out. It's a situation where there's no best team, just a melange of average teams being stirred around, where a different one rises to the top every Saturday. Face it, every ACC team had more than enough opportunities to play their way into Tampa; the fact that none did so doesn't eliminate the fact that somebody has to go - they've already put the deposit down on the venue. So yes, it will be another dull game, followed by another year seeing that damn picture. It's what to expect when you have a conference all playing at the same level with no one excelling. Just remember the next time you see it on an SEC bog, the ACC went 3-1 against them Saturday, all in games the SEC should have won. Leave our Southern brethren to their hurt.