9.14.2010

JMU 21, Va Tech 16

I know this blog is supposed to be about my trip to Costa Rica, but c'mon. How could I not take this opportunity to rub it in to all the Tech fans in Roanoke who just never seem to shut up about Tech football? Every year they come into the new season with an inflated ranking and national title aspirations and every year they lose a game or two they "should" have won. And the worst part about it is that the ACC is so weak that they usually make it to a BCS game anyway! This year could very well be no different. It's true, Tech is 0-2 for the first time since 1995 but they have yet to play a single conference game. They could easily run through their ACC schedule and represent the Coastal division in Charlotte. And let's not forget that in 1995 Tech ended up going to the Sugar Bowl and beating Texas. So I'm not here to say that Tech's season is over or that they're a terrible team, but I sure am glad they lost to my JMU Dukes - and the earlier in the season the better. As if hearing about it all off season isn't enough, Tech fans take it to a whole 'nother level when they're undefeated after a few weeks.

I hope this win will shed some light on how great the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is and how terrible the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is. Once again, I'm not saying that the CAA is better than the ACC, but the CAA is by far the best conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the ACC is arguably the worst major conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). I don't follow the mid-major conferences but fans of the Boise State's and TCU's of the world could probably make a strong argument for the WAC or the MWC being as good as the ACC. Let's take a look at the Top 25 of each subdivision, shall we? The ACC started the season with five ranked teams. From the Roanoke Times' Sports section on Monday: "After two weeks, those five members have combined for zero wins over Division 1-A teams; four losses to Top 25 teams; one loss to a 1-AA team; and one loss to a team that had been beaten by a 1-AA foe." All that losing leaves the ACC with just a single team in the Top 25. It's really weird looking at Miami's schedule on ESPN.com and not seeing any rankings beside their ACC opponents for the rest of the season.

The CAA has fared much better in the FCS polls with seven of its ten members being ranked. All seven teams are actually within the top 16 of the poll this week. The CAA can also boast six of the top 12 and two of the top 3. You may be surprised to learn that JMU is not the #1 team in the FCS; rather, its defending champions Villanova. Speaking of champions, the CAA has produced four different national champions out of the last seven years and the CAA has been represented in the championship game six of the last seven years. Now I know what you're thinking. What does the success of the CAA in the inferior FCS have to do with being able to play with FBS teams? My point is that the CAA is the SEC of the FCS and all those great schools playing each other every year makes them better and they're not scared to play anybody. Top to bottom, I think any sane sports fan would have to agree that the ACC is better than the CAA, but over the last two seasons the series is tied 3-3 with one of the ACC's wins coming in OT against JMU... makes you wonder!

One last jab at Tech before I post: JMU 11, Va Tech 0  <--- the number of AP poll points this week

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