Would you like to see Virginia Tech become a rivalry?

Would you like UT-VT to become a rivalry?

  • Total voters
    0
#26
#26
I like having a premier OOC matchup every year. I do not see it being locked down to any one particular opponent. Good team, but no to rivalry.
 
#27
#27
TAF said:
Living here in The Shanendoah Valley now...I voted "Yes" out of selfishness.

VT has excellent history, loyal fans and is set in beautiful surroundings a small drive from K-Vegas.

But, have you been to Lane Stadium? I have...and @ 65K it IS a cute little thing.
Click to expand...

Tell ya what TAF.

Pull up Lane Stadium on GoogleMaps. Then, in another tab, do the same for Dudley Field.

In that comparison, Lane Stadium looks huge. And there is room for expansion in Blacksburg.

I remember the days Neyland sat around 72K many moons ago. Give them a break, they just have a little catching up to do.
 
#28
#28
I don't want to sound like I am looking down on VT, they are a great program and I am really looking forward to our BAB this fall, but this should be a one time thing. I don't think a VT rivalry would be all that interesting. There are much bigger P5 schools I would rather have a rivalry with, such a Michigan, Clemson, Penn State, etc. or even renewing our longtime rivalry with Notre Dame.

And I get it, a lot of new-age college football fans that only look at the scene over the past 5-6 years would read my comment and go "Lol, TN sucks they don't deserve to play those teams", but anyone who actually has knowledge of college football understands UT's history, so I feel like if UT was going to include an OOC rival it would need to be someone of a higher pedigree to maintain interest and excitement on both sides of the ball.

But that brings me to my other point, unless you are going to get rid of 1 of the 3 cupcake games you play every year, I would rather have rotating OOC games then a yearly rivalry. It would be so much more exciting to play Michigan, Cal, USC, Penn State, Clemson, and FSU over a 6 year span then just a yearly Michigan rivalry.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#29
#29
Va Tech is a good club, but they tend to be a regional base. We may be better served by one-one or one-time games series with some of the Big Ten. The other games series might be with UNC and Clemson.
 
#31
#31
UTK said:
Virgina Tech was a pretty damn good program the last decade, they honestly were a championship away from being considered elite I suppose. They have had some down years, but come on UT is just now crawling outta the dumpster. I also believe they will be a top program again in the near future. Just my opinion though.
Click to expand...
They had a run yes, much like Boise state had its run. VT is not even close to elite or a national program. UT although has gone through some down years is still a national brand, tech is not.
 
#32
#32
TAF said:
Living here in The Shanendoah Valley now...I voted "Yes" out of selfishness.

VT has excellent history, loyal fans and is set in beautiful surroundings a small drive from K-Vegas.

But, have you been to Lane Stadium? I have...and @ 65K it IS a cute little thing.
Click to expand...
Excellent history? Other than a few runs in the ACC and one bcs appearance please enlighten me.
 
#34
#34
Volsfaninva917 said:
Excellent history? Other than a few runs in the ACC and one bcs appearance please enlighten me.
Click to expand...

Yes, Frank Beamer put Va Tech on the national map. Yes, they were only a regional player before him.

But that's the point: he DID put them on the national map. News Flash: Frank Beamer was their coach for something like 30 years (I know you already knew that, just sounding like you think their success was a 3-year blip). They've been a player on the national scene for the past 20 years, ever since they beat Texas 28-10 in the '95 Sugar Bowl to cap off a 10-2 season.

Okay, so 20 years of national relevance isn't equal to 100 years, but it's enough to be recognized as relevant.

The BIG question is, will they again find success at that level, post-Beamer, or was he their one shot at fame?
 
#35
#35
VFL-82-JP said:
Yes, Frank Beamer put Va Tech on the national map. Yes, they were only a regional player before him.

But that's the point: he DID put them on the national map. News Flash: Frank Beamer was their coach for something like 30 years (I know you already knew that, just sounding like you think their success was a 3-year blip). They've been a player on the national scene for the past 20 years, ever since they beat Texas 28-10 in the '95 Sugar Bowl to cap off a 10-2 season.

Okay, so 20 years of national relevance isn't equal to 100 years, but it's enough to be recognized as relevant.

The BIG question is, will they again find success at that level, post-Beamer, or was he their one shot at fame?
Click to expand...

Live 30 minutes from tech, step dad works in the AD. Tech is and always will be a regional program. They are a Boise State nothing more and nothing less.
 
#36
#36
Volsfaninva917 said:
Live 30 minutes from tech, step dad works in the AD. Tech is and always will be a regional program.
Click to expand...

That's simply not true. While I was living the gypsy life in the Army, I heard about Va Tech from out in California. I heard about them in Germany and France. Heard about them out in Kansas. Down in Haiti and Honduras. Out in the deserts of Southwest Asia.

They've been a nationally-recognized program for the past 20 years. Maybe you live too close to them, and can't see that.
 
#37
#37
Yes, only because of recruiting. I would much rather see us play Ga. Tech., but we already recruit the Atlanta area very well.
 
#38
#38
I wouldn't want to play them every season but would be fine with playing them a couple times every 12 years or so, like we've done with Norte Dame and UCLA in the past.

I like attending away games in different parts of the country so for that reason I hope UT keeps scheduling a variety of different OOC opponents and never settles on playing 1 team every season. Would love a game in the Northwest again.
 
#39
#39
ATC_VOL said:
I wouldn't want to play them every season but would be fine with playing them a couple times every 12 years or so, like we've done with Norte Dame and UCLA in the past.

I like attending away games in different parts of the country so for that reason I hope UT keeps scheduling a variety of different OOC opponents and never settles on playing 1 team every season. Would love a game in the Northwest again.
Click to expand...


To that end, I would propose a home and away series with the University of Washington. We have never played the Huskies, it would be a pretty part of the country for Tennessee fans to travel to, and it would present a matchup, if memory serves me correctly, of the only two football programs whose stadiums are accessible by water, i.e. dueling "navies."
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 people
#41
#41
I actually like the idea of it. We've been focusing on the state of Virginia in recruiting as of late (Obviously nothing compared to our home state or FL or GA though) plus they're not too far away at all.

But if we we're picking any team in the country to start a rivalry with then Clemson, Michigan or maybe FSU would be great opponents.

And for some reason I really enjoyed our series against Cal. Outside of losing in 07 of course. East Coast vs West Coast kind of thing.
 
#42
#42
Volosaurus rex said:
To that end, I would propose a home and away series with the University of Washington. We have never played the Huskies, it would be a pretty part of the country for Tennessee fans to travel to, and it would present a matchup, if memory serves me correctly, of the only two football programs whose stadiums are accessible by water, i.e. dueling "navies."
Click to expand...
I've always wanted to see us play Washington. That's a good thought
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#44
#44
mrmax86 said:
It's a race track right now, so...:neener2:
Click to expand...

They're tearing down the garages and other infield structures. That won't happen again. After the ETSU game it will be rebuilding time at BMS. And back to the race track it is.
 
#46
#46
VFL-82-JP said:
That's simply not true. While I was living the gypsy life in the Army, I heard about Va Tech from out in California. I heard about them in Germany and France. Heard about them out in Kansas. Down in Haiti and Honduras. Out in the deserts of Southwest Asia.

They've been a nationally-recognized program for the past 20 years. Maybe you live too close to them, and can't see that.
Click to expand...

It IS true. They're a regional draw, not national. I live 5 mins from Blacksburg and believe me, once you're outside the ACC demographic (the southern part) nobody talks about them. Frank Beamer did do a great job, but they're still not a national brand and have fallen off the past 6 or 7 years, especially in recruiting. They don't even get the best players here regionally or in VA.
 
#48
#48
Why try to create a rivalry with a team we've only played 8 times in 100 years? Let's just get payback for that 2009 bowl loss, then play them again in a decade.
 
#49
#49
I agree that Battle at Bristol is a one-time event, but would love to see us play them in a nice little home and home series in the future for a few reasons...

Just the right level of competition & exposure: Our yearly rivalry game with Bama is already as tough as they come, not to mention UGA and Florida, so I really think VaTech would be the perfect level of program if we were to add an OOC rival. I think with Fuente, they will continue to be a top 5 program in the ACC. And Foster's D has consistently put a lot of DB's in the NFL. I don't think anyone will mistake them for cream puffs, but at the same time, we should almost always have a talent advantage going forward.

Recruiting: Virginia is a talent-rich state, and I love what Jones has been able to do there the last couple years. It would be very nice to be able to cherry pick 3-5 recruits out of there every year. I would think periodically knocking off the biggest football program in that state would help with that.
 
#50
#50
I would like to have Oklahoma or Texas as a permanent rival or one of the Los Angeles Pac-12 schools. That would be pretty fun alternating home games every year. Or Michigan or Ohio St every year. Or Miami or Florida St or Notre Dame. That's just to name a few that I would put ahead of VT. They doubt even cross my mind as a relevant team that makes you say "box office". They just don't feel like a powerhouse program to me and I want the big boys every year.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.
Advertisement



Back
Top