ASA’s Pick to Win the 2011 National Championship

Play On: Virginia Tech (+3300)

Who is one of only team in Division 1A football (120 teams) to win at least 10 games in seven consecutive sesons? Florida? Texas? Ohio State? Oklahoma? USC? Alabama? Boise State? Nope. The answer is Virginia Tech. During that seven year span this team has a combined record of 73-21. That’s impressive. How about going to a bowl game every year since 1993? Only three have done that and they are Florida, Florida State and yes this Hokie team. Now do those things alone mean they have a shot at the National Title? No they don’t. However, we know what we are going to get out of VT. A very good team that will win 10+ games. We need to look at each “candidate” for the BCS Championship game and ask, can they go undefeated? For most the answer is probably not. However, one loss is enough to get you in as we’ve seen in the past. Going undefeated in a BCS conference almost assuredly gets you in the BCS Championship game. We feel that Virginia Tech has a very good chance to do just that. First of all, they have a VERY weak road slate. Secondly, this team has proven they can win on the road where they are 26-7 SU their last 33 away from home. Their non-conference road tilts are @ East Carolina and @ Marshall. The Hokies have beaten ECU 8 of the last 9 times and they have actually won 17 of their last 18 road openers. Marshall was just 5-7 last year and while they might be a bit improved, VT should handle them in that one. Their ACC road games are against Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Georgia Tech who COMBINED to win just seven conference games last year. Thus, if this team takes care of business at home, they could easily roll into the ACC Championship game with a perfect record. A win their gives them a fantastic shot at the BCS National Championship game. Not bad for a team that sits at 33 to 1 to win it all. We’ll take a shot here for a great return on our investment.