Since Virginia Tech moved to the ACC in 2004, Frank Beamer’s program has established an almost disturbing level of consistency. In each of the last eight seasons, the Hokies have won either 10 or 11 games. In seven of eight they have lost either three or four games (they went 11-2 in 2005). They have finished each season ranked between seventh and 21st in the country by the AP. Without fail, they are good every year, but they are rarely truly great.
The last two seasons, however, have been characterized by missed opportunities. The Hokies still won the ACC title in 2010 and made the ACC title game again in 2011, but they went 0-4 versus Top 15 teams and twice got blown out of the water (No. 5 Stanford beat them by 28 in 2010, No. 13 Clemson by 20 in Blacksburg in 2011). That wasn’t always the case — from 2002 to ’09, Tech went 12-8 versus Top 15 opponents — but it certainly hurts in the ongoing perceptions battle.