No. 5 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES

Hokies try to bring back respect to ACC

So the ACC raided the Big East primarily for the Hurricanes? Hmm, hindsight says otherwise.

Virginia Tech hasn't just made an impact on the ACC; it's dominated the conference. The Hokies have won three of the past five conference championships and are the clear favorites to win their third straight. But Tech has more on its mind than just winning another conference title; Frank Beamer's team is looking to finally make the ACC relevant in the national title discussion.

While the conference had an amazing bowl season in 2008 - getting ten teams to a postseason game - the conference has been largely irrelevant during BCS title discussion. Virginia Tech looks to change that, and it will know after Week 1 whether its a championship contender.

Even though Tech could drop the opening game against No. 5 Alabama, a Hokies' win will do more than pave the way to a fast start. Tech will be able to bring back the national image that Clemson lost when it was blown out by Bama in last season's Chick-fil-A Kickoff. The Tigers were much in the same boat as Virginia Tech - highly regarded with a deep team and within national title discussion - but the loss to Alabama stalled the season and was detrimental to the ACC getting national respect.

A win this season by Virginia Tech would be over a much more heralded Alabama squad. The Hokies don't start ACC play until late September, but but a 4-0 start would include wins over Alabama, Nebraska and Miami - not a bad resume when building a national title worthy resume. Their toughest road game is at Georgia Tech in mid-October, and most of their difficult games are at home - Miami, Boston College and North Carolina.

While the Hokies do have to replace injured all-star running back Darren Evans, their backfield is deep enough to rotate in talent and still get production. With Tyrod Taylor finally ready to play at a high level, the Hokies are going to be ready to get the ACC in BCS title talk ... as long as they can overcome the Tide.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Virginia Tech Page | CBS Virginia Tech Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team on September 3.