The Heist of 2001 — Syracuse v. VaTech
Posted at 10:10 am on Friday, July 24, 2009, in Sports, and tagged big east, syracuse.
This is the oldest post that I never completed (until now). I started writing it in 2003, and it was supposed to follow one of my most influential posts: A Case Against Perennially Over-Ranked VaTech. I was going to spend a considerable amount of time going through the entire 2001 football season, game by game, tracking Syracuse and Virginia Tech, their polling and opposition.
In a brief summary, Syracuse beat Virginia Tech that season (in the snow; it was a great game; I watched it on my 19″ Zenith tv), and finished second in the Big East conference with a 6-1 in-conference record. Pitiful VaTech finished 4-3 and in third place. In one of the greatest slights in recent football history however, the executives of the Gator Bowl (the game usually slated for the second-place finisher of the Big East and ACC) opted for VaTech instead. Florida State humiliated the Hokies, while Syracuse easily prevailed over Kansas State in the (arguably inferior) Insight.com Bowl.
I don’t have the time to go into all the details anymore, that is quite obvious (to you, and me), but you get the point (or I hope you do, as I try to drive it home): This was a heist. Syracuse was the better football team. And VaTech sucks.
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