The Virginia Tech football team went on the road and picked up an eye-opening 35-26 win at Maryland, which broke a 15-game non-conference losing streak against Power 4 Conference teams. That was one streak that James Franklin needed to break as soon as he could, and it turns out all that was needed was a trip to College Park against a coach he has had a lot of success against, Mike Locksley.
The game was not as close as the final score indicates, as the Hokies held a commanding 21-point lead going into the fourth quarter and benefited from questionable decisions by Locksley to keep the game at a two-score deficit throughout the final quarter. There was going to be some shakeup in the Associated Press Top 25 after this weekend's results, how much of an impact would the Hokies' win over the Terrapins have?
James Franklin and Virginia Tech remain under the radar after a big road win at Maryland
Some notable results involving teams near the bottom of the AP Top 25 included Houston losing to Texas Tech on Friday night and Virginia being beaten in Charlotte by West Virginia. Would that be good enough to slide the Hokies into the Top 25 on Sunday? As it turns out, it wasn't.
As it turns out, Houston dropped from No. 22 to No. 25 following the loss, while Florida moved into the Top 25 after a win at Auburn, and Mississippi State also cracked the Top 25 after a win at South Carolina. Virginia Tech went from 37th last week to No. 32, the seventh team also receiving votes with 46.
It is a little surprising that the Hokies didn't move up higher, but honestly, that might just be fine with Franklin going into next weekend's matchup at Boston College. It's clear that the win at Maryland didn't carry as much weight with the voters as fans thought it might.
As for teams in the Top 25, Miami dropped one spot to No. 6 after their win at Wake Forest, while Louisville jumped seven spots following a big win at home over SMU to No. 16. Speaking of SMU, they dropped six spots to No. 22 following the loss.
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