The votes have been tallied throughout collegesportsfeed.com, and now it’s time to present our combined Preseason Top 25. For the next five weeks, we have five sections of our top 25 teams, starting from the end. These statistics were compiled using incoming players, remaining talent, old and new coaches, and a few previous games from last season. This week we present:

25. Florida

“Even though they didn’t have an amazing season last year and Ohio State has their former coach, Florida is going to surprise people this year. They have always had the passion for the game, and this year they are really going to show it. They beat Ohio State in the Gator Bowl this past season, and now that Ohio State has their coach, it’s more of a fight for them to prove they are good and that they could beat Ohio State and their former coach again if the opportunity presented itself.”

Allie Balog, CSF Associate Editor

“After a 7-6 season, which included a rough 3-5 SEC record last season, Will Muschamp will be coaching for his job in 2012. Expect that sense of urgency, along with another down year in the SEC East to get the Gators back in the Top 25.”

Jeff Dunbar, CSF Senior Editor

24. Notre Dame

“Notre Dame only lost 5 games last season, the last game they lost being a bowl game. Granted most of the teams they beat weren’t ranked teams, they still managed to beat a few ranked ones. Their record from last year shows that they can do well this year and most likely will be determined to do so. They used to be one of the best teams in college football, and while they don’t have the players to make them great, they still have the potential to be great. It’s just time to sit back and watch the underdogs show their true colors.”

Allie Balog, CSF Associate Editor

“Recent quarterback controversy aside, Notre Dame has a chance to be very solid this year. With a strong backfield, led by 1,000-yard rusher Cierre Wood, and one of college football’s best returning TE’s in Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame should be competitive in every game of their tough 2012 schedule. Add this year’s impressive freshman class, and the Fighting Irish could make a run into a top bowl game.”

Anthony Manzella, CSF Writer/Contributor

23. Oklahoma State

“Losing both Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon will be a major blow to the high-powered Oklahoma State offense. However, Coach Gundy will have them revved up for this season despite the losses and compete for a Big 12 championship.”

Garrett Mayers, CSF Writer/Contributor

“Freshman Wes Lunt is the answer Cowboy fans are all looking for, thanks to Coach Gundy. Gundy has a history of training quarterbacks well, and there’s no doubt he can do the same this year. Plus Lunt is enormous and has a fiery arm. Look for OSU to have a great game against Texas.”

Elizabeth Garabedian, CSF Writer/Contributor

22. Boise State

“Even with the losses of QB Kellen Moore and RB Doug Martin to the NFL, head coach Chris Peterson will have the Broncos ready to compete. A solid recruiting class will help fill the losses on both sides of the ball, and the return of sixth-year RB D.J. Harper will give the Broncos a reliable option in the backfield. Look for the Broncos to remain in the top 25 during their last season before a move to the Big East.”

Anthony Manzella, CSF Writer/Contributor

“With 16 sophomore Broncos, it should be easy for the new freshman class to adjust to the routine they have already set. Dallas Burroughs is one of the fastest players on Boise State, and Matt Miller, although red-shirted last season, is back and ready for more action, filled with awards. If they keep up their luck and skill like last season, they may be nearly unstoppable.”

Elizabeth Garabedian, CSF Writer/Contributor

21. Virginia Tech

“Look for Virginia Tech to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Clemson in the ACC championship. Losing David Wilson to the NFL will be a major hole and a big replacement, but quarterback Logan Thomas seems ready to handle the major load and can carry this team to the top of the ACC again.”

Garrett Mayers, CSF Writer/Contributor

“The Hokies have been the only constant in the ACC, since joining the conference in 2004. Second year starting QB Logan Thomas will be more consistent in 2012, and you know that the defensive coordinator Bud Foster will have the VA Tech defense on point again this fall.”

Jeff Dunbar, CSF Senior Editor

The Virginia Tech Hokies were playing for their lives on Friday night, March 11th, as they took on the Florida State Seminoles in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

Literally coming down to the final buzzer, Virginia Tech was able to squeak out a much-needed victory 52-51 keeping their NCAA Final Four Tournament hopes alive.

“These kids have great perseverance and determination,” Virginia Tech Head Coach Seth Greenberg told ESPN right after the official’s reviewed the last play.

Derwin Kitchen, Florida State guard, took a shot down 52-51 that appeared to be before the final buzzer sounded. Florida State fans went crazy, but after a second look by the officiating crew, Kitchen’s shot was still on his fingers as the clock ticked zero.

Malcolm Delaney led all scorers with 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds, but no shot was bigger for the Hokies than the two-point jump shot that Erick Green knocked down with 4.7 seconds left on the clock to give the Hokies their first lead of the night.

Virginia Tech will be severely tested Saturday, March 12th at 3 p.m. when they take on the Duke Blue Devils on ESPN 2.

Yesterday, the all ACC honors were announced for baseball. Virginia Tech was represented only once for the first team all-ACC team. Outfielder Austin Wates, a likely first round draft pick in this summer’s Major League Baseball draft was the lone Hokie on the team. Three other Hokies, catcher Steve Domecus, starting pitcher Justin Wright and reliever Ben Rowen made the second team.

The name most noticeably missing from the list was not a player.

No it was Virginia Tech’s very own head coach Pete Hughes.

So who was the winner of the ACC coach of the year you might ask? None other then Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor.

Now I understand O’Connor is a great coach and has really turned the program around at Virginia and kept the team in the top five nationally all season, but I feel that many people are still suffering a bit of a hangover from the Wahoo’s trip to Omaha last season.

Hughes has done a remarkable job turning around the program down in Blacksburg. The team has made the ACC tournament for the first time since 2005. This also coincides with the teams reentry into the national rankings for the first time since 1992. The Hokies have been ranked for roughly half the season and were as high as #12 prior to a sweep at the hands of North Carolina.

Going into the ACC tournament which begins on Thursday, the Hokies have an overall record of 36-19. Compared to last season’s record of 32-21 and the 2008 season of 23-21, Hughes’ determination to turn the program around is greatly visible.

His hope one day is to generate as much excitement over baseball as football and basketball get in Blacksburg.

I truly believe that with a good run in the postseason tournaments this will happen. After all when I recently talked to Hughes he said the goal of the team was to make it to Omaha.

For now, let’s just shoot for winning the ACC tournament and making it to the NCAA regional portion of the tournament.

Then we can focus on Omaha.

I recently had the opportunity talk to Virginia Tech’s head baseball coach Pete Hughes for an article I was writing. I asked him what his goals for the rest of the season for the team were. After stating modest goals like “being competitive in the ACC” play he stated something that was completely laughable to me at the time.

What was his statement?

“We want to make it to Omaha”.

Omaha, Nebraska. As in the college world series.

I literally had to restrain myself from laughing in Coach Hughes face as he made that statement.

I mean I knew the team had a great chance of improving on their dismal record from last season, but, I had no idea they would actually follow through on Hughes’ positive attitude.

Since, I had that conversation with Hughes almost three weeks ago, the Hokies have certainly shown they’ve come to put up a fight with the other contenders.

It all started with the upset of Florida State. Tech won the series 2 games to 1 and almost nearly pulled off a sweep. Oh and not to mention that the Seminoles were ranked #4 at the time. I also forgot to mention one thing, this spring was the first time Tech had ever won a series against FSU since joining the ACC.

After winning the series against FSU, Tech jumped into the national rankings for the first time since 1992.

This past weekend, Tech took on the mighty Miami Hurricanes. Once again, another series victory against the ranked #9 ranked team in the nation.

After yet another unexpected win, Tech’s rankings went up to the #20 in the nation, gaining respectability of the other ACC teams in the conference.

So you might ask how have the Hokies turned their season around?

Pitching. Not just pitching but experienced pitchers.

This season Tech brings back three veteran pitchers to their weekend series in Justin Wright, Matthew Price and Jesse Hahn. Wright and Hahn are both juniors while Price is a sophomore.

With a combination of good starting pitching and an experienced offense Tech is ready to take on anybody.

Next up for the team is the all mighty powerful University of Virginia, the #2 team in the nation. I’ll be in attendance for one of the games so I’m desperately hoping for an upset.

I mean really it’s the #2 team.

No Big Deal Right?

Perhaps we will see Omaha in our future?

Virginia Tech proved something at last night’s second-round NIT win over UConn: that when push comes to shove, they CAN survive without Malcolm Delaney. .
I’m sure few Hokies have forgotten about the ACC Tournament loss to Miami, in which Delaney, who usually averages around 27 points per game, was limited to an astonishing seven points.
No one stepped up that night to fill Delaney’s shoes, and the Hokies suffered, eliminated by Miami in the first round 70-65.
However, last night’s game against UConn showed that Virginia Tech is slowly making changes to compensate for Delaney, should he be shut down like he was against Miami and UConn (he only scored six points in the latter game).
Stronger defense, faster rebounds, and the utilization of Dorenzo Hudson have helped the Hokies overcome their overwhelming “Delaneydependency.”
If college basketball could have a franchise player, Virginia Tech would put theirs on Malcolm Delaney. He’s quick, plays smart, and puts the majority amount of points on the board almost every night.
But, Delaney can’t be expected to be the hero every game. That would be like expecting Drew Brees to complete every single pass he threw, or for Pau Gasol to make 100% of this three-pointers. It’s impossible and overbearing to expect something like that.
Luckily for Virginia Tech, they have found several antidotes for “Delaneydependency,” which means that the next time their star is held to six or seven points, it won’t automatically mean a loss for the Hokies.
The first, stronger defense, was not employed to its full potential last night until the second half, when it was blatantly obvious that UConn’s defense was blocking a large amount of the shots taken by the Hokies, and Virginia Tech was not returning the favor. As soon as it was, though, Virginia Tech started taking control of the game.
Rebounding sort of follows in suit with better defending, and the Hokies must have known that during the first half they couldn’t rebound a breakup, much less rebound a ball. The second half changed that as well, during which Virginia Tech made multiple key defensive rebounds that helped them cut down UConn’s lead and eventually overtake it.
The most drastic recovery from “Delaneydependency” has been the use of Virginia Tech’s new secret weapon: Hudson.
This is the second time that I know of that Hudson has stepped up in Delaney’s absence, physical or not.
When Virginia Tech played Seton Hall in Cancun, Hudson put up a mind-boggling 41 points in a game that Delaney did not play in. That’s what’s called stepping up to the plate.
Hudson got the chance last night to save the game when it was very apparently that Delaney was not going to make much of an impact where the scoreboard was concerned, so Hudson helped him out with 27 points.
I’m not trying to say that Delany is no longer allowed to score points because we’re too dependent on him- quite the opposite. Delaney is a cornerstone of the current team, and his contribution, whether or not he scores points, will never be questioned in my book.
I’m simply saying that Virginia Tech is slowly finding ways to combat the losses that usually follow an absent Delaney.
–Debbie

The NCAA Tournament has not been anything short of amazing this year. Getting the attention is deserves, the field of 65 has been narrowed to 16 with showings from 11 different conferences. Therefore, with no games between March 23-26, the NIT was put on a pedestal to come through with solid games as well.

On a cold Monday night, the Huskies of Connecticut came to Blacksburg, Virginia with hopes of redeeming the Big East from their weak play in the Big Dance. However, The Hokies of Virginia Tech were ready for what Jim Calhoun was about to throw at them.

Going into halftime down 35-30, Malcolm Delaney had just two points. When the superstar of your team averages 20.5 points per game and only manages to put two free-throws through the hoop in an entire half, normally a team should be worried. Not in the case of the Hokies. Big role players in Derenzo Hudson, Jeff Allen, Terrell Bell and J.T. Thompson were able to step in and fill Delaney’s void.

Hudson’s 27 points was enough to lift the Hokies past the hungry Huskies 65-63.

UCONN did show up to play however. Leading most of the entire game, the Huskies led by as many as 12 at one point during the first half. Kemba Walker had his team ready from the start with a few big time jump-shots that sent a message to Seth Greenberg that he will have his hands full all game.

Unusual for the Hokies, Derenzo Hudson was one of two Hokies with double-digit points. His 27, complimented by J.T. Thompson’s 10 were fluffed by Malcolm Delaney’s six, Jeff Allen’s eight, and Victor Davila’s eight. The Huskie starters of UCONN came to put the ball through the net. Kemba Walker finished with 18 and Jerome Dyson had 15, but it wasn’t anyone’s point total that stood out.

Malcolm Delaney may have only had six points, but played all 40 minutes of this game. Why you ask?

Nine assists. The next highest was Walker’s four.

When the ball isn’t falling, good players look to help their squad in another way. Delaney certainly figured it out. This was maybe the most complete victory for the Hokies all season with everyone contributing in their own way.

The Hokies of Virginia Tech will look to protect the Cassell Coliseum against the Rams of Rhode Island Wednesday, March 24th at 7:00 p.m. Being a home game will help the Hokies having one of the strongest fan bases in all of sports. Their 17-1 home record will be another way Greenberg pumps up his number-one seeded team to square off with the red-hot two-seeded Rams. Looks like the NIT favorites are playing with a little chip on their shoulder.

I wonder why?