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by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com

Recently, in reply to a message board question, we unearthed some interesting statistics regarding Frank Beamer's coaching record versus Top 25 teams.

A message board poster posed the question, "What's Tech's record against Top 25 teams under Beamer's reign?" The poster had made a bet that Beamer's record was over .500.

Sadly, he lost his bet, and the interesting thing is that it's not even close. Since Beamer took over Virginia Tech in 1987, his Hokies are 19-29-1 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. That's a winning percentage of just under 39%.

If that sounds low, it's because the first six-plus years were miserable against Top 25 competition. Here's the breakdown:

• Overall record against Top 25: 19-29-1.
• From 1987 through the 1993 WVU game: 2-19-1.
• Since then: 17-10.

From 1987 through early 1993, the only wins over Top 25 competition were over #9 WVU in 1989 (12-10) and over #17 Virginia in 1990 (38-13).

After losing 14-13 to #25 West Virginia on October 2, 1993, the Hokies went on a 9-2 tear against ranked opposition, including 7 wins in a row from the 1995 Miami game through the 1996 Virginia game. Since then, they're 8-8.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• From 1987 through 1992, the Hokies averaged playing 3.3 ranked teams per year.

• From 1993 through 2001, the Hokies averaged playing 3.0 ranked teams per year. If you remove bowl games, they have averaged playing just 2.2 ranked teams per year.

• Best season: The 1995 Hokies went 4-0 against ranked competition, beating #17 Miami, #20 Syracuse, #13 Virginia and #9 Texas.

• Worst season: The 1988 and 1991 Hokies both went 0-4 against ranked competition.

• Highest-ranked road win: 12-10 over #9 WVU in 1989.

• Highest-ranked home win: 26-8 over #14 LSU in 2002.

Of VT's nine bowl opponents under Beamer, seven were ranked. The two that were not ranked were the 1994 Tennessee team that waxed VT in Gator Bowl, and the 1998 Alabama team that Tech beat in the Music City Bowl.

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Hokies vs. Aggies on Saturday

The #7 Virginia Tech Hokies will clash with #21 Texas A&M at Kyle Field in College Station Saturday at 3:30 pm Eastern time. The game will be televised on ABC on a regional basis (click here for a coverage map in PDF format).

If the game is not on in your area, you can also get it on ESPN GamePlan. Call your local cable or satellite service provider for details on ESPN GamePlan and how much it costs.

The weather should be good -- mostly sunny, with a high of 87 degrees, according to Weather.com.

For a TSL roster card in PDF format, click here. To read TSL's complete game preview, including our prediction for the final score, click here.

Most Vegas oddsmakers have the Hokies installed as a 1.5 to 2.5 point favorite.

Around the Big East
by Matthew McKinley, 9/20/02, 2:00 pm
The Hokies roll once again, and all of the sudden a year of rebuilding begins to look like a year of possibility.
in Voice of the Fan

Texas A&M Preview
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 9/19/02, 10:20 pm
If you quizzed Hokie fans, and they answered honestly, most would have told you prior to the season that LSU would be Virginia Tech's stiffest out of conference test. Four games in, the daunting task of beating Texas A&M at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, is now the biggest hill the Hokies have to climb.
in Football

Beerman's Picks
by Ben Shapiro, 9/19/02, 2:30 pm
Last Week: Cal? Are you kidding me? CAL?!? Between that and Nebraska's collapse, I thought I was in some sort of bizarro world where we all like Wahoos and baseball matters.
in Voice of the Fan

Looking in a Mirror
by Jim Alderson, 9/18/02, 2:00 pm
So far, so good. Tech’s unusual out-of-conference experience has so far resulted in the pasting of two ranked teams. Life is about to get a bit more difficult, but I gotta tell you, the games and the buzz surrounding the playing of LSU and Marshall sure beat the heck out of whacking teams with directions and hyphens in their names.
in TSL Columnists

Hokie Hotline Notes
by GalaxHokie, 9/17/02, 9:25 am
Much was made on this show of the stadium atmosphere that Virginia Tech will play in Saturday at Texas A&M.
in Hotline Notes

Marshall Game Analysis
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 9/16/02, 2:15 pm
You don't need an official VT game film and one of those fancy coach's clickers to break down this game. This game went the way anyone with a modicum of football analysis skills and access to last year's stats and this year's starting lineups (that would be me, by the way) would have figured it to go.
in Football