Hokies rise one spot in AP, Coaches polls after blowout win

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Virginia Tech's 59-7 win over North Carolina combined with a big drop out of USC to see the Hokies move to 13th in both major polls. VT now comes in one spot higher than last week.

Clemson and Miami occupy the Nos. 7 and 8 spots, respectively, in each poll, while West Virginia is No. 22 in both. The Hokies beat the Mountaineers in the season opener, fell to the Tigers Sept. 30, and will take on the Hurricanes in two weeks.

NC State comes in No. 14 in the Associated Press poll, and No. 15 in the Coaches' poll. Unless the Wolfpack wins the ACC Atlantic (and the Hokies the Coastal), VT will not take on their conference brethren this season. No other ACC team or scheduled VT opponent makes either poll.

There are several top-25 clashes next weekend, some of which could see the Hokies continue moving up, should they end with the correct victor. Two in particular stand out (stay tuned later this week for the full rundown).

• No. 11 Oklahoma State travels to West Virginia. A Mountaineers win would not only bump the Cowboys down, but improve the quality of the major non-conference win on VT's schedule.
• No. 6 Ohio State hosts No. 2 Penn State. If the Nittany Lions take down the Buckeyes, the second OSU loss should be enough to drop them behind VT.

Of course, neither result matters unless the Hokies take care of business and go 1-0 against Duke Saturday evening, but there's a chance of a top-10 matchup when they travel to Miami Nov. 4.