Virginia Tech hopes to finally score a win over an SEC foe in Chick-fil-A Bowl

When No. 12 Virginia Tech (9-3) meets Tennessee (7-5) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Thursday night in Atlanta, it will not only be playing for pride; it also will take up the mantle for the lagging ACC and have the opportunity to make a statement against a program from the Southeastern Conference.

"There's no denying that," Torrian Gray, the Hokies' defensive backs coach, said after a recent practice in Blacksburg, Va. "It's something we want to prove: Hey, we can beat an SEC team. We can compete with them and play with them and beat any or all of them."

But Virginia Tech has not had much success against the SEC. Since the 2004 season, the Hokies are 0-4 against SEC opponents. They lost to Alabama, 34-24, on Sept. 5 at the Georgia Dome; the No. 1 Crimson Tide will play second-ranked Texas in the Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif.

On the Tennessee side, players and coaches played down the significance of carrying the banner for the SEC, which is widely considered the nation's deepest and most talented conference. Tennessee is among 10 SEC teams in bowl games this season.

"I don't think the records of conferences have anything to do with anything as far as bowl games, because it doesn't matter," Volunteers Coach Lane Kiffin said earlier this month at a news conference in Knoxville, Tenn. "This is Tennessee versus Virginia Tech."

But in similar head-to-head meetings this year, the SEC has embarrassed the ACC. The starkest evidence came in the final week of the regular season, when two of the ACC's elite teams lost to middling SEC programs.

No. 9 Georgia Tech, the eventual ACC champion, lost to a Georgia team that suffered through a disappointing year; the Bulldogs (7-5) lost more games than in any of Coach Mark Richt's nine seasons.

Clemson, which lost to the Yellow Jackets in the ACC title game, fell to South Carolina that weekend. In the state's rivalry game, the Gamecocks (7-5) held Tigers speedster C.J. Spiller to just 18 yards on nine carries in a 34-17 win. (Clemson exacted exact some revenge against the SEC on Sunday night, when it defeated Kentucky, 21-13, in the Music City Bowl.)

Before the year, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said he felt the conference was among the deepest in the nation, but noted that it lacked the brand recognition of a league like the SEC.

"You need to have a team or teams involved in a national championship race as we move through the season and win certain games outside of the conference," Swofford said at a news conference in July. "When those things happen, I think that our league will receive the kind of respect that it deserves."

Virginia Tech has suffered a string of defeats against SEC teams.

In the 2004 and 2006 seasons, the Hokies lost bowl games to Auburn and Georgia, respectively. In the second game of the 2007 season, ninth-ranked Virginia Tech was embarrassed at No. 2 Louisiana State, 48-7, the program's worst loss in the previous 25 years. And the Hokies looked overmatched in the season opener against Alabama this year.

"It's always great to be playing for your conference, but for me it's a little more personal," senior tight end Greg Boone said of the Hokies' bowl matchup with Tennessee. "We've played three SEC teams since I've been here -- Georgia, LSU and Alabama -- and gone 0-3. As a senior, I really want to go out with a win."

Despite Virginia Tech's sluggish showing against the Crimson Tide this season, Tennessee's players said all the right things about these Hokies having the talent of an SEC program.

"This Virginia Tech team can play with anybody in the SEC and is definitely one of the best teams in the country," Volunteers guard Jacques McClendon said. "It's definitely no drop-off from playing an SEC team to this team. We've got our hands full for sure."

Since losing back-to-back games against Georgia Tech and North Carolina in October, Virginia Tech's players and coaches have said their goal is to join Texas as the only programs to have six consecutive 10-win seasons. The Hokies need to beat Tennessee to make that a reality.

But with the ACC's reputation at stake Thursday, there will be more than just Virginia Tech's school pride on the line when the Hokies meet the Volunteers.