R...E...S...P...E...C...T

I'm not sure why I didn't think to mention this first thing when I found out yesterday, but as rankings came out yesterday, things started looking reasonable for the first time this season. Wake jumped from being unranked in the AP poll all the way up to a tie for 21st with Boise State. The Deacs remain unranked in the USA today/coach's poll where we have the votes to be ranked 28th. Combined with a 25 ranking in the Harris poll and 19 in the computer averages, the Deacs have also cracked the BCS poll at 24. You can find these all together over on ESPN's website here.

The Deacs have certainly been on the road to a bit of national recognition, but it's been somewhat slow coming. I know I've got a little home-town bias and all, but nonetheless it seemed to take too long for this to happen. Nonetheless, it's definitely a better late than never situation, as a national ranking, particularly in the BCS and AP polls goes a long way in where we may wind up for a bowl, recruiting, and just national respect.

Virginia's loss on Saturday night was unfortunate as they will now not be ranked as highly when they face us, but they are still ranked, at 23 right ahead of us, which should make for a pretty exciting game. Clemson (somewhat suprisingly, but that's another topic) is still ranked as well at 25, so as long as they win this week we could be looking at some pretty exciting stuff next weekend against them as well.

Go Deacs!