[Tuck4Bama]

BATON ROUGE -- Every now and then the stars align and the precise meaning of a major college football coach's words and the words themselves match.

That alignment has now appeared in the sky over Baton Rouge, as No. 2 LSU (1-0) prepares to take on No. 9 Virginia Tech (1-0) in a nationally televised game Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.

This week, when LSU Coach Les Miles talks about a, "quality, capable opponent," there is no need to consider the expression a sportsman-like spin. The Hokies have established themselves among the game's elite.

For the past two years, Virginia Tech has ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense. Only four teams have gone to a bowl game 14 years in a row, and one of them is Virginia Tech. In the past three seasons, three college teams have won 10 or more games: Southern California, Texas and Virginia Tech.

So Miles wasn't simply avoiding the bulletin-board quote in Blacksburg when he spoke Monday about what the Tigers will face. That is a Hokies team carrying not just the reputation as a top program, but also the dreams of a state and the sympathy of a nation ever since the massacre of 32 students on campus in April in Blacksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech presents a formidable challenge