Wednesday links

We're a little more than a week away from Virginia Tech's meeting with Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31 in Atlanta. Here are some links to get your Wednesday started.

Volunteers Coach Lane Kiffin has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons at times in his first year in Knoxville. But now he has something to brag about. Tennessee's football team had a collective grade-point average of 2.56 during Kiffin's first semester in the spring, the highest mark since 2005. It will have every scholarship player eligible to play against the Hokies.

As is the case when many teams play Virginia Tech, the Volunteers are working on their special teams. There is a heightened emphasis on football's third phase because, of course, of Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer's legendary success in the kicking, punting and return game.

And now for a little Hokies' news from the hardwood. Virginia Tech blew out University of Maryland Baltimore County, 71-34, on Tuesday night. The Hokies head into a little break from basketball in good spirits, after their seventh-straight victory.