Virginia Tech football returns in 13 days when the Hokies travel to Nashville to face Vanderbilt in their season opener. It’s the start of a highly anticipated season for the Hokies, who have received a lot of buzz this preseason and are expected to be a contender in the ACC this season.
One of the most positive predictions for the Hokies this offseason came from The Athletic and college football analyst Stewart Mandel. He predicts Virginia Tech will finish 10-2 and third in the conference behind Florida State and Miami.
Here are some of his thoughts on Virginia Tech:
“The unranked Hokies have become a dark horse for a lot of people, but I’ll go so far as to predict double-digit wins. Kyron Drones proved to be one of the nation’s most impressive dual-threat quarterbacks last season, and the defense is increasingly looking like an old Bud Foster unit. And Florida State and NC State aren’t on the schedule.”
In naming eight potential dark horses for the College Football Playoffs, Brad Crawford of 247Sports listed Virginia Tech:
Important season games: in Miami, Clemson
“There is no coach in the ACC who is more confident about the season than Brent Pry, given how many experienced leaders the Hokies have back. Virginia Tech has the most starters in the ACC, including all of the key playmakers on offense and several key players on the other side of the football, most notably Antwuan Powell-Ryland and Cole Nelson. Virginia Tech plays only two top-ranked opponents – Miami and Clemson – and should be favored through 10 games.”
There are some trap games that Virginia Tech has to watch out for (Rutgers and Georgia Tech come to mind), but this team should be in the ACC title game.
In fact, Josh Pate of Late Kick called the Hokies a “sleeping giant” in one of his recent shows:
“Here’s a what-if for you: What if a former sleeping giant or I guess a current sleeping giant of college football awakens this year? (Who) would that be? I think Virginia Tech counts among them. Now, kids — kids, some of you in my college audience are laughing right now, but you shouldn’t. You don’t know what you don’t know. You don’t know anything about Virginia Tech, the national championship contender, but Virginia Tech was once a national championship contender. You don’t know anything about an entire generation — including me, who didn’t grow up being Virginia Tech fans, but when we knew there was going to be a Thursday night game in Blacksburg or even a Saturday night game, you definitely tuned in no matter who you were cheering for. They definitely tuned in 10 minutes before game time because you can see ‘Enter Sandman’ and this incredible spectacle up in the mountains, the hills of Virginia, it’s breathtaking. We haven’t seen that as a national spectacle in a long time. What if they wake up? They have a chance this year. They have a chance, they have a workable schedule, they have a team that’s totally in tune with their identity, (and) they could have a top-notch running game with Kyron Drones at quarterback — which adds to that. I was up there this spring and talked to Brent Pry, he’s really excited up there… There’s a game (that’s) a long way away, so I’m not saying let’s talk about it now, but there’s a game in early November where if they get through the early part of their schedule, even if they have one loss, they can afford to lose one. But if they’re a one-loss or more team in early November, then Clemson is coming to town. Nov. 9. (When) Clemson comes to town and we have a loss or more against Virginia Tech that day or night, you’re going to see Lane Stadium the way some of us remember it, maybe a generation ago.”
This should be a memorable season for Virginia Tech and it begins on August 31st at Vanderbilt.
