The college football year just started last Saturday and the official first week begins this week. Teams are looking to start the year off right with a win to open the season.

One of those teams will be Virginia Tech, which faces Vanderbilt this Saturday at noon. After finishing 7-6 last year, including a bowl game win, the Hokies are looking to reach even greater heights this year. With the matchup coming up soon, let’s break down some key storylines ahead of the game in Nashville.

Virginia Tech is the favorite by 13 points. Will they get the convincing victory that many fans expect?

The hype around Virginia Tech is real this year, there’s no doubt about that, but the fact is that the Hokies significantly underperformed in games they shouldn’t have been in.

VT has a chance to change that this year, starting in Nashville. They face a Commodore team that went 2-10 in the regular season, including 0-8 against SEC opponents. With Virginia Tech relegating most of its offensive and defensive production to the bench, the Hokies don’t necessarily need to win by 40 points like some of the CFB heavyweights sometimes do in Week 1, but Brent Pry and Co. need to show they’re not messing around this year.

2. Ali Jennings returns to the field for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in Week 2 of their last game against Purdue.

Jennings transferred from ODU after two consecutive 900+ yard seasons and was expected to have a great year for the Hokies in the 2023 season. Unfortunately, after his 72-yard, two-touchdown performance in week one for the Hokies, he was injured the next week and missed the rest of the season, leaving the WR1 duties to guys like Jaylin Lane and Da’Quan Felton.

Despite last year’s bad luck, Ali Jennings is primed for his comeback against Vanderbilt, and he’s looking to give VT fans a taste of what they missed from him last season. With Kyron Drones at the helm of the Hokies, he’ll have another dangerous target on the field with Jennings.

3. New offensive reinforcements for Vanderbilt and their rushing defense?

The Commandores have a new face on offense in Diego Pavia, who transferred from New Mexico State. Pavia, who had a strong season last year and was the OPOY of Conference USA, has 39 passing touchdowns in his career and is also a threat in the run game, totaling 13 rushing touchdowns. They also have leading rusher Sedrick Alexander back, who will look to break through a tough Hokies defense.

With Vandy’s three best receivers also gone, new faces will have to prove themselves in the first week against the Hokies.

On the defensive side,

“The Vanderbilt defense has struggled with the run game, frankly; it hasn’t been pretty. Vanderbilt has the 108th-ranked run defense and allows an average of 179 rushing yards per game. The Vanderbilt defense has struggled in many ways; it definitely hasn’t been just the run game. Vanderbilt ranks 130th in opponent points per game, 132nd in opponent yards per play, and 129th in opponent points per play.”