As the season approaches, that means the first wave of bowl predictions for the 2024 season are coming in. Although the College Football Playoff has expanded to include 12 teams, there are still a number of bowl games that will be significant across the country that teams will be trying to get into.

Virginia Tech is a team that hopes to be in the running for the ACC title and a playoff berth, but if that doesn’t happen, they should be able to land in a good bowl game. The schedule is favorable and the Hokies should be able to win 8-10 games, which would give them a pretty good bowl game berth at the end of the year.

In the latest bowl predictions from CBS Sports, college football analyst Jerry Palm projects the Hokies to face Tennessee in the Gator Bowl. The Volunteers are also expected to be a 12-team playoff contender and will hope to compete for big prizes in the SEC with a rising star in the form of rookie quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a talented group of receivers and a strong defensive line. The two teams have met nine times and the Vols hold a 6-3 lead in the series. The last meeting was in Bristol, TN at Bristol Motor Speedway, a game Tennessee won 45-24.

Given the dynamic skills dual-threat quarterback Kyron Drones has shown for the Hokies in the second half of the year and the way Virginia Tech finished its 2024 season, it’s no exaggeration to say that if Drones takes the next step and Virginia Tech lives up to its lofty expectations this season, he should be in the thick of the Heisman Trophy race.

Josh Pate, one of the voices of college football, agrees, saying the following on his latest episode of “Late Kick with Josh Pate”:

“Virginia Tech has a chance to be a playoff contender towards the end of the year, they have a chance to be an ACC title contender towards the end of the year, they have a chance to have an explosive running game. I don’t think Drones is going to have the passing numbers that some of those guys have, he’s going to have to complement them with his footwork, not that he’s going to have triple-option passing numbers, but last year he had a 17:3 touchdowns to interceptions ratio, he ran for five, he’s got to double that rushing touchdown number, his completion percentage has to go from 58% to over 60%, and it absolutely could, it absolutely could. They’re going to have a really complementary style that helps him, and it’s going to take voters watching him. Don’t look at box scores, which a lot of Heisman voters unfortunately do, but when that running game gets going and we as voters really value playing in a way that best suits your team “We’re prepared to win football games, and we know that yards gained on the ground count just as much as yards gained in the air. If we can figure that out, then Kyron drones should be on this thing.”