Virginia Tech Football 2024 Schedule Release – Hokie Fan Reaction

ACC Reveals the Full Conference Slate for 2024

Last week, the Atlantic Coast Conference unveiled the full conference schedule for all seventeen football team members. Virginia Tech fans already knew who the Hokies would play, but now they know when those league games will be played.

Heading into the 30th year of college football on ESPN on Thursday Nights, Tech fans are again rewarded with another Thursday Night in Lane Stadium. This year, that opponent is Boston College, whom Tech played on a Thursday night early in that first season of such broadcasts in 1995. (This is also BC’s third straight night game at Lane…did they tick off the wrong person in the ACC offices?)

Other interesting games include a Friday night primetime matchup with Miami in South Florida, and then a West Coast trip the following weekend to play in Palo Alto, California. The game against Stanford will be Virginia Tech’s second-ever contest against the Cardinal, last playing them in an Orange Bowl loss in 2011.

(That Stanford team had a loaded roster, full of future NFL stars such as Andrew Luck, Zack Ertz, Doug Baldwin, and Richard Sherman, just to name a few of the 25 players from that team who made it into the NFL. Oh, and let us not forget their head coach at the time, Jim Harbaugh.)

Virginia Tech’s 2024 football schedule is a good one, with a few “revenge” matchups, several intriguing road trips, and a few potential “trap” games. And of course, with the hype of 21 returning starters fresh off a bowl victory, there is expectation from the fan base. Can the Hokies continue their momentum and manage this schedule to an eight-win season? Ten wins? An ACC championship game appearance? An expanded playoff berth?

The Sons of Saturday decided to take advantage of the excitement of the fanbase and the three-day ACC Network schedule reveal by seeking reactions of fellow Hokies.

The Fans Speak Up

Late last week, the Sons of Saturday sent out a poll via “X” (formerly Twitter) asking Hokie fans which game on the 2024 schedule is the “biggest” for VT.

1,180 users replied, with an overwhelming 65.3% saying that Clemson was the biggest game. 28.6% of the responses indicated Miami, 2.4% said Georgia Tech, and 3.8% chose “other.”

As with other polls from the Sons of Saturday Podcast account (@SonsofSatVT), there is no guarantee that only Virginia Tech fans cast votes. However, given the followers of the account and audience of the Sons of Saturday podcast (and that we recognized A LOT of the Twitter handles from this poll), it is safe to assume that a vast majority of responders are part of Hokie Nation.

Tech Fans are Most Excited to Play Clemson – by Far

It should come as no surprise that such a majority of Hokie fans see the Clemson game as the biggest on the schedule. Prior to last year, the Tigers had a stranglehold on the ACC, winning seven of the previous eight conference championships, including six in a row from 2015-2020.

Despite public perception that Clemson has fallen off, they still won nine games last year and had double digit wins every year before that going back to 2011 (they were 6-7 in Dabo Swinney’s second year in 2010). The Tigers still have a roster full of four and five-star recruits, and they are still expected to be among the top two or three teams in the ACC next fall, even after expansion.

“Can't be nationally relevant without beating Clemson. They were down last year and still won 9 games and 5 straight to end the year.”

-Stupid Sexy Flanders (@Sukitbackrow)

The Clemson game is in Blacksburg, too, adding to the appeal for Virginia Tech fans who have only seen the Tigers in Lane Stadium once in the past decade (the 2020 Covid year had only a few hundred fans in attendance).

Add in the hope that both schools are winning, and, well, it is not outrageous to say that this game could have conference championship implications. As Surge (@Surgefanaccount) noted, if this becomes a contest of one-loss teams, it “would give us the most important home game at Lane since OSU.”

Obviously, to be the best, you have to beat the best. Taking Clemson down will check that box. Head Coach Brent Pry is trying to build Virginia Tech back into national relevance, and this is a marquee opportunity to do just that.

Virginia Tech has lost six straight in this matchup, dating back to 2007, which was the last victory of five in a row for Tech. Back then, the tables were turned and Tech was the premier program in the conference. To reach that pinnacle again, the Hokies must beat the Tigers.

One of the ripple effects of a win over Clemson is the impact on recruiting. Pry has made some nice progress in recruiting the Tech footprint, but top talent is still leaving the state of Virginia. Clemson is one of those interlopers who has had success poaching from the Commonwealth (they currently have verbal commitments from three of the top seven Virginia kids in the class of 2025).

As George (@hokiegeorge4) put it, “They (Clemson) are getting too many of our top guys in the state. We need those players to stay home.” Beating the Tigers can help turn the tide and maybe convince some of the top Virginia players to stay home.

It is easy to see why Tech fans overwhelmingly answered “Clemson” as the biggest game on Virginia Tech’s 2024 schedule.

Miami is the Next Biggest Game

After Clemson, the schedule takes a bit of a hit in terms of big brand names. Miami is the next greatest national name on the schedule, so it is not surprising that they were second in the fan voting for biggest game.

The Hokies travel to Miami Gardens for a Friday night prime time showdown against the ‘Canes. All eyes will be on Virginia Tech and Miami as it is the start of ACC play for both schools.

“Miami because of its place on the schedule. Beat Miami and GT (and take care of our other business along the way) & the Clemson game becomes the biggest game in years. Lose to either one of those and a win over Clemson would just be another ‘Go ACC’ upset.”

-David A. Deel (@DavidADeel)

Virginia Tech will head into South Florida after four non-conference games where they should be favored in each. And if The U is really back (stop me if you’ve heard that before), then they could also be 4-0, setting the stage for an ACC opener that features two undefeated teams.

If that is the case, then this game will have huge early implications in the standings.

The game against Miami is also the renewal of a great rivalry that the ACC inexplicably killed off last year. After playing every year from 1992 to 2022, the ACC brass made yet another head-scratching decision when they did NOT align these two teams as annual “primary partners” in their 3-5-5 model last season (that would have continued this year if not for expansion to include Cal, Stanford, and SMU).

It is easy to see why Tech fans are excited to get Miami back on the annual slate (the league reversed their mistake and now have included Virginia Tech vs Miami as one of their sixteen protected annual matchups). The history of this rivalry is filled with ranked teams, upsets, close games, and iconic moments.

Who can forget Bill Roth’s call “Give it to me Roscoe! Give it to me!” on DeAngelo Hall’s strip six in the 2003 beatdown of second ranked Miami?

What about Keion Carpenter’s late game 100-yard pick-six on fourth down to preserve the win in the Orange Bowl in 1996?

And who doesn’t get chills watching Logan Thomas score the game winning touchdown on fourth down in 2011 (right after “Enter Sandman” played)?

There have been plenty of not-so-great moments in this rivalry, such as dropped two-point conversions that would have sent the game to overtime, projectile vomits at the goal line, and a brawl between the mascots.

But that kind of give and take is what makes the rivalry so great, and Tech fans are happy that it has been renewed.

The excitement of the rivalry came through in this recent poll. However, while it would be nice to open 2024 ACC play with a win, Tech could still lose this game and end up with 8-10 wins. And honestly, Miami has not been much to write home about in a long time. Thus it is understandable why this game was a distant second in the voting for biggest game on the ’24 schedule.

Georgia Tech is Improved but Does Not Move the Needle for Fans

After Clemson and Miami, there is quite a drop off in perceived “big games.” As usual, the rest of the ACC is meh when it comes to broad appeal of opponents. Sure, there are some teams that have a little history with Virginia Tech, but none of them compare in brand name or perception to the two mentioned above.

Georgia Tech is one program on the rise and the Hokies have them at home, so they were slotted as the third option in this poll. However, as the voters noted by their paltry 2.4% response, Hokie Nation does not see this as a “big game.”

As several poll comments noted, the Georgia Tech game - and the rest of schedule for that matter - is only big if Tech loses it. Every game is important, especially for a team trying to take the next step in building its own brand, but the rest of these conference games, including Georgia Tech, all share that same lack of luster.

The bottom line is that Hokie fans expect Virginia Tech to win most if not all of these non-Clemson and Miami games. Let’s hope they do just that!

Who Else Made an Impact?

The rest of the 2024 schedule does present some intrigue, but with a 3.8% response rate, clearly most Hokie fans have not circled too many of these games on their calendars.

One venue, however, does stand out – Nashville. Virginia Tech travels to Vanderbilt for the season opener, where the Hokies have yet another chance to end their ten game Power 5 non-conference losing streak.

Plus, winning the season opener, especially in convincing fashion, could set the tone for the team and affirm those high hopes of the fans.

Better yet, this is a bucket-list destination. If you have not been to downtown Nashville…well…what are you waiting for? They don’t call it “Nash-Vegas” for nothing!

(Author’s note – the Sons of Saturday Nashville Takeover plans are under way. If you are not on the information list, click this link to get on the list and start planning your epic trip to the Music City!)

Another interesting road trip is to Stanford. The trek to Palo Alto will be Tech’s first ever regular season football game in California. They only played in the state one other time, a 20-13 New Year’s Eve victory over Air Force in the 2002 Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl.

This is a tough road trip in and of itself, but coming off a Friday game at Miami, it creates two consecutive weekends of long flights. Hopefully the extra day will help, and Stanford is not expected to be good. However, a cross country trip to play in a time zone three hours behind is uncharted territory for any Tech coach or player.

Most of the remaining games have a subplot that makes them more interesting:

Old Dominion: Even after two straight losses in Norfolk, Hokie fans dismiss this team as an unworthy opponent. Is this because Old Dominion isn’t expected to be good? Or are Virginia Tech fans just being arrogant? Or are Hokies looking forward to being out of this contract and thus are poo-pooing this game?

“How come no one is mentioning AT ODU on 9/14????”

-billdoodle54 (@BillDoodle54)

Marshall: In the second game of what Bill Roth called “Brent Pry’s Revenge Tour,” the Thundering Herd return to Lane Stadium since doing the Hokies a favor and adding a visit at the end of that 2018 season. However, Marshall lost their quarterback, and running back Rasheen Ali declared for the NFL, so they are not predicted to be too good. Hokie fans expect this to be a “woodshed” kind of game.

Rutgers: Like Pry, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is trying to build his program and regain the success he had the first time around. The Scarlet Knights’ brand is built like the classic Frank Beamer teams – stout defense, opportunistic special teams, and an effective ground game. However, this is still Rutgers, and to Hokie Nation, playing Rutgers is like kissing your sister.

Boston College: The only reason this game is mentioned is because it is on Thursday Night. One fan said it best:

“It's going to be the Thursday night game, it’s always the Thursday night game. It’s where we rebuild our brand”

-Robert Elsaid (@relsaid)

Syracuse: The Orange have a new coach who is recruiting well. But the bigger issue is that the Hokies have to play in the facility that will always be known as the Carrier Dome to most of us. This place is Virginia Tech’s house of horrors, where the Hokies have only won twice in ten attempts, and one of those was a close victory with Michael Vick at the helm. It does not matter how good these two teams are – Virginia Tech historically has struggled in this venue.

Duke: No comments from the poll. Is anyone surprised? They lost their coach, their roster took a hit, and their stadium is empty for games not against Clemson or Notre Dame. Hokie fans will be out on the ledge if Tech loses this one.

Virginia: In a way, it is sad that this in-state rivalry game has become so irrelevant. Virginia Tech smashed the Cavaliers in Lane Stadium North last season, and fans rushed the field AGAIN. The Boo-hoos have only one win over the Hokies since 2003. Hokie Nation relishes the fact that they own this series, but it sure would be nice for this game to be competitive. For now, we will just have to celebrate the fact that this will be the first time Hokies fans get to watch the ‘Hoos in Lane since 2018.

Closing Thoughts

One common response to the question of the biggest game on the schedule is cliché but true: “the next one.” Several “X” users made this comment, and it aligns well with Pry’s “1-0” mentality. In other words, just worry about each game one at a time and take care of business on that given game day.

If the Hokies can do this, they can set themselves up for success. There are a few tough road trips and a couple of potential “trap” games, but overall this is a schedule that should see the Hokies favored on most of the weekends.

The goal is at least eight wins. For many Hokies, it is more. Regardless of the expectations of the fans, the schedule is such that Virginia Tech can reach its goals if the team stays focused and stays healthy, and hitting those goals will make a lot of people happy in Hokie Nation!

I hope to see you in Nashville!

Go Hokies!