On Monday, Virginia Tech's 2022 football schedule was released on the ACC Network. New head coach Brent Pry opens his season at Old Dominion in September, and his first home game is vs. Boston College.
Highlights include two Thursday night games, including one for the Black Diamond Trophy in September vs. West Virginia, a three-game stretch of North Carolina, Pitt and Miami in the middle of the season, and Virginia in Lane Stadium on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The Hokies open their season in Norfolk, Va. at Old Dominion. Monarchs head coach Ricky Rahne and Brent Pry were on James Franklin's staff together at Penn State, so Pry will see a familiar face in his Virginia Tech debut. It's also a chance for the program to redeem itself for its horrid defeat at ODU in 2018.
Tech opens its ACC slate against Boston College in week two. NFL prospect Phil Jurkovec returns at quarterback for the Eagles, who enter their third season under head coach Jeff Hafley. The Hokies then have two non-conference games, the first against Wofford, the former school of men's basketball head coach Mike Young.
It'll be a short week for Tech after that with West Virginia and the Black Diamond Trophy rolling into town on Thursday, Sept. 22. The Hokies and Mountaineers met in Morgantown, W. Va. in 2021 for the first time at a non-neutral site since 2005. WVU got out to an early lead and hung on to a 27-21 win, so this game provides VT an opportunity to get some revenge.
On the first day of October, the Hokies' schedule really kicks into gear. Two road games at North Carolina and Pitt fall before a home date vs. Miami
Tech lost in a 56-45 shootout in its last trip to Chapel Hill in 2020, but won three straight road games in the series prior to that. Heinz Field has always been a troubling place for the program to play, and Tech is 1-4 against Pitt since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2012. The lone win came back in Oct. 2016, a 39-36 thriller. That year is also the last time the Hokies have beaten Miami in Blacksburg. It was a Thursday night blowout (37-16) in Justin Fuente's first season, but the Hurricanes lead the series 4-1 since.
Tech has an open week in mid-October before a Thursday night showdown at NC State. It's the first meeting in Raleigh since 2010, when the Hokies got down 17-0 to the Wolfpack but came back and won 41-30. Tyrod Taylor led the way and had an infamous 71-yard run in the second quarter that gave the team the spark it needed. Virginia Tech has won five consecutive games against NC State, including a 45-24 win in the 2020 season opener.
After that, it's the battle of the Techs. Georgia Tech travels to Blacksburg to open up November (week 10), and the Hokies haven't beaten the Yellow Jackets at home in the last three tries. VT has won the last two games in the series, however. In Atlanta in 2021, Fuente & Co. pulled out a 26-17 victory thanks to Tre Turner's 187 receiving yards, fifth-most in a single game in Virginia Tech history.
Two road trips - at Duke, at Liberty - fall before the Battle for the Commonwealth Cup in Lane Stadium vs. Virginia.
Tech's never lost in Durham as a member of the ACC in eight tries. As for the Flames, it'll be the third meeting all-time between the two programs, the first in Lynchburg. The clash with the Cavaliers will be the 104th in the series, and Virginia Tech hasn't lost in Blacksburg to the Cavaliers since 1998. That's 11 straight home wins.
Here are links to complete information on all ACC football schedules, via TheACC.com:
Chris Coleman will have a column with his thoughts on Virginia Tech's schedule on Tuesday morning.