On Monday, Virginia Tech's complete 2023 football schedule was released on the ACC Network. Head coach Brent Pry enters his second year at the helm, and the Hokies open their season vs. Old Dominion on Saturday, Sept. 2 in Blacksburg.
In the first year of the league's 3-5-5 scheduling model, Virginia Tech's slate is much different from its first 19 years in the ACC. Gone are the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions. Instead, the Hokies face just two former Coastal foes - Pitt, Virginia - while they see six teams previously in the Atlantic.
Highlights include a Thursday night game vs. Syracuse, hosting reigning Big Ten West champion Purdue, road trips to Tallahassee and Louisville, along with the Battle for the Commonwealth Cup at Virginia to wrap up the regular season.
Tech opens its season at home against ODU. In the 2022 meeting in Norfolk, the Monarchs were victorious, 20-17. The ties between the coaching staffs run deep, too. The series is currently split 2-2 and the home team is 4-0. In the first game of year two under Pry, the Hokies have an opportunity to right their first wrong from year one.
For just the second time, Virginia Tech meets Purdue on Sept. 9. It's the second leg of a home-and-home series that first took place in 2015 in West Lafayette, Ind. The Hokies were victorious against the Boilermakers, winning 51-24. Now, Purdue travels to Blacksburg. Former head coach Jeff Brohm accepted the Louisville job, so the program has new faces in 2023.
A former Big East foe, Rutgers is the second Big Ten team on Tech's schedule. The Hokies hold a 12-3 all-time record over the Scarlet Knights, though the last meeting was one to forget - the 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl, a 13-10 finish. Rutgers finished 4-8 in 2022, losing five in a row to end the season. Tech's road trip to Piscataway is the program's first of the year. The Scarlet Knights venture to Blacksburg in 2024 for the second leg of the home-and-home.
Virginia Tech is very familiar with Marshall, too. The Thundering Herd host the Hokies for just the fourth time ever on Sept. 23. Tech is 1-2 all-time in Huntington and won the last meeting there in 2011, 30-10. Led by Charles Huff, Marshall finished 9-4 (5-3 Sun Belt) in 2022, capping off the season with a bowl win over UConn. The Herd upset then-No. 8 Notre Dame 26-21 in South Bend in the second game of the season, so they don't shy away from the big stage.
One of Tech's three "rivals" in the new 3-5-5 model, the Panthers rolled past the Hokies in Pittsburgh in October, 45-29. Israel Abanikanda broke multiple records with 320 rushing yards and six touchdowns, and he helped his team finish 9-4 (5-3 ACC). In 2023, Tech opens its ACC campaign against Pitt in Lane Stadium. Though the Hokies have a poor record in the Steel City, they're 7-3 all-time in Blacksburg, including a 28-0 shutout in Bud Foster's last game in 2019.
For just the third time since joining the ACC, Virginia Tech travels to Tallahassee to face Florida State. The first road ACC game of the year falls on Oct. 7, and the Seminoles are coming off a 10-3 (5-3) campaign. They lead the all-time series 23-13-1. In the last meeting at FSU, the Hokies were fantastic in a 24-3 victory in 2018.
The Hokies host the Demon Deacons, who finished 2022 with an 8-5 record, on Oct. 14. Sam Hartman is gone in Winston-Salem, but Dave Clawson still has the program in good shape. WF is the second of VT's three "rivals" in the 3-5-5 model, and it's the one that created the most frustration when the format was announced. Tech fans wanted Miami, and rightfully so. Tech and Wake have played 39 times previously, a record VT owns 25-13-1. Tech's won six of the last eight but lost the last meeting in 2020.
After an open week, the Hokies host Syracuse on a Thursday night. The 20th meeting between the two schools will be the first not played on a Saturday. It'll be just the third matchup since Syracuse joined the ACC. The Orange has won four of the last five, including a 41-36 shootout in 2021. After a hot start, Syracuse finished 7-6, and Dino Babers remains on the hot seat.
For the second time (and first not during COVID), Virginia Tech travels to Louisville. The second ACC road game of the year falls on Nov. 4, and the Cardinals have a new coach in the aforementioned Jeff Brohm. Tech beat the Cardinals by a touchdown, 42-35, in 2020. The Hokies hold the all-time series 6-2, too. But Louisville had a successful 2022 under Scott Satterfield, finishing 8-5 before he dipped for Cincinnati.
A road trip to Boston College follows Louisville, the only time in ACC play Tech plays two away games back-to-back. Tech is 20-11 all-time vs. BC but has only won two of the last five. Both of those game at home. The last time the Hokies were in Chestnut Hill, it was an ugly 17-3 loss after Braxton Burmeister was injured. Phil Jurkovec officially moved on after BC finished 3-9 (2-6 ACC) in 2022, and this is a winnable game, though road games in an empty stadium are tough.
Virginia Tech hosts NC State on Nov. 18 in the only home contest in November. It falls in the middle of three road games, too. Brennan Armstrong transferred in from Virginia after former offensive coordinator Robert Anae took the same job in Raleigh. The Hokies had the Wolfpack in a great spot on a Thursday night in October but blew a large lead. It'll mark the fifth VT-NC State meeting since 2004; Tech won four of them.
The Hokies and Cavaliers didn't play in 2022 due to the tragedy in Charlottesville that involved the football program. As a result, Tony Elliott and Brent Pry still have not met as head coaches. Virginia Tech won the last game at UVa under J.C. Price in 2021, which got the team to a bowl game. Armstrong transferred out, meaning UVa has a QB controversy on its hands.
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.