Virginia Tech's 2013 football schedule was released on Monday afternoon. It features a neutral site game with Alabama, four home ACC matchups, and a tough Thursday night road trip to Georgia Tech.
Aug. 31 vs. Alabama (Atlanta)
September 7 vs. Western Carolina
September 14 at East Carolina
September 21 vs. Marshall
September 26 at Georgia Tech (Thursday, 7:30pm, ESPN)
October 5 vs. UNC
October 12 vs. Pitt
October 26 vs. Duke
November 2 at BC
November 9 at Miami
November 16 vs. UMD
November 30 at UVA
The Alabama game has been set for a long time. The Hokies will try to finally win one of those big season openers on a neutral site. They've had a lot of trouble in the past with the likes of USC (2004), the Crimson Tide (2009) and Boise State (2010).
Tech's home ACC schedule features games against UNC, Pitt, Duke and Maryland. The Blue Devils and Panthers went to bowl games last season, while UNC finished with an 8-4 record. Pittsburgh and UNC both beat the Hokies soundly last season, 35-17 and 48-34, respectively. The Hokies defeated Duke 41-20 last season, also in Lane Stadium.
The Hokies are 4-0 against Maryland in ACC play, with the last victory being a 36-9 win in College Park, Maryland in 2009.
Non-conference opponents Western Carolina and Marshall will also visit Blacksburg.
On the road, the Hokies will play ACC opponents Boston College and Miami, for the second season in a row. The Hokies will also travel to Virginia to end the regular season.
The most daunting road trip of the season will be a Thursday, September 26 game with Georgia Tech. The Hokies will have to travel to Atlanta to play just five days after hosting Marshall. That gives Bud Foster a very short time to prepare his defense for Georgia Tech's offense.
The Hokies will have two bye weeks: once before the Duke game, and one before the UVA game.
We'll have more on the 2013 football schedule later this afternoon, as well as tomorrow.