The First Bank & Trust Friday Q&A: Big Games, The Pitt Matchup, And More

23 Comments

1. 

   92Hokie14 October 2, 2026 at 5:37 PM

   I really wish fans would stop speculating about a potential 7-1 or 8-0 record. How about we actually beat Pitt first?? We get ahead of ourselves too easily. We’re 4-0 with wins over mediocre teams at best. We could easily be 5-3 and look rather stupid looking back on 8-0 talk. I know it’s a running joke with Franklin but fans should really take it week to week, too.
2. 

   WV Gobbler October 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM

   Beating WVU in Morgantown in 99 was huge. If we don’t pull off that miracle there is no National Championship game.
   1. 

      bryanbelay October 6, 2026 at 2:40 PM

      +1, remember that one till my end of days
3. 

   133222Hokie October 2, 2026 at 4:30 PM

   The 1995 Sugar Bowl was the first New Years Day bowl for VT. It was a big deal. We flew down on a package deal & we all felt like “students” for the weekend. The win was convincing & VT looked superior in all aspects. Our grandson is a freshman @ Cosby HS in Richmond & we met Bryan Still, who is our grandson’s Physical Education teacher. He was the MVP in the 1995 Sugar Bowl. That 10 game win streak entering the 1996 season put VT on the map. Sure hope we win tonight. Go Hokies!!!
4. 

   extremehokie October 2, 2026 at 3:32 PM

   I would love someone to explain to me the diminishing salary theory for the first 3 years.
   1. 

      arlingtonhokie October 2, 2026 at 4:50 PM

      I think he's still getting paid by Penn State
5. 

   SCHokie1103 October 2, 2026 at 2:54 PM

   CC how the win over eventual national champion OSU is not one of the top wins in VT football history especially at their place where they hardly ever lose is not top 3! Come on man. Shouldn’t matter how good or bad the team was. It was a win against the eventual national champions at their home field. Leaving that win out of the top three as much as I respect you he is absolutely ridiculous WADR.
   1. 

      GoneFishin Hokie October 2, 2026 at 3:43 PM

      With the way the rest of that season went, it did not do anything for Tech's national perception. I believe that was Cc's decider in picking the games and their importance.
6. 

   tallahasseehokie October 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM

   Great article Chris. Re. The ACC taking VT to get Miami I think you need to go back and search media articles on What Donna Shalala, former cabinet member of the President, was really trying to accomplish. She definitely did not want us in. She lobbied with her friends at BC and Syracuse to exclude us. The Virginia Governor got involved and told The President at UVA to support us 100% and he also lobbied hard with NCSU and one other to support us(can’t remember who the other was). My brother was freaking out that we were getting shafted by the Shalala cabal.
7. 

   dolph October 2, 2026 at 12:03 PM

   The 1995 Sugar Bowl win was icing on the caked, but man, was that cake awesome. An 0-2 Hokies team had to beat #17 Miami, who Tech was o for 13 against them until that date. And then had to come from behind to beat #13 uva. Without those two...........
   1. 

      10yearplan October 2, 2026 at 1:40 PM

      I put that 1995 game right at the top.
   2. 

      TbirdHokie October 2, 2026 at 2:15 PM

      This is my vote too - the 1995 Miami game was, to me, THE turning point for the program. It was the biggest win, relatively speaking, in VTs illustrious history, and it sparked the run we had through the Big East that year and for many years leading up to 1999 NC game. I was fortunate to be at that Miami game and the Syracuse game in 1999, and the Miami game was so much more dramatic. I remember at the Syracuse game, the tech fans actually cheered for Syracuse in the 2nd half when they reached mid-field. It was epic. But it didn't change the trajectory of the team like the 1995 Miami game did (IMHO of course!).
   3. 

      hokies321 October 2, 2026 at 3:03 PM

      that miami game was the first vt game i ever went to.. id def put that on the list
   4. 

      133007Hokie October 2, 2026 at 6:50 PM

      One of my first thoughts also. Syracuse was big but Miami was one hell of a win for a team that stumbled out of the gate. All UVA wins are big but some more so than others. They were much more competitive then.
8. 

   fosterD1 October 2, 2026 at 12:02 PM

   Beating the eventual National Champion Buckeyes (on their home field) in 2014 was the biggest win in my book. I was at that game and it was an incredible atmosphere. I was in Columbus for a few days leading up to the game and their fanbase was certain they’d trounce our guys.
9. 

   Tidewater Hillbilly October 2, 2026 at 11:37 AM

   On the list of biggest wins?... The 2012 Sugar Bowl win over Michigan in overtime where VT dominated the game statistically and scored the winning TD in OT on a beautifully thrown pass and perfect catch with the ref signaling two hands up! Wait? What's that you say?!
   1. 

      joe_marsh October 2, 2026 at 1:31 PM

      Danny Coale caught the dang ball!
10. 

    taintedzodiac October 2, 2026 at 11:36 AM

    "Thus, as much as I loved it that night, the 2014 win at Ohio State doesn’t count" It's funny because as someone who started following the team in 2001, I assume that is _the_ big win for most people under 45.
11. 

    TomTurkey October 2, 2026 at 10:59 AM

    1993 Pitt is a good 'out of the money' choice
12. 

    TribeAlumHokieFan October 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM

    I think your answer to the question about the 2017 team really shows how thin the margins are at the highest levels of the game. No offense to Josh Jackson, Sean Savoy, and Eric Kumah, but if you replace those guys with one of the better QBs in school history in Evans, one of the best WRs in school history in Ford, and a matchup nightmare in Hodges, that is a dramatically better football team. And yet, to your point, when you actually go back and look at the games, the difference is most likely just one extra regular season win. I do feel pretty confident the 10-0 victory over UVA would have been less disgusting offensively though lol.
13. 

    RustyHokie94 October 2, 2026 at 10:51 AM

    '94 grad here who lives in Houston. I was at that Sugar Bowl game in '95 and I can tell you that TU has the most obnoxious, over the top snobby ass fans I've ever been around. After the fight in the bathroom at halftime, I had a great time sawing the horns off their stupid, fat cow, and went to Bourbon to drink a hand grenade.
    1. 

       7576Hokie October 2, 2026 at 1:01 PM

       I agree. I was there and some were very obnoxious but the results were the remedy. Getting back home the next day was a nightmare of sorts because of the storm on the east coast but will never forget that game and Nawlins!
    2. 

       DADEC52 October 2, 2026 at 3:26 PM

       My experience was a little different with the Texas fans. They were a little rough at the start but as the game went on and we ran up 28 points they started getting curious about Virginia Tech and downright respectful. I left with a good opinion of them and a really bad one of my now ex-wife who got blindingly drunk! Left her in the hotel at half. May have been why my experience improved!