inside.hokiesports.com 7 Hokies’ ’23 football schedule has Big Ten and “Atlantic Division” flavor. By Bill Roth We finally got a look at the 2023 Virginia Tech football schedule which includes six home games, highlighted by a Thursday night home game against Syracuse. Some observations: • Tech has only played seven games against Big Ten teams. But the Hokies will play back-to-back games against Big Ten conference members Purdue and Rutgers this fall. • It will be nearly two full years between VT-UVA games when the teams meet in Charlottesville. • A bevy of new coaches and coordinators all over the place among Tech’s ’23 opponents. Purdue’s coach went to Louisville (VT plays both this fall.) Syracuse’s OC and UVa’s QB went to NC State, BC’s QB is now at Pitt, and three former Penn State offensive coaches will be coaching against the Hokies this fall! Got it? GAME 1: ODU 2022 Record: 3-9 (7th in Sun Belt East) Last Meeting: ODU won 20-17 in 2022 in Norfolk. Famous Alum: Justin Verlander Notable: Monarchs delivered an opening night shocker in ’22. They’ll try again this year at Lane. GAME 2: Purdue 2022 Record: 8-6 (1st in BIG TEN West) Last Meeting: Hokies won at Purdue 51-24 in only previous meeting in 2015. Famous Alum: Neil Armstrong Notable: Ryan Walters replaced Jeff Brohm who is now head coach at Louisville. He comes from Illinois where he built that team’s incredible defense last year. Graham Harrell was calling plays for WVU last year, and now moves to Purdue. Harrell will look to build around Texas transfer Hudson Card at QB. GAME 3: at Rutgers 2022 Record: 4-8 (7th in BIG TEN East) Last Meeting: Hokies beat Scarlet Knights 13-10 in Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Dec. 2012. Famous Alum: James Gandolfini Notable: Rutgers was awful on offense last year, scoring less than 12 points per game in conference play, but Greg Schiano hired Minnesota’s Kirk Cirarocca as new Offensive Coordinator. Kirk was Penn State’s OC in 2020 when Brent Pry as the Lions’ Defensive Coordinator. GAME 4: at Marshall 2022 Record: 9-4 (3rd in Sun Belt East) Last Meeting: Hokies beat Marshall 41-20 in Dec. 2018. Famous Alum: Billy Crystal Notable: Marshall won 9 games last year including a bowl game and won at Notre Dame. The Herd plays every P5 team tough. Get ready for a true battle here. GAME 5: Pittsburgh 2022 Record: 9-4 (2nd in ACC Coastal) Last Meeting: Pitt beat VT 45-29 in 2022 in Pittsburgh. Famous Alum: Mr. Rogers Notable: Pat Narduzzi welcomes former Boston College QB Phil Jurkovec to town. Pitt lost a ton of talent, including running back Izzy Abanikanda (1,805 all-purpose yards, 21 TDs). GAME 6: at Florida State 2022 Record: 10-3 (2nd in ACC Atlantic) Last Meeting: Hokies won 24-3 in Tallahassee in 2018. Famous Alum: Coach Prime Notable: ’Noles will be the favorite to win the new-look, one-division ACC in ’23 and for good reason. They’ve got the most talent overall in the league, something that hasn’t been true for a while since Clemson’s rise. GAME 7: Wake Forest 2022 Record: 8-5 (6th in ACC Atlantic) Last Meeting: Wake beat VT 23-16 in Winston-Salem in 2020. Famous Alum: Arnold Palmer Notable: QB Sam Hartman is gone, but the s-l-o-w m-e-s-h is back. GAME 8: Syracuse 2022 Record: 7-6 (tied for 3rd in ACC Atlantic) Last Meeting: SU won 41-36 at Lane Stadium in 2021. Famous Alum: Joe Biden Notable: Thursday nights at Lane Stadium are incredible. A lateOctober setting should be magical. GAME 9: at Louisville 2022 Record: 8-5 (3rd in ACC Atlantic) Last Meeting: Hokies beat Cards 42-35 at Louisville in 2020. Famous Alum: Mitch McConnell Notable: Jeff Brohm returns to his alma mater and essentially brought his entire Purdue coaching staff with him. Scott Satterfield is a terrific coach—that’s why Cincinnati hired him away from UL—but for some reason he never fit at Louisville. That won’t be the case now with Jeff Brohm who returns to his hometown. GAME 10: at Boston College 2022 Record: 3-9 (7th in ACC Atlantic) Last Meeting: Hokies beat BC 27-10 in Blacksburg in 2022. Famous Alum: Leonard Nimoy Notable: Tech’s lone ACC win in ’22 was against BC. This is a huge year for Jeff Hafley and his Eagles who slid to 3-9 last year. GAME 11: N.C. State 2022 Record: 8-5 (tied for 3rd in ACC Atlantic) Last Meeting: State won 22-21 at Raleigh in 2022. Famous Alum: Zach Galifianakas Notable: Former UVa QB Brennan Armstrong and Cavalier’s offensive coordinator Robert Anai join the Wolfpack for ’23. Between two ferns, or at Carter Finley Stadium, NCSU should have an explosive offense. GAME 12: at Virginia 2022 Record: 3-7 (6th in ACC Coastal) Last Meeting: Hokies won 29-24 at Charlottesville in 2021. Famous Alum: Tina Fey Notable: Almost a two year wait for this one! After last year’s game was cancelled due to the tragedy at UVa, Brent Pry and Tony Elliott will finally coach against each other for the first time, nearly 23 months after both were hired at their respective schools in December of ’21.
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