Hokie ClubWe 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:
• The first four games of the season are nonconference tilts.
• 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.
• Six of the Hokies' eight 2023 ACC games are against teams that were in the Atlantic Division. No more divisions in ACC football starting this fall.
• Three of the final four games are on the road.
• 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
DATE: Sept. 2, 2023
COACH: Ricky Rahne
2022 RECORD: 3-9 (7th in Sun Belt East)
SERIES VS VT: Series is tied 2-2.
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
DATE: Sept. 9, 2023
COACH: Ryan Walters
2022 RECORD: 8-6 (1st in BIG TEN West)
SERIES VS VT: VT leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: Hokies won at Purdue 51-24 in only previous meeting in 2015.
FAMOUS ALUM: Neil Armstrong
NOTABLE: 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. Purdue is just the second Big Ten team to ever visit Lane Stadium (Ohio State, 2015 was the first). The Hokies are 4-3 all time versus Big Ten teams, not counting games against Rutgers or Maryland before they joined that conference.
GAME 3: at Rutgers
DATE: Sept. 16, 2023
COACH: Greg Schiano
2022 RECORD: 4-8 (7th in BIG TEN East)
SERIES VS VT: VT leads 12-3 and has won 12 in a row.
LAST MEETING: Hokies beat Scarlet Knights 13-10 in Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando in 2012.
FAMOUS ALUM: James Gandolfini
NOTABLE: We love the Sopranos and always loved BIG EAST trips to northern Jersey. But I swear on the name of Pauley Walnuts, we never found a "Go-to" dinner spot in Jersey. (Mike Burnop once devoured an entire flank steak off the buffet at the Piscataway Hilton, sliding the industrial-sized tongs under the entire steak and putting the entire thing on his own plate, but that doesn't count.) Rutgers was awful on offense last year, scoring less than 12 points per game in conference play, but Schiano hired Minnesota's Kirk Cirarocca as the new offensive coordinator. Kirk was Penn State's OC in 2020 when Brent Pry as the Lions' defensive coordinator.
GAME 4: at Marshall
DATE: Sept. 23, 2023
COACH: Charles Huff
2022 RECORD: 9-4 (3rd in Sun Belt East)
SERIES VS VT: VT is 11-2 all time vs Marshall.
LAST MEETING: Hokies beat Marshall 41-20 in Dec. 2018.
FAMOUS ALUM: Billy Crystal
NOTABLE: Charles Huff has gone 7-6 and 9-4 in his first two seasons as the Herd's head coach. Another former Penn State assistant (Huff was PSU's running back coach for four seasons during the Saquon Barkley-era), Huff has the program in Huntington rolling after coming from Alabama's staff. 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: Pitt
DATE: Sept. 30, 2023
COACH: Pat Narduzzi
2022 RECORD: 9-4 (2nd in ACC Coastal)
SERIES VS VT: Series is tied 11-11
LAST MEETING: Pitt beat VT 45-29 in 2022 in Pittsburgh.
FAMOUS ALUM: Mr. Rogers
NOTABLE: 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
DATE: Oct. 7, 2023
COACH: Mike Norvell
2022 RECORD: 10-3 (2nd in ACC Atlantic)
SERIES VS VT: FSU leads 23-13-1
LAST MEETING: Hokies won 24-3 in Tallahassee in 2018.
FAMOUS ALUM: Coach Prime [Deion Sanders]
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. Norvell has used the transfer portal better than anyone in the ACC: 12 of FSU's All-ACC players were transfers. A trip to Tally is never easy, but it's always fun because of the atmosphere and the history of the VT-FSU rivalry. Tech hammered the 'Noles on their last visit to the Doak. But, this is a vastly different FSU team.
GAME 7: Wake Forest
DATE: Oct. 14, 2023
COACH: Dave Clawson
2022 RECORD: 8-5 (6th in ACC Atlantic)
SERIES VS VT: VT leads 25-13-1
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
DATE: Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023
COACH: Dino Babers
2022 RECORD: 7-6 (tied for 3rd in ACC Atlantic)
SERIES VS VT: Syracuse leads 11-8
LAST MEETING: SU won 41-36 at Lane Stadium in 2021.
FAMOUS ALUM: Joe Biden
NOTABLE: Thursday nights at Lane Stadium are incredible. A late-October setting should be magical.
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GAME 9: at Louisville
DATE: Nov. 4, 2023
COACH: Jeff Brohm
2022 RECORD: 8-5 (3rd in ACC Atlantic)
SERIES VS VT: VT leads series 6-2.
LAST MEETING: Hokies beat Cards 42-35 at Louisville in 2020.
FAMOUS ALUM: Mitch McConnell
NOTABLE: 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 UofL – but for some reason he never fit at Louisville. That won't be the case now with Brohm who returns to his hometown. If you recall, Brohm could've come back four years ago after Bobby Petrino was fired midseason, but remained loyal to Purdue. Now, the Cards have their man and a solid team as well. If there's one ACC school seemingly poised to take advantage of the new NIL landscape, it's Louisville: A city with enough Fortune 500 companies to support it, an avid fan base with no NFL or NBA competition in town.
GAME 10: at Boston College
DATE: Nov. 11, 2023
COACH: Jeff Hafley
2022 RECORD: 3-9 (7th in ACC Atlantic)
SERIES VS VT: VT leads 20-11
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 Hafley and his Eagles who slid to 3-9 last year.
GAME 11: NC State
DATE: Nov. 18, 2023
COACH: Dave Doeren
2022 RECORD: 8-5 (tied for 3rd in ACC Atlantic)
SERIES VS VT: Hokies lead series 28-19-4
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
DATE: Nov. 25, 2023
COACH: Tony Elliott
2022 RECORD: 3-7 (6th in ACC Coastal)
SERIES VS VT: VT leads 60-38-5.
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.