Hokie ClubVirginia Tech football is set for its weekly schedule for the 2024 season and there are interesting takeaways for each matchup.
Let's take a deeper look into the Hokies 12-game slate.
Brent Pry will start his third season leading the Hokies on the road, similar to his inaugural season in 2022. This time around, the Hokies will open their season against an SEC opponent that has experienced its fair share of turnover this offseason.
Head coach Clark Lea announced he would take over defensive coordinator duties and named two new coordinators on his staff. Lea hired Tim Beck from New Mexico State as the new offensive coordinator and promoted Jeff LePak to special teams coordinator.
Looking forward to the season opener, Tech travels to Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Aug. 31 and the matchup marks the 10th game in series history that Tech leads 6-3.
The last time the Hokies played the Commodores in FirstBank Stadium was a 38-24 victory on Nov. 16, 1985. Ironically enough, the last time Tech played at FirstBank Stadium, it was against Alabama in the 1998 Music City Bowl.
Moving forward to the home opener at Lane Stadium, Pry and company will host Marshall after traveling to Huntington, West Virginia last season. The Thundering Herd finished one game below .500 after losing 35-17 to UTSA in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl.
They will set their sights on the rematch as they travel to Blacksburg for the first time since 2018. Tech dominated in its previous home matchup, winning 41-20, and currently leads the series 11-3.
With another Sun Belt conference team on the radar, Old Dominion will be an important matchup early in the season.
Head coach Ricky Rahne, entering his fifth season, leads a competitive group that battled its way to a Famous Toastery Bowl appearance in the season finale by scoring three times in 97 seconds.
Tech holds a very narrow lead in the series history, up 3-2, after winning 36-17 in last year's season opener.
The theme continues with nonconference opponents and a rematch from 2023.
After Rutgers hosted Tech in Piscataway, New Jersey, the script will flip as they hit the road for a matchup in Lane Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Now in his 16th season (2 stints) with the program head coach Greg Schiano will face off against Pry after concluding 2023 with a Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl title over Miami.
It has been 22 years since the Scarlet Knights traveled to Blacksburg and Tech won by a 21-point margin, 35-14 on Oct. 19, 2002.
Tech will begin ACC play on the road against Miami for a Friday night matchup on Sept. 27.
Head coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes will host the Hokies for the first time since 2021. It will also be the two program's most recent matchup since Miami came to southwest Virginia in 2022.
Highlighting an interesting two-game road trip, Tech will make its way to Palo Alto, California, for the first time in program history on Oct. 5 to face Stanford. It will be the furthest west the team has traveled in the regular season.
The Cardinal and the Hokies have met only once before the upcoming matchup, a clash in the 2011 Orange Bowl.
Interesting fun facts don't end with a trip to Northern California. The Hokies return home for their latest ACC home opener ever against Boston College on Oct. 17. It outdates the game against Wake Forest by one day, which took place on Oct. 16, 2010.
In a season with two open weeks, Tech returns from its first open week to host Georgia Tech after a one-year hiatus. The last matchup also took place in Blacksburg. Following the latter of the open weeks, the Hokies hit the road again to face Duke after facing the Blue Devils in 2022 in Durham, North Carolina.
A highly anticipated contest for Hokie Nation will be a matchup with a ranked opponent when Clemson comes to town. It will be nearly four years since the Tigers and Hokies last played one another in 2020, which also occurred at Lane Stadium.
Wrapping up notable takeaways from the 2024 schedule, Syracuse will host the next outing after experiencing the atmosphere of Lane on a Thursday night. Fans will also have the great luxury of experiencing the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash against UVA with a full crowd since 2018.