VIRGINIA TECH BLOG: Thoughts on Virginia Tech’s football schedule

My thoughts on Virginia Tech’s 2009 football schedule, which was released earlier today …

***The first four games are very challenging. Starting with a top 10 team, possibly top five, in Alabama and continuing with Nebraska, which will likely be ranked, and then Miami, a team the Hokies usually see in November or December, is quite an opening month.

***I didn’t expect North Carolina and East Carolina to be the Thursday night games. Both matchups are intriguing, though. UNC could be Tech’s chief challenger in the Coastal Division, and East Carolina … well, we know about East Carolina. Playing a night game in Greenville, N.C., won’t be easy, and the Pirates return a lot of talent, particularly on offense.

***For the second straight year, the ACC office scheduled Georgia Tech and North Carolina in back-to-back games. The Hokies essentially clinched the Coastal by beating the Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels on consecutive Saturdays last season. They’ll probably need wins against both to repeat as division champs this year.

***While the travel schedule isn’t as bad as last year (Nebraska, Boston College, Florida State, Miami), the Hokies still have a clump of road games at the end of the season that will be tough to maneuver around. Four of their final six games are on the road.

Here’s a rundown of the schedule and my quick thoughts on each game …

Sat., Sept. 5, vs. Alabama
Tech fans have been eagerly anticipating this matchup since before it was officially set. ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach, who is well versed in SEC and ACC football, ranks the Crimson Tide fourth and the Hokies fifth in his early, much early, preseason poll. This is a heck of a way to open a season.

Sat., Sept. 12, Marshall
The Hokies and Thundering Herd have met twice before in the Frank Beamer era, both times in Blacksburg (2002 and ’05). Both teams were ranked in the top 20 in 2002. That won’t be the case this year. Marshall finished 4-8 last season. To be fair, six of its losses came to bowl teams, but since almost every team makes a bowl these days, how noteworthy is that?

Sat., Sept. 19, Nebraska
Tech’s win in Lincoln last September was even more impressive at the end of the season when the Cornhuskers won six of their last seven games (the only loss was to national championship runner up Oklahoma) and beat Clemson in the Gator Bowl. Nebraska, ranked 19th in Schlabach’s preseason poll, makes its first trip to Blacksburg.

Sat., Sept. 26, Miami
The Hokies and Hurricanes haven’t played a game this early in the season since Michael Vick was a scout team quarterback. The year was 1998, and Tech beat Miami 27-20 in overtime at the old Orange Bowl stadium in a rare September matchup. This game caps a brutal four-game opening stretch for the Hokies and kicks off their ACC season. Miami was in the running for the ACC championship last year before a late-season collapse. It should be a contender again this year.

Sat., Oct. 3, at Duke
The Blue Devils showed marked improvement in David Cutcliffe’s first year as coach – it had as many wins (four) as it did in the previous four seasons combined under Ted Roof. Quarterback Thad Lewis played well before an injury knocked him out at the end of the season. This is his senior year, and he could be one of the best signal-callers in the league. Still, even in Durham, the Blue Devils probably don’t have much of a chance against the Hokies.

Sat., Oct. 10, Boston College
BC and Tech have forged a great rivalry over the years. Many of the characters have remained the same in Blacksburg, but the turnover continues in Chestnut Hill. Quarterback Matt Ryan is now a superstar with the Atlanta Falcons. Coach Jeff Jagodzinski is the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator. OC Steve Logan joined Coach Jags in Tampa. Still, this figures to be another close game.

Sat., Oct. 17, at Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets were probably playing the best of any ACC team at the end of last season (prior to their bowl collapse against LSU, of course), but their September loss to the Hokies in Blacksburg kept them out of the conference title game, and Virginia Tech took advantage by winning the ACC championship and the Orange Bowl over Cincinnati. Georgia Tech, ranked 13th in Schlabach’s poll, will certainly have revenge on its mind this year.

Thurs., Oct. 29, North Carolina
The second of two straight critical Coastal Division games for the Hokies. This will mark the first time UNC and Tech have squared off in an ESPN Thursday night game (they played the 1998 Gator Bowl on a Thursday afternoon). The Tar Heels will be a trendy pick to win the ACC’s Coastal Division this year. They haven’t beaten Tech in Blacksburg since 1930.

Thurs., Nov. 5, at East Carolina
In my opinion, an odd choice for a Thursday night game – I would have thought VT’s games against Maryland, Georgia Tech or N.C. State were more compelling – but the Pirates beat the Hokies in the season-opener last year, so ESPN must have liked the matchup. ECU and Tech played once before in an ESPN Thursday night game in 2000 (a 45-28 Tech win).

Sat., Nov. 14, at Maryland
Old friends Beamer and Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen square off again. Beamer has had the better of the matchup, beating his friend in all three games. The Terps lost a lot of seniors from last year’s 8-5 team, and playmaking wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey opted to enter the draft. Still, quarterback Chris Turner is expected back. RB Da’Rel Scott should return also.

Sat., Nov. 21, N.C. State
Tech and N.C. State haven’t played since the 2005 season opener in Raleigh. The young Wolfpack, under the tutelage of Tom O’Brien, has a lot of talent returning and could be a darkhorse in the Atlantic Division race.

Sat., Nov. 28, at Virginia
The rivalry for the Commonwealth Cup has been very one-sided recently, but all it takes is one win by the Cavaliers to change that. This game usually has more at stake for the Hokies, and chances are, they’ll need to knock off their in-state rivals to get back to Tampa for the ACC championship game.