Hello, Blacksburg. It's been a while.
Week 9 schedule
Thursday, Oct. 23
Miami at Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, Oct. 25
Boston College at Wake Forest
Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh
Syracuse at Clemson
North Carolina at Virginia
Our pick: Miami at Virginia Tech.
Why you should come along: Thursday night in Blacksburg just about sums it up. We are beyond thrilled to see the Thursday night game returning to Virginia Tech after a one-year hiatus. The atmosphere here, on Thursday nights, has become one of the best in college football. To pair that up with a game against one of the Hokies' biggest rivals makes this a must-see game. Miami and Virginia Tech have developed one of the most appealing conference matchups based on their history, and history of success. Division implications are usually on the line when these two meet.
Last season, the two should have played in Blacksburg. But a scheduling quirk in the move to 14 league teams put this game in Miami for a second straight season. The Hurricanes were leading the Coastal headed into their meeting and the favorite to win. But Virginia Tech turned a series of miscues into a huge victory, the best win on the season for the up-and-down Hokies. Miami, meanwhile, dropped its following game against Duke to lose out on its shot to win its first Coastal crown.
Going into this season, there is some uncertainty surrounding both teams. Each has a question mark at quarterback. Virginia Tech should be solid on defense again; what we will see out of the Miami defense remains a mystery. Miami has not won in Blacksburg since 2005, making this one of the most difficult road tests of the season for the Canes.
Road trips
