JMU and the #Hokies haven't met on the football field since the Dukes stunning upset in 2010. Fans will have to wait a little longer now for the rematch after an agreement to amend their upcoming game.https://t.co/KPSTuKzJ9J— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) September 21, 2023
Hokies will now pay $800,000 rather than $500,000 original agreement. Still don't see anything posted on what reason or new game the Hokies are replacing JMU with in 2025. Possible the realignment plays a role here if ACC decides to increase the number of conference games.
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
Okay I'll say it - thank god
Yep...their fans have seized on this as a duck.
Probably is to some degree. I wouldn't want to play them right now, they are the best program in the state.
Seeing that we already replaced them with Wofford, sure looks that way.
This is absolutely infuriating as a season ticket holder. So our non conference home games are Vandy, ODU, and Wofford. WTF, Whit.
And yes, I know, we play in Atlanta vs. SC. But give me something to get excited about in Blacksburg before October.
Vanderbilt had a better record last year than we did.
We win our non-conference schedule that year and we can say we beat 2 SEC teams. Don't care which two. Always good to beat on ODU.
Come on. Let's be objective here. Nobody. And I mean nobody is excited to see Vandy on the schedule. Especially now that we don't play them in Nashville.
Another lose lose scheduling snafu by Whit. If we win, nobody gives a 💩, bc it's Vandy. If you lose, you are 💩 bc you lost to Vandy
Good move.
So now an ass whipping costs 800,000. Inflation will get after ya..
Also: Virginia Tech is in talks to push ALL football games to 2026.
I don't think one year will make much difference in the result. Jmu is actually committed to football so they're likely to win regardless. There is nothing good about this move. It's costing us more money. 300k is a relative drop in the pale but there is truly no benefit to the move so its a net loss
One thing I noticed (I went to JMU's win yesterday), they sold out but fans ghosted in the 3rd quarter. Like our game they built a modest lead that wasn't really in danger then had to hang on for an 8 point win—a full house to the final whistle might have helped them.
I doubt that would be the case with a VT visit, but still, wow.
This is what happens at pretty much every JMU home game, and yesterday was family weekend so that didn't help.
Updated 2025/26 OOC
2025 OOC:
vs South Carolina (in Atlanta)
vs Vanderbilt
vs Old Dominion
vs Wofford
2026 OOC:
vs VMI
vs ODU
vs JMU
@ Maryland
great, we can lose to the 5 closest teams to us in 2026
Unc and Duke gotta be closer to us than umd
Wake closest P5. App, Charlotte, Marshall, the triangle schools and WVU all closer than ODU and Maryland
Surely one of those games each year won't happen with the ACC expansion...right? We have to be going to a nine game league schedule, right?
Surely one of those games each year won't happen with the ACC expansion...right? We have to be going to a nine game league schedule, right?
I freakin hope not
Thanks for the reminder that ODU is on the schedule for. ev. er. I hate it. The lack of variety and soft matchup just stinks.
Every year, we should have ONE of JMU, ODU, Marshall, and ECU. We shouldn't have multiple in a single year imo.
FTFY
ECU
Exactly.
I wouldn't schedule ECU unless VT were world-beaters, and then I DEFINITELY wouldn't schedule them.
I wouldn't even then because it would give them a platform to be twats all over again. We'd have to hear their whining for whatever reason at that time. Out of sight, out of mind. Good riddance.
It's really not that hard for VT to put a schedule together without lose/lose games on it. But we simply can't do that.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but please hear me out. The 2026 OOC schedule could be great if we are a good team by then.
2026 OOC:
vs VMI
vs ODU
vs JMU
@ Maryland
And adding in the UVa conference game.
Set the tone that we are the class of the state and it is not even close. High school kids in lots of areas of VA get to see a strong VT team with a great crowd winning games comfortably. Could even argue that if some of those games were on the road, would be even better for exposure across the state. Go up to Maryland with a lot of VT fans in attendance and get a good win vs. a P5 team. Good coverage in the DC area and the kids up there see a good VT team and help get them here. The Big 10 sees a good VT team with a lot of fans too.
Of course, this all hinges on us actually being good in 2026 and actually winning those games while looking good doing it. I fully acknowledge that, if we aren't good and lose 2 or more of them, yeah it will suck. But I'm not as down on the way this is scheduled as many.
It's a terrible schedule, but great for wins and sending a message.
With all due respect,that schedule sucks.
This is a no win schedule. We beat all of these opponents and we get the "VT ain't played no body paul" we lose to one and they claim to be the best team in the commonwealth.
Looking at this from another perspective.
Tech is nowhere near being in a position where we would be considered or argued for Playoff contention. Meaning that there should be no one in the country debating/arguing that "VT aint play no one Pawl".
If we are truly trying to be on the rise, maybe we need a schedule like this where we force ourselves to play lowly teams (more traditionally speaking), show out, and beat them like we should. We can't rest on our laurels anymore, so we have to go out and make another name for ourselves and step one is to play a shit schedule and handle it convincingly.
I would rather be a team on the up with a 5-0 record with some: "Hey look who's back to their winning ways" type of Game Day attention; vs playing stiff opponents at the beginning of every season and being 2-3 or 3-2 and no one thinking we're making progress.
Counter-counter point. A loss to a team like JMU sets us back far more than winning all of those games moves the needle forward. Its not worth it. If we're going to lose to teams we should be losing to good teams. Also our schedule doesn't get much better after 2026 because we've gunked up the foreseeable future wasting OOC games on ODU and Liberty Biberty.
We play in the easiest conference in the country, scheduling garbage teams to beat OOC on top of that we're never going to be taken seriously. We don't need to care about SOS for playoff contention but for any sort of recognition we do. Look at JMU, they're undefeated right now and just broke the T-25 because they don't play anyone we'd get the exact same treatment with our 2026 schedule.
Not to mention the home slate we have for the next few years. I'm certainly not excited to go to Blacksburg to watch any of these:
Counter-counter-counter point:
A loss to JMU (who's ranked) won't set us back any further than we've been knocked back in recent years considering we just recently lost to the likes of ODU (twice in recent memory).
I think 75% of sports followers don't really know or care about who you've played early season when Saturday morning hits and they see your game on the docket as a 5-0 or a 4-1 VT playing a 5-0 *insert team here*.
They look at the #s in the W column vs the L column. I would rather build W's at this point in our rebuild.
From the perspective of a VT Football fan, I will agree though, I would rather see better opponents that intrigue me (like this year's Purdue, or next year's USCe/Vandy). But part of me would also like to see VT be 4-0 or 3-1 entering conference play which almost certainly guarantees us bowl eligibility.
I don't think anybody really dogged Florida for playing directional Michigan schools at home early in the season back when they were contending for national championships. I'd rather play games we're going to win, convincingly right now.
Would it be nice to have better home games? Absolutely. That's due in large part to the conference we're in, though, not the OOC scheduling. There aren't many teams out there that have banger OOC schedules every year. Most of them are pretty ho-hum, actually. But we don't notice it because they play in real leagues where they have great, compelling matchups week in and week out. The ACC just doesn't provide that. We don't need better OOC scheduling. We need to be in a better league.
Yeah I mean that's the problem for me to we play garbage games in conference and ooc. You're right no on dogs on any natty team from the SEC for their remarkably weak OOC cause they play real teams in their conference.
Our conference has lost all legitimacy so IMO we should have better OOC schedules not 5 local JV teams.
Meh, I'd rather the ACC follow suit with what we are doing and go as cake as possible in OOC matchups. Yeah, up front it'll be ridiculed, but over time the inflated records across the board would lead to inflated rankings and would lead to bigger 'marquee' matchups that get national attention. And then when the upsets do happen, they're largely contained in-house.
I like to call this the 'Early 2000s SEC Strategy'
A key to that strategy is winning the games...historically we struggle with that.
Or the 2010's BIG strategy. The only teams that played big dogs were the ones trying to make the playoffs. It works to raise a conference profile - if you win.....
The best at this was the post Miami/VT/BC Big east. They had WVU and any team they thought was good play the weakest conference opponents early, so they would be ranked and stay ranked. Had Pat McAfee not taken money to fix that game, WVU would have played in a national championship not beating anyone of note. Brilliant scheduling.
Wait what? Source?
Source is me. All American kicker missing 3 chip shot FGs in his home stadium with a natty birth on the line. Source- dcwilson40
that's a leap. pretty much on par for you...but c'mon man. that is a l - e - a - p
On par? this is what pisses me off. What my opinion? elaborate where I have discussed McAfee or others throwing games on here before?
I mean, you start off with a statement of conviction that is impossible to interpret as just opinion.
And when asked about a source, you say your source is...you...and this is your evidence. Okay, he might have been an all American kicker who missed 3 field goals in a game that WVU ultimately lost. Those may all be facts. But getting from those facts to "He took money to fix the game" is a MASSIVE leap regardless of whether or not it's opinion.
And, I say this is on par for you because you often make very strong statements (usually constructed as statements of fact) about shit and then when people call you on it you backpedal and say that it's just your opinion. But even if it is an opinion, it's a pretty wild opinion to have. It's a hell of a jump to go from "FSU just went for 2 after their first TD" to "This is pretty clear-cut evidence that Norvell has no respect for our program". Because, objectively, no, it is not evidence of that. Not. At. All.
Norvell hasn't done that since, BTW.... So I guess it continues to be simply the "right" call and nothing to do with VT- gotcha. Also that WHOLE conversation started with me simply stating I turned the game off because Norvell was clowning us. I don't think anyone should care if I watch the game or not. I asked and I answered. Here, on McAfee- I stated an opinion. I don't know how any reasonable person could think otherwise??? Was there a huge ESPN piece on this? Did WVU get the death penalty? how in the world could you interpret that otherwise??? And when asked about it- I didn't backpedal or move the goal post- in fact I did the opposite- I flat said "I am the source"- I clearly stated that this is my opinion. Also, an undefeated 2nd ranked WVU, would have in fact played for a natty- don't know how that is some huge proclamation??
your "opinion" was so clearly stated as such that DFWHokie had to ask you for a source. Yeah, that is very clearly your opinion and not some "statement of fact" that was backed by some credible source. C'mon man. You are way too smart to not know what you're doing. Just stop. You know that what you said sounded like some factual story that had some evidence to back it up. You know damn well that it would be interpreted as fact, not as opinion. You can't just go around yelling your opinions as if they're facts and then get all defensive when people call you on it. That's not cool.
People taking everything I say a certain way...I can't control. 99% of this message board is opinions.
presentation is everything. You present everything as fact. Facts are not opinions. Opinions are not facts. When you state an opinion as a fact, it's no wonder a lot of people question you. Any competent person who has good reading comprehension would read a majority of your posts as stated facts. Because that is how you present them. They're not going to automatically know it's your opinion. I guess now, though, folks who have been around a long time and know you and your 'style' will just assume everything you say is opinion, regardless of how it is presented.
"Any competent person who has good reading comprehension would read a majority of your posts as stated facts" - I'll leave this thread alone pointing out the irony here.
Dude, just let the snowflake have "his truth"
LMAO.
Cat fight!
you basically did this:
Tom Smykowski.
Play bad P5 teams- this can be done. Don't play liberty or ODU on the road. ever. Reeks of "we are small time". Simple. Done.
The only G5 we should play on the road was Marshall as a thank you for helping us out in a tight spot a few years back. Before that snafu you could have convinced me to agree to ECU in Charlotte but nope. Like a 3 Home 1 neutral site deal.
I dont think we should ever play liberty; at least ODU, JMU, UVA, they all recruit VA, having them come to our house and get beaten like the G5 schools they are isn't a bad thing, but there isn't a real good reason to go there.
Until the cluster that was WVU Vs VT @Fedex field you could have convinced me of a 3 home 1 neutral with jmu, odu, or uva, but I don't wasn't to deal with that ever again.
I agree, but we didn't have to give them the win!!
We should NEVER play Wofford for ANY reason, nor VMI anymore (nostalgia not enough of a reason). That's like Don Garlits bringing his Top Fuel dragster to a local dragstrip.....only bad things can happen.
and *poof* our OOC schedule for both of those seasons suddenly includes 3x FBS and 1x FCS each
Wofford. They are the 2025 replacement.
Great, can't wait to play Wofford again. Whit is amazing
Motion to officially retire "in Whit we trust" and all similar variations of same.
Over this?
Meh.
No. Not over this. Not in the slightest. And, I should preface this by saying I advocated for us to hire him before most on this board even knew who he was. We were at UC at the same time. And, I've defended his Tubberville hire when everybody else with no connection to that situation or any idea/willingness to acknowledge what was actually happening at UC at the time has sought to crucify him with the benefit of years of hindsight.
BUT.
He failed to show Fu the door early enough. He failed to invest or appropriately focus our fundraising efforts on football rather than non-revenue sports. He gave that disastrous press conference. He made comments alienating the fan base. He let things get sideways with Buzz. He let John Ballein, who wanted his job, have too much sway. He said "weights weigh the same." He signed a horrible Nike deal not once, but twice. He agreed to the ODU series. He hasn't made upgrades to facilities fast enough. He really had no idea what a P5 program looked like and still may not. And his out of conference scheduling is an insult to fans who have been so loyal to this place for decades. It's like he just expects us to show up and pay for 3 of these absolute shit games every year like we owe it to him. It's ridiculous. We used to host aTm, Nebraska, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson (out of conference during big east days), Georgia Tech (same), etc.
Now we're supposed to pay good money for JMU, VMI, and ODU? All in the same year? What kind of Mickey Mouse program is he running?
Again, Meh. There are better debates about Whit elsewhere.
However, I agree with you about the weak football scheduling. 2026 is particularly bad.
ODU every year was pure laziness. If VT loses to them, that's a DIFFERENT problem.
But looking at future schedules, I see Wisconsin, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Ole Miss, BYU, Alabama...
The "formula" is two weaker teams, one middle P5 team, and one good P5 team, no? I see some decent teams on the long term schedule.
Yeah, I was being a bit hyperbolic.
I'm not saying we should fire the guy. He's done a lot of good. But he's made enough questionable decisions and comments at this point that he no longer gets the benefit of the doubt without some legit questions being asked or criticism levied.
The scheduling is just abysmal. Even those games you're talking about are 8 years in the future and there's no guarantees we'll ever play them, or that they will be played in blacksburg. The Wisconsin series has been pushed back like 10 years at this point.
And, I'm really talking about the home scheduling. The ACC is down. It's becoming increasingly hard to justify purchasing season tickets when 3/7 home games are throw aways that you either have to attend or lose substantial money (or eat the tickets altogether) because people won't pay anywhere near face value on the secondary market.
This is even worse when you consider so many season ticket holders have to stay overnight in Blacksburg. Expecting fans to drop a few thousand dollars extra on the season for hotels/travel vs. VMI, ODU, JMU, Liberty, Wofford, or some combo of the 3 every year is just awful.
I feel ya. That's just wrong.
But add to it ACC opponents, and it's not as bad. I do see some pretty good home matchups in future years. Clemson 2024, Florida State 2025, Miami 2026, Notre Dame 2028. Some great matchups in addition to the ACC games in the 2030's. Hopefully, the rebuild goes well, and we win all those games scheduled against Merlyn.
If only it were ONLY ten years!!!!!
Instead of a cancellation fee, let's negotiate a postponement fee. Could be a nice little revenue stream for the athletic department.
100K per year seems about right.
But at $1 million, you'd think it's not going to get cancelled.
The formula needs to change immediately, imho. We already play in a weaker conference, and making the schedule weaker with our OOC scheduling does not help perceptions. I have no idea for certain if this has any appeal to the 4*+ recruits but I have to imagine it does. For example, for kids getting recruited right now they're probably looking at our future schedule and seeing Florida St. (maybe) and Clemson (maybe), and the best OOC teams they could find themselves squaring off against in their career is JMU and Notre Dame (once each).
and I'm not a season ticket holder, but I've been considering the idea recently of becoming one. This future OOC opponent schedule is a deterrent.
We play way to many G5 road games for one. Way too many. No value in those games. If these g5 teams won't sign 2 for zero games then fuck them.
10-15 years ago I would have violently agreed. We dont have that allure any more as a program and need to rebuild to get back to that point where we can and should dictate the scheduling.
I am pretty sure we have enough clout and allure not to play on the fucking road at liberty and ODU. I am 100% certain of that. We signed those games because Whit is a short sighted cheap AD, not because we had to. There is no reason for VT football- even now- to play on the road at a G5 school- none.
Wofford is not exciting, but would JMU have really been all that exciting? I know - they're legitimately good now, but they're still a team that you'll catch slack for if they beat you. I can't picture anyone making a frenzied sprint to Main Street to celebrate if we beat JMU. We're still going to play them in 2026. What's the difference in playing JMU in 2025 vs 2026?
No JMU is also not exciting it would have been nice to replace that scheduled game with a real team though.
Win all of these games and I won't care.
But lose any of them, and I'll wonder why the hell we're not playing better teams if we're still going to lose the games.
And honestly, if we keep improving like we have been in recent weeks, and our recruiting stays where it currently is (2 big ifs), I don't mind the 2026 schedule of JMU, ODU, VMI, and UVa on it. Would be a great opportunity to curbstomp the commonwealth to remove all doubt on who the top dog in the state is.
Bingo. Beat JMU 52-3, nobody cares or notices and it's not mentioned on any highlight show. Lose to them and you are fucking clowns in your own state. It is a no win for VT- literally zero benefit.
If we beat JMU 52-3, I would love minute of it. I would then end the series permanently. My FIL is a JMU homer. Going out with a crushing defeat of them would be amazing.
I never bring football up with my FIL, but he often raises the topic. He always manages to bring up the 2010 loss at some point.
Every single one of those jmu pricks do...." 21-16". It was 13 years ago! I hope we play them and absolutely crush the soul of that whole athletic department, I hope when I drive in to Harrisonburg after that game I could hear a pin drop because the whole town is too stunned to talk,I hope we beat them so bad they have to go back to fcs. That fan base is the scourge of the earth. The Hatin On that week will be one of pure joy for me.
Seems like JMU may have wanted this move to work in a game against Louisville.
Ahhh the root cause of the scheduling problem is of course the no value 15 year series with John Ballein's alma mater. That limits your schedule flexibility- giving ODU an ACC conference game for 15 years. That's the issue with our schedule. a shit no win series to save a few bucks- for 15 years. Criminal.
Ahhh the root cause of the
schedulingproblem isof course the no value 15 year series withJohn BalleinDoes any of this even matter, when do we start rotating the West Coastal Chaos teams in?
If games have to be jettisoned, some JMU/ODU/biberty games should be the first to go.
We start beating down on ODU every year like we are supposed to and ODU will be asking to cancel the series.
Unless they have "tall" receivers or a scappy D3 QB transfer or we forget to give the gameplan to the back up QB or....
the PAC scraps dont bring anything in terms of competition for football
and yes, the OOC still matters since we're likely going to be locked-in to the same in-conference game cap we have now with 8. Maybe that could increase at a later date but that probably wouldn't happen for 5-10 years so the backlog of OOC games can get cleared out and making sure the schools avoid cancellation fees (assuming we dont have a good enough TV deal that would incentivize cancelling).
Ah, I thought the ACC might up the conference cap to 9 with this expansion. I was hoping we could use that as an excuse to rework the ODU agreement.
I agree that the PAC teams aren't all that competitive, but I would still rather have Cal or Stanford on the schedule in favor of ODU and Biberty.