With the offseason fast approaching its end, I thought we could have a thread about how we think our schedule is going to go down. I'm highlighting my predicted score and win/loss, but feel free to add anything else!
There are a lot of question marks this season regarding the offense, but assuming no injuries and a moderate level of improvement from last year, here are my predictions:
1. Ohio State- L- 17-28. We're improved but so has OSU. Even with suspensions I think Urban will pull off the revenge victory, but it won't be a blowout. They're just too stacked.
2. Furman- W - 33-3
3. @ Purdue- W - 24-17 - I'm scared about this game, I dunno why but I have a weird feeling about it. I still think we'll win but it will be ugly.
4. @ East Carolina- W - 27-7. Revenge for last year.
5. Pittsburgh- L - 21-24. I think we'll drop this game. Have a feeling James Connor will go beserk. I hate playing Pitt and even though this is at Lane, I have a bad feeling about this one.
6. NC State- W - 28-10. NC State are ridiculously overrated thanks to their cupcake OOC schedule.
7. @ Miami- W - 28-14. Revenge for last year again. Don't think Miami will improve much since last season.
8. Duke- W- 33-7. Duke will suffer a huge dropoff this year. Should be a blowout.
9. @BC- L - 24-28. Another close game, could go either way but erring on the negative side for this one and will say it's a loss. We haven't beaten them in 2 years as well.
10. @GT- W- 17-10. Not buying into the GT hype this year, they got lucky against us last year and I don't think they'll repeat a victory. Plus it's a thursday night game.
11. North Carolina- W- 35-21. High powered offense from UNC, but I think our offense will be up to the task against their porous defense.
12. Virginia - W- 35-10. LOL
Total Record: 9-3. That should be enough to get us to the ACCCG ranked. Anything can happen in the ACCCG, but I expect us to play Clemson if we get to that stage. What are your guys (realistic) prediction for the season?
Comments
Prediction: We win.
I'd give a more thoughtful/probably reasonable analysis, but I haven't seen the team play and there's a whole lot of camp to happen before the season starts and then everything's out the window anyways.
I agree with your assessment about each matchup but I think you gave too much credit to BC. They lost a heckuva lot of their offense and should be in rebuild mode this year. I know they will reload with more big guys in that power run scheme but given our strength against the run, I'll choose our experience on defense to be the deciding factor. This, of course, assumes there are no major mid-season injuries to the d-line.
I agree with the 9-3 record. I do think we will beat Pitt though. Miami is my third loss.
Conner is way too big of a back, especially with our unknown tackling at mlb. Combined with Voytik running all over us, it could be a really ugly slugfest
Hopefully Miami tries to go more finesse with Kaaya leading the offense more and the loss of a couple NFL lineman. That should play right into our hands. Too many of these games are a toss up
Pitt back big? Maybe we'll just try and Settle his ass down.
My thought on Voytik is that Pitt used him in a way that had not been seen last year against us. That was their ace in the hole. That will not work against bud foster twice, especially as their talent does not meet ours. We're ready for that gameplan so I see this as a W for us.
On the other hand, James Conner is an NFL starter who happens to be playing college football at the moment.
Eh, they used Voytik like that prior to our game. I distinctly remember watching them have success against UVA with it and thinking that they would definitely run it against us given our struggles with Marquise Williams running the same stuff. We just didn't stop it.
Are you sure you mean UVA? He had -16 rush yards against them. The numbers seem to suggest VT was his coming out party running the QB option, against real competition anyway. Disappointing Foster couldn't adjust mid game, but losing Chase Williams probably didn't help. I'd expect us to limit him next year
Yes, I'm sure. The issue in that game was that they fell in love with the pass but couldn't pass protect. They didn't run Voytik much, but enough to where you could tell that it might be an issue the next week. They may have been still installing the entire package, but they were definitely running it earlier in the year and it was on tape.
I think the big issue that night wasn't the scheme but rather execution. Too many guys not getting off of blocks or making tackles in the hole.
For opposing teams of course...
For Hokie fans or for Hokie opponents?
- I've had enough pain the last three years.
Same here, I am fully aboard the hype train, so Hokie opponents beware!
Well, either way the season goes, he won't be wrong.
Healthy squad?
10-2 ACC Champions
Injury plagued season like 2014?
5-7 Bowl streak ends
Why do you think an injury plagued season like last year will result in a worse record than last year?
Because I think the roster we had at the end of last year was punching above their weight class to get to a bowl.
I predict there will be 12 games between now and Thanksgiving weekend.
Ticket punched for hype train
image upload
winning it all? - sure, why not for $12
If it hits beers on me!
1. Ohio State 17, VT 6 -- I love our defensive matchup here, I don't love our offensive matchup. We hit on a bunch of plays last year on offense that went our way, that's hard to do. They are also much better on offense. Defensively, I'm expecting it to be easier to stop the QB trio and tough to stop Elliot, who goes for 150+ and 2TD's.
2. VT 38, Furman 0 -- I hate FCS games, I would rather we were playing another Big 5 game even if we lost it.
3. VT 27, Purdue 10 -- They aren't good, but they hold us down in the first half. We score on defense to put it away in the 4th.
4. VT 34, ECU 14 -- We've had about enough of these guys hanging around. Just pound them in the mouth early and play the short passes.
5. VT 16, Pitt 10 -- Ugly, ugly game.
6. VT 31, NCSU 27 -- Bissett (mmmm...brisket....) is tough to handle and we go back and forth all game. Stroman punt return for a TD wins it.
7. VT 24, Miami 10 -- I know it seems to be heresy these days to say it, but I'm not a big fan of Miami's QB. He's okay, but I think he was sheltered by Duke Johnson last year. We'll stop the run and force him into a long day.
8. VT 27, Duke 6 -- Duke has lost a lot and we are getting better as the season progresses.
9. VT 34, BC 16 -- BC also lost a lot. We need better game plans that play to our strength of athleticism against BC.
10. VT 34, GT 24 -- We should have beat them by 2 scores last year. By this point in the season, the offense is getting their feet under them.
11. VT 41, UNC 31 -- Again, offense playing well, but UNC has so much firepower. We got a bit fortunate that they had such a tough first half last year. I could see this game being the opposite, UNC being up by 2 scores and (gasp) the VT offense saving the day.
12. VT 20, UVA 7 -- By this point in the season, we have really gained some confidence. It's time UVA beats us, but I'm thinking by this point, London will be fired or close to it and they will fold as soon as we go up (and I think UVA will be better than most, but 5 wins is their ceiling).
Total Record: 11-1
What other power 5 team is coming to Tech in week 2? Find a single one with an away game you think they would give up to come to Tech.
I don't get this response. He just said he hated FCS games. He can have an opinion without having to call all FBS schools and figure out how to reconfigure a schedule. Personally I agree, as a fan I'd rather watch more games against teams like OSU than Furman and I'm quite certain we all would as well.
I'd rather also but that's not the real world of FBS scheduling, the AD is restricted by the ACC and other teams.
That's not true. Big ten is forbidding it now.
Great for the BIG, the ACC hasn't done that. VT is restricted to 8 conference games and the dates to hold those games are set by ACC. Then the AD has to find a team willing to do a home and home series at a minimum. It's not that easy.
I know this how it had been done for a while now, but I'm sure with some effort it can be done. It would be worth the extra work. Fcs games are just a waste.
Oh, I would go on the road if necessary.
It's unfair to play the "who would come here in week 2?" or "what about the lost revenue?" cards. That's part of an overall strategy for the athletic department to make money. As Beamer and Whit have said this year, scheduling of the OSU game has led to an increase in overall tix sales....but we're still not sold out. Is there increased revenue that we could have picked up? If we played at aTm in week 2 and they returned in the next five years, theoretically we would be able monetize that return. Instead, we give tix away to the Hokie Kids Club for Ferrum (or Furman, whichever)....which is great, I've got kids who could benefit form that....but it's not the highest and best use if you are focused on maximizing revenue....or interest.
I would change the policy to the B10's policy: no FCS schools. I'm a dreamer, i would also change to 10 ACC games since there are so many schools we never see. Give me 10 ACC games, Ohio State and aTm and play JMU as a scrimmage in August for free admission (donations to the area foodbank) and a $150K payout to JMU for direct streaming the scrimmage.
And not only that, why would we want to play a power 5 team on 4 days rest?
...cause nothing bad can happen by playing an FCS school on short rest?
Seriously people, it's not literal. Other factors can change as well.
Depends on when the Labor Day matchup was announced.
Waaaaay too optimistic, no way we go undefeated in conference play. Last time we did that was 2010 and we have a stacked offense. But, I know how it is, when you start to write down the match ups, the fan in you can't let you predict a lose.
Yeah, and this is assuming health. I think we're better than 11 teams on our schedule. But I also think our 5'10" 165 lb QB is likely to get seriously hurt and I'm not sure have anyone else who can win a game at QB.
Glad I'm not the only one skeptical about his size. I see Brewer downtown all the time. That guy is small. Nail on the head. 5'10" 175 TOPS.
I would be so okay with this
Because now were potentially looking at playoffs, pending the outcome of the acccg
You have the defense giving up 172 points the entire season; 14.3 per game. That's in the top 7 every year going back to 2003.
It could happen.
It's possible. Bud Foster did it in 2001 and 2004-2006. Ball control offense and limited number of turnovers really help.
@ cds7c - I'd be delighted to see you finish as you predicted. And I'd hope to see you in the playoffs.
IF the offense doesn't improve from last year, it will be another 6-7 win season... However, if they are even REMOTELY improved from last year, I think this team will win 9 games... 3 losses coming from one of these teams: OSU, Pitt, Miami, GT
12-0 regular season.
I'm just going to guarantee a loss to UNC. We play GT the week before and they run a very similar offense to Navy.
I have it on good authority that you just can't prepare to play the week after Navy.
Well nuts.
i see what you did there
Well played, Coach McGuirk!
We have the ability to win them all but we will probably win 9 or 10 games. The funny thing is I think we beat OSU either way. Like I said last year their O plays to our D's strengths. Maybe I'm wrong but keeping my fingers crossed!!
If I take off the Hokie glasses, I see 8-4.
Can't forget we've lost 2 of our top 5 players. Reavis as proven talent, but also Fischer (I had him as a freshman all American leading tackler)
First half of the season 5-1
Second half 3-3
Did you just infer that Holland Fisher was one of our top 5 players?
I think the potential to is/was there. Top rated defensive player at Tech should be
Fisher wasn't in the top 25 defensive players on this team. We lost a guy who was going to play 8 -12 snaps a game in special teams this year.
People fell in love with his measurables and look as a recruit, but he wasn't a real player for us. He was really a LB with a safety's body.
Joe usually posts a season prediction thread closer to week 1
L vs OSU
W vs Furman
W @ Purdue
W @ ECU
W vs Pitt
W vs NCST
W@ Miami
W vs Duke
W @ Boston College
L @ GT
W vs UNC
W @ LOLUVA
L @ ACC CG
L @ Tier1Bowl OR W @ Tier2Bowl
N/A @ Playoff1
N/A @ Playoff2
10-4 OR 11-3....
and...
wait for it...
15-0.
1. W 69-0
2. W 69-0
3. W 69-0
4. W 69-0
5. W 69-0
6. W 69-0
7. W 69-0
8. W 69-0
9. W 69-0
10. W 69-0
11. W 69-0
12. W 69-0
ACCCG W 69-0
P1 W 69-0
NCG W 69-0
Nice
Nice
11-warriors-esque
Nice
wait for it...
I'm on pins and needles.
On a treadmill.
Homer Picks: 15-0
Realistic Picks: 9-4
nightmare season: 6-7 (My biggest fear is injuries to Olinemen..that could derail our season in a hurry) I think anything less than 8 wins and people will be calling for Loeffler's head.
Being as realistic as I can think:
OSU - L, This will either be a tough close loss, or one that is close in the 1st quarter and then is unreachable by halftime.
Fur - W, I don't think we're going to take it easy on them. Not worried about this one.
at Pur - W, Purdue is awful, but given that we have played to the level of our competition the past few years, I say it's close, but we pull out a W.
at ECU - W, No Carden. No problem.
Pitt - W, Don't think we lose this one at home. Connor will likely have 100+ yards, but hopefully their offense stays one dimensional and drives stall and they have to settle for field goals.
NCST - L, I'm not convinced NCSU is overrated this year. Their QB will be the difference in most of their games. I don't think they have the talent to beat the likes of Clemson and FSU this year, but they'll be tricky for us to handle. Not totally confident in our ability to contain Brissett on Friday night.
at Mia - L, Letdown loss after a letdown loss.
Duke - W, Blowout.
at BC - W, Late comeback, close game.
at GT - L, They'll be good, hopefully we don't have any big injuries going into this game, but I see them getting the win at home.
UNC - W, Not close.
at UVa - W
16-0
...and yes, I know...
Just a few notes about this years schedule.
-Pitt & Duke have an open week before playing us. This seems down from the typical 6 or 7 teams coming off byes.
-GT sorta does, but we do too with the Thursday night game.
-Both out-of-division ACC games, BC & NC State, play us directly after playing Louisville.
-Miami gets us after F$U.
-UNC gets us after Miami.
-Ecu gets us driectly after Navy.
Seems a little more friendly than some of the other times where pieces have fallen.
I'm thinking the O clicks a little better this year, and can score without as much trouble as last year. Looking at 10-3 with a tier 1 bowl victory!
The season is getting close. Can't wait. Being as objective as possible.
OSU - L, They are really good. We win in vegas but not on the scoreboard.
Fur - W, No FCS scare here.
at Pur - W, Unless D.Brees can suit up, we have this one.
at ECU - W, So tired of playing them.
Pitt - W, Unless Conner goes all Duke Johnson on us, we'll be ok.
NCST - L, They are just good enough to give us trouble on a good day, this is an off day for the offense.
at Mia - W, Payback with no Duke Johnson
Duke - W, Lost too much and gained too little.
at BC - W, Close as always, but we pull it out.
at GT - W, I still don't know how we lost last year.
UNC - W, Hopefully by then they have nothing to play for, hurry up NCAA.
at UVa - W, N+1 years and counting.
ACCCG vs Clemson: We get lucky and get some TO's and scrape out a win. Clemson clemsoning.
Non Playoff BCS game: L, much like last year achieving a perceived goal before the season is done.
OSU: W, 31-28. I'm sticking with my wildly optimistic prediction because last year I predicted that we'd win and it fucking happened.
Furman: W, ugly. Don't know the score, don't care. Remember JMU. Just get the damned win, and quit scheduling games on short rest!
@Purdue: W, 38-6. Purdue has no established QB, RB, or WR. Bad juju against this D. The run game finally gets going, with Coleman and Edmunds both going for 100+. VT scores early and often to put this one away in the first half.
@ECU: W, 27-24. With Carden, Hardy, & Worthy gone (as well as OC Riley), the purple pirates don't have the ability to punch VT in the mouth like they did last year. However, their D is tougher than expected and just a week after a breakout performance, the run game struggles mightily. Evoking memories of his 2014 opening week heroics, Brewer puts the team on his back and leads a late drive for the win.
Pitt: L, 10-21. I hate Pitt. I hate losing to Pitt. I hate that half my family is from there and I hear about it every time they win. I hate that Conner isn't already in the NFL where he belongs, and that he'll probably run for 200+ on us. I hate this prediction.
NCSU: W, 30-21. I'm not sold on them yet, but NCSU definitely worries me. Brissett shines, but the D shuts the 'pack out in the red zone. Despite the short week, VT gets it done on a night that should be reserved for high schools and crappy mountain west games.
@scUM: W, 38-10. Payback time, canes. Kaaya is good but he's surrounded by question marks, most importantly on the OL. Nicolas, Maddy, & co. have a field day in this one as VT gives CAG a golden shower send-off.
dook: W, 33-12. It's time for dook fans to go back to spending their fall Saturdays wondering when basketball season starts.
@BC: L, 10-24. In inexplicable yet somehow entirely predictable fashion, VT lays another turd in Chestnut Hill. WTF is it with BC?!
@GT: W 26-19. Because Fuck CPJ.
University of No Class(es): W, 35-31. UNC gets a couple late scores to make it look a lot closer than it is.
@loluva: W, 37-13. To avoid any last-minute controversy, London calls all three second-half timeouts in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd quarter. It doesn't matter as the Hokies roll. A week later, VT wins again when Littlepage decides not to fire London until at least one more season of mediocrity is in the books.
VT goes 10-2 and wins the coastal tiebreaker thanks to victories against the canes and jackets. Meanwhile, Clemson takes down F$U to take the Atlantic title.
@ACCCG: W, 42-21. Clemson makes the mistake of overlooking the Hokies while talking about what they're going to do in the playoffs. The VT defense opens a family-size can of whoopass to avenge three straight embarrassing losses to the Tigers. Bud Foster >>> Brent Venables.
@Peach Bowl: W, 17-16. In a matchup of two top-10 defenses, VT knocks off Georgia by blocking the game-tying XP with no time left on the clock.
I've got plenty of koolaid left if anyone else wants some!
at first glance, I think it's interesting that you have our offense averaging 25 points per game (based on the 11 reg season games for which you provide score lines) and yet the two losses come to teams scoring less than our offense's average. I mean, I know it's possible and I don't necessarily disagree with your picks in general, but that's an interesting prediction
You've gotta remember this IS Virginia Tech Football we're talking about...
oh I'm well aware of that..which is why (I can't find it presently) I've been quoted on here somewhere saying that I could see us beating OSU and then turning around a losing a stupid game like Purdue...I think everyone can agree that the chances of VT going 1-1 against the B1G are pretty high. What most people won't expect, is that the win comes against OSU and the loss comes at the hands of the boilermakers.
For instance, last season I could have predicted we would be 2-2. We were. But I never would have dreamed that one of those wins would be against OSU and one of those losses would be to ECU. But that's Virginia Tech Football for you (at least...VT football from the last half decade or so...)
Good point. I probably put too much emphasis on some of the ugly losses to those two over the years (2003 and 2006 come to mind, specifically), and you're correct that neither of them is likely to hold VT to 10 points this year. Maybe we beat BC and lose to UNC, or NCSU, I dunno...
ETA: Also, VT averaged 23 points per game last year and still managed to lose to wake...
well..I'm not debating it...I just thought it was interesting. It could certainly happen. 10-2 would be a good year for us IMO. I'll drink some of that koolaid
that's strange...I don't remember playing wake
I predict that scalded dogs will run and nuts will be played off.
Repeated from my reply to the Staff Predictions...
9-3 (6-2)
key game: Friday Night vs NCSU. They are getting some preseason hype and beating them will be key to our chances for a Coastal Championship.
breakout player: Trey Edmunds. Finally gets a complete season, puts #1 RB on lockdown. 900+ yards, 10+ TD.
highlights - revenge on GT, revenge on Pitt, streak continues vs UVA,
lowlights - Close loss to OSU, Loss on the road to BC (because BC), Loss at home to UNC (we always lose a game at home to someone we should beat)
I think we have a legit shot at a Coastal Championship. UNC has a pretty weak schedule, but I can see them dropping at least three of these games: @GT, @Pitt, @NCSU, and Duke at home.
GT has Clemson and FSU from the Atlantic and we'd have the tiebreaker over them if they only drop one other game.
Not sure about OSU. Pitt scares me. I'm oddly comfortable with the GT game. I'm feeling something similar to the VT rout of GT in 2007, See below:
Optimistically 10-2 with losses at 2 of either PITT, NCSU, or East Carolina.
Football is a weird game. Some people have VT beating the #1 team in the country and then losing to Boston College. I'm not sure whether this is people thinking OSU is just a mediocre football team or people giving Boston College too much respect. Probably a little bit of both. Or are these all people who all think OSU is very good, but fully expect VT to have an epic meltdown later in the season? I've really enjoyed conversing with the enemy on this site, but this thread really confuses me. I can't imagine a VT team that knocks off OSU this year also loses to Boston College. Partly because this creates the completely unscientific transitive property that BC>OSU. And I can't have that!
All you really have to do is consider that we lost to Wake Forest last year after beating you and that's all the explanation you should need. Really though, we've all become pretty cynical and expect us to drop a game to a lesser opponent as we often play to their level.
15-0!
Ohio St - Loss 13-24
Furman - Win 44-6
Purdue - Win 31-17
ECU - Win 27-20
Pitt - Win 23-13
NC St - Win 30-20
Miami - Loss 16-24
Duke - Win 28-14
BC - Win 27-20
GT - Loss 10-23
UNC - Win 34-17
UVA - Win 100-0