2025 Vanderbilt Football Opponent Preview, Game 2: Virginia Tech

Last season’s game between Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech ended up becoming the Dawn of Diego (Pavia).

Pavia scored three touchdowns and accounted for 294 yards of total offense, including the game-winning four-yard rushing touchdown. It was the launching point for Vanderbilt’s exciting 2024 season and the start of a disappointing season for the Hokies.

Virginia Tech was a borderline top 25 team (received votes) when it came to Nashville, but that changed when the Hokies failed to answer Pavia’s overtime touchdown.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad season. The Hokies did make a bowl game, but lost four games by one touchdown or less. Those losses came against Rutgers (7-6), Miami (10-3), Syracuse (10-3), and Duke (9-4). They also lost to Clemson by 10 points.

It’s a lot of close things, but since it’s football and not horseshoes, close doesn’t count. And that’s why fourth-year head coach Brent Pry may be feeling a little heat in his chair.

Last year’s record was worse than the previous year (by one game), which isn’t the direction you want to be going in. Especially when there was some hope the Hokies could get into the playoff conversation (see SMU and Syracuse).

There have been a lot of changes made Pry, including hiring new offensive and defensive coordinators, that he hopes will get the Hokies back on right direction.

A great way to get headed in the right direction will be to exercise some demons when the Commodores come to Blacksburg.

Here’s a look at the Commodores’ second opponent of the season:

Offense

Philip Montgomery is Virginia Tech’s new offensive coordinator. He’s a former head coach himself, spending seven seasons (2015-2022) at Tulsa. Last season he was the co-offensive coordinator for the UFL Birmingham Stallions and Auburn’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the year before. He’s taking over an offense that must replace three of its best wide receivers and two starting linemen. But Kyron Drones is returning at quarterback and Terion Stewart was a great pickup in the transfer portal.

Defense

Sam Siefkes was hired in the offseason to be the new defensive coordinator. He’s spent the last few seasons working as an assistant NFL coach (Arizona and Minnesota) and was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Wofford from 2018-2020. He also spent two seasons at defensive coordinator at Wisconsin-Platteville.

Schedule

This is a pretty tough start to the season, playing South Carolina and Vanderbilt in back-to-back weeks. The Hokies will have a pretty good idea of how good they are by week three. After that, they get a pair of winnable games before starting ACC play on the road against NC State. November will a hard month for Virginia Tech, though. It starts with Louisville, then Florida State and Miami in back-to-back weeks before ending the regular season against instate rival Virginia.

Outlook

It’s tough to forecast, especially this early, how good a team will be. Virginia Tech has two new coordinators, which is always a wildcard. The Hokies shouldn’t have much trouble getting to six wins, even if they lose both games of its SEC opponents. But six wins might not be enough to save Pry’s job.

The Game

• Date: Saturday, September 6
• Time: 6:30 p.m.
• TV: ACC Network
• Location: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Va.

The Team

• Head Coach: Brent Pry (4th season, 16-21)
• Offensive Coordinator: Philip Montgomery (1st season)
• Defensive Coordinator: Sam Siefkes (1st season)
• 2024 Record: 6-7 overall, 4-4 ACC
• 2024 Rankings: 37th in FPI

The School

• Location: Blacksburg, Va.
• Founded: 1872
• Enrollment: 36,383
• Nickname: Hokies
• School Colors: Chicago maroon and burnt orange
• Mascot: HokieBird

The Program

• Series History: 4-6
• Last Meeting: Vanderbilt won 34-27 OT
• Last Conference Title: 2010
• Last Bowl Game Win: 2023, Military Bowl vs. Tulane (41-20)

The Schedule

• August 31: vs. South Carolina (in Atlanta)
• September 6: vs. Vanderbilt
• September 13: vs. Old Dominion
• September 20: vs. Wofford
• September 27: at NC State*
• October 4: vs. Wake Forest*
• October 11: at Georgia Tech*
• October 24: vs. Cal*
• November 1: vs. Louisville*
• November 15: at Florida State*
• November 22: vs. Miami*
• November 29: at Virginia*

*Denotes a conference game

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI: