This Feels Different

Ask any Virginia Tech fan — it hasn't always been this way.

The Hokies' 2017 win over then-FCS Delaware was unimpressive. In 2019, Tech found themselves in hell against Furman. Tech won by just 11 against Richmond in 2021. The 2022 win over Wofford left many fans with more questions than answers. 

Those days are long, long gone.

James Franklin's Hokies squared off against an inferior opponent — one that barely belongs at the FCS level. Instead of playing with their food, Virginia Tech did exactly what it needed to do.

Dominate.

The numbers can't tell the full story, but here are some anyway. Virginia Tech's starters scored 45 points before halftime. The Hokies blocked two punts, recovering one of them for a touchdown.

Ethan Grunkemeyer missed two first-half throws that would've resulted in touchdowns. He still posted 203 passing yards and a score.

Virginia Tech averaged 6.78 yards per carry. VMI finished the night with minus-4 rushing yards. VMI ran 56 plays on Saturday night — 18 of them ended with a tackle for a loss.

Ass. Whipping.

Instead of fooling around with a team that didn't belong on the field that day, the Hokies asserted their dominance and passed their first exam with flying colors.

“I hope the Virginia Tech alumni and our lettermen... watched the game tonight and said, ‘That’s how Virginia Tech football is supposed to look,’” James Franklin said after the game.

Virginia Tech needed to embarrass VMI on Saturday. The Keydets are one of the worst teams in the FCS, and Tech has aspirations to compete for an ACC championship.

This game needed to get ugly, and it did.

For the first time in a long, long time, Virginia Tech walloped an opponent that they needed to wallop.

Virginia Tech's revenge tour against inferior opponent continues Saturday. Remember all those losses I painfully reminded you of earlier? I didn't even include the games against Old Dominion.

The Monarchs have bested the Hokies three times in the last decade. The 2018 loss shocked the conscience of Tech fans across the region, and while the 2022 loss doomed the Brent Pry era from the start, last year's defeat ended it.

Old Dominion is a microcosm of all the issues that have plagued Virginia Tech. The Monarchs have had fewer resources and less talent, yet far more heart and discipline. Virginia Tech has always been the better team on paper in these matchups, but rarely the better team on the field.

Saturday's tilt is yet another opportunity for James Franklin to restore order to the Commonwealth. Historically, there's been a pecking order in this state — Virginia Tech, Virginia, and everybody else. That system has been upended over the last several seasons. This cannot stand.

If Virginia Tech truly wants to re-establish itself as the football program it was, these are the kinds of games where doubt cannot exist. The Hokies eviscerated VMI, and Old Dominion must be dispatched likewise. 

For the first time in a while, things truly feel different.