Virginia Tech Football: 3 reasons the Hokies will beat Old Dominion

The Virginia Tech football team begins their season at home under the lights at Lane Stadium against Old Dominion tonight. It is a much-anticipated opener for many reasons.

The Hokies are looking to rebound from a frustrating 3-8 season in 2022 and second-year coach Brent Pry added to his roster some key pieces in the transfer portal. Tech enters the game as a 16-point favorite to win, which is a big line for a game that features two teams that each won three games last season, but it would not be surprising to see the spread covered.

It is going to be interesting to see how the opener plays out, but here are three reasons the Hokies will beat the Monarchs.

3. Pry will have Virginia Tech’s defense ready

Last season the Hokies defense had a disappointing season in a number of areas. One of the biggest was their lack of forcing turnovers, the lowest since 1986 with just nine. Yes, they lost linebacker Dax Holifield, but they return a number of players who are looking to turn things around and turn it around quickly.

Jaden Keller and Keli Lawson at linebacker and safety Nasir Peoples are just some of the players that Pry will be looking toward to lead the defense. Expect them to be active in trying to force turnovers.

Before coming to Tech, Pry was the defensive coordinator under James Franklin at Penn State for teams that were always in the hunt for a Big Ten championship. His teams always played tough defense and you have to think with nine months to figure things out will help the Hokies send an early-season statement.