Insane Week 7 bowl projections has Virginia Tech Bowl-eligible

Don’t look now, but for the first time in 2023, the Virginia Tech football team is listed in ESPN’s Bowl projections. Yes, you’re reading that right.

ESPN college football writer has projected Virginia Tech to make a Bowl game

ESPN Senior Writer Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura released their Week 7 Bowl projections for the upcoming College Bowl Season in December and January. Despite sitting at 3-4 entering their bye week, Schlabach has the Hokies as a projected Bowl team.

Schlabach has Virginia Tech playing Memphis in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl, which is played at Fenway Park at 11 a.m. on Dec. 28. This comes as a surprise as the Hokies didn’t look like a tea that might become Bowl-eligible, but since ACC play began, Virginia Tech has looked like a different team under second-year coach Brent Pry.

They have wins over Pittsburgh and Wake Forest, sandwiched around a loss at Florida State, but aside from the first quarter in Tallahassee, they have held their own against their three ACC opponents.

Their two performances at home against Pittsburgh and Wake Forest were the two best games played in the Pry-era in Blacksburg. It’s not even up for debate. Quarterback Kyron Drones has settled in under center in place of Grant Wells and he has two good games against the Panthers and Demon Deacons.

First and foremost, it’s not a guarantee that the Hokies are even going to get to seven wins to become Bowl-eligible. Their schedule, however, is certainly doable to get three more wins out of the five remaining games. They still have Syracuse, Louisville, North Carolina State, Boston College and Virginia. Three of the final five games are on the road, but after Saturday’s performance against Wake Forest, there is hope that they can get to six wins over the final five weeks.