Virginia Tech Football: 10 must-watch games during Hokies bye week

The Virginia Tech football team is on their bye this week and will return to the field on Thursday, Oct. 26, with a home game against Syracuse. With no game for the Hokies, that means fans will have a wide-open schedule all day to watch different games.

There is no shortage of games that are one that Hokies can tune into with interest. Here are 10 games that Virginia Tech fans should keep an eye on this weekend.

ACC Schedule during the Virginia Tech bye week

There are five games on the schedule this weekend in the ACC and there are some good matchups. Here are the five games,

• Boston College at Georgia Tech, noon (ACC Network)
• Pittsburgh at Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m. (ACC Network)
• Virginia at North Carolina, 6:30 p.m. (CW Network)
• Duke at Florida State, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
• Clemson at Miami, 8 p.m. (ACC Network)

The two big games this week are in the primetime session with Duke visiting Florida State and Clemson at Miami. The Blue Devils are going to find out just how tough it is to play the Seminoles in Tallahassee, especially if quarterback Riley Leonard is not 100%. Clemson and Miami looked good on the schedule at the beginning of the season, however, a questionable coaching decision from Mario Cristobal two weeks ago against Georgia Tech and losing last week at North Carolina has put the Hurricanes just about of reach for the ACC title games. The Tigers are in the same boat after losses to Duke in the season opener and in September in overtime to Florida State at home. Still, this is a game that could be very entertaining.

The rest of the schedule has two future Virginia Tech opponents in Boston College and Virginia playing Georgia Tech and North Carolina respectfully. The other matchup is a game between two teams that have both lost to the Hokies this season in Pittsburgh and Wake Forest. Those were the two best performances by Brent Pry’s team in 2023.

Five non-ACC games to watch during the Virginia Tech bye week

Outside of the ACC, here are five games are worth watching in terms of rivalries and the playoff picture,

• Penn State at Ohio State, noon (FOX)
• Tennessee at Alabama, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
• Michigan at Michigan State, 7:30 p.m. (NBC)
• Utah at USC, 8 p.m. (FOX)
• Montana State at Sacramento State, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Penn State at Ohio State is an elimination game from not only the Big Ten race but also the college football playoff. Alabama will host Tennessee in a revenge game after the Vols beat the Crimson Tide late in last season’s matchup in Knoxville and there is very little love loss between those two teams. Michigan will play their first game since it was announced that they are being investigated for potentially cheating in scouting an opponent and Utah heads to Southern California to play a USC coming off a disappointing loss at Notre Dame last weekend. Finally, two FCS teams that are figured to be factors in the playoffs in December battle in California with Montana State playing Sacramento State.

Despite no Virginia Tech game this weekend, there are plenty of options both in the ACC and outside to watch. You can’t watch all the games, but it’s a good weekend to have the TV clicker in your hand.