Virginia Tech Football: Hokies take advantage of ACC schedule

After starting 1-3 in their four non-conference games, things looked bleak for the Virginia Tech football team in terms of getting to a bowl game. They needed to go at least 5-3 in conference games to get to December football, which seemed like a tall task with a lot more questions than answers.

To their credit, the Hokies took advantage of their ACC schedule that set up perfectly for them, and in the big picture, they did what good teams do, they took advantage and ran with it.

Virginia Tech beats who they needed to beat in ACC play

Now that the dust has settled on the 2023 ACC football regular season, Virginia Tech did what they needed to do, they beat the teams they should have beat. All five of their conference wins, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Boston College, and Virginia, were against teams that finished lower than them in the conference standings.

Their three losses were to Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina State. Those three teams finished in that order ahead of the Hokies in the top three spots. There is no shame in losing to those three teams. Would Virginia Tech like to have played better against all three teams? Yes, of course, however, those three teams have better talent than the Hokies and right now, and again, there is no shame in losing to those three teams.

This was a must-step in the rebuild for coach Brent Pry and his staff and now they get extra practices and a game in late December. Those are going to be valuable practices for the younger players and allow them to take the next step heading into 2024.

Nobody knew what was going to happen once conference play started, but Virginia Tech won five of their eight games to become bowl-eligible, and in their five wins, they dominated their opponents. Now they get an extra month together and a chance to take a giant step forward in the rebuild.