Ideal Virginia Tech ACC/SEC Challenge matchup is reportedly two years too late

Times are changing in college athletics with the Transfer Portal and NIL. It feels like a lot of players are changing schools as the year continues to grow. When it comes to football and college basketball, the movement that the last couple of seasons has been what you would expect, as it has become professionals sports version of free agency.

Anyway, when it comes to creating matchups for some non-conference games, conferences miss the mark. For the fourth straight season, the ACC/SEC Challenge will take place the first week of December over two days. Several huge matchups on college campuses.

As far as Virginia Tech and men's coach Mike Young go, the ACC/SEC Challenge hasn't been too kind in the early stages. The Hokies are just 1-2, with losses at Auburn and at home against Vanderbilt, along with their first win this past season, at South Carolina.

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, the matchups for the upcoming season have been set and will be announced soon. Virginia Tech is reportedly going to be back inside Cassell Coliseum for the second time in the arrangement, to host Ole Miss. This matchup is two years too late if you're looking for drama.

Virginia Tech men's basketball to reportedly host Ole Miss in ACC/SEC Challenge next winter

According to Rothstein, Virginia Tech will host Ole Miss on Dec. 1 next season in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge. This is a matchup that is two years too late for some Hokies fans, as this was the Transfer Portal destination two years ago for former Virginia Tech guard Sean Pedulla. He went on to have a strong one season in Oxford, leading them to the NCAA Tournament.

Who doesn't love a good game with a former player who left through the portal coming home? To be fair, that year, Virginia Tech hosted Vanderbilt and former players MJ Collins and Tyler Nickel, who ended up beating the Hokies in Blacksburg the year after they left. However, there was something about Pedulla coming home and playing in Cassell that would have had more juice to it.

As far as this upcoming matchup between the Hokies and Rebels, it'll be the fourth time the two programs have met on the court. Virginia Tech holds a 2-1 series lead. The Hokies won the last meeting in the 2017-18 season, 83-80, in Oxford. That matchup came after the first two games were at Virginia Tech in 2007-08, which was won by Ole Miss, and then in 2016-17, which was won by Virginia Tech.

Look, it feels like the ACC/SEC Challenge doesn't give the fans the juicy matchups right away, rather than later on. A Virginia Tech/Ole Miss matchup two years ago in Blacksburg would have been great theater. Now, it's a matchup where the Hokies will be looking to improve their NCAA Tournament résumé. The Challenge is missing the boat for great theatre in 2026-27 by not having LSU and North Carolina State play after head coach Will Wade bolted Raleigh to return as the coach of the Tigers.

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