We are still one day away from Virginia Tech beginning the season in Atlanta against No. 13 South Carolina in a matchup that is about as tough for Brent Pry as he could have in a pivotal season.
Since the line came out for the game at various sportsbooks, the Gamecocks have been a favorite and a rather big one. Currently at DraftKings, they remain a 7-point favorite. On Saturday, ESPN's GameDay panel weighed in their picks, and to no surprise, it was a clean sweep.
ESPN GameDay unanimously picks against Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina
If you have been following along the last year, you know that the Hokies severely underachieved in 2024 after the season began with so much hype and a dark horse in a lot of analysts' eyes as a team that could crash the 12-team playoff. That never came close to being true as they started with an overtime loss at Vanderbilt and closed out the season with a Duke's Mayo Bowl loss against Minnesota to finish 6-7.
This offseason, you get 2024 Virginia Tech vibes with South Carolina as a dark-horse team with an exciting quarterback and a talented roster. For one week, the ESPN GameDay panel made their picks on Saturday for Sunday's standalone game, and it was a Gamecocks' sweep from Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Lee Corso (his final appearance on the set), and Kirk Herbstreit. Again, no surprise.
Herbstreit did say on the broadcast that South Carolina coach Shane Beamer will have some emotion going up against his father's school, while Pry is trying to get the Virginia Tech program going, and he is facing a tough start, which is not breaking any news.