College football analyst offers Virginia Tech fans hope after Vanderbilt loss

It was not the start to the 2024 season that the Virginia Tech football team was hoping for. A stunning 34-27 loss to Vanderbilt sent shock waves not only through Hokie Nation but across college football. It may seem like the sky is falling in Blacksburg, but only national college analyst says not so fast.

On a recent episode of his show, Josh Pate offered some hope for Virginia Tech fans who still have 11 more games, including their home opener Saturday against Marshall to look forward to.

"Does this mean the sky is falling for Virginia Tech? No, it does not. It just means that the hype bubble was popped and now it's time to go to work. As far as I can tell, you're still perfect in conference play, you're 0-0. They play Marshall this Saturday then they have Old Dominion, then Rutgers, they don't jump into conference play until September 27, that's the good news, the bad news is that's against Miami on a Friday night."

- Josh Pate

So no, the sky isn't falling, but after an offseason of the fans being sold on the culture that is being built and then having success in recruiting, to go out and lose to Vanderbilt in Week 1 is, well, unacceptable. Monday, four-star athlete Matthew Outten flipped his commitment from Virginia Tech to Penn State. Coincidence or not? Maybe we'll never know, but if you think the loss to Vandy was a kick in the gut, how about having one of your prized recruits flip his commitment two days after that loss and to Brent Pry's former boss?

Now it wouldn't be surprising if the Hokies turn the tables and blow out the Thundering Hurd on Saturday and it wouldn't be surprising if it was a close game coming down the stretch. The scary part is that Tech is a double-digit favorite again. We all know how that turned out last time.

Josh Pate is giving Virginia Tech fans a new-found hope and for now, they should take it and run with it.