College football analysts slam Virginia Tech for Vanderbilt loss

Going into the season, with the retainment and transfer portal additions, there was a lot of love for the Virginia Tech football team for 2024. Factor in a very doable schedule both in the non-conference and ACC, things were lining up for the Hokies to prove that Brent Pry and his staff have sped up the rebuild.

Then Saturday happened and an early dose of reality hit Virginia Tech on Labor Day Weekend.

The Hokies went to Nashville against a rebuilding Vanderbilt team with New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia at quarterback and they had no answers to slow him down or stop him in a stunning 34-27 loss. It was a frustrating afternoon for Virginia Tech for a number of reasons and it didn't take long for some national college football analyst to chime in on the surprising result.

Barrett Sallee and Tom Luginbill blast Virginia Tech for losing at Vanderbilt

Reaction to the Hokies' loss to the Commodores didn't take long and two college football analysts, Barrett Sallee and Tom Luginbill needed just one segment on their weekly show on SiriusXM College Sports Radio to blast Virginia Tech.

"I want to apologize to Virginia Tech fans as I was all aboard the hype train and I was the conductor,'' said Sallee. "Virginia Tech had everything set up right and after one game the lever was pulled straight back. Again, I want to apologize to Virginia Tech fans.''

Luginbill discussed that Week 0, Georgia Tech beating Florida State in Week 0, and other head-scratching results in Week 1 for the ACC he did not see coming, including the Hokies losing in Nashville.

"Virginia Tech had all of the offseason hype with a dynamic quarterback (Kyron Drones) and they lay an egg,'' Luginbill said. "They were lucky to have that game as close as it was.''

They're both not wrong and for the record, Drones played well enough to win and deserved a better result as he was not the problem, but no matter how better Vanderbilt might be in 2024, this is a loss that can't happen. It can't after the hype all offseason, losing to a team picked to finish last in the SEC, even if it was a true home game for them.