One year ago, the Virginia Tech football team was a trendy pick across college football, considered a dark horse for the new 12-team College Football Playoff. Between retention, portal additions, and a strong finish to the 2023 seaosn, it was easy to see why people were high on the Hokies.
This year, it feels like we are coming very close to getting those vibes with South Carolina, which just happens to be Virginia Tech's season-opening opponent in Atlanta on Aug. 31 in a standalone Sunday afternoon game in the middle of Labor Day Weekend. On Monday, the Preseason AP Top 25 poll was released, and the Gamecocks came in higher than some thought.
Preseason AP Top 25 poll adds more pressure on season opener between Virginia Tech and South Carolina
The vibes around South Carolina this year feel like the same vibes that were surrounding Virginia Tech at this time last season, and we all know what happened. The Hokies opened the season at Vanderbilt, lost in overtime in a major upset, and things spiraled from there to another 6-6 season.
Now I'm not saying that this is what is going to happen to the Gamecocks this season by any means, but they do play a more difficult schedule than the Hokies did just by being in the SEC. That is why the season opener for Shane Beamer and his team as they can't afford to slip up against the Hokies and still have the type of season they want to, ending in the CFP.
The Gamecocks are a favorite against the Hokies, and right now, according to DraftKings, it's a 7.5-point spread and is expected to climb before kickoff in just under three weeks. It started at 9.5, but has slowly dropped. Regardless, the pressure on this game for Beamer and South Carolina got a little hotter with the release of the Preseason AP Top 25 and the No. 13 ranking they got.