Virginia Tech Football Bowl Projections: SEC, Big Ten or Former Teammate?

For the second time this year, the Virginia Tech football team had a bye week. You could make the case that it was a much-needed bye with the amount of injuries piling up. The Hokies will return to the field next Saturday night (Nov. 23) in Durham, N.C. against Duke.

Sitting at 5-5, this has been a disappointing season to date for Brent Pry and his team, who still need one win to become bowl-eligible this season. At the beginning of the season, Virginia Tech had higher hopes than just another bowl game. They had visions of the new 12-team College Football Playoff, but now they spend the. final two weeks fighting to play an extra team next month. If they do get that sixth, there are a lot of options who could select Pry's team to play in their bowl and here are the latest projections off an idle week in Blacksburg.

Latest Virginia Tech Bowl Projections

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has the Hokies slotted for the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa against MAC foe Eastern Michigan in a game that would be played before Christmas on Dec. 20. A bowl game against a MAC opponent would certainly be something else considering the hopes Virginia Tech had coming into the season.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports has the Hokies going to Boston to play in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at, yes, you guessed it, Fenway Park. He has them slotted against a very familiar foe, Tulane University in a rematch of last season's Military Bowl, won by the Hokies, 41-20.

ESPN's duo of Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach have different takes on where the Hokies would be playing should they get a sixth victory of the season. Bonagura has them going to the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl on Jan. 3 against the University of Cincinnati and former teammate Derrick Canteen who transferred to the Bearcats after last season. Schalabach has Virginia Tech playing in the Birmingham Bowl against Arkansas out of the SEC.

College Football Network has the Hokies going to New York City and back to Yankee Stadium to play in the Pinstripe Bowl against Wisconsin out of the Big Ten. The Badgers nearly upset top-ranked Oregon on Saturday night.

The truth is Virginia Tech needs one more win to even become bowl-eligible and it would be stunning if they did not extend their season beyond Thanksgiving Weekend when Virginia comes to Blacksburg. Then again, nothing should surprise Hokies fans in 2024 anymore.