Putting together non-conference college football schedules is not easy for Power 4 teams. This season, Virginia Tech gets two SEC teams out of the gate with South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Last season the Hokies opened with the Commodores in Nashville, before squeezing in games with Marshall and Old Dominion before playing Rutgers from the Big Ten.
College schedules are generally agreed on years in advance and are usually a two-year deal. That's not the case with Virginia Tech and Old Dominion. The Hokies and Monarchs have a deal in place where they will play seven more times before it expires. In the overall big picture, this is a bad contract for Virginia Tech to be in and they need to look to get out of it.
It's a no-win situation for the Hokies. Sure, it should be a layup and a victory in terms of becoming bowl-eligible at the end of the season, however, it wasn't a layup in 2022 when Tech lost at ODU. They have won the last two matchups comfortably, but if there is ever a time for Virginia Tech to get out of the deal, it is now.
Virginia Tech needs to find a way out of ODU to pick up Tennessee
On Friday, it was announced that Nebraska backed out of their home-and-home series with Tennessee in 2026 and 2027 with the Cornhuskers replacing them with Bowling Green (2026) and Miami of Ohio (2027). That leaves Tennessee scrambling to fill two dates very late in the process and the Hokies can be their opponent.
If they were to become Tennessee's opponent and replace Nebraska, they would need to get out of the contract with Old Dominion, something that a lot of fans would welcome. Think about it, Tennessee and Virginia Tech 10 years again after the battle at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2016.
Getting out of the ODU deal is something that Virginia Tech reportedly tried to do just a year ago, but didn't. If they are going to do it, now is the time for Whit Babcock and coach Brent Pry to make it happen. Imagine the Hokies and Volunteers doing a home-and-home in Knoxville and Blacksburg. It just makes too much sense.
It is unlikely to happen, but it should. The same dates that Virginia Tech has with Old Dominion are the two exact dates that Tennessee now has open. It's a simple move and easy to do schedule-wise for both schools. Sure, it's going to cost Virginia Tech to get out of the deal, but it would be worth it for the option that's available to them.