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Hokies Football: 2016 Virginia Tech Football Season Prediction

The 2016 season and the beginning of the Justin Fuente era are almost here as the Virginia Tech Hokies make their final preparations for their season opener at home against the Liberty Flames. Now, let's take a look at our prediction for Justin Fuente's first season in charge of the Virginia Tech Hokies as he attempts to extend the Hokies' bowl game streak to 24 straight seasons.

September

The Hokies have an interesting September slate with three non-conference games and their ACC home opener against the Boston College Eagles. The Hokies start out the month with tomorrow's season opener against Liberty and while the Hokies can't afford to overlook their opponent as Tennessee did, Virginia Tech will avoid that and take care of business. Then the big showdown of week 2 involves the Hokies facing off at Bristol Motor Speedway against the Tennessee Volunteers in the highly-anticipated Battle at Bristol. Even after last night's close win, I'm still leaning towards Tennessee in this game but the Volunteers has some weaknesses exposed and the Hokies know that they'll have to go after them in the trenches. Expect the Battle at Bristol to be close no matter what given the spectacle it is as it could definitely go either way. The Hokies return to Blacksburg after that with back-to-back home games against Boston College and East Carolina. Boston College comes off one of the worst ACC seasons in recent memory entering 2016 and while the Eagles could cause some trouble, I expect the Hokies to take care of business. Then, the Hokies take on East Carolina as they look to snap their two-year losing streak against the Pirates. One big thing for the Hokies this time is the fact that ECU has also made a coaching change in addition to the fact that this game will be in Blacksburg and not Greenville as was last year. For September, I'm going with a 3-1 start with the only loss coming week 2 against Tennessee though that pick could change after we see how the Hokies look against Liberty.

October

October will be the month that determines whether the Hokies will be frontrunners to win the ACC Coastal or the month where the Hokies' Coastal title hopes completely disappear with games against North Carolina, Miami, and Pittsburgh all in October. Of course, UNC is seen as the Coastal favorite but many see these four as the top group in the Coastal with the Coastal winner very likely to be one of these four teams. The Hokies come off a bye week to travel to North Carolina on the second Saturday of October. Both teams have new QBs but the Tar Heels have a proven guy in Mitch Trubisky who at times looked better than Marquise Williams last season. While the Hokies could definitely pull off the upset, I think the Tar Heels are the team to beat in the Coastal and will protect their home field. The Hokies follow that game with their first of three ACC matchups against fellow new head coach with a trip to Syracuse to face Dino Babers and the Orange. Syracuse has some rebuilding ahead of them and while the Carrier Dome may not be the friendliest venue, this is a game where the Hokies will take care of business and avoid looking ahead to the Thursday night showdown that awaits five days later. The next two weeks involve back-to-back Thursday night games that both have the feel of being toss-ups starting with the Hokies and Miami at Lane Stadium. Both teams are led by new head coaches and both teams have plenty of talent. Right now, the home-field advantage plus to concerns in Miami's front 7 from the departures of two of their projected starters have me leaning towards the Hokies here. The Hokies then face a tough trip to Heinz Field to face the Pittsburgh Panthers in another game that has the feeling of a toss-up. While the Hokies' offense looks ready to be improved and their defense should be solid as well, Pittsburgh returns a good team that has plenty of talent even with the departure of Tyler Boyd on the offensive side. VT has also had some issues on the road at Heinz Field in the past for some reasons and I lean towards Pitt here. With that said, I have the Hokies going 2-2 in October though that could easily be anywhere from 1-3 to even 4-0.

November

The Hokies' November slate is a lot like their September slate with a few games in which they will be fairly big favorites in plus one significant challenge. The Hokies start the month with a trip to face Duke who looked like a sleeper but now does not look nearly as strong due to the loss of QB Thomas Sirk for the season. However, don't expect the Hokies to take this game likely and don't expect Duke to be cupcake of a game either. This could easily end up being a surprise upset but I think the Hokies will get the job done in this game. The Hokies then face a Georgia Tech team that has been wildly inconsistent last year as they went from the Orange Bowl after the 2014 season to missing a bowl game last season. Georgia Tech still has Justin Thomas but the Hokies have Bud Foster leading the way and Foster has had plenty of success against the triple option that should continue on in this matchup, leading VT to victory. The Hokies then face what is probably the toughest game on their schedule, a trip to South Bend to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Even with a two-QB system, Notre Dame has two very talented QBs and a team that may be in the national title hunt at this point. Expect the Hokies to hold their own but Notre Dame should win this game. Then, the Hokies end the regular season by hosting rival Virginia in the Commonwealth Cup. The Hokies have won the Commonwealth Cup for a dozen-straight seasons and with this game being in Lane Stadium, expect the Hokies to easily get the job and cruise to extending the winning streak to a baker's dozen.

Final Prediction: 8-4 (6-2 ACC)

My final prediction is for an 8-4 season for the Hokies with VT going 6-2 in conference, enough to likely earn the Hokies a spot in the Belk Bowl as many fans wanted last year for Frank Beamer's final home game. Get even more excited Hokie fans, football season is back and the Hokies are ready for a fight in the Coastal in 2016.
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