It’s never too early to get excited for the upcoming football season - even if it's released on the final night of January.
That’s exactly how Virginia Tech and the other ACC schools feel after the dates for the 2022 football schedule were announced for all 14 programs.
For the Hokies, the last two months have been all about looking towards the future as the transfer of power has pretty much been wrapped up with Brent Pry and his staff mostly in place.
Now, fans can finally look forward to the opening kickoff which sits just over seven months away.
Our slate is here ✊@ACCFootball
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) February 1, 2022
Prior to Monday night’s schedule release, most of the Hokies’ non-conference dates were already announced; but now it is confirmed that the Pry era will get underway in Southeast Virginia when they take on the Old Dominion Monarchs on either Friday, September 2nd or Saturday, September 3rd.
This will be a pivotal contest for Pry and Hokies as the message from Blacksburg has been to dominate the Commonwealth, with recruiting and results. And what better way for them to live up to that statement then to start the tenure with a road, in-state victory.
After a non-conference game to start the campaign, the Hokies will start a three-game homestand that will last over 12 days, starting with an ACC opener against Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 10th.
Although it seems quite early for a conference matchup to occur in the second week, it’s the latest the Hokies have had to face their first ACC foe since the 2017 season; snapping a four-year streak of starting the schedule against an ACC squad.
The Hokies will jump right back into non-conference play after a date against the Eagles with the annual FCS matchup, this year’s opponent being the Wofford Terriers, which is slated for Saturday, Sept. 17th.
The Southern Conference members will battle against the Hokies for the first time ever. They are looking to have a turnaround 2022 campaign after losing 10 straight games last season to finish with a 1-10 overall record.
The first quarter of the Hokies’ schedule looks to be pretty normal, which should be great news for the new crew as they look to get adjusted in the opening weeks. But all that changes when Pry and Co. hit what could be a major speed bump on their path of success.
After welcoming a FCS opponent, the Hokies will only have five days to prepare for their first rivalry matchup of the season - a date against West Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 22nd.
This will be the quickest turnaround that the Hokies will have to face all season, and after losing the Black Diamond Trophy in Morgantown last year, this game could mark a true turning point in 2022.
Hokie fans should be excited that the contest will be played on a Thursday night as the Black Diamond matchup is back underneath the spotlight like it was in the Big East days. This will also be a huge matchup for the trophy’s sake as there is no scheduled date for these two teams to collide for the foreseeable future currently.
The bright side of playing a Thursday night game the week before means you have more time to prepare for the next opponent, and for the Hokies’ luck, it’ll give them extra preparation for their first ACC Coastal opponent in North Carolina, which takes place on Saturday, October 1st at Chapel Hill.
Despite having had some great results in recent years against the Tar Heels, the Hokies fell to North Carolina in Chapel Hill back in 2020 to a 56-45 shootout, their first loss at North Carolina since 2012.
As Mack Brown searches for his first ACC Coastal title, this will surely be a matchup that he has circled on his calendar, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hokies have their eyes glued to this date as well.
The journey through the conference schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Hokies as they travel up to Pittsburgh on Saturday, Oct. 8th to complete the latter half of a back-to-back.
In this historically balanced series matchup of 11-10 slightly in the Hokies’ favor, the defending ACC Champions have really dealt their blow to the Hokies in recent years at Heinz Field with a 52-22 Pitt victory in 2018 followed by a 47-14 Pitt victory in 2020.
As Pittsburgh is coming off one of its more impressive seasons in recent history, a matchup against the Panthers in Heinz Field will surely be another tall order for the Hokies.
The four-game gauntlet comes to a close in the following week as the Hokies return home to Lane Stadium to face the Hurricanes on Saturday, Oct. 15.
In a battle between two first-year head coaches, this rivalry will have a different sense of renewal when both programs face off in Blacksburg. Miami has really enjoyed the trip up to Southwest Virginia in past years as they have won three of their four contests in Lane Stadium, with their most recent one coming in 2020 when the Hurricanes slipped past the Hokies 25-24.
With just a little more than half of their schedule completed, the Hokies will be able to catch themselves a breather with the open date of the schedule being the week of Oct. 22nd. This comes as a very convenient time for the Hokies to get their bye week with their toughest stretch of the schedule being behind them.
It won’t be a full two weeks off for the Hokies though as they have their second Thursday night game of the season as they travel out to N.C. State to play against the Wolfpack on Oct. 27.
Since becoming members of the ACC, the Hokies have not suffered a loss to the Wolfpack. Their most recent matchup came on Sept. 25, 2020, when the Hokies took down the Wolfpack to the score of 45-24.
This will also be the first time that the Hokies will travel out to Raleigh, N.C. since the 2010 season, where the Hokies notched a 41-30 shootout victory and Tyrod Taylor went on a pretty ridiculous run.
Following a trip to Raleigh, the Hokies return to Blacksburg for the battle of the Techs as the Yellow Jackets visit Lane Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Though having won their two previous contests against the Yellow Jackets, the Hokies have not successfully defended home turf since a 20-17 result back on Sept. 3rd, 2012; making it three consecutive Virginia Tech losses to the Yellow Jackets in Lane Stadium.
To close out the road slate of the 2022 schedule, the Hokies will have back-to-back matchups away from Blacksburg starting with a trip to Duke on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Wallace Wade Stadium has been a successful venue for the Hokies ever since their induction into the ACC, having gone 8-0 in Durham, N.C. Their last loss on the campus of Duke came back during the Bill Dooley era when the Hokies were shutout in 1984.
Similar to the Hurricanes, this Coastal matchup will be a fun one to watch as we will see another battle between two first-year head coaches with Mike Elko taking over head coaching duties for the Blue Devils.
In Virginia Tech’s final road game of 2022, it will play another in-state battle away from Blacksburg as they travel East to Lynchburg to face the Liberty Flames on Saturday, Nov. 19.
After splitting their series history in a pair of duels in Lane Stadium, the Hokies will make their very first trip to Liberty University.
As Hugh Freeze has built a successful program out in Lynchburg, the Flames could become a potential rival to the Hokies for years to come, especially if they could pull off a victory in 2022.
And finally, to close out the regular season will be the Commonwealth Cup against the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday, Nov. 26.
As this rivalry returns to Blacksburg, Brent Pry wants to make sure the Hokies’ success over the Cavaliers translates into his tenure, and fortunately for him, Virginia Tech has been dominant at home against the Cavaliers, having won every game against UVA at Lane Stadium this century.
If the Hokies find themselves in a similar situation that they did in 2021, this game will yet again be another intriguing matchup to keep our eyes peeled towards.
To take a full look at the 2022 Virginia Tech football schedule, click here.
