Ranking Virginia Tech's 2023 Road Games Based on Travel Buzz

The 2023 college football season is just over 2 months away with Virginia Tech entering it with lots of buzz off the field as Brent Pry looks to lead the Hokies back to a bowl game in his second season at the helm.

That also means that you are probably starting to take a closer look at Tech's schedule and consider which road games you may want to travel to. So I decided that I wanted to give you my ranking of VT's road games based on travel buzz which includes a multitude of factors from travel distance/ease for fans across the Commonwealth to buzz around the game, quality of opponent, road stadium atmosphere, and quality of the area you're traveling to for spending a weekend there among other factors. Of course, some of this will also be based on my own perspective of these games including the travel from Southwest Virginia which obviously looks different compared to Hokies who live in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Washington D.C., Charlotte, etc.

So here's my ranking of Tech's six home games based purely on my "travel buzz" metric.

6. Rutgers (September 16th)

Friend of mine and New Jersey native Billy Ray Mitchell will certainly disagree with me on this one, but Rutgers is at the bottom of my list of road trips this season.

Part of the challenge is that Rutgers isn't particularly close to an airport or a train station so getting to Piscataway without having to make that drive up I-95 isn't simple (though the NJ Turnpike is pretty nice).

Now one plus with Rutgers is the fact that you are kind of in the New York City metro but you're not also that close to NYC proper so you're probably going have to drive with common NYC modes of transportation not being a reasonable option. Given that it's NYC, that creates a significant challenge actually getting into and out of NYC for fans who may want to do more than just hang in Piscataway. NYC is one of the most appealing parts of this trip but actually getting there from Piscataway won't be simple.

The fact that Tech did play in NYC at Yankee Stadium in the Pinstripe Bowl less than 2 years ago also takes some of the buzz away from this trip in my view while the Hokies have had lots of notable basketball events in NYC in recent years including the 2022 ACC Tournament championship and their December 2022 victory over Oklahoma State.

It is fun to see a new stadium and road trip and while Rutgers' home environment isn't great, there should be plenty of tickets available for Tech fans to buy. Credit to the Sons of Saturday for trying to get a strong contingent of Tech fans to buy tickets to this game.

Part of that is because Rutgers ranks as the worst team that Tech will face among their road games this season according to ESPN's Bill Connelly's SP+ rankings. In some ways, that makes this a better opportunity for a victory and should mean cheaper tickets are available but the quality of game may simply not be as good as most on this calendar. Cheaper tickets also should balance out more expensive hotel prices even if you stay in New Jersey because of the higher cost of living in general in this region of the country.

So yes, Rutgers comes in at the bottom of the list and is probably the least likely game that I'll travel for this season.

5. Boston College (November 11th)

I'll be honest, part of the reason why Boston College is ahead of Rutgers on my list is because of the fact that I've personally only been to Boston once but enjoyed it a lot.

Yes, BC is in Chestnut Hill specifically but that's at least more in the Boston metro than Rutgers is in the NYC metro. It also should be easier to get around than say NYC by car while expenses for things like Ubers to get around Boston should be cheaper because of the fact that it's closer to downtown Boston and also isn't NYC. There's also a lot of things to do in Boston from the rich history of the city to the cool downtown market and more.

Now this may be a tad higher if this game was on Labor Day weekend where it could easily be turned into a weekend getaway with what would be pretty good weather that time of year. Instead, you get a mid-November trip to New England which definitely hurts BC's spot on this list. There's also the fatigue of playing BC on a yearly basis including every other year at Chestnut Hill.

The fact that BC struggled mightily last year and lost two of their stars in WR Zay Flowers (NFL) and QB Phil Jurkovec (transfer to Pittsburgh) does mean that this is a good win opportunity for the Hokies though like the Rutgers game, may not be the highest quality even if it's a close one. BC also isn't known for great environments with this game unlikely to produce one though like Rutgers, that should mean cheap tickets for those who make the trip though you will likely fairly cold given the mid-November date.

If Tech hadn't been in NYC or the vicinity multiple times within the past couple years, this trip to BC would probably be in last in our rankings but because of that combined with BC actually being more in Boston proper, BC ranks just ahead of Rutgers.

4. Marshall (September 23rd)

There are some who may write this game off and put it at the bottom of their list because it's a Group of 5 opponent but not me. Personally, I think this is an underrated gem on the schedule that those who aren't as far away out of Northern Virginia or in the western part of the Commonwealth should look at further.

It's notable to remember that Tech is travelling to Marshall as part of an agreement that brought the Thundering Herd to Blacksburg in 2018 to give Tech one more chance to get bowl eligible following the controversial cancelation of the East Carolina game that led to that series being canceled. Marshall will come to Blacksburg next year to complete what is a 2-for-1 series.

Marshall has a very passionate fan base and a great home environment that will certainly be even more juiced up than normal given the magnitude of hosting Virginia Tech. This could be a similar environment to what Tech has experienced at ECU in the past or what we saw with games like NC State at ECU and UNC at App State last season.

Huntington may not be the most exciting city to travel to, but this is an area that loves college football. While Marshall doesn't have too big of a stadium which may inflate ticket prices, this may mean that more hotel options are available at cheaper prices compared to weekends in college towns with way bigger football stadiums like Blacksburg or Clemson.

This also sets up to be a very entertaining football game with plenty of intrigue given that this will be the return to Marshall for Grant Wells, CJ McCray, and J.C. Price who was an assistant for the Thundering Herd before joining the Hokies.

3. Virginia (November 25th)

This shouldn't come as a surprise that UVA is in the top 3 given the fact that this is always the easiest road trip for Tech across the Commonwealth to make. Combine it with the other obvious factors of it being the Commonwealth Cup rivalry and coming on the Saturday after Thanksgiving when people are travelling anyway and it's always a good combination.

If you're a Hokie fan who wants to be at a road game with a bunch of Tech fans without having to spend tons of money, going to Charlottesville to see the Hokies take on UVA is the best way to do that. Tickets are usually fairly affordable for Tech fans on secondary markets like StubHub while many can get to Charlottesville within a reasonable amount of time preventing the need to get a hotel even for a night game unlike any other game on this list.

Charlottesville is also an underrated college town that has a very good downtown area and plenty of things to do if you choose to stay for a weekend whether at night in said downtown or during an afternoon with breweries and plenty of vineyards.

This year's game may also be cherished as a time for Tech and UVA fans to come together in a special way after last year's tragedy at UVA that led to the cancellation of this game. We've seen how UVA has stepped up in Tech's darkest time in 2007 with the Hokies being a great advocate for UVA during their tragedy last fall.

Of course, a Tech win could also lead a to a road field storm that because a favorite fan memory to experience just as it was incredible to experience that scene develop from the press box in 2021.

2. Louisville (November 4th)

This will be the first time that Virginia Tech plays at Louisville without any COVID restrictions since 1992 and only the second time that the Hokies and Cardinals have played anywhere since Louisville joined the ACC (the other being at Louisville in 2020). Tech fans don't get to make this trip often with this being an exciting opportunity to visit a new destination.

The fact that this is the first time Tech fans truly get to make this trip to Louisville for an ACC football game helps boost where this game ranks up the list a little higher. Both programs have always had a more blue collar type feel in how they climbed the ranks of the sport which adds a little more intrigue to this game. Louisville may not be in the VT, FSU, Clemson tier of ACC environments but they are definitely solidly in that second tier along with NC State of solid ACC environments to experience a game at with the hiring of Jeff Brohm bringing plenty of buzz to the Cardinals.

I've personally never been to Louisville but actually being in the city means that fans looking to turn this into a weekend trip should have plenty to do including visit historic Churchill Downs which will have horse racing going on that weekend. Also, bourbon fans have a great excuse to take a Friday off and make this a long weekend to get a taste of true Kentucky bourbon leading up to Saturday's kickoff.

Tech fans finally get their first non-COVID affected trip to Louisville which I bet will be a popular one for Hokie fans regardless of where things stand for Tech at this point in the season.

1. Florida State (October 7th)

It'll have been just over five years since the last time Virginia Tech and Florida State faced off on Labor Day 2018 night with VT winning 24-3 when the Hokies and Seminoles battle in Tallahassee in early October.

You probably aren't surprised to see this game at the top of the list for a multitude of reasons especially given how these two schools have only played twice since Tech beat FSU in the 2010 ACC Championship game.

Tallahassee is one of the few elite environments in the ACC along with Blacksburg and Clemson. Given the rarity of getting those environments in this conference, experiencing a game at FSU should be a blast regardless of the result of the game. FSU has plenty of great traditions, passionate fans, and a historic stadium that are a great picture of what makes college football great just like Tech fans get to experience with every home game in Blacksburg.

FSU is also the one playoff contender on this list and while that could mean a game that isn't particularly close, it's always a plus when you get to see a very high level team.

The weather should also be great being October along the Florida Panhandle which could also make this a great vacation opportunity for Hokies who may not have kids for example to spend some time on the Gulf Coast while making this visit. For reference, Tallahassee is less than 2 hours from places like Mexico Beach, Panama City Beach, and Apalachicola so there's plenty of great spots that could turn this into a great fall vacation around this game.