The first game of the Brent Pry era is almost here as Virginia Tech heads into the heart of one of the Commonwealth's most football talent rich areas in the 757 to take on Old Dominion. The Hokies will be looking to avenge their 2018 loss in Norfolk while the Monarchs will be dreaming of pulling off upset.
So will Tech take care of business in the opener of the Brent Pry era? Here's our staff's picks.
Tim Thomas
The Brent Pry era kicks off on the road against an Old Dominion team that will be dreaming of pulling off another home upset of the Hokies. Tech is rightly the favorites of this game, but ODU shouldn't be discounted in what has the makings of being a fairly close game.
There's a couple reasons for that. First is the fact that ODU has a solid offense led by a pair of former Power 5 players in WR Ali Jennings (WVU) and TE Zach Kuntz (Penn State) who have found great success in Norfolk and will test the Hokies' secondary. Meanwhile, the Hokies' offense has some questions on the ground with Malachi Thomas out and Jalen Holston's status up in the air, potentially creating a one-dimension offense if Keshawn King or someone else can't step up.
One thing that could be fascinating to watch is the battle between the ODU offense and VT defense given how Brent Pry and Ricky Rahne were coordinators together at Penn State so both should be familiar with each other's specialty.
However, there's no doubt that Tech has the greater talent while also having the defensive firepower to match up well with ODU's best talent thanks to Dorian Strong and Chamarri Conner. Additionally, ODU's defense has plenty of questions with Grant Wells having the arm talent to take advantage with Kaleb Smith and Da'Wain Lofton leading the charge.
The Monarchs will make things interesting but in the end, the Hokies will do enough to get the job done and leave Norfolk with a victory to open the Brent Pry era.
Pick: Virginia Tech 31, Old Dominion 20
Will Locklin
The Hokies travel to Norfolk to kickoff the Brent Pry era at Virginia Tech. Even with lots of new pieces on the roster and coaching staff, Tech will be in a good position to open the season 1-0.
Tech has more talent on both sides of the ball to get the job done. Grant Wells will get off to a hot start as the Hokies QB1. The defense will come ready to play and dominate. I predict Virginia Tech will take down Old Dominion by a score of 28-17.
