The Virginia Tech Hokies improved to 4-0 with a hard-fought, often ugly 21-14 win over the Boston College Eagles on Saturday. It was the first time the Hokies truly faced adversity under new head coach James Franklin, as they battled not only Boston College but also horrendous weather conditions. Virginia Tech scored two touchdowns in the final quarter, capped off by Jeffrey Overton’s 76-yard touchdown run to put the Eagles away.
Next up: Pittsburgh.
On Friday, the undefeated Hokies host the undefeated Panthers under the lights at Lane Stadium. This will be the first road game of the season for Pitt, which has home wins over Miami (OH), UCF, Syracuse and Bucknell. Only UCF tested the Panthers, who held on for a 12-7 win.
Sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel leads Pittsburgh. Heintschel has 13 touchdown passes and only one interception through four games. There are similarities to Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, as both are 6-foot-2 sophomore signal-callers from the state of Ohio. It should be the best quarterback matchup in Blacksburg in quite a while.
Franklin understands how important this game is. Not only can VT improve to 5-0, but it can also reach 2-0 in the ACC. It would also be another win against a longtime conference rival. Therefore, Franklin wants Hokie Nation to show up in full force on Friday night.
“Being back at home this week is obviously going to be significant,” Franklin said on Monday. “We need it to be a home-field advantage. We need it to be a four-quarter game, four quarters of support from our fans and from our students. That’s going to be a really important factor in this game. We need to have a significant home-field advantage.”
No worries, Coach.
Hokie Nation always shows up. You can bet Friday night will be electric under the lights in Lane. For several years, the fans brought the energy and did their part. Then, kickoff happened. Things are different now. How different? We’ll find out on Friday night.
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