Last week’s limited action in Week 0 provided valuable lessons for several teams. Virginia Tech was one of those teams, and head coach Brent Pry has a clear message for his squad: preseason expectations don’t matter once the games start counting.
Virginia Tech has been generating a lot of buzz as a potential dark horse this season, thanks to strong retention and some key transfers. With most of their key players returning, it’s easy to see why they’re being highlighted by many analysts and publications.
Other ACC teams also in the spotlight as potential conference contenders are Florida State and SMU. However, both had surprising results in Week 0. Florida State was shocked in Ireland by Georgia Tech with a last-second field goal, which significantly impacted their ACC title and playoff hopes. Meanwhile, SMU, a heavy favorite over Nevada, had to rally with 16 points in the final 8 minutes to secure a narrow 29-24 victory.
Currently, Virginia Tech is a strong favorite, with a spread of just under two touchdowns for their game against Vanderbilt, an SEC team in a rebuilding phase. Despite this, Pry is emphasizing to his team that they should not take anything for granted.
At his Tuesday press conference, Pry reiterated, “It reinforced our message that preseason hype doesn’t mean anything.” He’s been stressing that success is determined on the field, not by external expectations, and he plans to continue this focus as they prepare for their opener in Nashville on Saturday.
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