Followed by re-runs of “Teen Wolf” on The CW
Teams: Syracuse Orange (5-2, 2-2) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-3, 3-1)
Day & Time: Saturday, November 2, 12:00 pm ET
Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Line: Syracuse is in for a tight contest according to Fanduel’s odds. The Orange are slim +3.5 underdogs.
TV/Streaming: The CW
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3, Sirius/XM 121 or 201
Rivalry: 11-9, Syracuse
Current Streak: 1, Virginia Tech
First Meeting: 1964 was the first meeting between Syracuse and Virginia Tech, and the Orange eked out a 20-15 victory in Central New York.
Last Meeting: Virginia Tech jumped out to a dominating 27-point lead at halftime and never looked back as the Hokies grabbed a 38-10 win over Syracuse on a Thursday night at Lane Stadium. Bhayshul Tuten had 118 rushing yards and a touchdown. Virginia Tech had 528 total yards of offense to Syracuse’s 137 yards.
Photo by Ryan Hunt/Getty Images
Head Coaches: Syracuse – Fran Brown (first year, 5-2) | Virginia Tech – Brent Pry (third year, 15-17)
Coach Bio: Pry was a safety at the D-III level with Maryville and Buffalo. His first coaching job came at D-II East Stroudsburg where his dad was the offensive coordinator. Pry joined the D-I coaching ranks at Virginia Tech as a graduate assistant in the mid 1990s. He bounced with FCS and Group Five programs as a defensive assistant for various teams. Pry made his name at Georgia Southern in 2010 when he led the Eagles to a No. 9 ranking in total defense as defensive coordinator.
His success at Georgia Southern led him to join Vanderbilt as its defensive coordinator, which would be his first D-1 FBS job. Pry spent three seasons with the Commodores before joining Penn State as its defensive coordinator. There he was reunited with James Franklin, who was a quarterback at East Stroudsburg while Pry was there. His success with the Nittany Lions defense produced many NFL draft picks, most notably Micah Parsons. Pry would join Virginia Tech as its head coach for the 2022 season for his first head coaching job.
Last Year: Virginia Tech turned early season struggles into late season success. The Hokies lost three non-conference games but won five ACC games. Virginia Tech squeaked into Bowl Season with a blowout win over Virginia at Charlottesville for win No. 6. The Hokies took that momentum into a convincing 41-20 win over Tulane in the Military Bowl.
Last Game: Virginia Tech grabbed a third straight win this season with a 21-6 win over Georgia Tech in Blacksburg. Despite getting out-gained by 123 yards, the Hokies picked off the Yellow Jackets twice to keep Georgia Tech out of the end zone.
“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Virginia Tech’s stout defense is highlighted by Antwaun Powell-Ryland. He has 11 sacks this season and two forced fumbles. Powell-Ryland has two games this season with four sacks. He grabbed two sacks against Syracuse last season.
If Syracuse Wins: We’re off to Never Never Land.
If Syracuse Loses: Let’s just pull a TCU and blame the loss because this game is on The CW.
Fun Fact: The last time Syracuse played Virginia Tech in Central New York was in 2016. The Orange upset then ranked No. 17 Virginia Tech 31-17. That game, famously, is where the first Dino Babers locker room “Who’s house?” speech came from.