So the Athletic Department has released the 2019 Football Schedule.

• The Spring Game suddenly shows up as an actual event. Mark your calendars for April 13th, because that practice month and Spring scrimmage is going to be critical to the Hokies in 2019.
• The Hokies start on the road, again this season, and it’s with an ACC opponent, again... [insert frowny face here]. The season starts ultra early this year with an August 31st game against Boston College at Chestnut Hill. Face it, this season’s BC game was a huge disappointment, and there will be revenge on the table to be served cold.
• The Hokies head back to Blacksburg for the home opener and a 3 game 4 week home stand on September 7th. There is going to be a huge score to settle up since it’s with the Old Dominion Monarchs. It’s going to be interesting, is all that I can say.
• We host our FCS southwestern Virginia neighbors, Furman on September 14th. Lots of weird personal coincidences with this game, but you’ll have to wait for the story.
• On September 27st Duke rolls into town, and we’ll see how their coaching and player fixes work out. I am sure they’ll be spoiling for some of their own revenge for last season’s visit from the Hokies.
• October 2nd starts the heart and core of the fall football season with a visit to the balmy beaches and swamps of Coral Gables Florida. Miami has a new coach and is rebuilding. No one knows anything about how it’s going to go other than their new coach is basically their old coach’s assistant. I really expect this one to be a typical Hokie/Hurricane grudge match.
• October 12th, the Hokies come home to face FCS short notice fill in Rhode Island. It won’t help our image much, and it certainly won’t count for much bowl wise, but it will be interesting since we haven’t played them since 1980.
• North Carolina comes to Blacksburg the next week, October 19th. That game is completely up in the air with new Tar Heel coaches and presumably lots of players in churn.
• Then we cough up another Bye week before heading out to South Bend, Indiana on Nov 2nd to take on the ACC (not) Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. No one should offer much comment. We haven’t a clue as to what the Hokies will look like, and the Irish will still be the Irish.
• The Hokies bounce back home play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on November 9th. Let us not repeat ourselves, please.
• We head to Atlanta on November 16th to face a very different Georgia Tech team with a new coach, supposedly normal system, with option players in the cupboard. This game should be very interesting.
• Which all leads to Senior Day, the 2019 Lane Stadium and season finale on November 23rd. We will see the Pitt Panthers in a similar situation to the 2017 Hokies vs. Panthers on a Senior day before the Commonwealth Cup game. Let’s not depend on a goal line stand to win, and certainly not get clobbered like we did last year.
• Of course the season will wrap with the annual family feud, this time at Scott Stadium the day after a very late Thanksgiving on Friday November 29th. A bunch of Hoos will be back, but they’ll be working out how to fill some graduating holes in the roster. That OT and fumble to end it last season is going to be a real sore spot. It’s set to be a serious slugger...

Observations:

1. No Thursday games this season
2. No obvious late games - especially with our record from 2018.
3. Seven home games, again. Some grousing going on about the related increase in season ticket costs. Hopefully we don’t get hit by any storms that cancel games, disturb schedules, and adversely effect the team.
4. Spring Game on the Schedule already? Does that tell you about how important the coaches think that it’s going to be this year?

Not a cakewalk, but definitely a winnable season.

GO HOKIES!!!!