Hokies-Hurricanes Preview: Matchup Carries Entirely Different Weight Than A YEAR AGO

BLACKSBURG, Va. — A year ago, Virginia Tech and Miami stepped into their matchup under circumstances that feel almost unrecognizable compared to today. At that point in the season, Virginia Tech sat at 2-2. The opener against Vanderbilt had slipped away, and a one-score loss three weeks later to Rutgers left the Hokies wobbling but not unraveling. There was still a sense — faint, but present — that the team could steady itself, stack wins and still shape its season. Miami, meanwhile, carried the aura of a rising ACC force, a team angling for top-5 national attention.

Then came the play that still lingers in the memory of anyone who watched it: the Hail Mary-turned-incompletion. In real time, it looked like the kind of moment that could rewrite a season. Quarterback Kyron Drones launched it; wideout Da’Quan Felton elevated and appeared to land with the ball. The officials signaled touchdown. For a moment, Virginia Tech fans believed the impossible had happened. But after more than six minutes of video review, the call was overturned. Debate about what constitutes a catch in modern college football has only become murkier since, but the objective part that can’t be changed is the final score: Miami 38, Virginia Tech 34. A game that could have been a turning point instead became a reminder of how thin margins define programs trying to climb.

Fast-forward to this year, and the storylines overlap only in shadow. Virginia Tech enters the matchup at 3-7, carrying the weight of a season that slipped well beyond salvaging weeks ago. Any early-season whispers, faint as they were, about a stellar season vanished after the embarrassing loss to Old Dominion, a game that accelerated consequences. Head coach Brent Pry was dismissed on Sept. 14, ending his tenure after three seasons and an abbreviated fourth. In 2022, his first full campaign, the Hokies went 3-8. This season appears destined to finish at least as poorly, if not slightly worse. The likelihood of four straight losses to close the year, and six defeats in the final seven games, feels less like prediction and more like gravity.

Yet, this matchup against Miami carries weight for an entirely different reason: recruiting. Typically, November games don’t reshape signing momentum. By this point in the calendar, most prospects have made up their minds, scheduled their visits, and publicly hinted, if not outright declared, their intentions. But this November is different. The firing of James Franklin at Penn State sent shockwaves through the region, and Virginia Tech capitalized, signing him to a five-year, $41.86 million contract to become the program’s next head coach. The move didn’t merely change the football staff; it reopened the recruiting map for anyone previously committed to Penn State.

“My focus has been on the players and it's going to stay there,” Montgomery said. “[That’s] what we got to do, to prepare them to have the opportunity to go out and compete at a really high level, get a big win, get to play in that stadium. That's what our focus has been will continue to be and whatever situation that comes in front of us. We're going to deal with it that way and keep our focus where it has been and where it still will stay.”

Recruits who once viewed Blacksburg with apprehension after Brent Pry’s firing now view it with possibility. The volume alone tells the story: the number of prospects visiting this weekend sits comfortably in the double digits, an unusually large surge for this stage of the season. Some are high-priority flips. Some are simply intrigued by the reset button that has been slammed in the heart of the ACC. And while games don’t usually define decisions, atmospheres can and programs rebuilding their identity need every ounce of perception they can collect. As a result, Virginia Tech is trotting out its “Hokie Stone” uniforms, ones that haven’t been utilized on the gridiron since 2017.

Miami enters with its own narrative tension. The Hurricanes are talented and uneven, capable of looking explosive one week and disjointed the next. Running back Mark Fletcher remains a focal point: a physical, chain-moving, tempo-stabilizing presence who can tilt the rhythm of a game. His success often parallels Miami’s ability to stay ahead of the sticks, shorten drives and force opponents into mistakes. For a Virginia Tech defense that has struggled with tackling consistency and late-drive fatigue, Fletcher represents a stress test.

Then, on the other side of the ball is defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., who has been generating steady attention throughout the season for his ability to disrupt plays at the line of scrimmage. Bain’s combination of quickness off the snap and strength in pursuing the quarterback has made him one of Miami’s most reliable contributors on its front, making Virginia Tech’s ground game response against him critical in regards to any hopes for a victory.

“We got to find some lanes,” Montgomery said. “We got to do a good job of trying to mix it up a little bit. Got to stay a little bit more balanced. But our offensive line has done a good job. Our backs have done a good job. We got to continue to keep them a little bit off balance and find where that space is going to be for us.

“They have a really talented group on defense and it's from the front end all the way to the back end. They play very physical. They're big up front. They're hard to move… [Bain’s] a special player. I mean, obviously, he's going to be in the league. He's probably a first-round pick, from what all the predictions show. He's a guy that can play multiple spots. He's got length, especially arm length. He's got a lot of power. He's got some freakish qualities about him.”

The game itself will matter to fans, to players finishing out a bruised season, and to a program trying to regain its footing. But the ripple effects may come from the seats rather than the scoreboard — who’s watching and who’s imagining themselves in maroon.

Virginia Tech hosts Miami on Saturday at noon Eastern, with the broadcast available on ESPN. The record won’t define the meaning of the afternoon; the future — and who chooses to be part of it — just might.

“We got a really tough opponent and we're going to need all of that focus and energy come Saturday,” Montgomery said.