Early preview: Gophers open as favorites over Virginia Tech in Duke's Mayo Bowl

Can Minnesota extend its bowl winning streak to six?

Nov 9, 2024; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Brent Pry greets fans before the game against the Clemson Tigers as he enters Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images / Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

The Gophers will face Virginia Tech on Jan. 3 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. Early betting odds view Minnesota as a 4.5-point favorite.

The Hokies are 6-6 this season under third-year head coach Brent Pry, but much like the Gophers, their season could've looked a lot different. Five of their six losses came by one score and they had a chance to win almost every game that they've played in.

"I don't know much about their football team, no disrespect there, but I just haven't started studying them just yet," Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said on Sunday. "There's five or six teams that people talk about in 3-4 destinations, you'd be getting ahead on 20 teams. We're focusing on our team right now. But, I do know if you go back and look at their stats and all the close games they've lost, this is easily a team that could be 10-2... very similar to us."

Pry was a longtime assistant coach and defensive coordinator under James Franklin from 2011-2021, dating all the way back to Franklin's time at Vanderbilt and more recently Penn State. It's clear that the Pry has turned Virginia Tech into a defense-first team, ranking in the top 50 of almost every major statistical defensive category.

"He (Pry) was the defensive coordinator at Penn State when we played them here in 2019. I went out to visit Penn State a few years ago and got a chance to see him when he was out there," Fleck said. "He's a really good defensive mind, does a really good job. Coming from the James Franklin tree, you're going to be incredibly organized, you're going to have a really good team that plays incredibly hard. I mean, you're going to fly around."

Minnesota opened as a small 1.5-point favorite and the line has already shifted up to 4.5. Virginia Tech has already had a few significant contributors enter the transfer portal and a few more could opt out of the game. Third-string freshman QB William Watson III started the team's final regular season game over Virginia, as the status of normal starter Kyron Drones and backup Collin Schlee remain up in the air due to some injuries.

The Gophers have won five consecutive bowl games under Fleck and early signs point to them having an edge in next month's Duke's Mayo Bowl.