2024 Bowl Projections: Virginia Tech Given High Profile Matchup vs SEC Opponent
With the season coming closer, that means the first wave of bowl projections are starting to roll in for the 2024 season. While the College Football Playoff has expanded and now includes 12 teams, there are still a number of bowl games that are going to have meaning across the country and that teams will be looking to land in.
Virginia Tech is a team that is hoping to find themselves in the hunt for the ACC title and a playoff bid, bu they should be able to land in a good bowl if they don't. The schedule is favorable and the Hokies should be able to win 8-10 games, which would land them in a pretty nice bowl game at the end of the year.
In the latest Bowl Projections from CBS Sports, college football analyst Jerry Palm has the Hokies going to the Gator Bowl to face Tennessee. The Volunteers are expected to be a contender for the 12-team playoff as well and are hoping that a rising star in freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, a talented group of receivers, and a strong defensive line will have them competing for big prizes in the SEC. The two programs have met nine times and the Vols hold a 6-3 edge in the series. The last matchup came in Bristol, TN at Bristol Motor Speedway, a game that Tennessee won 45-24.
With the dynamic skill set that dual-threat quarterback Kyron Drones showcased in the latter half of the year for the Hokies and how Virginia Tech finished its 2024 season, it is not a stretch to say that if Drones takes the next step and Virginia Tech lives up to its lofty expectations this season, Drones should be in the thick of the Heisman race this season.
One of the voices of college football, Josh Pate, agrees and had this to say on his latest episode of "Late Kick with Josh Pate":
"Virginia Tech has an opportunity to be a playoff contender late in the year, they have a chance to be an ACC title contender late in the year, they have a chance to have a dynamite run game. Now, I don't think Drones is going to have the passing numbers that some of these guys do, he is going to have to supplement it with his work with his legs, not that he is going to have triple option passing numbers, but last year, 17-3 touchdown to interception ratio, he ran for five, he needs to double that rushing touchdown number, his completion percentage needs to bump up from 58% and into the 60's and it absolutely could, it absolutely could. They are going to have a really complementary style to help him and it is going to take voters watching him. Don't be checkin box scores, which a lot of Heisman voters unfortunately do, but if that ground game is churning and as a voter, if we really care about playing in a manner that best equips your team to win football games and we understand that yards gained on the ground count just as much as yards gained through the air, if we understand that, then Kyron Drones should be in this thing as well."
Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell