Do you believe that last season’s tone was established by Vanderbilt’s defeat? Will this season’s tone be set by South Carolina? — NokieHokie Chris Coleman: It really set the tone for me, though I can’t speak for everyone. This year, David and I picked Virginia Tech games in our game previews, and we went 12-1. I made a mistake with Vanderbilt, and David did the same. I believed I had a very accurate assessment of this year’s team after losing that one, two games against Marshall and Old Dominion that ended up being closer at halftime than they should have been, and the Tech passing game appearing to regress.
I In the game preview, I partially based my prediction that Rutgers would win 27–23 in Week 4 on the fact that they had one of the nation’s most seasoned offensive coordinators. That comment implied that I believed he would teach Chris Marve around. That is precisely what took place, and the Scarlet Knights prevailed 26–23. Dang. I came quite close to selecting the precise score. That is still something I have never done.
I felt like I had a clear picture of the 2024 Hokies after that. Even though they performed better against Miami the next week, they still lost, made some dubious in-game calls, had two players on the field simultaneously wearing the same number again, and played inconsistent football the remainder of the season. They lost four of their final five games to end the season after winning three straight for the first time since Brent Pry’s tenure. I guess choosing the games of an inconsistent squad and being 12-1 is pretty excellent. However, I would want to trade records with the team. Everybody would feel much better if I went 6-7 picking.