SP+ Predicts Virginia Tech-Old Dominion Final Score
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It has not been a great start to the season for Virginia Tech to put it nicely.
The Hokies are now 0-2 after losing a 10 point lead over Vanderbilt. The Virginia Tech offense was lifeless in the second half and the defense allowed 34 unanswered points as the Commodores ran the Hokies out of Lane Stadium. Can Brent Pry rally his team and find a way to salvage the season?
Next Game up
The next game up for Virginia Tech is not going to be an easy one. The Hokies are going to host Old Dominion on Saturday night and SP+ is giving them a 67% chance to defeat them while projecting the final score to be 31-24.
What is SP+? Here is how ESPN analyst Bill Connelly describes it:
"In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. I created the system at Football Outsiders in 2008, and as my experience with both college football and its stats has grown, I have made quite a few tweaks to the system.
SP+ is indeed intended to be predictive and forward-facing. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system is. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise."
The Hokies have had trouble with the Monarchs over the past decade and you can bet that ODU believes they can win this game, which they absolutely can.
Is Pry's job on the line?
After the loss to Vanderbilt, Pry, of course, faced questions about his job, and here is what he had to say about feeling the heat:
"I'm not. I tell the players to ignore the noise. The expectations here are to win. I'm not happy with where we are right now. Not from a wins standpoint. But I like this team. I'm still excited about what we can do."
The questions are going to continue swirling around Pry and his future. Up next for Virginia Tech are a pair of home games against Old Dominion and Wofford. How this team plays in those games could say a lot. Will the Hokies quit on the season or will they continue to fight?
College football insider Bruce Feldman wrote Pry being on the hot seat in the preseason:
"Last year felt like the season where the former Penn State defensive coordinator would break through in Blacksburg. It didn’t happen. Getting hit by a run of injuries didn’t help, but going 0-5 in one-score games really stung. Pry, who is 16-21 in three seasons, is now 1-12 in games decided by seven points or less.
The Hokies are talented enough to compete with everyone in the ACC, and they pretty much have. They probably should’ve beaten Miami last year on the road. This season, Pry has two new coordinators (Philip Montgomery on offense, Sam Siefkes on defense) and a very experienced QB in Kyron Drones. The opener against South Carolina and Frank Beamer’s son, Shane, is tough, but Virginia Tech doesn’t play either of the ACC’s two Playoff teams from last year, Clemson and SMU. And Miami visits Blacksburg.
Seven wins might be enough to buy Pry another season, but the Hokies have to find a way to start winning close games. Sooner or later (preferably sooner for Pry’s sake), the ball has to start bouncing the Hokies’ way, right?"
The Hokies have a chance to win some games coming up against Old Dominion, Wofford, NC State, and Wake Forest, but will they?
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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
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