Virginia Tech Football: First Thoughts on Bowl Matchup with Minnesota

The Hokies are headed to Charlotte.

Aug 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies linebacker Keli Lawson (0) just misses the field goal of Vanderbilt Commodores place kicker Brock Taylor (88) during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Hokies were narrowly bowl eligible this year, and honestly for a 6-6 record, they got a pretty decent bowl spot.

The Hokies are headed to Charlotte to take on Minnesota in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl (formerly known as the Belk Bowl). In the history of the bowl game, only two 6-6 ACC teams have played in the game, both of which were North Carolina teams, one in 2021 and the other in 2013, so the Hokies got pretty lucky. Virginia Tech could’ve headed to Detroit for the GameAbove Sports Bowl where the 7-5 Pittsburgh Panthers are expected to play.

The Hokies will travel not far from Blacksburg, as Bank of America Stadium is roughly a two and a half hour drive from Blacksburg.

Minnesota also is not an opponent to snooze at. The Gophers are 7-5 with some honestly impressive wins. Minnesota took down then-ranked No.11 USC at home, in what would turn into a four-game Big Ten winning streak for Minnesota. The Gophers beat UCLA 21-17 the week after. Then they would go on to dominate Maryland 48-23, and upset No. 24 Illinois on the road 25-17. To put the cherry on top, Minnesota reclaimed The Axe with an extremely dominant win against Wisconsin. They held the Badgers to just 166 total yards in a rivalry game in a hostile atmosphere.

I’d imagine that Minnesota will enter this game as favorites, but this game could honestly go either way. Both teams have a heavier focus on being defensive teams, and the two teams are honestly not that much different besides the patches on their jerseys. This will also be the first ever matchup between the two schools in football.