Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” will pulsate again through a bouncing sellout crowd Saturday before Virginia Tech plays its home opener against Marshall.
The song has blared at Lane Stadium for the past 24 seasons.
But there is an undertone of discontent in Blacksburg, Va., as the Hokies (0-1) are coming off a 34-27 overtime loss at perennial Southeastern Conference doormat Vanderbilt.
It was a sour note on which to open a season of high expectations. With a roster loaded with returning players from a 7-6 team, the Hokies were nearly ranked in the preseason, finishing second among “others receiving votes” in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.
But the pratfall in Nashville brings Virginia Tech’s record under Brent Pry to 10-15. And now the third-year coach is feeling more heat as he faces a Marshall team (1-0) that handed him a 24-17 loss last September.
“We understand the expectations,” Pry said Tuesday. “We’re certainly disappointed. What we can do is invest and get better and learn from it and have a heck of a week and go be a better team this Saturday.”
This is a different Marshall team from the one that upset Virginia Tech last season. Quarterback Cam Fancher has transferred to Florida Atlantic, and running back Rasheen Ali, who torched the Hokies for 174 yards and two touchdowns last year, now plays for the Baltimore Ravens.
Marshall is coming off a 45-3 walkover at home last week against Stony Brook, an FCS team that was winless last year. The Thundering Herd used three quarterbacks, with each throwing at least one touchdown pass. The last time Marshall accomplished that feat was in 1932.
Stone Earle, a transfer from North Texas who started on Saturday, and Braylon Braxton, a transfer from Tulsa, threw two touchdown passes each, while Cole Pennington, the son of former Marshall star quarterback Chad Pennington, had another scoring toss.
On Tuesday, Marshall coach Charles Huff, who led the Thundering Herd to a 6-7 mark last season, was not letting on who would start against Virginia Tech.
“I don’t know because their numbers are almost identical,” Huff said.
Virginia Tech will look to start fast after falling behind 17-0 at Vanderbilt. Kyron Drones threw an early interception but rallied the Hokies, finishing with 22 completions in 33 attempts for 322 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s been four years since a group-of-5 school has gone to Lane Stadium and won,” Huff said of Liberty’s 38-35 win in Blacksburg in 2020. “So this is a daunting task.”
–Field Level Media