Virginia Tech has opted for an overhaul and plays its first game since firing coach Brent Pry when Wofford visits Saturday afternoon.
The game in Blacksburg, Va., matches two teams with 0-3 records.
Virginia Tech will be under the direction of interim coach Philip Montgomery, who was tabbed Sunday to replace Pry. The coaching change came following Virginia Tech’s second consecutive home loss, a 45-26 knockout by Old Dominion when the Hokies fell behind 31-0.
“It has been an emotional couple of days,” Montgomery said Tuesday. “What a whirlwind it has been. … Our focus really has to be on the players right now. Their world has been rocked a little bit right here.”
With the coaching change comes an immediate opening of the transfer portal for Virginia Tech players, with junior cornerback Dante Lovett opting to put his name in.
Montgomery has been Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator and he’ll continue to call plays, at least for the short term. He’s a former head coach at Tulsa, where his teams went 43-53 from 2015-22.
It’s the worst three-game start to a season for the Hokies in 38 years. There are nine games left in the regular season.
“We’ve got an opportunity right now to write the ending of what this story is going to be,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to fix.”
Montgomery said returning to a comfortable routine was paramount during the preparation phase of the week.
For Wofford, the coaching change at Virginia Tech shouldn’t matter.
“It’s about us,” Wofford coach Shawn Watson said. “Our constant continued improvement is what we’re striving for.”
While Virginia Tech’s losses have been rather lopsided, Wofford’s three defeats have come by a total of six points. The FCS Terriers lost 22-21 on Saturday at Mercer in their Southern Conference opener.
“The biggest thing we have to do as a staff is teach our kids to finish,” Watson said. “We’ve just got to keep working.”
Wofford didn’t take full advantage of four Mercer turnovers.
This will be Virginia Tech’s final nonconference game before entering Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Virginia Tech receiver Donavon Greene, a transfer from Wake Forest who started his college career in 2019, made his first two touchdown receptions of the season (and 14th and 15th of his career) in the Old Dominion game. That accounts for half of the Hokies’ touchdowns in the passing attack this year.
Wofford junior defensive back Eli Campbell picked off two passes last week, pushing his career total to five.
The Hokies won the only previous meeting with Wofford, prevailing 27-7 in 2022 at home.
–Field Level Media
