Why Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech Rematch Is Already Worth the Hype
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Between the preseason loss of the star quarterback, the seemingly devastating defeat suffered in the second week of the season and a team rallying around its third-string quarterback when everybody else was counting it out, Ohio State's 2014 national title run followed a script that could have only been written in Hollywood.
And with seven weeks to go until the start of the 2015 season, the sequel already appears poised for a strong start.
At least that's the vibe that's been emanating from ACC media days in Pinehurst, North Carolina, where the Buckeyes have been a big topic of conversation despite the Big Ten still being a week away from holding its media days. But with one of the ACC's tentpole programs preparing to get the first crack at the defending national champions, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Urban Meyer's squad has once again made its presence felt outside of its own league.
Especially when you take into consideration that the Buckeyes' first opponents in their national championship defense will be the same team that handed them that aforementioned "seemingly devastating defeat" a season ago—their only loss of the 2014 campaign. Heading to Blacksburg, Virginia, on Labor Day for its 2015 opener, Ohio State will take on Virginia Tech, which will be just a year removed from having beaten the Buckeyes, 35-21, in Columbus.
And while Ohio State has already opened up as 14-point favorites, according to Bovada (via Odds Shark), the hype for the rematch between the Buckeyes and Hokies has already made it one of the can't-miss games of college football's opening weekend.
"Talent-wise, they're by far the No. 1 team in the country," Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said of the Buckeyes during his Tuesday press conference. "They're coming to Blacksburg on a Monday night. You don't have that opportunity that often. I know for fans, they've looked forward to it. We have, too. I mean, it's the best team in the country coming to your house. You want to make the best of that."
Only adding to the excitement from the Hokies' perspective was Monday's announcement by school president Tim Sands that Virginia Tech won't be holding classes on Labor Day this year, as it has traditionally done in the past. It's not a coincidence that Sands' decision to cancel classes on the holiday has come in the same year in which the Hokies are hosting the defending national champions, nor will it likely have much of an effect on the attendance in the Blacksburg classrooms on that day anyway.
"To be honest, I don't think anyone was going to be going to class that day anyway," Virginia Tech cornerback Kendall Fuller said, via Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times. "I seriously doubt it. If someone was going to class, kudos to them."
Added Hokies quarterback Michael Brewer: "Regardless, class or no class, it’s going to be a crazy environment. The fans are extremely excited about it. We’re excited about it. It’s good for college football. The defending national champions coming into a historically great place to play, 'Enter Sandman,' Frank Beamer, Urban Meyer. It’s awesome. It’s what you grow up watching, stuff like this."
But rest assured, the excitement for the Ohio State-Virginia Tech rematch extends well outside of Blacksburg, even if the Buckeyes already find themselves as double-digit road favorites. The reality is that it wouldn't matter to Meyer's team if it was favored by 100 points or underdogs for the fourth game in a row after the Hokies put the lone dent in an otherwise storybook 2014 season in Columbus.
Ohio State has wisely been mum on the subject publicly, with most of the offseason attention paid to the Buckeyes focusing on the unprecedented upcoming quarterback competition between Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller. But inside the walls of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the Hokies have served as a major source of motivation in offseason workouts, a sentiment that has occasionally leaked into the players' social media accounts.
Not that Virginia Tech will be caught off guard by the Buckeyes' thirst for revenge, which isn't exactly a secret strategy in the Meyer playbook. In a Q&A with Bitter earlier this offseason, Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster admitted as much, using a bit of hyperbole to illustrate his point.
"Regardless of who their quarterback is, they’ll want to score 100 points on us, I know that," Foster said. "They’ll want to beat us down."
It's highly unlikely the Buckeyes will actually reach triple digits, but an Ohio State blowout, given the Buckeyes' motivation, wouldn't be all that surprising. That's not to say that Virginia Tech should be entirely counted out from scoring its second upset over OSU in as many years, even as the Buckeyes return 14 starters from a season ago and are a near-lock to be the nation's preseason No. 1 team.
Because despite Ohio State's decisive talent advantage over the Hokies, it was Virginia Tech's X's and O's that beat the Buckeyes a year ago, rather than its Jimmies and Joes. Employing a Cover 0 scheme that dared Barrett to throw the ball downfield in the second start of his college career, the Hokies stifled Ohio State with a defensive scheme that admittedly flustered Meyer.
And according to Fuller, Foster's unit once again has a surprise up its sleeve.
"Guess we'll have to see if y'all like it," Fuller said of the Hokies' secret strategy at media days, via Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Of course, the Hokies don't even know what they're exactly preparing for yet, as Meyer has yet to decide between Jones, Barrett and Miller as his starter, with all three quarterbacks possessing unique skill sets. Then again, the possibility exists that Meyer and his staff won't yet be 100 percent sold on their first choice at quarterback, either, and some second-guessing could play into Virginia Tech's favor.
Ultimately, however, we still have seven weeks to dissect the rematch between the Buckeyes and the Hokies and decide if the latter has a realistic shot at scoring another monumental upset.
But if the hype that it's been receiving in Pinehurst is any indication, Blacksburg will be the home of one last summer blockbuster come Labor Day.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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