Holgorsen's Take: Big 12 Teleconference
No. 20/22 West Virginia will open the season in a rekindling of an old rivalry game against No. 22/21 Virginia Tech and head coach Dana Holgorsen is a fan of the marquee non-conference matchup.
The matchup is the first between the two programs since 2005 and will be a featured primetime matchup Sept. 3 inside Fed-Ex Field.
“I think it’s a positive. I’ve been a fan of these non-conference high profile games,” he said.
Because the two programs haven’t squared off on the field in 12-years, the coaching staff has had to educate both players and coaches on the history of the rivalry as well as familiarizing themselves with the Hokies.
However, the fact that a marquee opponent was on the other end of the schedule to open the season only has allowed the summer and camp to flow naturally because there isn't a lot of need for extra incentives.
Virginia Tech is led by second-year head coach Justin Fuente, who coincidentally played high school quarterback at the same school as Mountaineers offensive coordinator Jake Spavital.
“They’re cut from the same cloth,” Holgorsen said.
Holgorsen has paid close attention to what Fuente has done at each of his coaching stops over his career, most notably what he did as the offensive coordinator at TCU before completely turning around the fortunes of Memphis in short order when he took over as the head coach.
On the defensive side, Virginia Tech is led by longtime coordinator Bud Foster who is a staple of the Hokies football program. This unit looks to be one of the better in the tenure of the revered assistant coach.
"I hear he thinks they are as good as they've ever been. They look really good to me," Holgorsen said. "They have a lot of returning players back."
NOTES:
--Holgorsen said that he believes junior wide receiver Gary Jennings is prepared to take that next step in his career.
--West Virginia is expected to play as many as six running backs this fall, including both freshmen according to Holgorsen.
