This is not your father’s Virginia Tech. This is not the Hokies that inspired awe with the opening chords of “Enter Sandman,” though the anthem still precedes games in Blacksburg. Two losing seasons in the last three have cost the lore its luster.
This is not the Virginia Tech that gave Notre Dame plenty to worry about as it looked to regain its footing late in the 2019 season. It is not the Hokies that earned “trap game” worries in 2018’s Irish surge to the Playoff. It is not even the Virginia Tech that stands as the last unranked opponent Notre Dame lost to — yes, go ahead and file away that piece of trivia — way back when in 2016.