Virginia Tech will make its first-ever trip to California for an Atlantic Coast Conference football game when the Hokies visit Stanford on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams will seek to rebound from a loss to an ACC powerhouse. The emotional bounce-back figures to be tougher for one team than the other.
Virginia Tech (2-3, 0-1) appeared to have upset then-No. 7 Miami on the road last week before a last-second touchdown pass was overturned. It allowed the Hurricanes to hold on for a 38-34 win and prompted Hokies coach Brent Pry to call ACC headquarters.
While dissatisfied with what he heard, Pry insisted Tuesday that this week is all about Stanford.
“We aggressively turned the page Sunday evening,” Pry said. “We addressed the matter with our players, with our staff, with our media, with our player parents, with our own wives … everybody. To play with the intensity we played with Friday night (Sept. 27), we have to pour everything into Stanford.”
The Cardinal (2-2, 1-1) will make their ACC home debut, having recorded a 26-24 win over Syracuse on Sept. 20 and a 40-14 loss to then-No. 17 Clemson last Saturday in consecutive conference road outings.
Stanford saw its starting quarterback, Ashton Daniels, leave the Clemson game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. Cardinal coach Troy Taylor announced Tuesday that Daniels was no sure thing to face the Hokies. Taylor also said that Daniels, if healthy, will have to take better care of the football.
Daniels threw three interceptions as part of an uneven performance against the Tigers. He did well on the ground, rushing 11 times for 87 yards.
“The thing about playing quarterback is you can play great 95 percent of the time,” Taylor said, “but because you handle the ball every play, if 5 percent of those reps are not good, then you probably walk away feeling you didn’t play very well.”
Per Taylor, Justin Lamson would step in for Daniels if the starter is unable to play against Virginia Tech.
The game will feature two of the top backs statistically in the ACC.
Virginia Tech’s Bhayshul Tuten rushed for 141 yards in last week’s conference opener against Miami, while Stanford’s Micah Ford has the ACC’s highest total among players who have competed in two conference games with 169 yards.
