- 3 hours ago
Virginia Tech and Maryland have cancelled the second half of their home and home series. Who is scared of who?
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00:00Now, I'd like to discuss something here.
00:04Maryland, Mike, Blacksburg, Bob, call.
00:07800-636-1067.
00:09Let's go with it.
00:10800-636-1067.
00:12Terps Hokies are probably the biggest alumni base in the DMC, in the DMV,
00:17like biggest fan base in the D.C. area.
00:20Weirdly, I think Penn State might have as big of a fan base in the DMV area.
00:24Definitely.
00:24But Blacksburg and College Park, certainly among the absolute biggest.
00:30UVA is just a smaller school, but there's plenty of UVA fans, too.
00:34We're not excluding anybody, but I'm specifically looking for Terps fans
00:39and Hokies fans to answer something for me.
00:41All right.
00:42Now, I'm going to start with you answering this for me, Brian.
00:46You don't make me piss them off, huh?
00:47No, no.
00:48Well, Maryland and Virginia Tech football had agreed to a four-game home-and-home series.
00:57Okay.
00:58It begins this fall.
00:59I believe the Terps will host the Hokies week three of the college football season.
01:04I know because Jumiola Bange got tickets, and she's very excited.
01:08Mm-hmm.
01:08She told me about it.
01:09Um, but they're supposed to play here this year, Blacksburg next year, here in 28, Blacksburg in 29.
01:19Per Pete Thamel, and now the teams have since announced this, they've called off the four-year contract,
01:28and it's now just a home-and-home.
01:31Two years.
01:32They're still playing this year, and then they won't play again until 2029.
01:37Okay.
01:39When coaching, well, I'm sorry, when scheduling changes happen like this, coaches make the decisions.
01:45Mm-hmm.
01:46Here's my question.
01:48Who's scared?
01:49Why is this happening?
01:51I don't know if nobody's scared.
01:52I just think that some people, frankly, is probably thinking that,
02:01why do we have to lock in with Maryland?
02:02We could play a better team, a bigger team.
02:06Because that's, his mindset is not that he's small-time.
02:10His mindset, he's big-time.
02:14Maybe.
02:16I just, now, it appears Virginia Tech was able to get Notre Dame on their schedule,
02:22but isn't that like the quasi-ACC nonsense anyway?
02:26Yeah, but.
02:26Like, does Virginia Tech have to schedule a home-and-home with Notre Dame when they're
02:30sorta in the ACC already?
02:31But they're playing against Notre Dame.
02:33I get that.
02:35Guess who Maryland has added to their schedule?
02:36Who?
02:37Baylor.
02:40I don't know that I'm ever going to go to Waco, B.
02:42Maybe that's my reason to go.
02:432028.
02:44You're going to get to know who they are now.
02:46All right.
02:47We got Hokey Altizer on the line?
02:48All right.
02:49Toby Altizer does pre- and post-game coverage for Virginia Tech football.
02:53Tell us what's happening over there, Hokey.
02:54What's going on here?
02:55Who's scared?
02:56I don't know why the Terps are ducking VT.
02:59I don't know what you're so scared of.
03:00You know, big, bad VT apparently now that James Franklin comes over.
03:05Listen, James Franklin just had a 3-10 season in Penn State and got fired.
03:10I'm not exactly shivering in my boots.
03:12So then why are you taking us off the schedule?
03:14I'm asking who did it.
03:18Because I think you guys did it.
03:20So I think it could be a little bit of both.
03:24Honestly, if I'm looking from the Virginia Tech perspective of things,
03:29the ACC is starting to do a thing where they are going to give out revenue share
03:34based on ratings.
03:36And so Virginia Tech, Maryland might be good for the region.
03:40Virginia Tech, Maryland might not do well.
03:43It's like a noon ESPN game.
03:45So Virginia Tech has taken James Madison off the schedule.
03:48Virginia Tech has taken James' fear because JMU is good and will kick their ass.
03:55It's not fear of losing to JMU.
03:57It's truly you need to get bigger matchups in some of the non-conference stuff
04:02or you're not going to be able to get as much ratings
04:04and in turn less revenue share from the ACC.
04:06Even bigger than the revenue share, Toby,
04:08that's what they're saying about the college football playoffs.
04:11If you're playing weaklings, you're going to get hurt by it.
04:15So you've got to play tougher teams.
04:17Yeah, and that's something that not only do you need it for the college football playoff,
04:22I think for Virginia Tech going into next year,
04:24I don't know that that's as much part of the discussion.
04:26But I think for going forward, I think part of the reason they're switching
04:30some of these games up and looking ahead on some of their schedule,
04:32they're going to Notre Dame, I think, in two years.
04:35Like, that's the sort of games that they need to be scheduling
04:38to make sure that when they get that bump at the end of the year for ratings,
04:42you know, they're trying to be up there with the Clemsons
04:45and the Florida States and those.
04:46I'm asking this question.
04:47You're selling a hokey version of events here.
04:52I basically don't have a horse in the race.
04:55If you go to a recruit, we get to go to play Notre Dame,
04:58we're going to play Maryland.
05:00What do you think the recruit will get excited about?
05:01I get that.
05:02But taking JMU off, too?
05:05But still, as he's stating, JMU has been far more relevant
05:11than Virginia Tech over the last decade.
05:12As relevant as they are, they still don't push the needle
05:15outside of this area.
05:17CFB Tracker, which is a legit college football account,
05:21replied to this tweet asking the question,
05:24Franklin's scared of Maryland?
05:25But see, that's somebody probably with the Maryland.
05:28No, it's a national college football account.
05:31In Maryland?
05:32I'll tell you this much.
05:34Regardless of what the actual reason is,
05:37I can tell you this much.
05:37It ain't because James Franklin is scared of playing Maryland.
05:41Nova fan replies, Franklin continues to back out of regional games
05:45because he knows they suck.
05:47No.
05:48No, I don't think so.
05:50Does he know the regional games suck?
05:52Or does he say they suck?
05:53So James Franklin, in his, what's he been there, five months, right?
05:57They hired him in January, probably?
05:58Has pulled out of the JMU games and the Maryland games.
06:01And you're going to tell me it's all for ratings.
06:03It is.
06:04It's about money.
06:05Who did they replace JMU with?
06:10I'd have to look.
06:12But it's one of those things, JP,
06:14where it's not necessarily that they're ducking anybody,
06:17but if you're going to be influencing the bottom line of the entire
06:21athletic department with the money that you're going to get from the ACC,
06:26you have to look out for it with the football program.
06:29You know how much football drives everything.
06:30So it's all about money, Tobes.
06:34JP, come on.
06:35You know that Virginia Tech had to pay $800,000 to JMU to cancel the game?
06:41Well, and they're hoping that that $800,000 is a drop in the bucket
06:45by the increase in ratings, that they'll get more from the ACC.
06:48I don't – look, I know it's not the best look at all times for the Hokies,
06:53but at the same point, they've got to look out to make sure that they're
06:56in the best position possible.
06:57And unfortunately, even though I love Tech playing Maryland,
07:01I love Tech playing regional schools,
07:03I would have loved to have seen them play James Madison for the region.
07:06That's not going to draw the national ratings that is going to be a massive
07:09part of this new ACC revenue share.
07:12So they've got to make sure that they're looking out for the rest
07:14of their athletic department.
07:16Okay.
07:17I mean, listen, I get money is the answer to everything, right?
07:20Yeah.
07:21It just seems weird.
07:22That's all I'm saying.
07:24But if you're replacing them – here's the other thing I don't understand,
07:27Toby.
07:28Why do they have to schedule a home-and-home with Notre Dame?
07:31Isn't Notre Dame sort of in the ACC?
07:34No, not in football.
07:36But they play like an almost ACC schedule, don't they?
07:40Not necessarily.
07:41They play whatever they want.
07:42Not in football.
07:42They play a lot of plays.
07:43I mean, you know, now that Stanford's part of the ACC,
07:47they play them pretty regularly.
07:48So, you know, that's an ACC opponent.
07:50But they play Georgia Tech a lot.
07:51That's kind of weird.
07:52They play in Stanford.
07:53Yeah, they play in Navy.
07:53They play whatever the heck they want to do.
07:56Yeah.
07:56I mean, none of these conferences make a lot of sense.
08:00What are expectations for Hokie football this fall, Toby?
08:05That's the interesting part, JP.
08:06There's a lot of excitement around this team.
08:08And I think a lot of people are just waiting and seeing.
08:12I think, you know, obviously you want to get to a bowl game at the bare minimum.
08:15But I would expect them to be higher than that.
08:17It's not college football playoff or win the ACC title high.
08:22But, you know, eight, nine wins somewhere around there.
08:24Especially week three against Maryland.
08:27So, wow.
08:28Shots fired, Jay.
08:29I mean, listen.
08:30I hear a bet going.
08:31I hear a bet.
08:32My boy Rudy is like an absolute Maryland super fan, right?
08:37And he's calling week three.
08:39Hokie's coming to Maryland.
08:40And, like, I mean, for people that may not remember the history of this thing,
08:44James Franklin was on Ralph Regan's staff.
08:46And he was the coach in waiting at that time.
08:49And then, obviously, the old athletic director made terrible decisions.
08:53Somehow they ended up with, who was the dude from UConn?
08:55Randy Edsel, who was terrible.
08:59My boy Rudy calls this the most important game of Loxley's career.
09:03Because I think there is a lot of pressure on Lox this year.
09:08Lox is a friend of mine.
09:09I'm certainly hoping they win.
09:10But that is a big game.
09:12And I think, I remember Gary Williams saying this years back.
09:17That when he was coaching the Terps and they would play GW or they would play AU or something.
09:22There is far more to lose than to win.
09:25If Maryland basketball is playing GW and they win, they're supposed to.
09:29If they lose, it's a huge deal.
09:31They lose is a problem.
09:32And I don't, to me, part of that might be Franklin's theory of not wanting to play Maryland.
09:36Because it's like, we're Virginia Tech.
09:38We're supposed to be the bigger program here.
09:40And if we lose this, it's a big deal.
09:41And if we win, to your point about ratings and everything else, I don't know that it juices it.
09:45But see, he's playing you this year and then another year coming up.
09:5020-29.
09:51Still, I mean, and I think he's looking at it like, we play this year and then when 20-29,
09:57I do like I'm supposed to do, shouldn't be a problem.
10:00So it seems like Virginia Tech has a relatively advantageous ACC schedule.
10:06They don't play Florida State.
10:08They play Clemson and Miami.
10:10If you look at Virginia Tech's schedule this year, I mean, week three is going to be a good litmus
10:15test to see if this team is truly better.
10:18I would expect Maryland with a second-year quarterback that's more experienced.
10:22And, you know, they're at least a legit Power 5 program or Power 4 program with the Big Ten.
10:29The first two matchups are VMI and Old Dominion, which, you know, Virginia Tech fans used to be able to
10:34look past Old Dominion,
10:35but unfortunately losing to them a couple of times the last couple of years.
10:38So it's not like you can necessarily look past that matchup.
10:41Yeah.
10:41You know, if they're truly different.
10:42That's some built, man.
10:43That's some built.
10:44Fighting Scott Jackson.
10:45Yeah.
10:46Yeah.
10:46If they're truly different, they should be able to roll past those first two opponents and then you come to
10:50College Park
10:51and then that's the first real test of, okay, is this really different?
10:54If so, Virginia Tech, you feel like with the stronger program you hope should be able to win.
10:59But, you know, Maryland should have the leg up until we see what Virginia Tech is.
11:03Well, I mean, Maryland opens with Hampton and then they play UConn.
11:07So UConn is probably more of a test than the Hokies will see.
11:10That's also on the road.
11:11I don't know what stores Connecticut home football crowds are like, but I don't know.
11:16I smell some ducking, Toby.
11:18That's all I'm saying.
11:19No, no.
11:20I get that.
11:21I've seen people around here, you know, run into people wearing a JMU hat when that all went down.
11:26And, you know, I'd be wearing Hokie gear and they'd be getting on me.
11:29So I understand that there's going to be some joning, but I do think that there's legitimate reasons behind some
11:34of the things that Virginia Tech is doing
11:36and not just because they're shaking in their boots to play James Madison or Maryland.
11:40I don't think that's the case because if that's the case, then James Franklin is not building exactly what he's
11:46looking for.
11:46James Franklin's looking to, you know, be up there with what he had at Penn State,
11:51where even though they didn't necessarily always win the big games, at least they were in some big games,
11:55versus Virginia Tech hasn't necessarily gotten to that point the last couple of years.
11:59So I think that's more what they're looking for.
12:00They're not ducking these guys.
12:03Virginia Tech, I generally root for the Hokies.
12:06I'm not mad at them, certainly.
12:07To me, Hokie football is living off of Michael Vick's legacy from what was probably close to 30 years ago.
12:14I mean, to an extent, but I didn't grow up with Michael Vick.
12:18I grew up with Tyrod Taylor, and they were, you know, routinely in the top 10
12:21or pretty close to getting to a, you know, BCS Bowl.
12:25I remember them playing in an Orange Bowl against Kansas back in the day.
12:28It's like they've had, you know, history since then, but, you know, largely after Beamer,
12:32it hasn't been nearly the prestige that you would hope it would be.
12:36All right, Tobes.
12:37Well, we appreciate you calling in, bud.
12:39All right, week three.
12:40I got you back, Toby.
12:41I got you back, man.
12:42Week three.
12:42No problem.
12:43We'll go together.
12:44I'll get us some tickets.
12:46Well, I'll be working, but, you know, I can hang out from time to time.
12:49We'll see how it goes.
12:50Toby's going to come in here dressed like a damn turkey the next time we see you.
12:53He's dressed like a turkey a lot of times.
12:55See you later, Tobes.
12:56Go Hokies.
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