While Vanderbilt public address announcer Joe Deyo leaned into his microphone and put himself on the national map with his “Vanderbilt wins!” call as Vanderbilt’s players jumped around, hugged and reflected on what they’d just done, all you had to do to understand the magnitude of their week one win was look to the other sideline.
Across from Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea and his array of bear hugs stood a group in white jerseys that looked like they’d just seen a ghost. It wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did at FirstBank Stadium for that Virginia Tech team. Brent Pry’s group had College Football Playoff aspirations and was considered a dark horse heading into the season opener.
Instead, it got a harsh reminder of reality as Vanderbilt finally got some proof of concept. It’s not hiding from the idea that what happened that day in Nashville won’t be in its head when the two teams match up in Blacksburg in week two of the 2025 season…